truna aka j.turner

particpatory story engine ||

this project was initiated when it became apparent that constructing narrative scripts for NPCs in an immersive world was generally implemented in a linear fashion - albeit sometimes with hyperlinks. the concept here is to provide an interface that allows a particpant to construct scripts spatially

particpatory graffiti project ||

this project [currently under development with JCU] seeks a method by which immersive world particpants are able to treat the world as if it were real and leave their mark as a mnemonic

mobile mnemonics ||

bringing the real into the virtual via mobile devices and providing opportunities to claim the map

|||| ------

cyberama - the theme park || theme park | lost cities

the theme park is an experimental area. the park itself represents exploration of use of the digital medium and game paradigms to provide access to materials. the park and the rides are still in the planning stage ....

some of the ideas that have informed the theme park were in a recent funding proposal for use of game based interfaces in the delivery of tertiary material on-line - this proposal is archived under the research link

|||| ------

the lost cities project - by gavin sade and truna aka j.turner - is a different aspect of the same interest:

collaborative student work in the cities	data map of the cities by gavin sade [aspect of envisionning project]

The project addresses game and immersion design using a constructive multiuser environment. The interface to this environment permits the development of extraordinarily rich prototypes for games and interactive narratives, enabling the development of plot, objects, character and game play. Thus exploring practical game environment design parameters and concepts and theories of immersion design.

Research based in the Lost Cities project centers on the nature of the interface itself and the on-going development of 'unpredictable' interfaces as platforms for mixed realities. Lost Cities provides a flexible platform for research into visual interface design for complex multiuser applications with specific areas of interest being related to affordances, multimodal communication, direct manipulation of objects, foreground and background display of information, navigation and way finding in virtual environments, specialisation, player to player interactions and communication etc. Lost cities also explores the potential utilization of multi-user, mixed media environments and constructive pedagogy. [description from ubik]

|||| ------

lost cities meets mixed reality : draft project proposal by gavin sade and truna aka j.turner 2002 [stored on ubik]

|||| ------

affordances || human computer interaction and software culture

this project area is under development. the basic concept is to collect all the other relevant projects and research together under a 'user friendly' [:)] heading and approach in order to make the material accessible and to enable analysis of sofware culture under some pragmatic categories.

the project focuses on the culture and affordances of those software environments that permit human to human interaction and the development of notions of communities. it tends therefore, to look at communication type softwares and ask how the communication is mediated by the architecture of the software itself. interestingly eno' this loose category includes: basic communicators [eg chat rooms, IRC] virtual worlds, game environments and increasingly, persistent immersive environments accessed by mobile devices ... where the interface to the software culture actually disappears!

the lost cities project exploits the affordances of the MUD [OO] environment.

presentations on this theme - can you afford not to?

People in virtual communities use words on screens to exchange pleasantries and argue, engage in intellectual discourse, conduct commerce, exchange knowledge, share emotional support, make plans, brainstorm, gossip, feud, fall in love, find friends and lose them, play games, flirt, create a little high art and a lot if idle talk. People in virtual communities do just about everything people do in real life, but we leave our bodies behind. You can't kiss anybody and nobody can punch you in the nose, but a lot can happen within those boundaries.
Howard Rheingold, Virtual Communities

Since Howard Rheingold wrote those words in the introduction to his 1994 work, the exponential growth in use and development of the Internet, that international network of connected computers, has led to a correspondingly prolific growth in virtual community forms. Some reside primarily within the parameters of email distribution, perhaps based in professional concerns or perhaps driven by extrinsic demands of course work or work. Other communities exist with the richer constructive environments of virtual worlds, interfaces that provide not only the exchanges of that real life which Rheingold offers but also constructive and creative possibilities. Some bloom like shopping malls, some enliven the cyber-scape like small clubs and cafes.

This project examines and offers discussion on the nature of the interfaces that provide the multiplicity of users with entry into those communities. Choice of interface - the software used to enter and join a virtual community - might be based on convenience, availability, experimentation or specific purpose. Within a specific community there might be a variety of social devices to maintain stability but the design and epistemology of the interface itself is a device. Interfaces have histories and cultures of design that mediate interaction of participants.

A lot can happen within the boundaries of a virtual community, but there is a portal through which the user must enter and the portals of the interface are not simple openings, but are cultural constructs in themselves. They are designed to provide access and in that design, they exist betwixt and between, mediating the form of community achieved. This project takes a critical walk through the culture of the interface to the cyber-scape and charts some of the effects from the early epistemologies of the scape to the current architectural forms.