Butch aka Travis

I feel the urge to blog, well not so much the urge, but i feel obliged. I have previously read alot about interactive media and how it is influenceing more main stream media. In turn Mainstream media (Film TV Radio etc.) has had to adapt and indeed investigate new ways of incorporating the audience (or the user).

Once a passive medium, it seems that because of the introduction of computer games and consoles etc, more men 18- 24 are moving away from Televsion. That is definately the viewpoint of Mark Pesce.

I read Bolter and Grusin (1999) in the dossier and they raise these very points. After talking about Strange Days for a while, they explain how this type opf media stands to influence the mainstream.

They also talk of how the device in Strange Days creates a percieved reality, better than IMAX or any other form of emersive media in the sense that it brings with it all the 5 senses. You can smell the scene, you an hear the scene, you can see the scene, you can taste the scene, and finally, you can touch the scene.

However, my major counter argument against the ‘Wire’ is that the user cannot decide his or her actions, and instead must follow the actions of the person who recorded it, unlike a video game.
Its a discussion that could go on forever.

I had to study Luc Courchesne a while back and his ‘Landscapes’ multimedia experience. It was pretty far out for its time (1997 ) . Basically four screens surrounded the user whilst the user stood in the middle. He could choose to go straight, left, Right or backwards and he could interact with .

Four walls of a space are “painted”, with video projectors, into
a single photo realistic 360º landscape representing a public garden.
The space, set in Montreal’s Mont-Royal Parc, is being visited by
real and virtual characters. If the virtual characters appear free
to come and go in the garden, real visitors will need help to walk
in and explore. For this they have to make contact with one of the
virtual character by selecting, using voice or touch, questions or
comments from imposed sets. Questions on, for example, where they are,
what is around, where one can go from here will engage a conversation
leading to some form of relationship. The exchange may be cut short with
everyone going back to their business or it may reach a point where
visitors will convince a character to lead them somewhere. In such case,
visitors are being pulled through the landscape after their virtual
guide and the whole room appears to be moving in this direction.

http://www.din.umontreal.ca/courchesne/land.html

ANyhow, i better finish here, i tend to go a little to long…..