Keali-LookingOutwards02
Initially when given the assignment, I worried over the fact that I had no personally recognizable exposure to what I defined as interactive/computational art, project, or installation; perhaps I overthought and unnecessarily limited myself, but my aspiration in utilizing technology and design together stems from experience of sequential narratives such as animations and videogames–and ultimately decided to make this reflection on what I consider to be a compromise between an interactive work on a medium with which I was more familiar:
Such is the videogame Flower by thatgamecompany, in which the player is the wind and guides and collects petals by interacting with the surrounding environment; the goals and journey in each level vary, but involve flight and exploration to create an idyllic atmosphere. The game was created by a development team, which included producers, directors, engineers, designers, illustrators, writers, and composers amongst other members to accommodate for every last detail to be successfully integrated into the interface. Flower was actually the second project in a 3-game deal with PlayStation, in which Sony offered to fund three games from the company, meaning that it is specific to the PS3 and would likely not be available on any other platforms in the future.
However, Flower challenges traditional gaming conventions by delivering a simple gameplay using accessible controls (SIXAXIS motion sensors) and a medium that is meant to evoke positive emotions in the gamer; the team viewed their efforts as creating a work of art, removing elements and mechanics that were not provoking the desired response in the players. The result is a narrative arc that progresses through visual aesthetic and emotional cues as the audience fades from the external and stressful world. As a student whose goal is to effectively have technology and art coexist, this game provides future opportunity of advanced visual, audio, and interactive escapes to engage players and strum the chords of feelings that all consumers naturally have: this is something important to me as a gamer and an artist, that there is a feedback or response between the resulting products and the audience.