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Launching Open Share
This self driven project was created in order to enhance a previous piece of work to a level considered 'gallery standard'.
As a group, Years 1-3 were to prepare the garage space in the studio for an exhibition and advertise amongst students.
For this I chose to work on the project 'CONTROL' as it was the only project I hadn't properly concluded.
My original code hadn't properly worked and I had my laptop as the display, showing a Processing sketch. I had soldered buttons etc but because the code wasn't working properly I couldn't connect the Arduino to the sketch.
I'm going to restructure the code for this project by inputing my text as a csv file rather than having long lists of strings. In turn this organisation will result in clarity throughout the code.
Research
This PDF document includes all of my thinking behind the machine. I took three main ideas from the term CONTROL, computational design, language and, in a less literal sense, a way to convey the theme of mental health.
Brendan Dawes
Dawes will remain my primary influence throughout this project. I had originally referenced his work 'STATES OF MIND', a large machine used to create graphic visuals of emotions, in my CONTROL research. His other works 'BIG SOFTIE', a remote made to experiment with scale, colour and texture also heavily inspired my design for the arcade box.
This was the first prototype that I submitted for CONTROL but overall I wasn't happy with how it looked. I wanted it to more resemble an arcade machine and have a built in screen. To enhance this project I will have to fine tune the code and completely reconstruct the machine.
I started to digitally model new machines to determine how best to move forward. I came to the conclusion that to have the lasercut box built in would not only benefit the look of the machine but it would be more functional.
The Original
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Sketchbook
This was my sketch I took to the wood workshop for the machine. I had an idea for the laser cut after discussions in tutorials, that instead of having a slider I would have all buttons. The reasoning behind this was because the slider would have to be reset to a specific point in order for the system to return to the start. I realised that this would be out of my control and I couldn't rely upon visitors to know to do this.
The built in screen meant I had to significantly widen the arcade. The screen I knew I wanted to use was the one from the studio, the benq monitor. The only downside to this monitor was that it couldn't be extended to be made taller so the machine is a little shorter than I originally imagined. Having the second display instead of my laptop I feel really elevated the machine as it looked less like a prototype with the open front.
This was how I changed the lasercut from a slider to two buttons. I instead made hand drawn animations that were linked to a button press. This meant the user would have little input other than pushing the button and no system requirements could rely on human error.
I was happy with the look of the original box so I didn't change any sizing or materials. I did however change the text from a fill to raster so it gave an outline instead of an engraving. I think it just looked a bit more slick.
I drew Oor Wullie as a png file then matched this with the first frame of the animations. This meant the transition was seamless and the position on the screen remained constant.
My original code was clunky and didn't work properly. I needed help with how to properly structure this. The entire system is based around language so I had a long script that at first was loaded in as individual strings however upon reflection with Paul he suggested a csv file. I seperated each part of the script into sections. INTRO ALL 1+2, OOR WULLIE SELECTOR, POSITIVE INTRO, NEGATIVE INTRO, POSITIVE QUESTIONS, NEGATIVE QUESTIONS, POSITIVE ANSWERS, NEGATIVE ANSWERS, POSITIVE OUTRO and finally NEGATIVE OUTRO.
From here each part of the script was loaded into cells and this meant I could load the csv file into my processing sketch and construct through the csv rows and columns.
After spending some time with the code I needed to sort out the physical button situation. With help from Cat we managed to set up my buttons to key presses, this was an easier and quicker solution but could only be done with an Arduino Leonardo. The wiring was a bit tricky but once in the buttons were very secure. I taped the board, Arduino and some wiring to the underside of the top panel of the button box. This meant any wiring hopefully wouldn't have strain on it.
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The garage space for the gallery was in a bit of a state. After we went down for our first walk through it was decided that a fresh coat of paint would make a huge difference. For two days we came in and sanded, filled and painted the walls and plinths. It was great to be a part of every aspect of this show and it really felt like a community spirit putting it all on. The space looked much better after we had painted and I feel it was time well spent.
These are some progress pics from the workshop...
Final Export
Overall I'm extremely pleased with my final outcome. It is exactly how I had originally pictured the machine to look and I feel I met the criteria of this brief. I enjoyed watching people interact with the work however I have made some observations about how my work has been interacted with. Button bashing is a huge problem, people see the colourful buttons and immediately want to smash them as quickly as possible. I had added supports inside my lasercut box however next time I may choose to use a thicker plywood. The next thing I would like to add is a count down clock to display for my text that's on a timer. My text is on a 20 second timer to allow people to comfortably read the instructions (in my mind I didn't want people to feel rushed when reading) however after watching people use it I realise that the general public can be extremely impatient. I think it would be better to have a visual timer to let people know it will move on itself without them touching every single button.
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