Oilfish Game Alpha
The alpha version of Oilfish. This is a playable Level 1 of the game.
Two of your friends are hidden inside the maze and need rescuing.
Oilfish Game Prototype v2
Latest prototype of our game. Oil block movement is more grid-like and the dolphin has some rough animation.
Oilfish Game Concept Art
Our Hero
Friends
We are using google code to host our svn repository.
Oilfish Game Prototype
OilFish is a flash-based, online maze game being developed at the NYU Game Center. The player navigates a dolphin through a maze of oil, pushing oil out of the way to create new pathways. The player will encounter other members of the oceanic animal kingdom who need rescuing from the oil maze. The ultimate goal for the player is to free the other animals and escape the maze into open water. We are using the open source PushButton Engine to develop our game.
The authors of this game are Katya Hott, Chad Bullard, Zach Ross and Nien Lam. The Game Design Workshop is taught by Greg Trefry and Mattia Romeo of Gigantic Mechanic. Updates to the game, including design documents and links to the source code, will be posted to this blog.
AugTopia on Daily Marauder
The explosion of interest in geo-social only points to a larger trend in augmented reality demonstrated by other innovations in the off-Broadway workspace — merging actual and virtual environments in order to make interactions with technology more tactile.
Nien Lam and Scott Wayne Indiana’s next-gen AugTopia superhero toys contain cubes in their tummies that can be adjusted to simulate different QR codes, generating new on-screen super powers with each combo when held up to a webcam.dailymarauder.com, Full Article, May 2010
Motherboard TV reviews AugTopia
Also getting real, augmented-style: GI Joe. Augtopia is an action figure set that allows users to engage with a virtual environment, displayed on their computer screens. Talk about bringing a new dimension to playing in the sandbox). And it doesn’t involve a movie tie-in or Burger King.
Augtopia was developed at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, breeding grounds to other awesome projects such as Pac Manhattan. Yes, that is correct: Pac Manhattan used to let you run the streets of New York as the P-man himself or as one of those pesky ghosts. Unfortunately, not all good futuristic interactive experiments last. Let’s hope that Augtopia is one of those good things that endures.motherboard.tv, Full Article, April 2010
AugTopia
AugTopia action figures is a project I am developing at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program in collaboration with Scott Wayne Indiana (39forks.com).
AugTopia will debut at the ITP show Sunday May 9th.
Each original, limited-edition AugTopia figure is specially designed using emerging augmented reality technologies that enhance play with computer-generated images and scenes. Patterned markers located on the chest of each figure can be detected and tracked by any webcam-enabled computer to track the figure in three-dimensional space, blending computer-generated imagery with the real-world environment. These patterned markers are also interchangeable. Markers can be used in multiple AugTopia figures and traded among players, allowing for a wide variety of possible interactions using the same set of figures.
In conjunction with the collectible AugTopia action figures, the online AugTopia universe will serve as a social networking platform, enabling the upload of user-generated images and videos that bridge the real and virtual worlds.
The core group of four prototype AugTopia action figures and the AugTopia website (AugTopia.com) will be introduced at the ITP Spring Show on Sunday, May 9 from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. and Monday, May 10 from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (721 Broadway between Washington and Waverly Place). Visitors will be invited to handle the prototype figures, and Scott and I will be on hand to demonstrate the augmented reality capabilities.
Antenna Design Workshop – January 13-15
Created by Nien Lam, David Phillips and Allison Walker
ITP held a workshop with Antenna Design. We were given the assignment to ‘design an intervention (= installation or an automated machine) for “interactive services” in public space which will generate a new interaction amongst people. An “interactive service” is a “mechanism” which provides some service or product for people. It is a kind of hybrid object/environment, such as an automated vending machine, information or entertainment kiosk, street furniture, etc. My team created a micro-destination station for our NYU Bobst Library for people who need to decompress and create a sense of community or communal experience. There were 5 separate floors, each with a different destination (ordered by altitude: underwater, beach, rainforest, mountainside, night sky) and each was given unique attributes. Every station had increased oxygen flow, headphone jacks, lighting control, and richer soundscapes depending on how many people were sitting with you.
It took a few days for us to come to this conclusion however…
Day 1: Our initial idea was a coin-based game that would be played in a planetarium up and down the stairs. The biggest issue was that our concept wasn’t site specific. We were told to literally go to any physical location and create a site-specific concept.
Day 2: We decided on the Bobst Library. We thought of a variety of games that could be played from floor to floor and on the ceiling, finally landing on relaxation. We kept seeing people walk away from their desk to the outside and just stare into nowhere, presumably decompressing from their homework for 5-10 minutes.
Day 3: We created a Keynote presentation and dragged an entire bench in for our presentation. We had a great time!
Photos of the final presentation were taken by the incomparable Jonathan Ystad
Elemental Stick
Completed 12/2009
Using your breath, you can remotely control the 3 elemental forces of nature (wind, fire and water) through a 6 foot bamboo cane.
The idea is based on the Chilean rainsticks that recreate the sound of rain when they are flipped over. The Elemental Stick allows for control of the forces of nature by the use of your breath. Mother Nature or God would perhaps use this type of interface to control the elemental forces. As you blow into the remote (shorter bamboo cane) the sounds of wind, fire, or water coming from the long bamboo cane will grow louder and the lights will become brighter in addition to changing color based on the element selected. Twisting the remote, ie. altering the tilt, will change the control between the 3 different elemental forces.
Elemental Stick and Remote Demo
Construction and Testing
- Arduino Pro Mini’s are used for the microcontrollers
- Wireless communication is done via the Xbee’s
- A thermistor is used for the breath sensor
- The BlinkM MaxM, available on Sparkfun, is used to light the fiber optics
- The MP3 Trigger, also available on Sparkfun, is used for audio playback and storage
Testing Electronics
Testing Elemental Stick
