Pixelpope

Hey guys. I’m back. This time for real! That means I will try and update this blog on an almost regular schedule again. The reason is that I’m finally(!) starting to work on my bachelor thesis and my subject is a fun one: Generated interactive design/art. Thus, I figured, I could use this site again and post some interesting things I find during my research. Or while randomly browsing the web for cool visuals during breaks, whatever you call it.

You have seen this stuff many times before, mostly known as video games, but during the last couple of years this has become an interesting playground for designers and artists.

Tools like Processing, VVVV, or OpenFrameworks have emerged and try to help get your ideas onto the screen really quickly and today’s computer performance allows thrilling home-grown productions. Ok, you don’t really need a lot of horse power to create something fun, but… sometimes it helps. Personally, I’m thrilled by the ease of use and speed of Apple’s Quartz Composer, a graphical editor that even lets the novice create interesting animations in a matter of minutes.

The real fun begins, when you add touch interfaces, audio and video input, or interfaces like MIDI controllers, Wiimotes – basically whatever device you can plug a cable into or connect via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi can become a controller these days.

All this also means, that if you have anything cool looking, you could and should let me know so we can share the beauty with others.