Properties of the Medium
Week 2 (b)
LCC 2700: Intro to Computational Media
Spring 2005
Janet H. Murray
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Film developed by
• Moving the camera
• Splicing the film
• Changing acting to suit the camera
• ….
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Properties of the Digital Medium
• Procedural: Patterns of Rule-Based Behavior
• Participatory: Patterns of Participation
• Encyclopedic: Patterns of Labeling, Sorting,
Segmentation, Categorizing, and Grouping
• Spatial: Patterns of Navigation and Boundary Definition
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Computational Media Are Procedural
• Computer programs execute code, enact scripted behaviors
• The behaviors are conditional
– If monster is nearby then make sword glow.
• The behaviors are parameterized
– ( perform greeting-behavior (state-of-mind)
(relationship-to-person) )
• The behaviors can be replayed with variant inputs
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Conditional, Parameterized, Replay Worlds
Spacewar! (1961)
Payroll !
http://lcs.www.media.mit.edu/groups/el/projects/spacewar/
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Conditional, Parameterized, Replay Worlds
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Conditional, Parameterized, Replay Worlds
Grand Theft Auto 3
The Sims 2
Civilization
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Computational Media Are Participatory
• We do not just watch or listen, we act & have an effect
• We contribute, manipulate, & copy digital objects
• We make & receive customized versions of digital objects
• We join virtual communities mediated by digital formats
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Computational Media Are Participatory
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Wikipedia : distributed authorship of information resource
MMORPG Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games
Music and videos distributed online
Altering of photographs, other digital objects
Movement from few news authorities to blogosphere
Growth of videogames, passing movies in sales revenues
Growth of interactive TV
Success of ebay and Craig’s list
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Interactive = procedural + participatory
The interactor asks
what does it do?
what is my role?
what will happen if I….?
When behavior of computer
matches actions of
interactor in a coherent
way, we create the
experience of agency
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Eliza as example of interactivity
What made Eliza work?
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Computational Media Are Encyclopedic
Encyclopedic in 3 ways:
– Amount of memory
– Kinds of media
– Universal Machine: Representational Power
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
CM as Encyclopedic: Capacity
1 book = 100,000 words = 1MB
1 cd-rom = 650 MB=650books
1 gigabyte = 1000 books
100 GB = 100,000 books
Internet = ∞ books
Google indexing 5 research libraries
= 15,000,0000 bks
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
CM as Encyclopedic:
Convergence of Older Media Forms
Storycorps
Hot Norman
Scott McCloud
Reliving Last Night
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
CM as Encyclopedic:
Binary Code = Universal Machine
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Patterns of Representation
Whenever I design a chip the first thing I want to do is
look at it under a microscope -- not because I think I can
learn something new by looking at it but because I am
always fascinated by how a pattern can create reality.
Danny Hillis The Pattern in the Stone
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Spatial Design
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Navigable space
Where am I within the space?
What is the extent of the space?
What are the proximities within
the space?
What are the boundaries? How
do I enter & exit?
How do I get from place to place?
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Zork
>down
The trap door crashes shut, and you hear someone barring it.
Cellar
You are in a dark and damp cellar with a narrow passageway
leading north, and a crawlway to the south. On the west is the
bottom of a steep metal ramp which is unclimbable.
Your sword is glowing with a faint blue glow.
>north
The Troll Room
This is a small room with passages to the east and south and a
forbidding hole leading west. Bloodstains and deep scratches
(perhaps made by an axe) mar the walls.
A nasty-looking troll, brandishing a bloody axe, blocks all passages
out of the room.
Your sword has begun to glow very brightly.
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
What is Immersion?
• Spatial property: boundaries, exploration, being there
• Encyclopedic property: inexhaustible, detailed, consistent
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium
Summary of Key Concepts
• 4 Properties/affordances of Computational Media
– Procedural
– Participatory
– Encyclopedic
– Spatial
• Interactivity comes from maximizing procedural +
participatory properties
• Immersion comes from maximizing the spatial and
encyclopedic properties
Intro to Computational Media
W eek 2: Properties of the Medium