ben yee | blog » LiveWeb

Live Web (2008 Fall)

benyee — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:50:57 +0000

The World Wide Web has grown up to be a great platform for asynchronous communication such as email and message boards. More recently this has extended into media posting and sharing. With the rise of broadband, more powerful computers and the prevalence networked media devices, synchronous communications have become more viable. Streaming media, audio and video conference rooms and text based chat give us the ability to create content and services tailored to a live audience. During this course, we focus on the types of content and interaction that can be supported through these technologies as well as explore new concepts around participation with a live distributed audience. In this course, we look at new and existing platforms for live communication on the web. We leverage existing services and use Flash, PHP, AJAX and possibly Processing/Java to develop our own solutions. Experience with ActionScript/Flash, PHP/MySQL and HTML/ JavaScript are helpful but not required.

HearMirror + Bubble-UP

benyee — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 05:32:08 +0000

Over the last week, I’ve put my focus into these two individual projects, while hoping to contribute in an efficient way to my group project next week (clinq.tv).

HearMirror has been in true conception stage for some time. It started with wanting to dump my brain out for added insight and communication improvement. It evolved into a project about voice recording and analysis as a method for getting at the content and abstract qualities from stream of thought with minimal conscious intention. Macspeech Dictate is a piece of software which I may implement for content, but this is unlikely, since the abstract aim seems to be more interesting. For digging into the abstract, I’ve spent a lot of time looking for off-the-shelf software applications focused on voice analysis, tinkered with the Minim library in Processing, and perhaps will ultimately write a script to utilize Praat, “a free scientific computer software program for the analysis of speech in phonetics. It has been designed and continuously developed by Paul Boersma and David Weenink of the University of Amsterdam.” This tool is useful in that it can record input or analyze existing files. The output can be numeric and visual, and there are lots of functions that I don’t even understand at this point. I’ve spent lots of time today trying to better comprehend the physics of sound and the ties between it and happiness, which in tern has led me through a flow of reading, video watching, and self-test taking… I should set a rigid plan if I’m to get this thing accomplished, and I need to submit some ideas for my Thesis project and the Winter Show. Ahhh, breathe.

Bubble-UP is coming along, but implementing all the features I want, while paying attention to time-consuming aesthetic details, and getting any kind of useful gameplay right are a bit overwhelming. Time is beginning to get away, but thinking bigger picture about “later” as only we humans do according Daniel Gilbert’s book Stumbling on Happiness, which I just started, has taken over my mind recently, which might be good or bad, but yea… I don’t really know. Sleep.

James Clark knows music

benyee — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:28:36 +0000

For BUBBLE-UP, a game I’m developing for LiveWeb and FlashofFlash, I had been using backgroud music from the classic Nintendo game called Bubble Bobble. After all, this game from 1986 did play a large roll for my initial game idea. Anyway, I decided to get some original sound for the new version of my game, so talked to my good friend. With just a little initial guidance, he hit the target on the first try. Have a listen here.

Bubble-Up

benyee — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:43:12 +0000

Description and concept:
Bubble-Up aims to bring two users together through a playful game, using breath, virtual bubbles, prize(s), and live video. The original concept came from an effort to encourage regular breathing and eating for an individual, through a simple switch and visual stimuli. It has since developed into an experience with a broader yet still specific audience. With controllers resembling sip-n-puff, this game would fall into the assistive tech realm.

References:
- squirrel game
- character inspiration
- classic bubble bobble game for nes
- Eat’em up from class
- some flash tutorials
- assistive tech software
- more assistive tech software
- live web notes
- some existing flash games
Current progress:
prototype v.02 (nov 20)

What speed is 27 and what happened to cruise control?

benyee — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:45:58 +0000

There’s a belief that life in New York is a race, more so than in other parts of the country and the world. I sense that …yea for sure, but I’m actually more inclined to support the idea that belief is a matter of perspective, and perspective should be semi-controllable, hopefully to a healthy level. Last night, I stepped back and puffed on a nice cigar (old men do that at least once a year right) and reflected by watching my entire flickr photostream. Today, my perspective is loaded — honestly, it’s overloaded and fuzzy as hell. For me, moving forward is crucial, but keeping up a rapid pace seems increasingly difficult and decreasingly significant. As I begin the final lap at ITP and start to see how being 30 might look, anxiety is saying “hello there” … I wonder if I need to shift into turbo mode, focus on well-being and balance, or something completely different. I’m pretty sure I just need some air, a great meal, or a tough workout.

Anyway, on a practical note, I’ve generated some names for the projects I’m currently persuing.

clinq.tv (metal sound in reference to coins/slots for an online tv watching and betting experience) [emerging + flash]
plexinko (it’s a “bean machine, plinko, quincunx” thing made of plexi, metal, pegs, and marbles) [crafting]
hear mirror (i’m gaining insight / perspective on myself through the sounds of my voice) [rest of]
bubble-up (it’s literal in that bubbles are going upward in the game, but also a play on meetup cause players are connecting through bubble blowing) [liveweb + flash]

For next semester, I’m thinking of thesis, another class, and an internship…(RGA? BAM? Frog? Schematic? IDEO?…hrmm)

Telepresence field trip

benyee — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:42:58 +0000

CISCO invited some ITP groups to their offices in midtown this week in order to experience a telepresence demo. They were interested in our ideas for applying the technology beyond the business mindset. It was pretty impressive, though the potential for surveillance/big-brother potential was a little unsettling.

2 Ideas for LiveWeb final

benyee — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:23:22 +0000

1. My first idea is a 2-player game. I made an initial version for the class, Designing for Constraints. The mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics, of the game are on my blog. For Live Web, I aim to migrate it to AS3, make it playable remotely, and most importantly implement live video as part of the game-play and reward. I’ve made some progress in the last week here.

2. My second idea is an application for parents who travel a lot and their children. It would be called something like “Read Your Little One to Sleep.” It would be for education and bonding. The library would expand with time, but I think having at least two books to choose from at first would be good. Live audio, pictures, and text would be the most important elements — possibly video as well.

My last twenty hours

benyee — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:34:31 +0000

were kinda great — three main reason.

1. A talk on the ITP floor from…

Zoran Josipovic, Ph.D. is a research scientist and an adjunct professor at the Center for Neural Science and Psychology Dept., New York University. His main interests are the nature of consciousness and its relation to the brain, global versus local theories of consciousness, and the functioning of anti-correlated neural networks. Zoran is a long-term practitioner of meditation in the nondual traditions of Dzogchen, Mahamudra and Advaita Vedanta. He has also worked as a psychotherapist and a bodyworker and has taught meditation at Esalen Institute for many years.

2. AS3 progress for a game I’m working on for FlashOfFlash and LiveWeb. The late-night session was productive because I was alert, and all distractions from people were gone, as they were either asleep or out socializing.

3. The bomb dream, which was like a vacation to a new world:
… swimming like flight … large man-made pond with islands, pockets of people, couples, plants … warm and fluid … video game … exercise and adrenalin … strength and play … odd smelling … coaching with specific exercise advice … bday dinner with crab legs times two … gum gift wrapper with chocolate inside …

(4.) Also, a peer shared this super interesting video, which sounds like my initial thoughts for the RestOfYou final project. Thanks, Hulya.

A lil’ working Whiteboard

benyee — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:44:18 +0000

In LiveWeb, we were introduced to the usage of Shared Objects with the Flash Media Server a couple weeks ago. I was focused on the Dating Game project, so didn’t document any work for that week. I plan to use Shared Objects to a much further extent for my final project, which I intend to be an online game to be played by two individuals. For now, here’s an example of a whiteboard, which can be drawn on by any user simultaneously. I gained an understanding of how it works, but in terms of expansion, merely changed the line style and rtmp address. The code comes from week 6.

SMS live (a concession with TextMarks)

benyee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:21:24 +0000

So for the SMS week in LiveWeb, we were exploring the usage of a web service called textmarks.com.

First, Alberto, Sanjay, and I were interested in building a simple application that would allow a user to submit a location (cross-streets) and get both the nearest train station and immediate schedule. This would help commuters to avoid missing their train, and it would make late night and solo travel a bit safer. We ran into a block and consulted both Shawn, Dennis (teaching Designing Around Place), and Robert who made something similar (muniriders.net) and provided a link to the GTFS data exchange.

Second, I thought I would just allow a user to type a word and have an image displayed on the a web page of that word, which could be sorta cool in some specific contexts, but it wasn’t working and I wasn’t too passionate about it.

So finally, I played with the provided code for week 8, and have a small application that allows a user to change the color of a web-page through SMS. See it here.

A great example of this service blown into full utility is thenewvote.com. Nice work guys!