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The Prix Ars Electronica Archive is a collection enabling search and viewing of all the submissions since 1987. The award-winning projects are documented with catalogue texts and audio-visual media. All other submissions can be searched by title/artist and displayed with year, category in list form. Please cite the credits (artwork name, artist and photographer) and only use the materials if your article is related to Ars Electronica.
Menagerie
When we began our design of 'Menagerie', we wanted to create a playful virtual world that was dynamically alive and interactively confrontational.
The central elements of the encounters in 'Menagerie' are behavioral simulations of abstracted animal forms. Five different species of animals enter and exit the visible space through 'portholes' and 'doorways' that materialize near the user as she/he roams the infinite ground plane beneath. The animals appear to come from an invisible world behind the doors, beyond the virtual world explored by the user. 'Menagerie' is structured as a series of events comprised of different combinations of animals that emerge and interact with the user according to varying behavioral scenarios.
Through interaction, the character of the animals is revealed. For example, in one event, as the user moves toward a group of birds gathered on the ground, they take off and land at a slightly further location, baiting the user to advance again, eventually disappearing into a porthole that closes as the last bird flies in.
The motion of the individual animals is modeled with algorithms that simulate the physical qualities of movement. Many of the techniques employed are inspired by the robotics field. Legged animals respond to simulated gravity as they walk and run in various gaits. They are able to spontaneously plan footholds on the ground so that they appear to be dynamically balanced. Gait shifting algorithms were developed that minimize the dynamic perturbation of the body as legs undergo a phase shift during the gait transition period. Birds and other flying creatures accelerate when flapping their wings and bank realistically into turns.
Technical Background
HW: SGI Crimson Reality Engine, Fakespace “BOOM 2C ", Crystal River
“Beachtron” 3-D Sound System
SW: BOOM Software “VLIB-SGI”, Beachtron Software, Custom Simulation Software
The central elements of the encounters in 'Menagerie' are behavioral simulations of abstracted animal forms. Five different species of animals enter and exit the visible space through 'portholes' and 'doorways' that materialize near the user as she/he roams the infinite ground plane beneath. The animals appear to come from an invisible world behind the doors, beyond the virtual world explored by the user. 'Menagerie' is structured as a series of events comprised of different combinations of animals that emerge and interact with the user according to varying behavioral scenarios.
Through interaction, the character of the animals is revealed. For example, in one event, as the user moves toward a group of birds gathered on the ground, they take off and land at a slightly further location, baiting the user to advance again, eventually disappearing into a porthole that closes as the last bird flies in.
The motion of the individual animals is modeled with algorithms that simulate the physical qualities of movement. Many of the techniques employed are inspired by the robotics field. Legged animals respond to simulated gravity as they walk and run in various gaits. They are able to spontaneously plan footholds on the ground so that they appear to be dynamically balanced. Gait shifting algorithms were developed that minimize the dynamic perturbation of the body as legs undergo a phase shift during the gait transition period. Birds and other flying creatures accelerate when flapping their wings and bank realistically into turns.
Technical Background
HW: SGI Crimson Reality Engine, Fakespace “BOOM 2C ", Crystal River
“Beachtron” 3-D Sound System
SW: BOOM Software “VLIB-SGI”, Beachtron Software, Custom Simulation Software
Michael Girard (US), studied mathematics and computer science at the University of California. Bachelor of Science degrees in each field. Graduate studies at the Advanced Computer Center for the Arts and Design at the Ohio State University.
Susan Amkraut (USA), bachelor’s degree in fine arts and in Computer and information science from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Graduate studies in the Computer art program at ACCAD.
Susan Amkraut (USA), bachelor’s degree in fine arts and in Computer and information science from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Graduate studies in the Computer art program at ACCAD.