-
Evolving musical bytecode #2
Following on from the first BetaBlocker genetic algorithm bytecode experiments, in addition to the “most different notes” fitness function I added a similar calculation for the first derivative (ie. the difference between the notes in time order). This was an attempt to steer the evolution away from simple scales and into more complex patterns. (defn…
-
manSEDANse 2011
I was honored with an invitation to present some thoughts on open source/free software at this year’s manSEDANse festival in Tampere. It was nice to talk about the connections between Germination X, Naked on Pluto and Betablocker DS with some quick live demos, and catch up on the developments of open hardware projects such as…
-
Evolving musical bytecode
At it’s core, Betablocker provides a simple virtual machine for playing with music which is ‘unstoppable’ (any combination of instructions can be executed). It started off originally as a Fluxus scheme program, then got rewritten in C++ for the Nintendo DS, and has now been ported to Supercollider. I’ve built yet another Linux commandline version,…
-
slub in Paris
Some random pictures from some excellent (and at times very loud) few days in Paris. Thanks to Sony Computer Science Labs and also the Paris contingent of the TPOLM demo crew for coming out to support us. The gig was extensively recorded, so hopefully more about this soon.
-
Lirec meeting in Bamberg
Last week was another Lirec meeting in Bamberg, where I was able to present an in depth description of how Germination X works. I also had the chance to talk with SICS/mobile life lab (one of the other project partners) about how we can take the game forward with the aim to provide some studies…
-
Emotional Colour Map
This is the emotional colour map for Germination X. It’s a 22 by 8 sized image, with 8 colours for each OCC emotion (those we haven’t done yet are white). From left to right, these represent: LOVE, HATE, HOPE, FEAR, SATISFACTION, RELIEF, FEARS_CONFIRMED, DISAPPOINTMENT, JOY, DISTRESS, HAPPY_FOR, PITY, RESENTMENT, GLOATING, PRIDE, SHAME, GRATIFICATION, REMORSE, ADMIRATION,…
-
BetaBlocker DS test tones
After a week of heavy development on Germination X, and with a fast approaching performance, it seemed the time to dive back into Gameboy DS homebrew and get the bits and pieces of assembler code I’d been playing with together into something I could build more sounds from. After getting the low level stuff working…
-
GX – messages, colours and continuous worlds
A big update for Germination X today. The main new stuff includes: The process of moving around the world is now more continuous, as the land is split into sub-tiles that are loaded 9 at a time. When you move out of the central tile the 3 at the back are discarded while the 3…
-
New plant spirits and dandelions
A large part of the recent work on Germination X has been finalising the character design for the plant spirits. We need something which can exhibit some connection with the permaculture plant layer the spirit represents along with a way to express emotions with the restrictions of the browser platform. This is an image from…
-
Isometric engineering
The first report from south western Sweden where I am on unofficial residency/hacking retreat in the environs of the Tjärnö Marine Research Laboratory. This is a great place for my main task, to focus on Germination X, and I’m starting with new isometric ground tiles. I’m aiming for the feeling of roots and interconnectedness with…