This is the repository for my practice-based PhD project with Bath University and Bath Spa University, investigating methodologies for creating 'resonant', or high-quality, characters in computational art; characters which both influence, excite and spark the imagination of their audience, and are computationally-rich artefacts in their own right.
As well as an academic thesis, the project consists of two complementary artworks, or (more specifically) two different ways of invoking a small cast of characters: one text-based, the other a real-time computer simulation. The narrative of these artworks centres around two years in the life of a Yorkshire cunning-woman in the 18th century, and her discovery of a supernatural creature living in the wall of her cottage kitchen.
This is just a repository for the files relating to the project; for more information, please visit the Project's website.
- The prototypes and final code for the simulation, found in
/masterbeast; - Drafts of the text artefact, found in
/housekeeping; - Drafts of the accompanying academic thesis, found in
/thesis; - The markup and assets for the project's website, found in
/site; - Miscelleanous notes, screen captures and drafts, found in
/notes and addenda.
Most files can be opened with an ordinary text editor or other OS-level tools explorer. The development versions of the code-based projects, however, will require copies of Construct 2, Gamemaker: Studio and Visual Studio. It is only designed to function on machines running Windows 7 or higher: Mac OSX and Linux (all flavours) are unsupported.
Usage of this repo is subject to the License.MD agreement included with it on this repo.
(The simulation is designed to be used on a single target Windows machine in an installation environment, and may require hardware and software not mentioned here. This includes webcams and several more specialist sensor peripherals. If you have any questions, please email the author).
- Create a new user on your target machine called 'Rob'.
- Navigate to the folder
C:\Users\Rob\appdata\Roaming\masterbeast, creating the/masterbeastfolder as necessary. - Copy the contents of the
\masterbeast\masterbeast appdatafolder from this repo into the new folder. - Opening
masterbeast.exein the/masterbeast appdata/exefolder will start the simulation and open theEavesdropandPareidoliabackground applications required to run the simulation. You may need to tab intomasterbeastto get it displaying across the whole screen. masterbeastis designed to be displayed on a 1920 x 1200 touchscreen monitor in Portrait Mode.- Pressing ⇧+
D+Lwhile running the simulation will bring up the debug menu.
- Construct 2 & Gamemaker: Studio
- Zotero
- Scrivener
- git
- Sourcetree
- Visual Studio
- Inkscape
- Atom
- Audacity
- GIMP
- Microsoft Excel
- Arduino
- Scribus
- 18th Century by Douglas
- Wyld by David Manthy
- Linux Libertine by Philipp H. Poll
- Strange Newes by Feòrag NicBhrìde
- Chapbook and Chapbook Italic by Feòrag NicBhrìde
- IM Fell DW Pica by Igino Marini
- Caslonish Fraxx by Manfred Klein
- Kultur
- TMC LUX Lighting Engine by The Mojo Collective
- Clipping Mask by Webber
- Get Microphone Volume by HappyTearParakoopa
- exAudio by alexandervrs
- File Copy In And Out by Chris Bradel
- Draw Circle Width by Peter "tehwave" Jorgensen