The meeting outcome
So two weeks behind with the NodeBox. The theme “Coincidence” is now finalised as a python-file which you are able to copy and play with.
My Coincidence concept is based on “meetings”
I wasnt expecting that, It just happened, I met her coincidentally, I saw an old friend of mine. That was really a coincidence. These are explanations of meetings. How did you meet your girl/boyfriend or wife/husband? Was it a coincidence?
Coincidences are sort of surprises (in good or bad). When we meet people coincidentally, what is behind that moment. In what kind of situations, environments those meeting coincidences happen. We need company to survive and keep in balance. We go to bars, perhaps sit beside the computer and chat or create an avatar to meet people in Second Life or other meeting environments. So, it needs two persons and a sort of movement to make coincidence happen. What happens before that? You dont find people by coincidence. You have certain purposes for meetings whether the meeting is a coincidence or organized.
We are objects, we move randomly, we meet people by accident. We have common interests, we communicate with each other. We start our moving e.g. from home. We meet people at work, in the city, on the bus or train. In those places not by coincidence. We move in a certain area, using different random paths at random time but usually by purpose.
It could be so that by coincidence we are not meeting anybody during the day. But if we meet interesting people we might communicate. We have certain parameters like man, woman, name, outlook, hobby, interests, visual values and so on which are affecting to the interests of communicating with each other.
Using NodeBox to make my concept visible
How to visualize a meeting? I think by showing some movement. Moving itself is not so interesting. But for sure the coincidental meeting has to affect to the overall image somehow. So I decided to show the meeting using animations. At this time you are not able to use the brand new NodeBox for making animations. That feature is available later.
What happens when we meet each other. To put it simple and related to long time curve, we are duplicating ourselves, making children, giving a birth.
To reach the visual target I need to set all the parameters technically:
1) Creature = ant and its features like size, shape, colour, behaviour, meeting and total age etc.
2) Random moving and meeting regulations, where to start, where to aim, how long the movement lasts, when meeting is possible. Moving leaves visual trail behind, so I need to specify its parameters: how long, time when visible, colour, shape
3) Meeting produces a new ant, parameters for it like the parents have.
4) Parameters for the background and overall visualisation
Ants are moving, meeting and creating new ants. Their movement is affecting to the environment/background building new visual approaches randomly. I added also some text to describe the scenery and give a graphic design touch. You can play with 2d or 3d versions, where 2d is much quicker to use. I tried to keep the overall visualisation quite simple to let the animation catch the eye. Ants dont have sex or any individual parameters, those parameters could be interesting to get from webdatabases to create visually mixed new ants and give them computer generated names or show which ant is male and which female and so on. Perhaps I play with the meeting material after the workshop and develop some new NodeBox animations.
What is for?
It’s an experimentation not made with purpose. But for sure you can use it as a screensaver or just play with it or send it to your friends as a party invitation.
A couple of movies to describe the final outcome
