Other Projects
GOLDLICH
2017A virtual creature / haunted skeletal jewelry. The Lich extends itself, perpetually extracts more lengths of chain from the terrain. It's body is animated by a real-time physics simulation. As the hand at the bottom feels it's way around, momentum imparted increases as it climbs up the chain. Eventually, the chain falls apart, segments of the Lich fall to the ground. The cycle begins again.
This project was a study in 3D modeling and procedural animation. I would eventually use some of the techniques I worked out with this piece for Fire Underground.
DOWNLOAD HERE
THE WHOLE WORLD
2017Wander the surface of a naked man as that same naked man. Delve into the depths of the inner regions, or go for a joyride on a moon rover. Ride a giant phone into the exciting world of online dating.
An early foray into 3D - which is to say I didn’t yet know how to do anything in 3D. Most of the assets are sourced from the asset store or elsewhere. The game uses “Mario Galaxy” style gravity, including for the moon rover.
Exhibited:
The Very Best Des[s]erts on Planet Earth - Pittsburgh PA
Now Play This Festival - Sommerset House, London
Fanciful Bodies - LikeLike, Pittsburgh PA
An early foray into 3D - which is to say I didn’t yet know how to do anything in 3D. Most of the assets are sourced from the asset store or elsewhere. The game uses “Mario Galaxy” style gravity, including for the moon rover.
Exhibited:
The Very Best Des[s]erts on Planet Earth - Pittsburgh PA
Now Play This Festival - Sommerset House, London
Fanciful Bodies - LikeLike, Pittsburgh PA
Ghost in the Machine
Artist Assistant to Larry SheaGhost in the Machine presents the history of labor, technology, and media history of Pittsburgh as a spectacular parade in augmented reality.
I modeled a wide variety of objects including train cars, trams, printing presses, gas lights, radio towers, televisions, and more. Many of these objects were rigged and animated to march in the Parade (Kon Satoshi’s Paprika was ain important reference). Each major “era” was personified by an “angel”. The Angel of Electrification shown to the left is inspired by art deco / flapper aesthetics.
This work came as I was trying to develop my skills at 3D modeling, and was a great way to practice.
HORSE GAME: A FRIEND YOU CAN RIDE ON
with Adeline Ducker2017
HORSE GAME is a mobile game and thinly veiled rideshare satire designed to be played on the Arcade Backpack.
Aided by a magic / demonic pocket mirror, players must guide their trusty and majestic animal companion, portrayed by Nick, through both in-game city streets and the real-life Hammer Museum courtyard. Players can use the joystick to examine a map of their surroundings, but must tell their driver - either by shouting or by shoving - which way to go.
It matters how you get there.
EXHIBITED:
Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK (2018)
UCLA Game Art Festival, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2017)
Aided by a magic / demonic pocket mirror, players must guide their trusty and majestic animal companion, portrayed by Nick, through both in-game city streets and the real-life Hammer Museum courtyard. Players can use the joystick to examine a map of their surroundings, but must tell their driver - either by shouting or by shoving - which way to go.
It matters how you get there.
EXHIBITED:
Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK (2018)
UCLA Game Art Festival, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2017)
PACHINKO WITH NICK
2016Launch me into the machine and watch me tumble chaotically among pins, spinners, and pinball bumpers. Earn more Nicks to play with by landing me in comfortable chairs and couches. Land me in my dad’s desk to earn a jackpot (+50 Nicks).
Another early study with 3D and photogrammetry. My friend Sofia Staab-Gulbenkian helped do a 3D capture of me with photogrammetry, which I turned into a helpless ragdoll.
UM TV PALS
with Peter LuAction Game for many many players. Just connect controllers and GO. Supports up to 10 players at once! Bring food to TV for power, knock out opponents to win.
TV PALS is multiplayer only and requires gamepads or smartphones.
I did the following things on this project:
- 3D modeling and animation
-
technical art
-
all visual effects and sound design
-
playtesting
-
lots of the coding too
DOWNLOAD HERE
SNEAKY CACTUS: CACTICAL ESPIONAGE ACTION
computer game, custom game controllers, live succulents2015
Live cacti serve as game controllers in a succulent racing game for two players. Poke and prod one of four rotating cacti to guide your character to the finish. Watch out for juice-slurping insects that patrol the desert. Replenish your plant’s moisture at one of several desert oases.
Each cactus corresponds with a direction in-game. When a player touches a real-life cactus, a disembodied cartoon hand enters the screen and prods the corresponding virtual plant. If the on-screen character gets spun around, a motor activates and the physical cacti suddenly rotate to match.
Plants were chosen for their visual appeal and for variety. It’s more challenging (or maybe just more painful) to move in certain directions, depending on which plant is facing where.
Painful pricks from tiny barbed needles disrupt the 'flow' of play, and the controller itself gradually wilts as players poke and prod its fleshy buttons.
Each cactus corresponds with a direction in-game. When a player touches a real-life cactus, a disembodied cartoon hand enters the screen and prods the corresponding virtual plant. If the on-screen character gets spun around, a motor activates and the physical cacti suddenly rotate to match.
Plants were chosen for their visual appeal and for variety. It’s more challenging (or maybe just more painful) to move in certain directions, depending on which plant is facing where.
Painful pricks from tiny barbed needles disrupt the 'flow' of play, and the controller itself gradually wilts as players poke and prod its fleshy buttons.
TAP OUT SAGA
mobile game, custom housing, ipad mini2014
TAP OUT SAGA is a two player game built for tablets, which transforms on-screen cartoon violence into an intimate and playful encounter with another player. The ruels are simple: tap to punch, don’t get punched.
The game features a variety of characters with unique abilities. Tapping and holding activates a special ability which uses the tablet’s accelerometer.
The Boulder tucks his arms into his suit and rolls based on the orientation of the device. This maneuver can deal massive damage, but also presents the risk of a quick defeat: if The Boulder’s opponent is able to win control of the device, they can roll the him backwards off the stage.
The Bat can latch on to her opponent and tap rapidly to drink blood and heal. The victim of this attack must shake the tablet vigorously to free themselves from The Bat’s grasp.
This game was my undergraduate thesis project at UCLA Design | Media Art
The game features a variety of characters with unique abilities. Tapping and holding activates a special ability which uses the tablet’s accelerometer.
The Boulder tucks his arms into his suit and rolls based on the orientation of the device. This maneuver can deal massive damage, but also presents the risk of a quick defeat: if The Boulder’s opponent is able to win control of the device, they can roll the him backwards off the stage.
The Bat can latch on to her opponent and tap rapidly to drink blood and heal. The victim of this attack must shake the tablet vigorously to free themselves from The Bat’s grasp.
This game was my undergraduate thesis project at UCLA Design | Media Art
NASA Jet Propulsion Lab - Ops Lab Design Internship
2013For around 6 months I was an intern at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, assisting with UX research around uses for emerging consumer tech like early Oculus DK1 and Xbox Kinect for telerobotics and space exploration. My role included shadowing and interviewing mission planners and scientists, helping design and run experiments, and prototyping different ways of visualizing and interacting with data from rover missions in 3D in Unity. The videos to the left show the main projects I was involved with.
Propheteers
multiplayer board game2012-2013
Propheteers is a competitive board game for four players about Prosperity Gospel and various christian media industries.
Each player becomes the face of an evangelical media empire. Franchised megachurches, radio talk shows, and traveling ministries are used to accumulate wealth and influence, which is then funneled into the aquisition of secret assets called Sins. Derived from real episodes of exploitative or self-contradictory behavior by evangelical preachers and their various media appendages, sin cards are each worth a certain number of points, and can be forcibly revealed by other players with certain cards. The player who manages to collect and keep hidden the most sins at the end of ten rounds is the winner.
Each player becomes the face of an evangelical media empire. Franchised megachurches, radio talk shows, and traveling ministries are used to accumulate wealth and influence, which is then funneled into the aquisition of secret assets called Sins. Derived from real episodes of exploitative or self-contradictory behavior by evangelical preachers and their various media appendages, sin cards are each worth a certain number of points, and can be forcibly revealed by other players with certain cards. The player who manages to collect and keep hidden the most sins at the end of ten rounds is the winner.
This game was originally designed for a class at UCLA Design Media Arts. I continued to modify the game and exhibited it at a handful of festivals around the world.