1. Properties of the Medium
LCC 2700: Intro to Computational Media
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

2. Film developed by Moving the camera Splicing the film
Changing acting to suit the camera ….
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

3. Properties of the Digital Medium
Procedural: Patterns of Rule-Based Behavior
Participatory: Patterns of Participation
Encyclopedic: Patterns of Labeling, Sorting, Segmentation, Categorizing, and Grouping
Spatial: Patterns of Navigation and Boundary Definition
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

4. Computational Media Are Procedural
Computer programs execute code, enact scripted behaviors
The behaviors are conditional
If monster is nearby then make sword glow.
The behaviors are parameterized
( perform greeting-behavior (state-of-mind) (relationship-to-person) )
The behaviors can be replayed with variant inputs
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

5. Conditional, Parameterized, Replay Worlds
Spacewar! (1961)
Payroll !
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

6. Conditional, Parameterized, Replay Worlds
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

7. Conditional, Parameterized, Replay Worlds
Grand Theft Auto 3
The Sims 2
Civilization
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

8. Computational Media Are Participatory
We do not just watch or listen, we act & have an effect
We contribute, manipulate, & copy digital objects
We make & receive customized versions of digital objects
We join virtual communities mediated by digital formats
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

9. Computational Media Are Participatory
Wikipedia : distributed authorship of information resource
MMORPG Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games
Music and videos distributed online
Altering of photographs, other digital objects
Movement from few news authorities to blogosphere
Growth of videogames, passing movies in sales revenues
Growth of interactive TV
Success of ebay and Craig’s list
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

10. Interactive = procedural + participatory
The interactor asks
what does it do?
what is my role?
what will happen if I….?
When behavior of computer matches actions of interactor in a coherent way, we create the experience of agency
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

11. Eliza as example of interactivity
What made Eliza work?
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

12. Computational Media Are Encyclopedic
Encyclopedic in 3 ways:
Amount of memory
Kinds of media
Universal Machine: Representational Power
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

13. CM as Encyclopedic: Capacity
1 book = 100,000 words = 1MB
1 cd-rom = 650 MB=650books
1 gigabyte = 1000 books
100 GB = 100,000 books
Internet = ∞ books
Google indexing 5 research libraries = 15,000,0000 bks
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

14. CM as Encyclopedic: Convergence of Older Media Forms
Hot Norman
Storycorps
Scott McCloud
Reliving Last Night
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

15. CM as Encyclopedic: Binary Code = Universal Machine
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

16. Patterns of Representation
Whenever I design a chip the first thing I want to do is look at it under a microscope -- not because I think I can learn something new by looking at it but because I am always fascinated by how a pattern can create reality.
Danny Hillis The Pattern in the Stone
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

17. Spatial Design
Navigable space
Where am I within the space?
What is the extent of the space?
What are the proximities within the space?
What are the boundaries? How do I enter & exit?
How do I get from place to place?
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

18. Zork
>down The trap door crashes shut, and you hear someone barring it.
Cellar You are in a dark and damp cellar with a narrow passageway leading north, and a crawlway to the south. On the west is the bottom of a steep metal ramp which is unclimbable. Your sword is glowing with a faint blue glow.
>north
The Troll Room This is a small room with passages to the east and south and a forbidding hole leading west. Bloodstains and deep scratches (perhaps made by an axe) mar the walls.
A nasty-looking troll, brandishing a bloody axe, blocks all passages out of the room.
Your sword has begun to glow very brightly.
4 Properties: Procedural – Participatory – Encyclopedic - Spatial
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

19. What is Immersion?
Spatial property: boundaries, exploration, being there
Encyclopedic property: inexhaustible, detailed, consistent
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium

20. Summary of Key Concepts
4 Properties/affordances of Computational Media
Procedural
Participatory
Encyclopedic
Spatial
Interactivity comes from maximizing procedural + participatory properties
Immersion comes from maximizing the spatial and encyclopedic properties
Intro to Computational Media W eek 2: Properties of the Medium