click on the thumbnails to view the larger images.
Well Gill said "You've been lucky with the weather" and that was true. We have now tested the game three times in Millennium Square and the weather has been spectacular. This time rather than invited teams we had members of the public who had responded to an open call. Having just got back from Singapore, I was rather jet-lagged and not as fully prepared as I wanted to be. The equipment for the game needed sorting through and right up until the start, I was checking pieces for the game.
It is interesting to note that by now Kenton and Tim have full confidence in the game. I was pleased at this and have continued to enjoy there help and support. I am now wondering what happens next. I know from previous projects that it is so easy to get really enthusiastic about development work and then the funding drys up and things wane. I hope this is not the case with this project, as I've put a lot of work in and now have a genuine interest in the technology.
We started the game with two teams. By now, Tim and I are familiar with the foibles of using 3G phones and the problems that new users encounter when working with them. We deliberately over emphasise some aspects of button use and underline that download times can vary. The game sets off and this time it seems less clear how things will develop, as we only know a few of the people participating. I run off to the Gents to change into my red shirt. I am taken aback as Carole Sartain (one of the participants) immediately phones me on my mobile, asking me for one of the codes in the game. I tell her that she must find another code first, but mentally award her top marks for lateral thinking!
It is now clear to me that the location works well and that the codes and content are stable. I have realised that a second iteration would probably employ more human interactive elements. I am reminded of the human chess game in Patrick McGoohan's seminal sixties TV series The Prisoner and various scenes from Twin Peaks. This would involve actors and perhaps weaving a video game style of narrative. In this respect the codes and technology might be more in the background but act as the essential link up to virtual elements.
After 27 minutes, and to my surprise, team 'A' complete the game. Their time is quicker than the Hewlett Packard crew on the first test. The second team seemed to be ahead and working much more cooperatively. Finally, all is revealed. One of the participants is a games developer. He reveals that he discovered the cached URLs in the history area of the software and that he figured out that the pieces could be juggled around until it was cracked. This is the most intelligent response so far to the game and one that of course we should expect. In a slightly embarrassed retort he tells me that the best games are those that people try to cheat at, as if to offset my surprise at the time that the game has been completed in.
Later I sit with Kenton and chat about the whole project. My reflection is that the trials and development seem like the beginning of the process and not the end. I share my concern with Kenton about next steps. He reminds me that things are 'open source' and that I'm free to go off and do more projects if I want to.
click on the thumbnails to view the larger images.
Watershed vs HP trial (below left to right) - Simon (artist), Ruth, Alex, Holly, Gareth (Watershed), Pieter, Ben, Tom, Vanessa (HP).
Well we've now tested the game twice. The first test involved Watershed playing Hewlett Packard in Millennium Square. This went extremely well and I was satisified with the relationship between the locations and the codes. The faster phones had only just arrived and with an hour to spare Tim and Kenton frantically charged them and swopped the SIM cards to get the GPS going. By now we have become familiar and an understanding has emerged on developing the project. In playing the game HP took a brut logic approach, while the Watershed team were more methodological. This was interesting to observe and Tim and I subsequently discussed ways of evening out the game, which would require placing more information at the instruction end.
The second test involved twelve artists, many of whom had not met before. This showed us the degree to which team effort helped in solving the game. There is an issue about familiarity with the software and operation of the phones. Once this has been acquired then users are impressed with the potential of the codes and the phones. I have formed the impression that the text reading function is the most useful to use, as it requires no connectivity.
I have thought a lot about pushing this technology within an open environment. I am conscious of having stayed up late and worked hard to get to the point that we have reached. We have started talking about developing a bluetooth server which is another interesting advance. It feels to me that the collaboration between myself and HP needs to be longer term and more immersive for us both to reach the benefits. I discussed this with Tim and he agreed.
I've been thinking a lot about my relationship with Watershed over the past few years. I've seen it through two Directors and been involved on a number of levels (artist, adviser, consultant, audience, bar user). The redevelopment of the space has been intriguing to watch. The most radical idea is that the Café/Bar is the production area. I was hostile to this idea, siding with the view that Watershed needs production facilities, although I cannot discount the sheer volume of deals and discussions that take place in the space. I still feel that a separate production space is important for artists and have lobbied Dick on and off now for several years.
Strangely, I have taken up residence at table number 35 in the new bar area. I can check my mail, work on projects and recharge my laptop battery. Last week I demonstrated my 'I can read you' work using the active codes at table 35. I was surprised at the level of interest and enjoyed being a Hewlett Packard Sales Rep. Part of my work has been covert over the years - by necessity - as I have grappled with looking at human behaviour. This behavioural interest is essentially linked to how people use technologies.
The Slacker Tables in the new bar area have been a good example of human use of new technology. Initially Watershed locked down the bandwidth, so that only 'shed' projects could be accessed. I was a little disappointed at this although too shy to admit it to the staff. I noted that people enjoyed the laser cut metal design but quickly sidled off when it was apparent that they couldn't check their mail. The original Slacker Table was predicated on the principle that people will sniff out free bandwidth and sure they did.
So I was delighted when during 'Brief Encounters' the tables were opened up. I have observed now that they get constant use. Over the last two days I've had several enquiries regarding the tables, as somehow they have been featured on another web site [http://feed.proteinos.com/item/2766]. I am interested in this idea that physical and virtual living can be 'bi-focal' - gaze up into the physical world and down into the virtual one. This is my own take on ubiquitous technology, informed by observation. It seems to me that observation is central to the design process. The sharp corners on the first prototypes for the new tables were a complete oversight, as I had become very focussed on getting other design parameters 'right'. So it was essential to come up against the health and safety constraints, which although irksome at the time were an important part of the process.
Working with Tim and Kenton at HP has been rewarding. They are both insightful and encouraging while holding the same view as me - 'let's see what happens'. For radical artists, which I am not, there is almost a 'given' that working with corporations is problematic. The prevailing polemic is that they are capitalistic machines driven by the dollar. In this case however I have been pleased to find that they are interested in 'open source', human experience and genuine experimentation. I feel that I have been moderately useful to them too, pushing the thinking on the software development side and giving good feedback.
I have now built a prototype online game, triggered by the active codes. This was really unusable with the slower phones that we had borrowed, so it seemed better to demonstrate the project so far, as opposed to a full scale installation. Again there was some apprehension for me in dealing with this process, as I am used to working to deadlines and making good projects. As a commissioned artist, I make my living from this process and realise that often the commissioner needs results. My apprehension ebbed away when it became apparent that Watershed and HP were prepared to give me more time.
So our objective now is to develop 'I can see you' as a full scale trial virtual/physical game in Millennium Square in Bristol. We now have June dates to do this.