Immersive Environments : Art in Virtual Reality

Course Schedule

1. (1/25) Introduction

Histories of immersion and virtuality. A few example CAVE pieces; overview of the VR Lab; found-object assemblage in Maya and YG

2. (2/1) Creating Virtual Worlds

Reading:
Peter Lunenfeld, "VR: Camera Rasa"
Ray Bradburdy, "The Veldt"
Technical Demo: Introduction to Modeling in Maya
The Maya interface; Creating and manipulating objects; Creating materials; Polygon sculpting; Texturing; Light and Fog

3. (2/8) Triggers, Switches, and Overlapping Spaces

Grau, Virtual Art, Ch. 5: "The Suggestive Potential of the Interface"
Screening: Char Davies, Osmose and Ephemere; Using the userTrigger; the switch and selector nodes; timer and fader.

4. (2/15) Sound

Screening: Benayoun, World Skin;
Reading: Dyson, When is the Ear Pierced
Digitizing and editing sound in Audacity; the YG sound node; wandTrigger and pointAtTrigger

5. (2/22) Interactivity and Animation

Reading: Murray, Hamlet on the Holodeck Ch. 5: "Agency".
scripted animation in YG; exporting animation from Maya

6. (2/29) Avatars

Reading: Hayles, Embodied Virtuality
Screening: Brenda Laurel, Placeholder
Character animation in Maya; exporting to YG;

7. (3/7) Work Day

8. (3/14) Midterm Critique

9. (3/28) Python Scripting

Reading: Michael Taussig, Mimesis and Alterity, Ch. 2: Physiognomic Aspects of Visual Worlds
introduction to Python; variables, functions, and classes in Python; controlling objects in YG from Python

10. (4/4) Simulation

Reading: Jean Baudrillard, The Precession of Simulacra
scripting behaviors in Python; bouncing, gravity, springiness, friction, pendulum

11. (4/11) State Machines

Reading: Markley, Metaphysics of Cyberspace
Coding state machines in Python; connecting Python to other YG nodes

12. (4/18) Work Day, Advanced Topics as Needed

13. (4/25) Work Day, Advanced Topics as Needed

5/2: No Class, Graduate Crit Week

14. (5/9) Final Critique