CPS Week 4 - Place - Train with Space

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Theme:

Place.

Context:

- Interactive media often focuses on the user's interactions with objects, but we can also allow the user to tinker with the environment, which in turn, can effect the objects within it. Tinkering with the environment can change the relationships between objects by altering the context; in Balance, the angle of the platform would determine the subsequent events in the interaction (what would happen to objects, where they might want to move, etc): https://youtu.be/kLxxoUdjRI0

- Different contexts have different rules for acceptable behaviour and unnacceptable behaviour. While standing close to someone may be a sign of affection or intimacy in some contexts, it is a necessity in a public space such as a train, and does not suggest intimacy.

Method:

Create a train environment in GameMaker where you can control the spacing between the people and objects.

Response:

Initially I had intended to illustrate the discordance between being physically close to people on the train, while inside feeling very distant from them. I set about creating pixel art for a train carriage which roughly approximates the Metro train interior of a carriage in the Belgrave/Lilydale line, which I often find myself on. I also then created pixel art for people in different possible positions: standing, sitting, holding the bars and poles. I then created a mock-up scene of the interior objects and people, and used this as a reference to created lists of the positions of all of these objects, relative to the start of the train. I then created an object which would loop through these lists and draw each object/person according to these lists. Finally, I created a scaling factor which would modify each individual position on the lists according to the mouse x position (and also scaling/stretching some of the objects like seats to this scaling factor as well). The result was the ability to stretch the train back and forward, creating more space between the people.

I considered making animations for the people to stretch out or change positions at different scaling points, but for the sake of time, opted instead to change their colour: from red at the closest proximity, to blue at the most stretched out. This dramatically altered the mood of the piece at different scaling points; I began to project negative feelings of anger onto the people when they were red and close together, and feelings of relief and calm when they stretched out and became blue. I decided to build on this sliding scale of emotion even more by introducing sound. I used two pieces of audio: the first, "Inside Train Sound Effect" by Alexander (CC BY-NC 4.0) from orangefreesounds.com which simulated the sounds of being on the train, and the second, an untitled song by Andrew Peters (a demo song for a game we are collaborating on) featuring slow, electronic and meditative sounds. The train sound effects are prominent when the people are close together, and as the train is stretched, the pitch is lowered dramatically according to the scaling to make the train sound further away; simultaneously, the volume of the meditative piece is increased. 

Despite the "intimate" physical proximity to others on trains, we are not expected to engage with them - quite the opposite. People are expected to keep to themselves, take up as little space as possible, make no noise, and not react to each other. It is an environment which requires us to inhibit and stifle ourselves. We often retreat to internal worlds; music, podcasts, books, work, which takes us far away from the people around us. The "stretched" version of the train may be thought of as a representation of this internal state of distance. Or, if taken more literally, it may simply illustrate that we would be far more comfortable on public transport if we had more space.