Computational Craft: Lessons from Playful Experiences at the Intersection of HCI, Textiles, and Games
- 1. Computational Craft Lessons from Playful Experiences at the Intersection of HCI, Textiles, and Games Gillian Smith Northeastern University @gillianmsmith www.sokath.com
- 2. background ➤ computer science ➤ artificial intelligence ➤ human-computer interaction ➤ beyond computer science ➤ fiber arts ➤ jewelry ➤ history ➤ language ➤ play ➤ music
- 4. why craft? ➤ tangible, tactile ➤ rooted in old traditions ➤ feminine and feminist practice ➤ intergenerational ➤ storytelling ➤ aesthetic importance
- 10. eBee 2016 Most Innovative Tabletop Game Award
- 11. ebee game ➤ connect patches ➤ build circuits ➤ light up LEDs ➤ team-based play ➤ collaborative and co-operative modes
- 12. value-driven design ➤ social ➤ collaborative ➤ creative ➤ intergenerational
- 13. affordance-driven design ➤ tactile ➤ simple ➤ borrowing motifs ➤ aesthetics
- 14. bridging crafting and making ➤ laser cut pieces ➤ soft circuits ➤ traditional quilting techniques ➤ hand- and machine-sewing
- 15. design accidents ➤ from workshop design to board game ➤ educational game
- 16. lessons learned
- 17. hoopla
- 18. human-computer authorship ➤ quotes pulled from online source ➤ keyword-driven color palette ➤ build keyword set ➤ generate collections ➤ human stitching
- 19. craft as computation ➤ algorithmic ➤ rendering process ➤ symbolic ➤ formal
- 20. computation as craft ➤ labor-intensive ➤ aesthetically-oriented decisions ➤ reflective ➤ shared authorship
- 21. generative design as formalism ➤ what is an embroidery sampler? ➤ curation of sets
- 22. public-facing ➤ what do individuals find compelling ➤ ephemeral nature of generated art
- 23. threadsteading
- 24. game for embroidery machines?! ➤ …and also for quilting machines ➤ strategy-based play ➤ machine stitches play-trace
- 26. affordance-driven design: machine ➤ slow play ➤ unknown score ➤ limit sewing back over spaces ➤ single unbroken line
- 27. affordance-driven design: medium ➤ even density ➤ hexagon motif ➤ storytelling
- 28. permanent traces of gameplay ➤ visualize the “story” of play ➤ commitment to making a move
- 29. play as generative design ➤ mechanics chosen for desired aesthetics ➤ players as enactors of rules ➤ many emergent maps ➤ player-executed procedural content generation
- 30. gender and computing ➤ computing in unexpected locations ➤ automation of highly gendered activity ➤ software for embroidery/quilting ➤ what else can we make?
- 31. craft, computation, and play
- 35. …and respecting old ones
- 36. Acknowledgments ebee team: Celia Pearce, Isabella Carlsson, Jeanie Choi threadsteading team: Jim McCann, Lea Albaugh, April Grow, Chenxi Liu computational craft: Anne Sullivan, Josh Tanenbaum, Karen Tanenbaum funding: Science Gallery Dublin, Disney Research Pittsburgh, Northeastern University College of Arts, Media, and Design @gillianmsmith www.sokath.com