Manipulation of time

pace of time
rate of time
passage of time

Proposing a project experimental level that will develop tools used for manipulating time in game.

Direct human input
generally thought to be multiples of real time (x1)
-slider bar
-numerical input

Indirect human input
reaction to human interaction.
-speed (activity and rest) (cars?)(from 1st person, as you move faster = time slows down)
-acceleration
-position from X
-public set/group (lines of sight)
-elevation above sea level
-street/building
-sound? decibals? tone? pitch? preassigned code?
-lighting quality? brightness? sunlight? natural/artificial?
-weather? temperature? sun UV exposure?

Proposing a project experimental level that will develop tools for tracing rest/activity in game.

form - minimap showing moving bodies in red, stationary bodies in blue?

method - 2 identical levels, 1)exploritory 2)diagram for minimap
- attach sphere to players
- create opaque red/blue (perhaps more shades to be developed as spectrum of rest ->

activity is refined.
- use flowchart programming to hide spheres when not moving, to reveal spheres when moving.

development - evolve level to include refined spectrum of red -> blue
- evolve level to distinguish between speeds (higher the speed, brighter the red?)
- evolve level to distinguish between accelerations (higher the rate, brighter the red?)
- develop method to record 2d minimap for analysis/overlay/manipulation (play slow

mo?fast?)

Schedule
-Programming Paradigms (Stanford)
-Zizek Talks
-Text on architectural representation, drawing, perspective, modelling
-Text on time, music
-Text on contemporary art theory
-Crysis Wars
-Essay writing, Poetry
-Hand drawing, diagram study

The Representation of Architecture and its Porosity using Computer Games: the exploitation of a disjunct relationship between the experience of virtual and real time.

Summary:
The premise of this research is born out of the concept of “Porosity” and its development into “Real-Time Porosity”. My work will be linked to this larger project and as such seeks to develop an understanding of concepts that gain from and give to the development of “Real-Time Porosity”, but with a particular focus aimed at investigating the relationship between virtual and real time.

This research will begin by interrogating the definitions of “virtual” and “real”, by extending Panofsky’s analysis of space to an analysis of time and by applying Zavoleas’ “comparative evaluation” in formulating a concept of “relative reality”. In this way the initial meaning of “virtual”, that is to encapsulate anything that is temporarily simulated, will be challenged by potentially more appropriate terms including, however not limited to, digital, cyber, synthetic, apparent and imaginary.

This work will establish an understanding of the relationship between virtual-time and real-time. Assuming that this relationship is one of disjunction, this research aims to explore the ways in which we may exploit such a disjunct relationship for analysis and assessment. This work will investigate the implications of using computer game engines as platforms for simulation, with a significant interest towards how we experience time and how we have the capacity to change the nature of that experience within virtual environments. This research will adopt Giedion’s understanding of constancy and change in order to elaborate on notions of dynamic, constant and static time, within computer games and in regards to architectural experience. This research will likewise use Galia Hanoch-Roe’s analysis, of musical space and architectural time, to explore concepts of linear and non-linear passages of time and their significance to architectural representation.

This study will explore the relationship between subjective and objective perceptions of time within environments driven by computer game engines. This research will propose advantages and disadvantages attached to such a method of simplification and its usefulness for comparing information. A project will be established that links virtual-time events to real-time events, in both their disjunction and their correspondence. Its aim will be to explore concepts of melding a multitude of peoples’ distributed experiences into an observable event; such that it can be used for analysis and implementation in real-time, and, by consequence, for the development of “Real-Time Porosity”. The study will be critically analysed in terms of its restrictions and limitations inherent from its use of a computer game engine as a medium.

A key part of this research will be exploring and developing an appropriate way of representing temporal experiences in architectural space. The non-static form of such representation will use Albert Mayr’s many notations of time, together with variables from Richard Goodwin’s “Porosity Index”. Additionally this research will explore other variables such as the rest and activity of bodies, history of experience in nominated space and location in time to generate new forms of representing architecture and its Porosity.

This representational study of architecture and its Porosity will bring about questions of recording and storing information. This research will aim to address the ethical and conceptual problems associated with such archiving as well as directly test methods of archiving information collected through the use of computer games.

All these areas will combine into a substantial and significant body of research that will aim to steer the Real-Time Porosity project to consider the dynamic nature of the experience of time and how it may be exploited in order to deliver a thorough representation of architecture.

Section III - Panofsky

"The picture has become a mere "slice" of reality, to the extent and in the sense that imagined space now reaches out in all directions beyond represented space, that precisely the finiteness of the picture makes perceptible the infinteness and continuity of the space." p 60-61.
-c.f. judith duquemin? australian.

"the subjective visual impression was indeed so far rationalized that this very impression could itself become the foundation for a solidly grounded and yet, in an entirely modern sense, "infinite" experiential world. ... The result was a tranlation of psychophysiological space into mathematical space; in other words, an objectification of the subjective." p 66.
-here lies the big picture of the implication of perspectile development through the investigation of art, namely painting, for Panofsky. The importance of its exactness/correctness/trueness comes second to its ability to transform finite into infinite, as well as, objective into subjective. Its symbolism therefore can be seen in its unification of perceptions between people. Different viewers (although subjective in nature) now have a platform to share space (objective).
-it would be interesting to produce something in the opposite movement. To create an "subjectification of the objective perspective". This combs against the sought after unified theory but opens way for a rethinking approach.
-maybe this would take the form of purely visual, such as geometry only being correctly perspective from a single viewpoint.

-to take this further we could imagine the same kind of exporation taken into architecture

Perspective after 1520?
-what became of the development after Albrecht Altdorfer's "Birth of the Virgin", Munich.
-development of 2pp?
-development of 3pp?


Section IV - Panofsky
"Perspective subjects the artistic phenomenon to stable and even mathematically exact rules, but on the other hand, makes that phenomenon contigent upon human beings, indeed upon the individual: for these rules refer to the psychological and physical conditions of the visual impression, and the way they take effect is determined by the freely chosen position of a subjective "point of view."" p 67.
-This "contingency" is important because it identifies the relationship between order and disorder (the unpredictable nature of human behaviour)
-it also seems a bit cyclical: the representation of space depends on the subjects location within space.
-does this transfer to time?: the representation of time may depend on the subjects location in time.

of space-time and the introduction of orientation/direction.
3x1 space (distance)
2x1 time (duration)
deviation?

what about positive/negative?
3x1 is already assuming we have +/-
2x1 is not.

therefore
2x1 can become:
1x1 if we add +/-

then arises the question...what are we measuring from? what is 0? Present? is this convenient? to have a reference point that is constantly moving in real-time?
where would the reference point be in our constructed virtual time?
at present we measure time from a western biblical event. year 0 (assuming year 1 is 1st anniversary, then 2009 is 2009th anniversary). the time at present is positive(+) 16:09 17th, August, 2009.
2009 years
734016 days =previous*365.25 +31(jan)+28+31+30+31+30+31+17(aug)
17616400 hrs =previous*24 +16hrs
1056984009 mins =Previous*60 +09mins
63419040540 secs =previous*60

real time
-constant
-subjectively curved (space)
-objectively straight (time)
-linear (time)

virtual time
-dynamic/changing
-objectively straight (space, linear perspectival construction)
-subjectively curved (time, non-linear, can be manipulated, jump from 1 moment to another in an instant)
-non-linear (time)

Need to check out:
-Carl Andre, conceptual artist
-Jeremy Till, architect and writer

further investigation into perspective:
-Perspective, Projections and Design - Mario Carpo and Fredreique Lemerle
-Architectural Representation and the Perspective Hinge - Alberto Perez Gomez

Perspective Construction and the realm beyond its edges:
There is some interest towards the relationship of spatial representation on a flat surface, whether it be on paper or computer screen.
These "errors" and "glitches" which occur when a computer attempts to construct 3D space beyond its borders holds questions about its relavence to the real.

If the rules we use to construct linear perspective is true/correct at these safe angles (FoV of 60deg), then should they not hold true/correct at greater angles?

We can appreciate that time is constant at low speeds, at safe speeds (maybe c.f. low energies). But we know that as we approach high speeds, time changes.
If this kind of analogy is transfered to space for safe regions, be it angular, outside of object/bodies, within environmental bounds, related to LoD (level of detail),
then our understand of static space, represented in the game shifts towards a relative and subjective understanding.


Musical Space:
-each person experiences music differently, novice, enthusiast, musician, audience.
-each person's experience of music changes through time:
-micro: within a piece timing changes
-macro: over time, listening to the same piece over and over, brings about a different temporal experience
-an audience of people each have their individual experience while listening, but in doing so also share a spatial experience.
-subjective vs. objective exists in music like architecture
-the representation (notation) determines many constant factors
-the experience (playing/listening) determines other dynamic factors, tempo, tone, rest, emphasis, etc.

name?
X-scape
-development of MVRDV's metacity/datatown.
-"escape"
-x can stand for
social
cultural
financial
land
data
vision
sound
tactile

sensors and sensing
-ultrasound sensing?
-covert, harmless to humans,
-no need to have "sensor on person"

mapping movement
-vehicle use in the city
parking
traffic flow
pollution
transitions between modes: rail,road
transition between states: stationary,moving

-shopping + people
attachments to carts + baskets
idling, checkout times, pathways, timing (weekends -seafood+frozen goods, everyday -fresh fruits+vegetables)

time as a method of coordination/synchronisation

time as a method of reaching new solutions
-going through the imaginary to extrapolate infomation applicable to the real.

time compared to perspective
-straight line perspective abstract of real (simplified so we can perform analysis)
-non-linear time abstract of real? (complicated in form)
-personal perception of time translated to mass perception of time (simplified in nature)

nature of linear time
-context is of linear time is time itself
-before and present segments give particular wisedom to after
-it is convenient to look at time as a linear progression since it bears directly applicable resemblence to our real time. The projection of immediate future events can be strongly related to present events and adjacent past events.
-however if we were to make correlations between several events of a particular nature (eg, change of architecture, change of government, change of cultural beliefs) we cannot limit our scope to a linear depiction of time.

First chapter of Perspective as symbolic form - Panofsky

Psychophysiological space: "perception does not know the concept of infinity; from the very outset it is confined within certain spatial limits imposed by our faculty of perception. And in connection with perceptual space we can no more speak of homogeneity that of infinity. p 30

perspective drawing - "expressions of ideal relations" p 30.

"there is a fundamental discrepancy between "reality" and its construction." p 31

objectively straight vs. subjectively curved. p 34, c.f. Kepler.


Last monday, the issue about producing population came up.
-a large group of people represent a large virtual population?
-a small group of people represent a large virtual population?
-a individual controlling a group of people? flocking? multi-controlled (like controlling an army in starcraft?)
-a individual responsible for producing a group of people? with/without ghosting? with ghosts + collision?
-the problem that is faced is a question of the best representation of real people.
in the case we take 30 people on a simulated scenario their reaction will be true for 30 people
then when we take a 2nd set of 30 people on the same scenario with the 30 re-instated as NPAs, the reaction of the 2nd set will be true for 60.
it continues that as we build up a population, the last 30 people will have acted in reaction to a population around them.
we could then phase out the initial redundant data (eg, the 1st set, 2nd set)
the problem then occurs: the 1st set would have chosen direct straight lines to exit. since such space was vacant. by removing them, we make a gap in a crowd which will attract a new set to "fill" the gap.


second chapter of perspective as symbolic form - Panofsky

Elaborates on "antique" angle perspective - one which projects onto a curve, rather than a plane (eg, linear perspective).
"The paradoxical phenomenon that so long as antique art makes no attempt to represent the space between bodies, its world seems more solid and harmonious that the world represented by modern art; but as soon as space is included in the representation, above all in landscape painting, that world becomes curiously unreal and inconsistent, like a dream or a mirage."
-p 42-43.
"Did antiquity have perspective?" or "Did antiquity have our perspective?"
-p 43.
reference to "Dasein" p 44.
""aesthetic space" and "theoretical space" recast perceptual space in the guise of one and the same sensation: in one case that sensation is visually symbolized, in the other it appears in logical form."
-p 45.

ideal vs real

using simulation in computer games to extract information that can be used in the real world.

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Initial analysis of Giedion

"every generation has to find its own solution to the same problem: how to bridge the gap between inner and outer reality by reestablishing the dynamic equilibrium that governs their relationships."

"The question which at present comes everywhere to the fore and which cuts increasingly deeper into the marrow of this century, is the relation between constancy and change. In other words - as a result of bitter experiences - we are concerned to know what can be changed and what cannot be changed in human nature without disturbing its equipoise."

[equipoise: an equal distribution of weight; even balance; equilibrium.]

-Sigfried Giedion. Space, Time and Architecture. Forward to the 13th printing (4th Ed.), from Zurich, Doldertal, Dec 1961. p 10.

"The presentation of objects from several points of view introduces a principle which is intimately bound up with modern life - simultaneity."

-Sigfried Giedion. Space, Time and Architecture. p 436.

Analysis

Upon reading Giedion's analysis of cubism being the movement to explore the new construct of the time, that is spacetime; the obvious observation is that this multi-sided representation of objects, if it did seek to push the language of art (namely painting in this case), could be seen as just an encapsulation of 4 dimensions back into 2. (it is now flat and static).

That is the same kind of process that computer gaming will conduct, but back into 3. (it is now flat and constantly moving).
Whether this can become a process to transform it into 4 is important. (can it be spatial and constantly moving?).
Whether this can become a process to transform it into 5 is also important. (can it be spatial and dynamically moving?).

Another thought that comes to mind regarding Giedion's analysis of cubism is the restriction of the art medium. In some ways the cubist research and development movement was setting up rules for themselves, and attempting to move about freely within such rules. Why represent 3D on a 2D canvas? why not just jump to sculpture? That way there is no need to see from below, above, within and without. It may be because through their "establish to escape" process, they may actually discover some importance about basic elements. It may also be because they are helping people to see; by taking the large amount of information and representing it as a manageable amount of information.

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Initial analysis of Michelis

Compared to Giedion, Michelis's view of art is somewhat condescending. He gives even smaller appreciation for art critics. He also acknoledges a conceptual understanding, but concedes a technical understanding of spacetime.

"the acceptance of the idea of the absolute infinite from Newton has brought to modern thought contradictions which I am not competent to explain. Nevertheless, the attempt to define the terms gives me the opportunity to remark that they stem from an abstraction that the scientific mind draws from real life in order to understand it." p 76.

Michelis's strength lies in his overall analysis and taxonomy.

"The artistic feeling of space. Three things must be distinguished: the physiological perception of space; the philosophical conception of space, and the artistic feeling of space." p 76.

"Thus the Egyptians allegedly had a conception of one-dimensional space, the Greeks of two-dimensional, and the Gothic period of three-dimensional space, but only in the interior of their buildings, whereas the Renaissance conception was three-dimensional both for the interior and the exterior. To us finally today is attributed a four-dimensional conception. I do not know whether for future generations a five-dimensional space is predicted." p 72.

The immediate question which comes to mind from this include the contradictory nature of a developing dimensional conception of space coninciding with the reduction/simplification of architectural history (classics to modern), esp with ornament. Is some kind of relationship present? Is a transference from one to the other defined by scientific development? Is it just coincidence?

Space-Time and Contemporary Architecture
P. A. Michelis
The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Dec., 1949), pp. 71-86

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+keywords

space time virtual real
spatial
virtual (temporarily simulated, therefore already related to time and simulation)
imagin* imagined imaginary imagination
architect* architecture architectural
porosity

topic?
On the Periphery of Porosity:
the edges of public and private access
The Parameters of Porosity:
components and their relationships

blurring the boundaries
further breakdown of privacy and publicity ("state of being public")
addition or subtraction? starting with a blank canvas of privace space and filling in? or starting with a blank canvas of public

space?
questions about representaiton

what is the nature of these edges?
what is the nature of the boundaries between public and private spaces?
What happens to the edges if we make real-time observations of porosity?
what are the major determinants which define these edges?

What advantages/disadvantages come from mapping edges as opposed to volumes.

on lens:
granular system (particles)
-dilute (dilution, solution? questions separation)
-concentrated
-packed
-crystalline

micro - nature of the grains?
macro - nature of a group of grains?

vitality?
scalar?


Collecting Research Papers

Musical Space and Architectural Time: Open Scoring versus Linear Processes
Galia Hanoch-Roe
International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Dec., 2003), pp. 145-160

Between Space and Time: Reflections on the Geographical Imagination
David Harvey
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 80, No. 3 (Sep., 1990), pp. 418-434

Temporal Notations: Four Lessons in the Visualization of Time
Albert Mayr
Leonardo, Vol. 23, No. 2/3, New Foundations: Classroom Lessons in Art/Science/Technology for the 1990s (1990), pp. 281-286

Architecture and Alchemy
George Barnett Johnston
Journal of Architectural Education (1984-), Vol. 41, No. 2 (Winter, 1988), pp. 10-20

Space-Time and Contemporary Architecture
P. A. Michelis
The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Dec., 1949), pp. 71-86

Kant's Conception of Architectonic in its Historical Context
Manchester, Paula.
Journal of the History of Philosophy, Volume 41, Number 2, April 2003, pp. 187-207