Creative coding and interaction design for media multiplicities: Challenges, paradigms and frameworks

Abstract

Media multiplicities are media artworks that employ multiple networked digital devices to create holistic aesthetic effects. Examples include the networked light artworks of Squidsoup, the Spaxels drone-mounted light performances, DrawBots, Siftables and many others. In multiplicitous media artworks, each individual device is a programmable node connected to other nodes via a network connection, and may combine any number of sensors and actuators. A number of development technologies support artists and designers to configure and create media multiplicities, but this domain offers new challenges for creative practitioners. This workshop aims to bring together experts in creative coding and interaction design to discuss and conceptualise frameworks for the practice of media multiplicities. Open challenges include: speed of setup; ease of hardware configuration; speed of code deployment; ability to model and simulate works in VR; network connectivity and stability; and understanding network, computation and power constraints.