[x] in progress: Aleph Null 2.0 for mobile/touch

[Jim Andrews]

Here is what I am currently working on, if you'd like to have a look. 
It's not finished, but it's coming along.  It's Aleph Null 2.0.

It's best experienced on a mobile device, phone or tablet, since one of 
the main new features is touch sensitivity. If you use it on a non-touch 
device, it's pretty much Aleph Null 1.0.

http://vispo.com/alephTouch/an.html

Of course, the more interactive a piece is, the more work it is to make 
it touch-sensitive. I've reworked the entire interface for touch. The 
controls now cover the entire screen; the controls are translucent; you 
can see the art in the background; you can tap the Aleph Null logo at 
top left to toggle display of the controls.

I have spent a couple of months on the interactive interface for touch. 
Which points out that the interactivity is an important part of the art 
of interactive art. It modifies the entire interface, informs the whole 
interface.

Part of the goal here is to make it feel more like an instrument of 
color music rather than a control panel of sliders. The main concept of 
Aleph Null is that it is an instrument of color music. You play it. No 
audio. You play it to produce pleasing color, shape, and motion that 
changes over time like music changes over time. Music is composed of 
tones of sound; Aleph Null is composed of color tones. You choose the 
"central color". All the other colors Aleph Null displays are random 
distances from the "central color". Random distances that do not exceed 
the "color range", which you set on a slider. The larger the value of 
the "color range" slider, the greater the color variation from the 
"central color". The lower the value of the "color range" slider, the 
closer all the colors are to the "central color".

I will add a few more things in 2.0:

There will be a 'gallery mode' and an 'interactive mode'. By default, 
Aleph Null will display 'gallery mode' until a player touches it, 
whereupon it will enter 'interaction mode'. 'Gallery mode' will not 
require player interaction for Aleph Null to display varietously.

'Gallery mode' will be supported by the ability to save configs and 
assign them a name and duration. Configs can be strung together into a 
playlist. Playlists can be edited.

Currently, Aleph Null requires player interaction to display varietously.

Another feature I will add is the ability to do some sort of 'finger 
painting'.

Also, I will add some new brushes.

Some people seem to find this piece a bit intimidating: too many 
controls all at once and not enough information about the controls. I'm 
thinking about ways to deal with that. Such as starting a sound file 
that talks about a control when the player first uses it. Not just in a 
'tech help' idiom but at a deeper level. The art and philosophy--as well 
as tech help--for the controls. Another possib is to reveal the controls 
gradually. First just the color boxes that open the color pickers. Then 
the next row. And so on, as the player plays.

Feedback appreciated.

Thanks,
ja