Readings - Nick Teichen
In 1988, the year I was born, Marc Canter was developing new kinds of software. Nicknamed "Father Multimedia," Canter worked on computer programs with a user-friendly notational system similar to a musical score. He saw the future as one in which the user could "compose" on the computer by bringing together text, art, video, music, sound clips, and animation into a single "composition." Canter is the founder of the software company Macromedia, which is still successful to this day.
In 1979, almost ten years before I was born, Michael Naimark released the Aspen Movie Map. This virtual map allowed users to navigate through Aspen, Colorado using a laserdisc. This map was one of the first instances in which a user could "travel" virtually. I see this technology used frequently today, but not in the context of art. One example is GoogleStreet, also known as Streetview, where users can navigate a map of a city and view photographs of what the street actually looks like in various places. Another example would be house tours on realty websites. In these "tours" potential buyers can "walk" through the rooms of the house -- all at their personal computer.
I see video games as one of the forefronts of art. Virtual environments pose a challenge for artists because unlike a 2-D artwork, the artist has to create a scene or an object that can be viewed and from an almost infinite number of angles. As computer technology becomes better and better, artists will be able to make computer and video games more realistic. In the future we probably won't see as many goal-oriented video games (games in which you have to say, kill a monster, or beat 100 levels), but instead more open-ended games like The Sims and Second Life that let users explore their personalities and socialize via virtual worlds. The artistic elements of the video game graphics will be an important part of the success of these games.