An escape game workshop was designed and delivered with museum games programmer John Sear and BOM. I developed a code cracker gadget used to display numbers that would allow players to open the locks of briefcases and safeboxes used in a demonstration spy thriller game. Students from Warwickshire College created their own interactive games for visitors at Market Hall Museum, Warwick by gamifying the exhibits. The code cracker used a Micro:bit to show numbers, letters, lights and play sounds using a joystick and buttons. I co-lead the workshops and also provided electronics activities at an opening event.
Shown at Market Hall Museum, Warwick. Code available on GitHub.
Lasercut glowing smiley buttons connected to a touchscreen happiness counter was created for acclaimed Scottish Artist Rachel Maclean. A glove was made with finger tip button combinations that triggered voice samples from speakers hidden within a large bear suit allowing Rachel to converse with shoppers at Birmingham's Bullring center. This lightweight system was programmed in Python, used a tiny Raspberry Pi computer and ran on batteries.
The costume was part of the 'R U Satisfied' film and featured in the BBC documentary 'Artist in Residence'. Shown on BBC TV and at the Bullring. As well as creating the embedded technology I also proudly appear as a character in the film. Stills from 'R U Satisfied' used by kind permission of Rachel Maclean.
An interactive, animated, 3D, Javascript website with embedded Tumblr, Soundcloud and YouTube media was created. A Wordpress plugin was developed so content could be managed by logging in. A circular radio player and rotating carousel gallery were also included.
3D shapes twist and colours change as you move through the different sections containing artwork, photographs, music and video by the art collective.
Ben Neal is an Arts-focused Creative Technologist and has worked freelance for over 20 years as Psicon Lab (pronounced "Sy-Kon Lab"). He collaborates with creative people who want to use technology, and brings their ideas to life.
He also co-runs Displace Studio an immersive Mixed Reality performance studio with co-lead Kerryn Wise. Their best known project is a VR experience called Facades which has toured internationally.