locative games: mobile media in education

 01_MSDM- Here is Paula Roush’s blog on locative media and toolkits, i m shortly presenting her project

NONONO iPOD VO.2-  NO OFFICIAL BUILDINGS NO LOCAL PEOPLE NO OIL FACILITIES
Saudi Arabia, London: msdm, 2007

Upload photos of public spaces, people and oil facilities from Saudi arabia on your i-pod, where a ban on photography in public areas has recently been lifted, but where tourists are still not allowed to photograph official buildings, local people nor oil facilities. More…

 02_The Tactical Sound Garden [TSG] Toolkit, Mark Shepard,

is an open source software platform for cultivating public “sound gardens” in contemporary cities. It draws on the culture of urban community gardening to posit a participatory environment where new spatial practices and social interactions within technologically mediated environments can be explored and evaluated. Addressing the impact of mobile audio devices like the iPod, the project explores gradients of privacy and publicity in developing a platform for public collaboration in shaping the sonic topography of urban public space.

user scenario

1. Upon entering a sound garden, participants connect to a TSG server using a web browser, create a profile, and download a small software application along with a library of sounds and environmental variables to their mobile device.

2. As one moves through the sound garden, the software periodically identifies the participant’s position within the geographic limits of the physical location. This positioning information is fed to a 3D audio engine, which subsequently outputs a real-time audio mix of the sounds in the garden specific to the current location of the listener.

3. To plant sounds, the participant uploads sounds recorded or stored on her/his device or selects from pre-existing sounds in the library. S/he then sets parameters for volume, loop, and schedule for playback. This sound, its parameters, and the current location of the planter are subsequently broadcast to all participants currently in the garden.

4. To prune sounds, the participant selects a sound within close proximity to where s/he is standing, modifies any of the parameters of that sound, and attaches a short message to be sent to the planter of that sound. These modifications are then broadcast to all participants currently in the garden. The planter then receives a message that the pruner has modified their sound, along with any message the pruner has provided.