To be honest, I haven’t thought much about my final project proposal for this class. Simply because I have other things on my plate, one being the fact I desperately need to create a new resume/portfolio site for myself (you know in order to get a job for when I graduate this Spring). I’ve interned as a programmer with the same startup for the past two summers, but this past summer my internship involved more than just software development. I was thrown (not by choice) into the world of UI/UX. It turns out I really enjoyed the process of website development outside the arena of extending the functionality of PHP modules for client WP sites! I’m hoping to brand myself in the job market as someone who understands good user interface & user experience… as well as someone who knows how to make mockups and sitemaps come to life in the world of code; a designer and a developer. That being said, just attaching my github link on job applications will not be enough if I want to break into the world of UI/UX on the professional level. So I’ve been haunted by the task of making a resume/portfolio website which can feature both my skills in UI/UX and programming.
Then about an hour ago I got an email reminding the class that we are moving into the phase of final project proposals… so why not kill two birds with one stone? My final project will also function as my personal resume/portfolio website. A really popular trend right now in UI is having interactive or moving features on your home page/landing page.
Ex.
https://couleecreative.com/ (mouse tracking interaction)
https://whiteroom.agency/ (fixed video background)
These sites give me inspiration for my own website and this class has provided my the tools to import some kind of visually interactive/moving component.
Now the question is what…
If I’m going to make some digitally interactive feature for my website, I want it to be visually pleasing of course, but also personal to me. Which is why I’ve decided to create some sort of visual simulation of Conway’s Game of Life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life
This game is very important to me from both a mathematical and philosophical point of view and I can’t spend too much time writing about why that is because this blog post would turn into a 20 page essay (ask me my opinions about it in person if you want).
Regardless. It seems as though there is enough data online to help guide me in the programming of this simulation. Theres a bunch of github links on people’s own attempts to replicate “Life” (ex. https://github.com/nomatteus/conway-game-of-life-js)
Since my project will be web based and I have plenty of experience programming in javascript… I plan to create this visual simulation via JS.
Today our sub prof. showed us how to do some 3D animation!!!! We used Blender to build a coffee cup, however due to time constraints, my coffee cup is still in the gray scale stage… Comparing this process to our work in java (processing), something felt off about this method of creating visuals. Although I loved how modular the blender program was, I missed having the code that explained the logic of whatever visual manifestation was on my screen. I’m definitely more partial to programming in a text editor or applications like processing because I’m visually able to read, write and design an algorithm. With Blender, the visuals are impressive, but I’m left wondering “What is the computer thinking?”
