“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind,
flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, life to
everything. It is the essence of order and lends to all that
is good, just, and beautiful,” (pg. 58).
This is a response to Chapter 2 of Artful Design,
Expressive Toys".
I will be responding to Principle 2.4: Take Advantage of
Physicality
There exists a trichotomy between the absolutes of nature,
virtuality, and the inbetween. Even today, in our increasingly
globalized world, one can find themselves in the grip of nature;
pure, blissful, harsh, nourishing. However, one can also choose
the infinity of virtual reality. Most may choose to exist in the
middle: they might binge a
HBO limited series, or they might mountain bike. They
might choose to go to a concert, however they might also watch
most of that concert through the video camera in their phone.
Upon closer inspection you can see features that can traverse
all three camps. The beautiful natural world reclaims unused
stretches of tarmac, and technology models natural phenomena.
Principle 2.4 from Artful Design instructs us to
“artfully blend the physical with the virtual'' (pg. 80). Video
games present a medium to achieve this.
Aaru and The Field of Reeds, an epitome of the
sublime, merges the natural and unnatural. Golden fields and an
ever-setting sun glisten on the giant statues protruding out of
the ground. Minecraft gives us an infinite world with
infinite possibilities. Design is the name of the game. There is
an underpinning value of exploration which both of these games
present the user. Physicality has become virtualized down to
bits flowing through the processor of the computer. Likewise,
the bits flowing through billions of transistors have then been
given a physical body in the virtual game. While there are
quests, milestones, missions, goals, and achievements to unlock
in the game, a connoisseur of the sublime will see that the true
power lies in the untold possibilities of exploration, and the
inspiration which comes from having the ability to appreciate
what the natural world could offer us if we were to open our
eyes to it. Reflecting on this reading left me with the question
of who or what exerts a force on us physically and virtually,
and what it is that pushes back.
Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action there
is an equal and opposite reaction. The more we master the art of
blending the physical with the virtual, the more we lose the
ability to determine what is natural and what is not.
Artful Design postulates that “Profound technology
disappears,” (pg. 64). I am left wondering what is the “right”
path to commit to. What is the place of nature, technology, and
the artful design of both? How are we to employ the right
balance of all so as to not lose our beginnings completely? If
we push too far to one extreme, what will push back. I have
solace in the belief that the principle of
taking advantage of physicality requires us to
explore the physicality of our surroundings.