conspiracy cabaret
"Conspiracy Cabaret", was another Spaceboiz event that I helped with. The theme for this event was an illuminati-inspired stage front, so I thought it was a good idea to bring back the eye system I created for "Hand-Psye Coordination".
Like most of my interactive visuals, we had a controller at the back of the dancefloor that controlled the eye's rotation and pupil. Given that there was only one eye to control this time, I opted for a joystick for the controls. For an added bonus of comfort, we had a massage chair for the operator to sit in as they played with the controls.
Client:
Year:
Spaceboiz
2023
Conjured Using:
UNITY
SPOUT
RESOLUME ARENA
I didn't want to reuse the same project without adding anything new to it, so I explored what else I could control with the eye. I mapped the throttle lever on the joystick to the HSV wheel, which allowed the user to change the colour of the eye's iris.
I had been researching the mechanic of "phyllotaxis", a formula that describes the spiral pattern that naturally occurs in many species of plants. Using the formula, I plotted the points using a HLSL shader and drew lines across those points. This resulted in an array of intersecting lines that created different moiré effects as the points rotated.
Given that the eye can already dilate, I thought it would be a fun interaction to zoom into the eye to reveal the phyllotaxis. Once the visuals have swapped, the joystick could change the angle that the points were plotted along, drastically changing the geometry of the patterns. They were also able to add or subtract layers to adjust the amount of moiré generated.
