Art, Games, and Technology Research
In the simplest terms, the central thesis of Beverly Jones’ piece, Computer Graphics: Effects of Origins, is that the history of computer graphics and technology greatly informs modern day achievements in this realm. Jones, who is most likely an engineer, offers a more detailed and complicated explanation when she says, “Electronic and photonic art forms have been and will continue to be influenced by their origins and practices. In this paper the origins and practices of computer graphics from 1945 to the present are examined to reveal cultural patterns embedded in their material and symbolic form.” (Jones, 21) In other words, early computer graphics technology, going back nearly seventy years, can be seen in what Jones called the “conceptual frames” of new technologies.
Jones offers several historical examples to help illustrate her thesis including scientists working at Bell Labs in the 1960’s. In 1966, two such scientists, Knowlton and Harmon, “… produced gray-scale images from drawings, photographs and real objects by using data from a photodensitometer (a device that measures the degree of darkness of a photograph). “ (Jones, 24) Other examples at Bell Labs that were precursors to computer aided scientific and artistic work include E. Zajak depiction of a satellite orbiting in space in 1964 and in 1967, A. Michael Noll’s production of a film that “depicts a four-dimensional object rolling through our three dimensional world.” (Jones, 24) The work of these scientists, nearly fifty years ago, “ … prefigure the work of scientific visualization, in which things that have never been seen and may never be seen are presented as graphic imagery to stimulate conceptual thinking. This imagery augments thought formerly supported by alphanumeric and primitive graphic symbols.” (Jones, 24) While complicated to understand in the specific, Jones is painting a picture of how computer graphics today have come about because of the deliberate layering of one discovery upon another to achieve greater and greater success. Today’s computer and technology advancements are not something Jones likely imagined at the time she wrote the article in 1990.
Jones’ belief that early computer graphic advances influence current applications can be seen in many circumstances. In particular, I was exposed to one such example last summer during my internship at the HopeLab Foundation. HopeLab’s mission is to harness the power and appeal of technology to improve human health and well-bring. One of HopeLab’s most successful products is called Remission and Remission 2 – interactive video games designed to help children and teenagers with cancer fight their disease. The games place the players/patients inside the human body and use a variety of weapons such as chemotherapy, antibiotics, and the body’s own immune system. The games were designed specifically to motivate young people to stick to their treatment plans by improving self-efficacy and positive emotions. (HopeLab Website)
The creation of Remission and Remission 2 is an example of Jones’ thesis that early efforts in computer graphics inform more current incarnations. Unlike early video game design teams, Remission’s was comprised of programmers, artists, and scientists. In early video game production, the programmer and the designer were often one and the same. But, as games became more complex and computers more advanced, video game production took the basic platform for game design and added many layers including separate teams for programming and design. Sometimes, the design team is broken into sub-teams because the effects have become so refined and specialized. (Games Design Forum Website) In addition to the programming and design teams, Remission was developed with significant input from scientists who helped the designers understand the underlying human behaviors that would make the game successful. This unique collaboration speaks to Jones’ view that, “The development of computer graphics reflects trends diminishing the rigidity of boundaries among disciplines and applications. Contemporary work in disciplines formally untouched by computer graphics now reveal convergence … “(Jones, 22). Until the creation of Remission seven years ago there had never been a video game, based on scientific research, designed to address the issues facing young cancer patients. The well-documented development of Remission demonstrates how one type of technology created for a particular use can be enhanced and reused for purposed previously unimagined.
Hopelab.org,. ‘Hopelab’. N.p., 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
Jones, B. J. (1990). Computer Graphics: Effects of Origins. LEONARDO: Digital Image – Digital Cinema Supplemental Issue, pp. 21-30.
Thegamedesignforum.com,. ‘An Introduction To Videogame Design History’. N.p., 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
Wikipedia,. ‘Densitometer’. N.p., 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
Wikipedia,. ‘Video Game Design’. N.p., 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.