Game + Art = Musical Fish

January 12, 2006 D. H. McKee

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Let’s get this out of the way first: Electroplankton isn’t a video game.
The best way to describe Nintendo’s latest software for its DS handheld system is that it’s like an interactive art installation that you hold in your hand. Tiny life forms swim around a virtual aquarium, and you can interact with them by touching the screen or making noise.
By recording four different sounds (one for each fish) over each other, you can create harmonies or a cacophonous mess. I usually end up humming a bass line, then trying to sing a lead guitar part and vocals on top of it. Once you have your parts recorded you can speed them up, slow them down or try a drumbeat with a different rhythm.
Similar playthings include “Volvoice,” a plankton that records your voice then lets you alter it in a variety of ways as you play it back, and “Nanocarp,” a screen full of tiny plankton that form shapes and patterns in response to the sounds of your voice and clapping hands.
Wired News: Game Art = Musical Fish

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About This Site

As a guy who occasionally curates art shows and wrangles artists together, I often have to edit and post artist bios, profile pictures, and artwork images. This can be a problem, since many artists and writers aren’t used to selling themselves. Artists rarely know how to present their art for display in a brochure, and writers aren’t used to writing about themselves.

Writers often treat the bio like it’s an interview or something. Maybe like they’re having a conversation with you, the reader. While it may work sometimes, the most common way to write a bio is to write in the 3rd person.

I’m like those writers, and I’m talking to you directly, unlike the common way to do a bio. You should see my About page. It makes sense to me, since this is a bit which describes my blog’s website. When I get famous enough that I don’t have time to talk to you, I’ll have an intern write everything in 3rd person. Until then, you get to talk to me.

Like blogs of old, this one is a personal document of the comings and goings of me. Articles I’ve written, links I’ve posted, videos I liked, etc. Here, a first-person perspective is the way to go, at least for now. So, this is my site. I’m D. H. McKee, a sometimes artist, sometimes writer. Mostly just a guy on the internet.