Nintendo DS Lite

Link to Code

Prompt

Assignment 1 explores this ambiguity in human language as well as the gap between human language and computer language. Completed in pairs of two, you will work with a partner and exchange detailed descriptions of a personal object you have lost in the past. Then based on the descriptions, you will re-create the objects for your partner in p5.js.

Source

Partner Description

I was paired up with KT Son and we exchanged notes about something we lost in the past. She gave me the following description:

I lost a Nintendo ds lite with a light blue silicon case. I was in the early stages of pokemon diamond version, so I had a little pichu (the prime state of pikachu before evolving) keyring attached to it. The nintendoo ds itself was white, with two screens on each panel. On each side of the top screen were 6 (3x2) holes for the speaker. The bottom panel had the 4 arrow keys (contained in the “+” sign button) on the left, and the the circular X, Y, A, B keys on the right.

Design Process

I used the P5.JS library to create the object she lost. I started by creating the blue silicone case first, before adding the Nintendo DS Lite body. I then added the two screens, speakers, and buttons. It was the most challenging for me to create the 4 arrow keys as the Nintendo body was white. Lastly, I created the little Pichu keyring. I started with its ears first, then head, and face. The key ring attached to the top of Pichu's head was created using an arc. The arc was very difficult to create as I had to do it in degrees or radians. It took me a while to understand how the degrees worked.

My final work can be seen above.

Reflection

This project shows how written language and code language is completely different. The language my partner used was easy to understand and pretty detailed. However, she assumed that I knew what Nintendo DS LITE meant from the start. I had to ask her for some clarification and google the image before I started working. She had the notion that everyone must be familiar with what a Nintendo DS looks like.

My initial interpretation (prior to googling the image) of the image was somewhat correct. The device is made up of two parts, the top and bottom screen. However, I initially thought the screen was much bigger than it really is. On the other hand, because I grew up watching Pokemon, I didn't need clarification on what Pichu looked like and had a sense of what the key ring is supposed to be. I learned that past experiences play a big role in how we intrepret what we read.

In order to replicate a description of an object (in written langauge) I had to parce the written language into sections. I learned how to think like a coder, a step by step process that requires meticulous planning. I learned the importance of planning because I had to layer objects on top of each other. To translate written language into code, it would have been easier if I had drawn out my image before coding it rather than googling the image and try to figure it out myself.

What I hope to do better in the future is to make the object more 3D and realistic. Moreover, I hope to be able to add interactions into my art work, such as pressing a button will cause an image to pop up on the screen.

Credits

This project was created based on the Critical Computation Assignment 1