ALTERNATIVE REALITY

Schedule:

8/29/2022 - 12/13/2022

11:20 AM - 2:00 PM Tu

LAB 12:45 PM - 2:00 PM Th

Location: Arts Center (C3-019)

Professor: Sara Niroobakhsh

sn2616@nyu.edu

Room: C3- 162

Office hours: Office hours: Wednesdays and Fridays by appointment, please book your appointment 48 hours before at:

https://calendly.com/saraniroo

OVERVIEW

Since the dawn of civilization, alternate realities have been a means to shape a culture’s understanding of itself and its perception of the reality in which it exists. While traditions may have changed, the immersive storytelling of alternate realities has always stayed with us, evolving along with media technology, unlocking new means of expression. This course will focus on the use of different forms of technology to capture reality and present it in virtual and augmented interactive experiences. The course encourages students to push their VR and AR interests to a higher level of consideration for immersion, interaction, and user experience. Students should be motivated to work independently and in groups and to propose creative forms and ideas for the multi-functional use of immersive environments, through the use of alternative and innovative technologies such as trackers, haptics, and other input/output devices.

Course Format

The class will assume a workshop and studio approach to discuss readings and design. Typically, each class meeting will include three components: 1. Discuss readings; 2. Experience and analyze your works; 3. Learn and practice technical content relevant to an alternative reality.

Learning Goals

Through this course, students will be capable of designing and configuring VR and AR systems, to engage and discuss the relevant topics in regard to art, design, and technology. And will be able to expand their personal artworks, and include alternative methods to support the design of mixed reality environments from concept to design and execution.

• At the end of the course, each student will have the capacity to design fully immersive artistic virtual environments around specific thematic relevant to their personal practice.

• Ability to translate real data captured from the surrounding environment into a digital space.

• Students will be able to use alternative technologies that can be introduced to develop VR experiences assisted by sensors, and external devices that connect the physical world to the virtual environments.

Prior Knowledge

There is no course prerequisites. However, experience in 3D modeling, programming, and game development is recommended.

Objectionable Content

I will never do anything intentionally to shock or traumatize you. At the same time, I cannot absolutely guarantee my class will be a “safe space.” Students come from different backgrounds and are at different points in learning about the world. It’s our job to discuss difficult subjects in class, and nobody can predict the effect some materials or discussions may have on someone. Some of the materials we will encounter (texts, videos, artworks, etc.) include dated terminology and attitudes indicative of the historical moments in which they were produced. Specifically, we 5 will confront misogynistic, racist, and homophobic attitudes and language. Although this content is reprehensible to our contemporary sensibilities, it is instructive to realize that attitudes and language have evolved and continue to evolve. I will try to give previews of the kinds of content you will encounter before you encounter it. If I forget, feel free to ask. If you are having difficulty dealing with anything in class, you may raise the issue as part of the discussion or, if necessary, you may leave the class session.

Academic Misconduct

Academic misconduct includes both plagiarism and cheating and may consist of: the submission of the work of another as one’s own; unauthorized assistance on a test or assignment; submission of the same work for more than one class without the knowledge and consent of all instructors; or the failure to properly cite texts or ideas from other sources. Academic misconduct also includes the falsification of academic or student-related records, such as transcripts, evaluations, and letters of recommendation. Academic misconduct extends to all spaces on campus, including satellite locations and online education. Academic integrity is expected in all coursework, including online learning. It is assumed that the person receiving the credit for the course is the person completing the work.

The mandatory policies and procedures relating to academic integrity can be found here:

https://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelines-compliance/policies-and-guidelines/academic-integrity-for-students-at-nyu.html

Accommodation

Diversity and inclusion are important tenets of NYUAD and my own teaching philosophy. Please let me know if you have a disability I should be aware of or require special assistance. I am happy to make accommodations.

NYUAD Liason for the Moses Center for Student Accesssiblities: Dr. Aisha Al Naqbi and Contact mosescsd@nyu.edu or aha5@nyu.edu

Writing Center

The Writing Center Tutors are available in person and online to help students achieve their writing goals at any stage of their writing process. All students are welcome, and they can work on essays, artist statements, application materials, presentation texts, theses, proposals, creative writing, or social media posts. The Writing Center tutors are kind, encouraging, and interested!

Here's their page on the Intranet. It should contain all the information about the Writing Center that you and your students need. There's also a link to our web interface, mywconline on that page where students can sign up for appointments.

If you or your students have any further questions, you can email or new alias: nyuad.writingcenter@nyu.edu.

Assignment

Weekly Reading Responses: EWRL (20%)

Each week students will submit a short (400 words) in response to the weekly ERWL (explore, read, watch, listen) on your page on the class's Google Website. These response papers provide an opportunity for you to summarize the proposed arguments, analyze findings, and evaluate claims. It is important that you prepare responses each week to contribute to the classroom discussion and to give us an opportunity to provide you with feedback on your writing. So that others can respond and reflect on your ideas, please post all responses to our course website the day BEFORE each class meeting. The purpose of this assignment is to help you develop your skills in evaluating the quality of works, communicating your thinking in academic writing, and articulating your own position aside from theoretical and artistic studies in the literature. The due date for submission is on Monday at 11:59 pm each week.

Weekly Workshop (20%)

Each week there will be new concepts introduced to the class, and the practice allocated for studio time at home/class is intended to practice the new concepts with the intention to apply them to the development of a personal project. You are free to work on your own or with another group member. At the end of this practice, you should submit the completed activities in recorded video and screenshot within your page, (title it Week 1,2,3,..), demonstrating the ability to develop and apply the new content. Submission is due Monday at 11:59 pm.

For the submission, you should consider uploading your materials on your page on the class's Google Website.

Projects (40% of Final grade)

Students should be prepared to produce a VR mid-term (20%) and a final project AR (20%) to be presented in a final critique, with the potential to be included in a curated exhibit and/or conference at the end of the academic year. Students will complete a VR and an AR project. The project will give you an opportunity to apply your theoretical commitments and design skills to create computer-based artistic immersive experiences. For this option, we will build the prototype in VR/AR using Unity3D, Xcode, and Styly the essential utilities that will be introduced and practiced in class. VR Project Due: Oct 21 and AR Project Due: Dec 6th.

Presentations of final VR & AR project (20%)

After submission of projects to the class Google Website, each student is responsible for presenting a prior VR (%10) and AR (%10) environment designed for personal practice. The goal of this assignment is to discuss the artistic statement, the potential trade-offs of the environment stated (or assumed) user experience and the potential affordances and constraints of the design. For the presentation, you should consider the discussion time, and Q/A (40 minutes)

Final Project Instruction

1. Design Meeting: A 30-minute meeting with the instructor to discuss your project.

2. Project Proposal: A basic description of your project idea that describes the problem/topic that frames your project, including a storyline, a summary of your project, conceptual sketches storyboard, resources needed, and a plan of action and milestones. Proposal submission for the VR project is due on Oct 6th and the AR project is due on Nov 10th.

3. Project Documentation: A final webpage that includes your framework, design principles, trade-offs, description of the technology and activity, and a discussion of potential theoretical questions that might be investigated in your environment. You will include a 200-300 word brief narrative for a potential show or exhibit you might like to peruse in your VR/AR environment, specifying the following considerations: a) media used, b) Art ProjectConceptual Description, c) Space needs: size (height x width x depth); the estimated weight of the installation; preferred space (height x width x depth). Be sure to specify the units. Lighting Requirements d)Floorplans, e) photos f) video space consideration, the role of the user in the environment, and the technological needs and additional resources/materials to implement the exhibition.

4. Final Presentation: You will present and demonstrate your project to the class in a critique where you discuss each component of your documentation from the website.