Technology A — Pratt Grad ComD

Project Description

My project is called Fish Garden. The inspiration comes from an everyday moment. I once saw a pond in a park where people loved feeding the fish so much that the fish became severely overfed and unhealthy. Eventually, the staff had to ban real feeding and replaced it with a QR code. After scanning it, a webpage would play a “feeding animation” and display the names of all participants. That scene really struck me—people thought they were taking care of the fish, but the feeding itself had become just a symbolic action. What actually mattered was the act of participation behind it. So I started wondering: what if I turn this contradiction into an interactive system, where participation truly affects the ecosystem? In Fish Garden, you can feed the fish by waving your hand in front of the screen or by moving around; you can also drop food by clicking with your mouse. Every interaction is recorded. The more people participate, the brighter the environment becomes, the more active the fish get, and the taller the plants grow. When people stop interacting, the space gradually becomes darker—the plants stop growing, and the fish slow down and calm themselves. Building on this, I added nine touch pads to create richer forms of interaction. Each pad triggers a different type of fish behavior, and the LED matrix behind the screen displays synchronized visual patterns. Touch pads 1–4 trigger different formations in the fish school. Pad 5 switches between daytime and nighttime atmospheres. Pad 6 creates a vortex that pulls surrounding fish toward it. Pad 7 triggers a “party mode,” where both the fish and the lights turn colorful. Pad 8 releases glowing meteor-like food particles. Pad 9 generates columns of bubbles that rise from random locations. All of these effects can be layered and combined.

Credits

ChatGPT

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