Prototype 5: Scratch/Max MSP/ Processing

Coding was not a skill that I had before starting this module. I explored Scratch in secondary school but had forgotten that knowledge.

“The relationship between artificial intelligence and human development is being debated more than ever before as algorithms, computers and smartphones play a growing role in our personal and professional lives.” (Yahoo, 2019).

Scratch:

To understand the basics of coding I started by exploring scratch. A programming language aimed at age 6 to 16 year olds however for someone who has done near to no coding before it was a perfect place to start. Within the Scratch Community there were many tutorials starting from the basics onwards to help me.

This is  one of the first tutorials I followed learning how to code effects to sprites. For example, in the screenshot to the left, the sprite 'N' will grow and then shrink in size when clicked on due to the code that is in the window in the centre of the screen.

This screenshot on the right is from the second tutorial I followed which taught me how to code sprites to talk.In this example the 'Flying Cat' sprite, when clicked on, the automated voice will say "I'm so dizzy" and when the run button (green flag) is pressed it will spin constantly until the scene is reset.

This is the first time I learnt how to code a basic game. The aim of the game is for the sprite to collect the gems and keep the score. This coding used the most amount of code from a variety of sections. I am slowly beginning to understand the order in which the code must be placed.

Here is another game I created with code where the aim is to use the arrow keys to move your character and catch the star. This also was the second time I used variable such as score to allow the game to have more of a purpose.

Scratch has been very useful so far to allow me get to grips with the basics of coding and how it interacts with eachother.

Max MSP:

This software was quite a big jump in terms of technical skill from Scratch and this intimidated me at first.

What I found the most advantageous about this software was that you could bring up a help patcher for each item, which would explain how it works and what it does. This means even people like me can use the software effectively with very little prior knowledge of it.

I used the software to generate a number and colour, which then using a chart, would carve a set of instructions every 20 seconds for a performer to complete. I linked this back to some dance/movement skills I learnt in my Scoremaking module I the previous year.

Processing:

Out of all the programming languages, I found processing the most useful as this helped me to use my time with the Arduino equipment effectively as it set me up for the coding of that hardware.