minimum viable extended self device
type: physical / digital objects
related prototypes: c4ss1us' conversation menu, player menu, dakhabrakha music discovery gacha.
the idea
the original idea for this prototype came at the mΓΊsica do cΓrculo retreat in jun/2023. i was surrounded by amazing artists and people in general, yet many of our conversations tended towards triviality.
i wondered - instead of making a lot of effort trying to gear the conversation towards more generative places - how could i make connecting with people, learning and sharing about our lives more playful, fun, seamless?
there are many human connection games, facilitation tools and other serious games that intend to do that, but i never felt fond of most of them. they felt too deterministic in guiding the conversations (though i definitely need to research more. if you know good ones, please lmk!). i was looking for something more open-ended.
the idea i arrived at after some time was to build a minimalistic extended self device.
we augment ourselves all the time through the technology and clothes we use. one feature i find fascinating about clothes (and their tech mix - wearables) is how they can tell something about our selves/personality, pretty much instantly.
the idea is creating a medium that's a hybrid of physical (sensorially meaningful) and digital (updateable) - the simplest version possible of a device for displaying/interacting with digital information/functions in-person in a simple fashion.
this device introduces different creative dynamics (curiosity, experimentation, higher dimensionality) caused by its technological design/constraints, while also reducing our reliability on smartphones/tablets (two-dimensional ways of sharing information) on social interactions.
picture something like an interactive zine w/ embedded LCD screen(s).
i'm still very open when it comes to the interface / UX, but i'm looking for something that leverages the spatial/tactile features of physicality.
for the mvp, i'm considering between using a: raspberry pi, arduino, an e-ink device, chromebook or other single board computers.
development
march/2024 update:
i've signed up for an 8-week course at SESC santana on circuitpy and raspberry pi pico, and it seems like a great beginner-friendly setup. i'll be learning about it and experimenting with building this prototype there.
references:
https://www.inkandswitch.com/inkbase/
https://dynamicland.org/
https://andrewmurraydunn.com/soul-map
possibility management's artifacts
ana marques' sanctuaries of attention game
simone catalan's jogo da colaboração
findhorn's transformation game
https://www.instructables.com/ -> to look more into, see if i find any references.