| One of my specialties is developing large
scale interactive exhibits which encourage group participation. An example
of such an exhibit is an interactive theater.
Typically, the audience is watching an interactive video program projected onto a large screen. At various points in the program, the audience is asked to make a selection that will effect the outcome of the program. At each theater seat a keypad allows each audience member to "vote". Typically, the choice with the most votes wins - that is the path that the audience sees. Examples of interactive theaters include:
SportsLab is a participatory sports theme park currently traveling throughout
the country. In the interactive stadium, visitors learn how judges score
three Olympic events: Figure Skating, Diving and Gymnastics. After watching
an athlete's performance on large projection video screens, each of the
336 visitors scores the event. The audience's results are then compared
to the actual scores. In this interactive game show, six contestants compete for the title
of " Water Wizard" by demonstrating their knowledge of Alabama
waterways. The set has all the paraphernalia of a TV game show including
a MC (on videodisc), two video cameras, five video monitors, and six custom
designed contestant pods. This 35 person interactive theater uses a videodisc program and GENTECH
keypads to poll the audience's collective concerns about nuclear power,
energy issues and economic growth in the Tennessee Valley. For the initial prototype, I modified ten standard keypads (made by
Reactive Systems). A custom voting system was then commissioned for installation
in the sixty seat theater. In this presentation, multiple viewers cast their "vote" on
four constitutional issues by means of an electronic ballot box. In Values Theater, a thirty person audience determines the outcome of an interactive drama based on real-life applications of the Scout Law. Patrol Theater is an eight-player adventure game. Both theaters use keypads by Reactive Systems. |