After reading The Art Of Interactive Design , I think a strongly interactive system is something that actually feels like a exchange between the user and the computer. The part that stood out to me most was the idea of listening, thinking, and speaking. I usually think of something as interactive if I can click on it or move something around, but the reading made me realize that this does not necessarily mean it is strongly interactive.
For example, if I click somewhere and a shape immediately appears there, the system is listening to me, but it is not really doing much with what I gave it. A stronger system would take my action, process it in some way, and then give me a response that makes me want to interact with it again. I think the most important part is that the user’s actions actually change what happens next. It should feel less like I am controlling a button and more like the system is responding to me.
This made me think about my own p5 sketches because most of the interaction I have made so far is pretty simple like clicking to change size and color or adding new objects or using the mouse to control an object. I think I could make my sketches more interactive by making the computer remember what I do instead of just responding to one action at a time.
For example in my previous laser sketch, I could make the lasers change depending on where I move my mouse including the speed of it or how many times I interact with the sketch. I could also make the lasers slowly react to my previous movements instead of immediately following the mouse. Another idea would be having the colors or movement change after I interact with the sketch a certain number of times. This would make it feel like the sketch is actually responding and changing over time.
I also think I could experiment with sound or other types of input eventually. I like the idea that the sketch could react to something I do without me just clicking a button. I want my sketches to feel like the computer is actually responding to me and giving me a reason to keep interacting with it.