When it comes to a strong interactive system, I like to consider the characteristics to be nothing more but representations of the system’s ability to LISTEN to a user. This is because if the interactive system is said to be involved in the “interactive” category of the arts, then it has to be the system’s obligation to stay true to its name via making sure that the communication between itself and the user is one-hundred-percent inline with each other. This includes the computer receiving the message depending on what the user manually activates on their own physical interface end and then actually ACTING upon whatever command it must have received. For example, let’s say that you were to be playing Five Nights at Freddy’s and you see an enemy outside your location in the game; your instinct would be to close the door right away to protect yourself. Only way to do that, however, is to have your hands interact with the hardware of the computer via moving the mouse so that your cursor would hover over the door button in the game, followed by left clicking your mouse so that the computer would respond to your action of left clicking your mouse by having the door in the game close under your command. Thus, this is an example of how an interactive system is supposed to work, with the computer giving you access to whatever it has to offer while also making it be your obligation to activate a certain command from your end that will reach into the computer system’s understanding and conduct a performance that will keep the interactive conversion strong as result of the computer “listening” to your inputs
With this understanding in mind, there are only a few ideas I can think of as of now. One idea that I wish to possibly figure out is how to create a series of coding that will let users control the position of certain objects/shapes from my sketches. Let’s say, for example, that if someone were to want to click on a triangle that could hypothetically be available in a sketch of mine, I would have to take it upon myself to write some coding instructions that would allow the user to either rotate the shape through simple clicks or, if possible, move the triangle to a different spot via holding and dragging with the mouse. Another idea I wish to figure out is how to hide certain phrases in my work.. only for them to reveal themselves upon being activated by the user interacting with my sketches. For instance, a user may be reveal a sketch of mine that would have them click on a random empty spot, only for the spot to show a transition of the words, “HHN”, fading into existence right before their eyes; this will be due to the hypothetical doing of me adding some coding instructions into my sketch that would allow said-words to fade into existence upon the user clicking on the designated empty spot with the mouse. After all, the concept of interactive art from my eyes should be known as art pieces where the observer him/herself is in control of what shall change within the sketch.
The main idea of interactive, from what I like to believe, is giving the art watcher their own mini controller that will let them change what is displayed within an art piece depending on a physical command from their end. Whether it be behind pressing a specific key on a keyboard or left clicking on a mouse that is connected to the computer display of the sketch, what matters most is if the user can communicate with the computer to change something in their favor. It must almost be like a conversation in real life, where one asks another a favor for something and the one who has been is obligated to fulfill said-favor. If it was the other-way around, where the sketch does nothing no matter what an observer touches to release a certain command, then it would simply be a normal artwork that may look stunning, but is missing something to give life to it. If you take it from me, a normal artwork may be good, but one can suppose that nothing is better than encountering artwork that just feels almost “alive” towards you and your presence.