small worlds: exercises in simulation
Harmony
A simulation of the ‘graphic harmonies’ installation. An illustration of the power and the limitations of simulation. The simulation is a simplification of the real thing and yet it can do some things that the physical machine cannot, such as draw in more than one colour and operate without friction.
Swinger
A different approach to simulating the ‘graphic harmonies’ drawing machine. This one calculates the theoretical forces and accelerations produced by user interaction with two suspended weights. The range of possible patterns is similar to the physical machine.
Enigma
A simulation of a puzzle similar to a Rubik cube. The challenge is to scramble the pieces and then return them to the original configuration. It‘s a lot harder than it looks. The challenges in creating the simulation were firstly to create smooth movement by ‘engineering’ the pieces in Adobe Illustrator to an accuracy of a fraction of a pixel and then to model the complex rotations of the pieces in Macromedia ActionScript.