Games
Coincidence as the Base of Casino Atmosphere Design Using Generative Approach
Bogdan Soban, BSc
Vrtojba, ul 9. septembra 176/a, 5290 Sempeter pri
Gorici, Slovenia
e-mail: bogdan@soban-art.com, web:
www.soban-art.com
Abstract
After the introductory reflections about the
casino games concept, the basic idea how to increase gambler’s sense of being
really inside the game is explained. In the next section several applications
of informational technology in the area of creating environments are presented.
Furthermore generative art method is described as a possible approach to
creating images as elements of environment. Follows my personal experiences on
developing generative programs using algorithms based on mathematical formula.
In the last section are listed some static and dynamic applications of
generative art which can be used in casino environment design.
1.
Introduction
There are two types of games with different
degrees of chance in the result. Some of them (roulette, slot machines, craps,
bingo) are extremely dependent on casual events or chance and the gambler in
reality has no chance to calculate the result. Other games with playing cards
produce results that are a combination of human ability and chance. But more or
less, gambling means having the fortune to be in the right place at the right
time and to profit from such good luck. Introducing slot machines, automatic
roulettes, blackjack and other such games, computer support becomes very useful
in applying random number generators to simulate chance events.
The basic question is how to apply gambling and
chance philosophies to the planning of casino environments. Some authors argue
that gambling equipment should be the only decoration around casino rooms. The
concept of thematic casinos using world-famous stories, destinations, and
exotic places brings the furnishings very far from the philosophy of gaming.
The success of thematic casinos is very great and impressive at first, but it
also becomes tedious and ignored by regular guests. Changing the interior means
investing new money and also breaking common and natural connections between
the outside and inside design concept. A third way might be somewhere in the
middle, and could be connected to games and chance events that can influence
the visual and audio effects inside gaming areas.
This approach means introducing computer
technology using a close connection between science and art expressed as images
and sounds. The Generative Art approach, a world-famous method to generate visual
solutions on the base of mathematical algorithms might represent a very useful
and non-expensive way to satisfy varying requests to create a casino atmosphere
reflecting “the feel of game”. The primary goal of the generative approach is
to produce absolutely unpredictable results, and this is the point of departure
for the concept under discussion. It is the principle of the transformation of
the mathematics into visual art using random number generators and mathematical
algorithms – the same way as in games of chance.
Games of chance were studied in connection with
probability theory in the seventeenth century by Pascal and Fermat[1]. This research was conducted in the form of
the mathematical study of randomness. Probability theory deals with the possible
outcomes of an event, in our case the result of the game. The result of the
game of chance is absolutely unpredictable and this is of course the main charm
of gambling. To introduce the same feature into the room’s decoration has the
ability to increase gamblers’ sense of being really inside the game.
2.
Computer Technology and the Design of Casino Environments
Typical applications of new technology in the area
of creating environments using visual and audio effects have been developed
under the name “Demo”[2]. Demos are visual shows designed to be seen on big
screens, video walls and other such equipment capable of supporting video
projections. Productions run in a linear form similar to a film, but possess a
generally abstract approach to story-telling. In computer language, demos are
programs which produce engaging computer graphics and music in real time.
Programming art and music composition skills are stressed and require
significant knowledge of computer science and entertainment. Currently the term
“Real Time Environment” is used, a conceptual label deriving from real use to
project a film created in real time using computer technology and running a
generative program. A program is technically defined as “running in real time”
if it produces results at a reliable speed. The common use of the phrase “real
time” implies that the work is being done fast enough to avoid waiting, while
the animation is produced for you while you watch. A video game is a typical
real time process, given that you can give it commands and it responds
immediately.
The entertainment industry focused on how to make a
business out of the population’s free time, and uses every possibility to
attract and to retain visitors-customers inside its facilities, even
encouraging guests to return. One of the most important encouragement features
is the environment of the entertainment place, which plays a significant role
in the strategy of guaranteeing customer satisfaction and the decision to
return. The gaming industry in particular offers thematic casinos to introduce
more and more new computer technology to create a pleasant and attractive
ambience. Exterior design elements draw customers inside, a beautiful interior
environment keeps them there. Inside the casino each element works on visitors
to reduce their resistance to the environment, with the lighting, color, carpet
patterns, directional patterns, design themes and temperature balanced between
relaxation and arousal [3].
One of the principal rules of the entertainment industry
is to diversify and change programs and ambience. Designing environments using
classical materials and technology represents an excessive investment, too
great to be changed frequently. Computer technology uses various possibilities
to produce sound and images in an artificial way is perhaps a better solution.
To change the casino design theme one need only change generative software. To
support the casino theme design pragmatically-designed generative programs are
more convenient because the motif resulting from the generative process is
predictable. Using this approach it is possible to create abstract images that
symbolize for example a warm sea atmosphere, constantly new and different, with
characteristic elements of the chosen environment. The message of an unusual
abstract image is specific to each person and has a different influence on the
individual guests, thus satisfying a greater part of the population.
3.
Generative Art as a Possible Approach to Creating Images
The most accepted definition of generative art
is offered by Philip Galanter: “Generative art refers to any artistic practice
where the artist creates a process, such as a set of natural language rules, a
computer program, a machine, or other mechanism, which is then set to motion with
some degree of autonomy contributing to or resulting in a complete work of
art.”[4]
We can describe generative art as a method for
developing ideas and creating new solutions in all fields of human creativity.
The basic principle is human creation. The main problem is how to “explain” to
the computer the elements of the idea, and this represents the next human
creation: the program code. There are two programming types using pragmatic or
mathematic instructions with different effects on the unpredictability of the
results. Pragmatic designed programs are more useful for design purposes where
we need to create only variants of a defined object. The area of art is
absolutely free, so the program based on mathematic instruction producing
unexpected colored shapes can satisfy completely different types of artistic
points of view.
The most essential part of the generative
method is the process that means “to set in motion the computer program”
producing results without any kind of programmer or other human influence. Time
is the only factor to have the right to enter into the process and to cause the
creation of a DNA code, which is of critical importance and greatly influences
the final result. This is typical of what is happens in nature at the beginning
of a live organism’s existence: the moment the association of two cells causes
a new genetic combination as the formula of a future organism. Association in
the next moment would combine different DNA formulas. So the starting moment of
the generative process is a fatal parameter for the final result. Not knowing
the exact time value of the start, nobody can foresee the path of the
generative process.
The selection of generated results is the
creative role of the programmer or any other person who starts the program or
orders art for their office, for example. The importance and enchantment of the
selection phase is connected with the non-repetition of the generative process.
Any kind of results of the generative method are lost forever if they are not saved
as a file or realized as a print or material object. The responsibility of
choosing is manifested as a kind of hazard because the next cycle of generating
algorithms might create better solutions than what was chosen. A fantastic
solution might be lost in this way, and humanity would never have the
opportunity to experience it again.
Applications of the generative approach involve
different research and development areas, including: architecture, industrial
design, visual art, generative music, poetry, visual grammar, design, virtual
environments, artificial life, artificial intelligence, cellular automata,
entertainment, artificial behaviours, communications, generative robots and
other mechatronic applications [5].
4.
Transforming Mathematics into Visual Images
I have developed many generative-designed
programs. In the beginning, I applied the pragmatic approach, and some examples
from my earliest periods are displayed on my web site [6] (see link history).
Later, I introduced the algorithmic concept as a much more effective and
powerful approach to creating interesting and unusual images. My recent program
is based on algorithms using mathematical expressions. The main characteristic
of the program developed in the Visual Basic programming language is its
modularity, making it easy to insert any kind of additional algorithms to
improve “creativity”. Currently, there are 225 different complex mathematical
expressions built in, using algebra, trigonometry and logarithms defined in an
empirical way to experiment with the results. Each cycle of the running program
chooses one algorithm randomly, calculating the first step of the pixel color
value out of a list of constants and variables. Values of constants and
variables are defined randomly at the beginning of the cycle using random
number generators and start time values. The next step is defined using one of
the 227 types of coloring algorithms also chosen randomly. The final results
are three components representing red, green and blue values for the RGB color
command. Introducing the same formula and the same type of coloring algorithms,
the program creates a sequence of always different but recognizable images
because of the different and randomly chosen values of constants and variables
that represent the DNA code of the evolving image.
Transforming mathematics into images using the
method described above assures a highly aesthetic visual image without willful
care. This ascertainment conforms to the fact that mathematics has a built-in
aesthetic. There are many scientists and mathematicians who defend the thesis
of a profound connection between mathematics and aesthetics. Max Bense called
attention to these links while writing many books and essays explaining his
aesthetic research [7]. What is important is to recognize that there are
already aesthetics in mathematics and computing. Mathematicians talk of
beautiful proofs, physicists talk of symmetry and their group structures, and
computer scientists talk of well-crafted programs and algorithms.
Improving my generative program while
developing complex algorithms there began to appear more and more beautiful
images. To demonstrate how this works, I have prepared some examples of
computer-generated images. Using the same mathematical formulas, I wanted to
demonstrate the diversity of results while introducing the maximum level of
“decision limitations” of the program. In the first case the program created
three images using the same formula and the same coloring algorithm; in the
second case the coloring algorithms varied using the same formula from case
one.
Images produced in case one: figure1, figure2,
figure3
figure1 figure2
figure3
Images produced in case two: figure4, figure5,
figure6
figure4 figure5
figure6
5.
Possible Casino Applications of the Results of my Program
The results of my program are abstract images,
which have no specific message and can symbolize different themes using
selected mathematical formulas and algorithms. Everything depends on the
definition of the parameters before running the program. The program can create
images on the screen in different ways: cover right, left, up and down, random
vertical or horizontal bars, box in, box out, dissolve and other. Those
possibilities are useful for different types of live projections.
There are two typical groups of applications:
static and dynamic. Static application means using a computer-generated image
as framed artwork or as a design for floor carpeting. Dynamic application
refers to any kind of live projection in real-time, and is much more convenient
for creating casino atmospheres.
Possible static applications:
-
framed
artwork in casinos, hotel rooms or office decoration in different dimensions
-
exterior
design of buildings walls and other informational or promotional elements
-
interior
design of floor materials, walls and ceilings
-
design
of slot machines and other casino equipment decoration
-
various
printed promotional materials, tickets and cards
-
design
for textile material of staff uniforms
Possible dynamic applications:
-
indoor
big screen projections
-
live
stage projection as background for different shows
-
live
projection to create a pleasant atmosphere in fitness facilities
-
background
of outdoor or indoor advertising displays
-
outdoor
projections onto building walls as a dynamic floodlight
6.
Conclusion
Unusual and pleasant decorative elements are
most important to encourage guests to enter inside and influence guests to
return. Most static solutions become tedious over time and are not effective in
the long term. A key to the problem lies in the possibility of changing
continuously, but at the same time remaining recognizable. Classical approaches
are quite expensive, and the only way out is to use new technological
solutions. The next step is to use the philosophy of chance games to create
furnishings: ever-new, unpredictable and unrepeatable images that lead gamblers
to feel inside the game. The Generative Approach could resolve the greater part
of these problems and improve casinos’ competitive advantage.
References
[1] Probability Theory, http://thinkquest.org/11506/ptheory.html
[2] Ashton Simmonds, Decoding Art – A Critical
Analyses of the Demo Scene, www.cfxweb.net
[3] Walt Lockley, The Psychology of Residential
Space,
www.placeperformance.com/features/chap01.htm
[4] Philip Galanter, Definition of Generative
Art, www.philipgalanter.com/pages/acad/index.html
[5] www.generativeart.com,
official web site of the 5th International Conference of Generative
Art
[6] Generative Art by Bogdan Soban, www.soban-art.com
[7] Elisabeth Walther, Max Bense’s
Informational and Semiotical Aesthetics,
www.das-deutsche-handwerk.de/s/bense.html