I had the pleasure to interview Mr. Patrick Smith, creator of Windosill - call it game, call it interactive experience, call it piece of art, call it however you want: it is not important, it is just wonderful.
Mr. Patrick Smith has many talent and Windosill explains better then any word what those talets are.
A jubilation of creativity.
Who is Patrick Smith? What is our professional background?
I have a fine arts backgrounds — a BFA degree in Painting from Washington University, in St. Louis, Missouri. Most of my experience with animation and programming is self-taught.
Today, I still paint and draw (http://smithpix.net) as well as create interactive animations (http://vectorpark.com). The two kinds of work are quite different, but many ideas flow between them.
Samorost has been for a long time a reference for this kind of interactive experiences. Today Windosill has done a big step into the right direction. What’s behind Windosil? Where did you take inspiration from?
I think most of my inspiration comes from other artists. I can think of many, but a few influences include the surrealist and metaphysical painters (particularly Magritte, de Chirico, and Miro), the animators Max and Dave Fleischer, the sculptor Alexander Calder, and the cartoonists Chris Ware and Jim Woodring. There are many more, but those are a few who come to mind.
I also enjoy several Italian Renaissance painters — mostly Paolo Uccello and Piero della Francesca. The clarity of their forms and spaces really touches my mind and inspires me.
You may be surprised to hear that I don’t look at very many games! Even very clever games are often limited in their idea of what you are supposed to do. I gave Windosill a sequence and a structure because I felt it needed one, and some parts do require work by the user. But the purpose is not to “win the game.” Instead, the game is a vehicle to explore ten different environments. The purpose is simply to explore and play and enjoy.
Windosill is a great combination of visuals, sounds and interactivity. Did you do everything yourself?
I did all of the artwork, animation, and programming myself.
Most of the sounds come from the FreeSound project:
http://www.freesound.org/
It is an excellent resource! There are thousands of sound effects, and most of them can be used for free if the creator is given a credit.
Are you thinking of making an online version of the game?
No, I don’t have any plans to. This is the first time I’ve made a downloadable game, but I’m very happy with it so far. It performs more smoothly than it would in a browser, and I think people like to feel that they ‘own’ it.
The complete version of the game is online for 3$ only – does it really pay off?
It’s too early to know. So far, it is doing well, but I don’t know how large the audience for a game like this is. When I was deciding on a price, however, I decided that I would prefer to sell it to as many people as possible. $3 seems to me like a price that won’t scare anyone away.
We found Windosill a very peculiar environment, the user feel increbile confortable and every element of the game seems to fit perfectly.
What is the process you follow when it comes to create such interactive experiences?
(ie. Do you start drawing on paper all the ideas? oh btw, do you have any sketchs that we can show?)
My process varies from project to project, but for Windosill, a new ‘room’ would usually begin as a pencil drawing in my sketchbook. Many ideas never leave that stage, but if I like it, I will usually do some more detailed sketches, and finally, a drawing in Illustrator to work out the shapes and colors. Then I program it and animate it in flash.
Of course, that is a simplification of the process. It is not always so linear. Often, I will go back-and-forth between drawing and programming — sometimes the result is not quite what you imaging it will be, and so have to adjust or rethink your ideas.
And, by the way, I keep a drawing blog, and here are the images I’ve posted for Windosill. You can use whatever you like to illustrate the interview:
http://smithpixdaily.blogspot.com/search/label/windosill
Do you think that such a project would still be possible having a big team working on it or do you think that working alone is an essential aspect to get exactly what is in your mind?
Working by myself feels a bit lonely sometimes, but I think perhaps it’s the only way. If I imagine something, I want to create it myself. That doesn’t leave much room for other people! But maybe if I had a team I would discover a new way of working?
We are getting now used to 3D online experiences as much as 2D physics experiences. Your is a combination of 3D and Physics with the plus of being all in vector. Technically can you tell us something more specific about Windosill?
Projecting forms as vector shapes allows a lot of flexibility in mixing 2d animation with 3d animation smoothly. Windosill may feel like a single integrated system, but it is really a patchwork of different techniques. Using a consistent visual systems helps me ties thing together and keep it feeling seamless and whole.
There is also something enjoyable to the eye about flat shapes that represent 3d forms. I try to give the user’s brain enough clues to understand what they are seeing as a 3D form, but without any unnecessary detail. (This isn’t something new I’ve invented, by the way — it’s something you see a lot of in 20th art, and also in some Renaissance painters. Ucello, for example, is wonderful at depicting volumetric forms with flat shapes.)
Did you use any library (ie papervision, box2d) to build it?
No, the 3D and physics code is entirely my own. I don’t like using tools I don’t understand, and the best way to understand a tool is to build it yourself.
feedthehead (http://www.feedthehead.net/) is another great example of what we call interactive experiences.
I never managed to finish it. Yeah that is not a question but more an outlet ; )
You will get it if you keep trying…
On your site (http://vectorpark.com/) there are several beautiful experiences – some of the elements appear in more then one game (ie. the legs). Can we say that they are all linked in an evolution process? Which of the projects is your favourite?
There is certainly some kind of evolution at work, but it’s not something I think very hard about. For each project, I just try to come up with something that I think will be fun or interesting to make and to play. So, the evolution is unconscious.
It’s difficult to say which is my favorite, because each project reflects my thinking at the time. In some ways my favorite is “Park”. It was the first thing I made for Vectorpark — it was an exploration for me to make it, and I think it’s also an exploration for the user. In some ways it’s the most personal project on Vectorpark.
Have you already in mind your next interactive (animation as you call it) project?
I have a few ideas, but they probably need a little time to develop…
What was your dream when you were a child? And what is your dream today
Good question. As a child my favorite thing was to draw pictures all day. That still sounds like a perfect day to me!
Thank you so much for your time!
Thanks for the interesting questions!
