Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
11.5.4
Fabrication as Syndication
David loves new types of stories and has been excited about a project that he read
about online recently that takes advantage of his home Maker. He navigates to the
website of the author and registers as a new reader. He fi lls out a brief questionnaire
about himself, his preferences, and his favorite topics and movies, before being
given a selection of titles and genres to choose from. He is in the mood for some-
thing “magical,” so he selects a story titled “The Sorcerer's Legacy,” in the Fantasy
genre, and hits the “download” button. Next to his computer, the Maker whirrs into
life. Slowly an object begins to take shape: it is a fl oppy wizard hat in blue velvet,
with silver and gold stars. A tag attached to it reads “Wear Me!” The clear protec-
tive dome over the print bed pops open to indicate that the hat is fi nished, and David
is quick to put it on. His webcam registers that he is wearing the hat and captures a
quick 3D scan of his likeness. Within moments, the Maker is printing a new item: a
magic wand! An animated version of David is casting spells on the screen, and
David follows along with his new wand, conjuring items from the “aether” which
appear in the bed of his Maker. Each item is a clue—a fragment of a puzzle that he
must solve to access the next fragment of the story…
Imagine that instead of downloading an e-book version of a story, you download
an encrypted set of instructions for your 3D printer. You run the program, and
slowly, each object takes shape before you, like an artifact in an archaeological dig
site, being carefully revealed. These objects are a material record: a collection of
artifacts pregnant with narrative meaning. You pick them up and turn them over in
your hands, looking for a clue about where to begin. Each object triggers a fragment
of media playback associated with it (for our The Reading Glove project we used
RFID to accomplish this, but it could be done with fi ducial markers, camera vision,
or a host of other technologies). As you play with the objects, you fi nd yourself
embodying a character in the story who also interacted with them. Some of the
objects have particular physical affordances, inviting embodied interactions that
communicate meaning by evoking muscle memory and somatic awareness. Others
combine to form new objects, which unlock hidden narrative content.
We can take this idea even farther. In
Makers
, Doctorow has Disney selling
subscriptions to a “model of the day” that prints out each morning, enthralling chil-
dren as they try to fi gure out what it will be. We can imagine a scenario where the
3D printer is part of a much larger media ecosystem: where the objects it produces
are a small part of a much bigger experience that spans digital games, traditional
narratives, and physical play. This notion is inspired in part by the success of the
Skylanders system, which uses a combination of action fi gures, digital games, and
collectible cards to create an experience that extends into both the physical and
digital realms.
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The core conceit of this system is the “Portal of Power”—a near-
fi eld communication device that is used to “teleport” the action fi gures into the
digital game. Each fi gure has its own onboard memory, allowing players to develop
