Gnome Hunter
Start Date: May 2024
Project Length: 2 weeks
Team Size: 2 members
My Role: Programming the visuals for the shape effects, and reactive animations to the music // Java
Used Tools: Processing
Synopsis: The animation depicts a gnome hunter going into a forest and hunting gnomes, while displaying a psychedelic experience, with visual and sound effects that would lobotomize the weakest of minds.
Description: Gnome Hunter was my first substantial experiment with visual programming in Processing. I was responsible for creating and programming the dynamic shape effects that give the piece its distinctive visual language, patterns, motion, and on-screen transformations that react directly to the music, like the guitar strings, and elements that react to the player interaction, like the bullets having a randomised placing, or various screen effects. The experience was invaluable: it forced me to adapt quickly, optimize my code for real-time visuals, and make artistic decisions that compensated for missing assets due to some people living the group.
My favorite sequence is the gnome shooting scene, a concept that was refined in collaboration with my partner. Together we developed the timing, particle behavior, and interaction rules that made that moment stand out, with a shooting videogame type interaction with the "player". Overall, the project taught me practical lessons in visual systems design, collaborative iteration, and how to prioritize polish under tight constraints.
PS: I apologize for the aweful video quality, but due to its color scheme and very reactive movements, it is desimated by the youtube compression sistem.