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[jon@xxxxxxxxxxxx: observation of zigzag]



----- Forwarded message from jon <jon@xxxxxxxxxxxx> -----

From: jon <jon@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: observation of zigzag
To: zigzag.desk@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 03:45:38 -0700 (PDT)
Organization: UnderWorld Industries
X-URL: http://scribble.com/jon.html

i should admit that i just tried out, very minimally, zigzag after
reading thru some of the documentation.  upon cursoring around the
sample zigzag space, it brought to mind an art project i work(ed) on,
called HyGrid -- especially the way the view centered on the cursor
and opened up the new world around that cursor-selected cell.

HyGrid is composed of many 100x100 pixel (square) images made by
several different artists.  for each image, there are four (obvious)
adjacent neighboring images possible.  if a neighboring image
already exists, it is shown in that position; if not, an explorer
can add one in that position.  all images were spawned by the original
seed image and therefore are connected, eventually, to it.

the zigzag-like behavior comes on two levels:

1. HyGrid cannot exist in 2d or 3d (or really finite-D) space, not as a tiled
   mosaic anyway.  since each image has its own 4-image neighborhood
   directly around it, when you move from one image to another (i.e.,
   to one of its neighbors), the new image has a *different* neighborhood
   than the previous, sharing only the previous image in its universe.
   thus, using the schematic below:

    C                                         G
   DAB  --- shift focus to image "B" --->    ABF
    E                                         H

   not only are images A..H all (potentially) different, but the image
   which lies to the "right" of C (that is if we shifted to view C)
   need not have anything to do with G at all, contrary to what would
   be expected on a grided sheet of graph paper, etc.  because of
   this, any display of HyGrid space we make for a (2D) screen has
   to have many holes where conflicts (overlaps) like this occur.
   the simplest view is the "plus" pattern as shown in the schematic.

2. to add to the confusion/excitement, "linking" is also allowed,
   totally screwing up attempts to map HyGrid into the real world.
   linking allows an artist to add an image to an open side of a
   previously existing image which also will be added to the open
   side of *another* image anywhere else in HyGrid, provided the
   orientation makes sense.  in the schematic from #1, for example,
   assume that image E had its "left" side open (with no image in
   that position) and G had its "right" side open.  an artist could
   add an image (I) that fit into both positions, thus gluing
   (linking) image E to image G like this:

      ABF...
    GIE
   AB

oh, this makes no sense, but you can click around things here, if
you wish, and browse thru our 90 artists' 1800+ pieces (and counting):

  http://oscar.sito.org/synergy/hygrid/


thanks for the time, inspiration, hard work, and fun!
-jon
_____________________________________________________________________________
NOW USE: jon@xxxxxxxxxxxx        Y2Lame.         http://scribble.com/jon.html
"...beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror."  - Rainer Maria Rilke

----- End forwarded message -----

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