My name is Michael Highland, and this is my EGOPLEX. As a digital media inventor of sorts, I've iterated through a number of personal web site designs. My desire to build the EGOPLEX came out of a realization that one's virtual identity can no longer be easily isolated or contained. Many of us belong to a multitude of online networks and services, each containing an fragmented impression of who we are. Conceptually the EGOPLEX is a distillery for all these fragments, a kind of mirror for my virtual self.
The EGOPLEX is a conceptual art project as well as a web portal. It was my intention to deliver an impressionistic perspective of myself through and exploratory and perhaps slightly disorienting experience. That said, I do hope you find what you are looking for.
Peace + Love,
-Michael
SECTION 01 IDENTITY MAP Hyperlinked for your convenience
*The EGOPLEX is a final collection point for all of these sources. Thanks to the magic of cooperation and public API's, it all funnels back to here. New impressions are presented in the following section.
SECTION 02 THE FEED A convergence of virtual presence
SECTION 03 IN PROCESS current projects in progress
PORT 127
Digital Media Development
WHAT IS IT:Port 127 is an independent digital media outfit based in Philadelphia, PA. I founded the company in 2009, and we specialize in video game development and digital media consulting. Our first title (for iPhone), a Philly centric pixel art racing game, is due out fall of 2010.
MY ROLE: I am Creative Director for Port 127 and leading a small team in the production of our first game.
WHAT IS IT: Critically thinking about games and virtual experiences is the first step in collectively understanding video games have the potential to be far more than just entertainment products or educational tools. GamerThink is a blog dedicated to illuminating and exploring the meaningful roles video games could play, and are already playing, in so many people's lives.
MY ROLE: I am the creator, and currently the only full time writer on GamerThink.
WHAT IS IT: 'Looking For Grace' is a 10 episode series currently being shot exclusively for the internet. After a young man (Harold) discovers his memories have been replaced by those of a mysterious woman named Grace, he sets out on a journey to find her, hoping to reclaim that which he has forgotten. However, along the road, he discovers a strange world in which nothing is as it seems - and that he is not the only one 'Looking For Grace'.
MY ROLE: I'm working with long time friend Nathaniel Halpern (writer,creator) to help develop a compelling online experience for the project.
WHAT IS IT:
‘The Making of Being’ is a documentary film that explores the awakening of human consciousness leading us towards a quantum shift in human evolution. In the whirlwind of globalization, rapidly advancing communication technologies, and converging crisis; our interconnectivity can no longer be ignored. Experts tell us we are no longer flirting with the sixth mass extinction on planet earth, but we are already deep within it. As we find ourselves on the midst of the most destructive time in human history the emergence of a new world view may be a very real & anchoring hope for a sustainable future.
MY ROLE:I am working closely with the film's creator, Tanya Kaps, to write a narrative to compliment the informational content of the film.
As Real as Your Life is a multi-media film project I began in 2004 as a short pseudo-narrative documentary on my ‘addiction’ to video games. The film as an eye-opener for many viewers. Despite the widespread popularity of video games, the majority of people don’t realize that what looks like fantasy to them, to another can seem as meaningful (and as real) as his or her real life. Video games are extremely powerful tools, capable of shaping individuals and society; however, until more people come to understand this potential, we will continue to produce and consume video games blindly, as frivolous entertainment products. My goal is to help shift cultural perspectives about the nature of virtual experience and open the door for video games to catalyze personal and societal growth.
The next phase of As Real as Your Life, the 'Archive', will be a web portal where gamers can submit their own stories in video format. Content will center around a set a core questions about the nature of virtual experience. Every contributor will be profiled for age, locality, game usage, favorite genres, etc. This data in combination with the repository of content will serve as an ever-growing resource to parents, educators, researchers, or anyone looking to better understand the inner experiences of gamers. I'll be taking all of the user generated video and editing it into new content such as webisodes or a feature documentary.
MY ROLE:I am the creator of As Real as Your Life, and the project lead for the Archive.
NOTES: Part documentary, part narrative, and part animation, As Real as Your Life chronicles my experiences with video game addiction and explores the personal and social repercussions of spending more time playing in the virtual world than in the real one. The film brings to light the enormous potential for video games to change our society, and aims to start conversations about the role video games play in our lives.
The film has been screened to wide acclaim at TED2006, the Game Developers Conference, America's Video Game Expo, as well as in a short film section at the Cannes film festival. We are currently scheduling public screenings, and DVD's of the full 22 minute film, along with special features are available for sale on the website.
NOTES: The Digital Diptych was my original portfolio site and a first attempt at engaging visitors in a creative process. The site was linked to a large database of images from my life which would be randomly shuffled and presented in pairs as unique diptychs. Visitors were invited to name given pairings with creative titles. The floating links in the background of the this site come entirely from that interactive process.
Perfect Human Redux
Staring Nick Salvatore
Perfect Human Redux
YEAR: 2008
NOTES: In collaboration with Nick Salvatore I produced and directed this short film as an homage to Jorgen Leth's 1967 classic art house short 'Det Perfekte Menneske'. In the original film the dining scene is very sparse, almost meager. I wanted to take the documentation of eating to the other extreme. Nick actually ate most of the food, and threw up immediately after we finished shooting.
NOTES: Covering Fire was the culminating project for an Installation/Photography I took my last year of school. The piece involved my composing one hundred cover letters to possible job contacts from my life. I made 100 copies of each letter for a total of 10,000 letters. Over the duration of the performance, every ten minutes I fired a bundle of letters out of a canon situated in a makeshift bunker. The performance was set to a soundtrack of warfare and O'Fortuna.
Communicating Inner Experience with Video Game Technology
NOTES: I co-authored this article with Dr. Gino Yu, while working with him in Hong Kong. We explore the ways in which "inner experience" was communicated historically, and then draw some connections between these ancient formats and modern day video game technology. The conclusion is that virtual experience, and video games in particular are potentially an idea tool for communicating subjective experiences, such as spiritual experiences, which can be challenging to communicate otherwise.
NOTES: This was my first published essay. It's a short exploration of the differences between narrative and simulation based game experiences. I also discuss the psychological implications for players of games that mix. simulation and narrative.
NOTES: I developed WinWin as a prototype for charitable gambling. The concept was 'greedy generosity'. It seems like an oxymoron, but what better way to motivate people to give charitably than to combine that action with something that directly benefits the giver. The more you give, the greater your chances of winning a whole lot more back. Everyone likes winning money and nobody likes losing it, but if you're going to lose sometimes why shouldn't that loss be a gift to a worthwhile cause. I found out shortly after launching the prototype that gambling is a very controlled activity, even if you're intentions are pure.
NOTES:The Timeline is a conceptual website built to grow with the user. Every day the site grows 5 pixels in height - making room for additional content. Past events are displayed on the day they happened giving visitors a bird's eye view of an individual's life. This prototype (setup for my own life) has not been updated in a while, but still functions as a proof of concept.
Giferator
Automated Animation Based Subliminal Content Absorption System
NOTES: The Giferator was a simple web app I developed for my own amusement. Given a search term is would perform a google image search and then crop, resize and compress all of the images into an animated gif. The result was a rapidly flashing hypnotic impression of a given person, place, thing or concept. The app spiked in popularity shortly after launching, but unfortunately Google modified their rules so that it can no longer function. A gallery of randomly selected pairings is still available for viewing.
NOTES:Flipslide was my senior design project, and the first interactive website I designed and built. The concept was to create a new way for exploring fine art work on the web. I developed a 'genome' system so that each piece of art in the database would have a unique fingerprint based on the subjective qualities of the work. This allowed me to create a slide show interface that operated much like Pandora Radio. A seed image, or desired qualities were chosen, and other works with similar qualities are displayed.
APPENDIX A LOVE Love given and love taken, digitally
I was born in 1984, and I grew up near Princeton New Jersey. From an early age I was interested in art and technology. Luckily for me my parents nurtured these interests into full fledged passions. I've known for a long time that I wanted to design experiences, what medium explore was the harder question. My path evolved through a number of phases - focusing on fine art, then aeronautics, programming, architecture, set-design, auto-mechanics, filmmaking, and industrial design.
In 2003 I moved to Philadelphia to study Digital Media Design at the University of Pennsylvania. I had settled on digital media, and specifically virtual worlds, as a medium to explore communicating experience through. My freshman year I unwittingly produced a short film, entitled As Real as Your Life, at the time I had no idea this very personal film about my experiences with video games would become my calling card for years to come. The film opened many doors for me, including a chance to attend the TED Conference in 2007, work abroad in Hong Kong at a game studio, and work with some of the leading thinkers in the realm of video game culture.
Today, I'm still living in Philly, where I freelance and run PORT127, an independent research and development company specializing in interactive media production and consulting. I'm very interested in the question of how video games can be used to catalyze personal or even spiritual growth, and I write about that topic, and video game philosophy in general, at GamerThink. When I'm not at the computer, I enjoy practicing yoga, cooking, and lucid dreaming.
APPENDIX D CONTACT BUT FIRST SOME QUESTIONS
"I really like this website, will you build me one?"Probably not, at this time I'm not looking for nitty gritty web work unless it's part of a larger project.
"I have a new media project, can you help? "Why yes. I specialize in high level strategy and design for new media projects such as web services, video games, and cross media films. Drop me a line, or check out PORT127 for more detailed information on the services I offer.
"Can video games really help people evolve?"Most definitely, in fact I believe virtual experience may play a key role in the future development of humanity (yes really). Curious how? Check out my talk on video games and enlightenment or get in touch with me directly.
"I heard about your film, is it available for sale or for screenings?"You can buy a DVD at the AllGames Store. I've screened As Real as Your Life at schools, libraries, and conferences. It always gets people talking, and I very much enjoy doing Q&A's after the film. I'm willing to work with you to find a screening/appearance fee that works for for both of us.
"I just moved to Philly and am interested in game development, what should I do?"
Let's grab a beer! Philly is a great city of independent digital media development, check out the IGDA Chapter, or stop by Indie Hall, a shared work space and great place to meet people. I recommend finding others to collaborate with on small side projects to start.
"How can I get in touch with you?"
E-Mail is preferred, but please be patient, I'll do my best to get back to you within 24 hours.
EGO(at)MICHAELHIGHLAND.com
APPENDIX E ABOUT THE EGOPLEX
The EGOPLEX was built in HTML and PHP with healthy dose of Javascript including Shadowbox and Mootools. The "FEED" is powered by Tumblr. All linked image pairs (Maximum Awesome version only) come from the Digital Diptych, a previous portfolio site on which visitors could randomize and name pairs of images sourced from my life and work.
