This is somewhat of a sequel to my previous post, I will use my expertise of interfaces to have a look at some interfaces that have come to pass in Cyberpunk themed media.
Hello there, it's been some time since I wrote for this blog. What can I say I got caught up in life. Nevertheless I would like to contine this blog to capture some ideas or feelings I have regarding a myriad of things. So! Let's dive in shall we.
Ever since I've been designing interfaces I've looked at media through a different lens. Especially media that I enjoy. In a lot of movies I see the craftmanship in small moments or details that add to the overall feeling or setting of the story. But aren't necessarily always caught upon.
What is an interface?
Well there could be many interpretations for that. It could be an exchange of information or perhaps a device or system that can be interacted with. I myself see it as a way to communicate with technology with a goal in mind.
When people interact with an interface they usually have a goal in mind. "Getting home", "Finding entertainment", "Warming up some food". even no goal is a goal in itself "just browsing around" is still a goal you have while interacting with your interface of choice.
Now with that being said, what do the interfaces in Cyberpunk media look like? Are the interactions different than our current interactions? Let's find out.
Examples of UI
In my previous article I summed up a few examples of UI's I found interesting. I'll list them again.
For example:
- The ONI in Altered Carbon: basically an eye-lens on steriods. You can connect to the internet with it, call people, and much more.
- A touch table in Carole & Tuesday: it’s a flat surface which people can interact with to order their food.
- Deep dive in Ghost in the Shell: when deep diving your digital consciousness jumps into another body, with this you are able to retrieve information from a person or create new information for them.
All of these examples are interfaces that are closely related to interfaces we have already seen. But they are just an upgraded version, so how would a person interact with such a technology?
ONI: Eye-lens on steroids
With the ONI the interaction is possible from multiple external sources and even with voice recognition. It's possibilities range from finding information (similar to google) to calling people and recording media. It's basically a modern day smartphone implanted into your eye.
Interactions
- Gestures: swiping, hold
- Voice control
Touch table
This was a simple idea that could actually already be done today. It was a touchscreen that they used as a table. I don't think it's a good idea to use it that way (it's very unsanitary). But it was a fun little thing to see in the show.
Interactions
- Gestures: swiping, hold, double tap
Deep Dive technology
Now this is where it gets interesting. With this technology you can dive into someone's memory. But with the added danger of being vulnerable to whatever happened to that someone. For example if someone got hacked before you dive into their memory. You'd be vulnerable to get hacked and/or affected too.
Interactions
- Touch
- Smell
- Sound
- See
- Taste
- Basically everything you can do in real life
Summary
Within media we explore many ideas we have but simply cannot achieve (yet). Next time that you watch a movie/series or read a manga/comic book look at those small details. Those little moments where characters interact with a system or device. You might be suprised with what you find!
I'm not sure what I will talk about in the next post, but that's part of the trip I suppose. See you next time!