imadethisthing

Contact Me at:  samuelstrick [at] gmail [dot] com

There is a game idea I’ve been batting around in my head, and bringing up at gamerly going-ons – and after an awesome 8-bit show at Babycastles (BUBBLY FISH!), I came home inspired to make it.

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Lazer Fiend is a Galaga style shooter played with your webcam!

Back away from your computer so that your wingspan is about the width of the webcam.  Move left and right to move, and punch the sky to shoot.  Complete with high scores, and bosses.  Online for your gaming pleasure.  Enjoy!

Infinus is a shmup (that’s shorthand for Shoot Em’ Up, a basically hardcore arcade style shooter, think asteroids) that keeps going.  It has a frantic pace, and I wanted to accentuate that by it just starting, and it automatically continuing when you lose a life.

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This is an audio-visualizer in which an interstellar StarTraveler moves through space at various speeds based on audio volume.

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I go to Parsons School of Design in NYC.  I am a senior undergrad.  Since I was a sophomore, I wanted to get into a toy design class, but my prerequisites always got in the way.  Finally, in my second to last semester, I got in – and it’s a little disappointing.  Instead of a design class, we’re making toys with no precedence, and no deliberate design (and for the majority of the class, with none of the necessary skills).  For each of the assignments, I haven’t exactly been following our strict, and somewhat off the cuff guidelines.  This thing is what I ended up making for my plush toy assignment.  Instead of a toy, I decided to make an article of clothing!  Monster Hoody Jeffery.

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I’m usually really good about Halloween, but this year I have been a little busy to plan and construct anything crazy.  My roommate asked me if I could sew her something, a Peter Pan costume – one that wasn’t a ‘sexy Peter Pan’, just a regular one.  Last night I did, and even though I forgot to bring her measurements, it fit!  I’ll put up a pic of whatever I will be for Halloween when it happens.  Check after the break for a  few pictures of the costume.

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Just a quick thing to put up: a simple webcam visualizer written in open frameworks called Invariable.  It was created for a college event I ended up disk jockeying (which I am told is very high school of me).  We needed something cool on the projector!

So what is it doing?  It grabs video and employs differencing on each color channel, and if the pixel’s change is over whatever threshold I’ve set, it shows up as a pure color from whatever channel.  I’m pretty bad at describing this sort of thing…  Let me try again.  Imagine, you are a pixel.  Not a whole pixel, but just the red part of a pixel (so if you and blue where hanging out the pixel would be purple).  Now let’s say that the camera isn’t picking up red at all, you won’t have to be too bright, let’s say around 40.  But all of a sudden red shows up, about 200′s worth!  Now, because of the visualizer, you won’t turn 200, you’ll be 255!  SUPER BRIGHT!  PURE RED!  Other colors on the same pixel can do this, because the process is worked out per channel, so mixes can show up, allowing for cardinal colors, and black or white.

The thing looks pretty cool, so check the break for a video and a download link!

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The other week I had my first big thesis presentation – It didn’t have to be, but at 2 in the morning the night before I decided it was important.  In the end, with the help of my lab partner, I had made my most badass presentation ever.  Hit the break for more.

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My name is Sam Strick, and I am a compulsive creator.  Somehow announcing my problem like this feels like the first step of an AA meeting, but I could have predicted this as well.

I have made things since I had the motor skill to craft, mom always said she could lock me in a closet and I could keep busy for weeks with the lint and paperclips hidden within.

I never could understand why I’d want to document any of my things.  The act of making the thing is the fun part for me; but with my life as a student coming to a close I feel like it will benefit me, and the internet, if I catalog some of my more complete things – and that is what this site is for.

At first this means me racking my brain to the whereabouts of any photos or documentation I might have produced by accident.  And figuring out what I want to show.  But hopefully within a few months I’ll be able to post real time what I’m up to.

I’ll throw up a brief bio so you can get to know me later.