The Cloudmaker Project aims to foster creativity and collaboration between young people through an online design platform. It utilizes the popular Minecraft game combined with 3D printing and physical computing to allow students to jointly design virtual structures, print physical objects, and program interactions between the digital and physical worlds. The project brings together academics, artists, developers, and cultural institutions in an innovative collaboration between the Liverpool School of Art and Design and FACT arts center to explore new forms of digital engagement and creativity.

1. The
Cloudmaker
Project
Dr
Mark
Wright
FACT
Lecturer
in
Crea/vity
and
Digital
Embodiment
Liverpool
School
of
Art
and
Design
Liverpool
John
Moores
University
TwiCer:
@dr_mark_wright
Sarah
Bailey
Head
of
Engagement
FACT
Liverpool
TwiCer:
@sarahlearns
ITAAU
Network
Mee?ng
June
19th
2014

2. What
are
we
trying
to
achieve?
• The
cultural
significance
of
the
digital
is
that
it
brings
new
forms
of
embodiment
and
interac/on
into
the
world
• New
ways
of
doing
and
thinking
lead
to
the
evolu.on
of
prac/ce,
meaning
and
being

3. What
are
we
trying
to
achieve?
• Knowledge
is
oMen
embedded
tacitly,
physically
and
socially
• So
such
evolu/on
is
not
possible
either
through
technologically
centred
development
focused
on
requirements
capture
or
passive
ethnographic
study
of
exis/ng
prac/ce
• The
new
fron/er
of
enquiry
is
inherently
interdisciplinary
crea/ve
and
prac/ce
focused
in
nature.

4. Research
Disciplines
as
Silos
The
Silos
get
their
form
from
the
internal
consistency
of
each
field
not
the
possible
uses
of
the
knowledge
they
contain
Don’t
get
rid
of
the
silos!
They
are
raw
materials
of
innova/on

5. Mul/ple
Silo
Exploita/on
But
we
need
to
do
more
…
To
use
informa/c,
Scien/fic
and
Humani/es
knowledge
we
need
to
reach
into
and
across
the
silos
of
the
discipline
and
crea/vely
contextualize
this
knowledge
into
cultural
situa/ons
through
design.
A
new
approach?
There
may
be
more
than
the
mee/ng
different
disciplines
here
but
a
new
approach
to
enquiry
and
crea/vity?

6. Research
by
Design:
An
enac?ve
model
of
enquiry
• Co-­‐design
with
real
communi/es
• Cross
disciplinary
Research
• Collabora/ve
Design
Briefs
• Intensive
short
technical
and
design
innova/on,
reflec/on
and
innova/on
• Meaning
unfolds
through
play
• Exploring
the
cultural
significance
of
the
digital
• Inven/ng
the
future
by
exploring
spaces
of
possibility
and
iden/fying
/pping
points
Design Brief Outcome
“Invisible Art”

7. FACT
‘Founda?on
for
Art
and
Crea?ve
Technology’
One
of
Europe’s
leading
Centers
for
Digital
Art
Large
Scale
Public
Engagement
Communi/es
Impact
Art
School
Digital
Co-­‐Design
Embedded
Shared
Post
between
LJMU
and
FACT
LJMU
and
Partners
Social
Science
Informa/cs
Science
Art
and
Humani/es
Developers
Ar/sts
Public
Bodies
Industry
Academia
and
Cultural
Ins?tu?ons
A
Novel
Embedded
Model
of
Collabora?on

8. Cloudmaker
• Social
Design
ac?vity
focusing
on
a
real
brown
field
site
• Extension
of
MinecraY
–
huge
interest
and
skills
base
• Inclusion
of
3D
Prin?ng
Server
–
physical
digital
divide
• Design
Process
includes
Physical
Design
and
Making
• Social
online
sharing
of
designs
• Internet
of
things
-­‐communica?on
between
MinecraY
(a
metaverse)
and
the
Real
world
• Explora?on
of
advanced
interac?on
techniques
An
Internet
U?lity
to
support
collabora?ve
design
between
young
people

9. Co-­‐Design
Process
• Co-­‐design
sessions
with
students
and
teachers
of
Studio
School
• Co-­‐design
with
Families
• Meta-­‐design
–
not
a
‘product’
but
an
explora?on
of
what
a
system
should
look
like
to
support
design
by
others

10. PrintcraM
MinecraY
Server
Mod
that
supports
3D
prin?ng
Created
by
collaborator
Paul
Harter
Extended
on
Cloudmaker
to
include
social
sharing

11. Tangible
Interac/on
with
Immersive
Worlds
Objects
and
buildings
designed
by
students
in
MinecraY
Objects
3D
Printed
by
Students
Objects
act
as
Tangible
interfaces
on
a
Reac?ve
Table
Simultaneous
interac?on
with
tangible
interface
and
immersive
world

12. The
MinecraM
of
Things
Students
build
‘shimp’
computer
(one
chip
Arduino)
Physical
Interface
via
USB
Programming
in
Python
to
pass
messages
between
MinecraY
and
the
Real
world

13. Listen:
Sarah
Bailey
FACT
Head
of
Public
Engagement
Large
Scale
Public
Engagement
Communi/es
Impact
Cloudmaker
Show
and
Tell
Watch:
Mark
Wright
FACT/LJMU
FACT
MinecraY
ITAAU
Demo
Live
link
with
Germany

14. Cloudmaker
Movie

15. Cloudmaker
Rollout
Now
Public
Server
FACT
Future
Broadcaster?
Future?
Rapsberry
Pi
Local
Server
and
Content
Now
Server
Bundle
Future
Open
Source
Bundle
of
code
and
content

16. Thanks!
The
Cloudmaker
Project
Dr
Mark
Wright
FACT
Lecturer
in
Crea/vity
and
Digital
Embodiment
Liverpool
School
of
Art
and
Design
Liverpool
John
Moores
University
TwiCer:
@dr_mark_wright
Sarah
Bailey
Head
of
Engagement
FACT
Liverpool
TwiCer:
@sarahlearns
ITAAU
Network
Mee?ng
June
19th
2014