Portfolio
NOTE: Imagine a 90s/00s animated gif here, refresh of my site under construction.
Luke Skarth writes, designs, researches and creates with and for game engines and mixed reality media. He's your unicorn: interdisciplinary, creative, technical. With a background in philosophy, literature, and computer science, luke is interested in critical engagement with technology, the environment, and the multiplicity of futures in our fragmentary times.
Current Projects
Attention-Driven Scenography (2018-2024)
My PhD thesis. The key contribution is a design framework for using user attention, proxied through camera position, to drive explicit through to implicit changes in virtual environments, environmental storytelling, and narrative elements encapsulated by the theatrical concept of scenography. Probably best to click through above for a longer description.
Attention-Driven Scenography Unity Plugin (2023-2024)
The Unity plugin that formalises my thesis work into a usable piece of software with implemented examples. Coming soon...
Woolgatherer (2023)
Proof of concept experience making use of Attention-Driven Scenography. Built in Unity. Public version coming soon...
Games, Experiences, Demos, Prototypes
Cognitive Dissidents (2021?)
prototype interactive narrative experience prior to Woolgatherer designed around "Reactive Mise-en-scène", precursor to Attention-Driven Scenography. Built in Unity.
Droneconomicon (2017)
Stealth-based student game built in unreal engine.
Spinnertronic Puzzlebox (2017)
Sensor-driven physical puzzle game built using a raspberry pi. student project.
No Longer Jubilant (2017)
Locative murder mystery crime procedural built using art codes and wander anywhere. another student project.
Cat Runner! (2016)
Infinite runner student game built with python / pygame.
Fiction
Never After Tomorrow (2014)
Short story receiving special mention in competition based around the after tomorrow installation at the v&a by elmgreen and dragset.
Non-Fiction
90 from the 90s (2013)
An old writing project where i wrote about a song from the 1990s every day for 90 days.
Ninehertz Reviews (2011)
Old music criticism and reviews for alternative music site ninehertz.
Software
Reactive Mise-en-scène (2021?)
The precursor design framework that would be superceded by Attention-Driven Scenography, here formalised in a Unity plugin. I recommend using the Attention-Driven Scenography plugin when it is released instead.
Siren Songs (2017)
A python-based sonification tool for composing repeating melodies and percussion that trigger based on network traffic properties. Unreleased, but discussed in the linked demo paper.
Noise
"Check Out My Soundcloud" (ongoing)
Various sonic dabblings.
Events
FACETS 2021 Immersive Storytelling Symposium (2021)
I was fortunate enough to be able to demonstrate Cognitive Dissidents, an earlier design artefact / interactive experience I made as part of my PhD research, at the FACETS Immersive Storytelling Symposium. I used this opportunity to observe members of the public playing Cognitive Dissidents and used it to inform future aspects of my research work.
Space, place, and identity workshop (2018?)
A collaborative workshop with other postgraduate researchers. In the workshop I demoed various non-game virtual spaces and prompted discussion about the construction of identity in virtual space and place.
Arduino Workshops (2017)
I delivered a brief series of workshop sessions to Nottingham Trent University MSc Product Design students. In the workshops I explained the basics of Arduino, BBC Microbit, and Raspberry Pi-based electronics, along with a brief overview of how to program them, then used this along with one-to-one conversations to suggest how students might integrate these devices into their products and projects.
Mixed Reality Lectures for Product Designers (2017-2018)
For two years running I delivered a pair of guest lectures for NTU students on the topic of mixed reality in a product design context.