part of the JPMorgan Chase Kids Digital Movement and Sound Project
(c)2002 douglas irving repetto and Jason Freeman
shape-module splits up the screen into a series of rectangles, triangles, or diamonds. When discs pass through a shape, the shape changes color and triggers a sound.
The more discs that are inside of a shape and the larger the size of those discs, the more the color of the shape changes and the louder the corresponding sound becomes. The pitch of a shape's sound is determined by the shape's location on the screen; the higher the shape and the further to the right a shape, the higher its pitch.
lowcolor:
highcolor:
framecolor:
These buttons allow you to change the color scheme of shape-module's
display. The "lowcolor" is the color of a shape when there are
no discs inside of it; the default lowcolor is white. The
"highcolor" is the color of a shape when it has filled with
discs and changed its color the most; the default "highcolor"
is red. The "framecolor" is the color of the borders between
shapes; the default framecolor is blue.
x
density:
y density:
These sliders allow you to change the number of columns (x) and rows
(y) of shapes. Higher density means more rows or columns of shapes, but
with each row's size smaller.
color
saturation:
This slider determines how
quickly a shape changes color from its "lowcolor" to its
"highcolor." A higher saturation means that the shape is more
sensitive and changes color quicker.
disc size
factor:
This slider determines how much the
size of each disc influences how the color of each shape changes.
rectangle:
triangle:
diamond:
These radio buttons select what type
of shapes are used.
fill:
This checkbox determines what happens when the color of a shape changes. When it is checked, the entire area of the shape changes color. When it is unchecked, only the outline (i.e. perimeter) of the shape changes color.
frame:
This checkbox determines whether a frame is drawn, in "framecolor," to show the boundaries between shapes.
volume:
Use this slider to control the volume of the sound.
mute:
Use this button to turn the sound off and on.
To get a sense of how shape-module works, try it out with only a single disc at first. Then add more discs once you get the hang of it.
shape-module can handle only a limited number of total discs at a time. The exact number varies depending on the speed of your computer; usually, 10 or 15 total discs is the maximum. If you hear clicks and pops in the sound, or if shape-module crashes, then you probably had too many total discs. If you are nearing the maximum number of discs, shape-module may give you a warning message, and it may start using only some of your discs.