Sébastien Caquard

A “Living” Atlas for Geospatial Storytelling: The Cybercartographic Atlas of Indigenous Perspectives and Knowledge of the Great Lakes Region

This article presents and discusses the cultural and technological contexts of the development of the Cybercartographic Atlas of Indigenous Perspectives and Knowledge of the Great Lakes Region in Ontario. The atlas was developed to enhance the capability to recover the systemic nature of traditional Indigenous knowledge by electronically interrelating different forms of expressive culture (language, oral traditions, items of material and visual culture, historical documentation). To reach this goal, this atlas includes a “living” geospatial database that serves as an artefact repository and enables communities to contribute geographically relevant knowledge and to develop their own interactive, multimedia online geospatial stories through modules or sections. Two of these modules are discussed here: a treaties module focusing on the survey phase of the Lake Huron treaty process, and a culture module geared toward engaging Aboriginal artists, community members, and high school students in contributing to t...

Cybercartography: Maps and Mapping in the Information Era

The world of maps and mapping is rapidly being transformed. Recent technological developments have brought maps into the daily life of societies all over the world in unprecedented ways. Maps are everywhere: on our cell phones, in newspapers, in art galleries, on television, in books, and, obviously, on our computer screens. According to Michael Peterson (2005), maps are now second only to weather information in the number of World Wide Web search requests. This widespread use of on-line mapping has attracted the interest of large corporations such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Recently, the almost instantaneous success of Google Map, Google Earth, and Microsoft Digital Earth (Goodchild 2005) has demonstrated the increasing presence of maps in our daily life. This success is also transforming the way we access, use, and interact with maps. User-friendly technologies and high-resolution images now allow users to create maps that respond to individualized demands.

Designing sound in cybercartography: from structured cinematic narratives to unpredictable sound/image interactions

In this paper we draw on the analysis of sound in film theory in order to explore the potential that sound offers cybercartography. We first argue that the theoretical body developed in film studies is highly relevant to the study of sound/image relationships in mapmaking. We then build on this argument to develop experimental animated and interactive sound maps for the Cybercartographic Atlas of Antarctica that further explore the potential of sound for integrating emotional, cultural and political dimensions in cartography. These maps have been designed to recreate cinematic soundscapes, to provide contrapuntal perspectives on the cartographic image and to generate an aural identity of the atlas. As part of this experimental mapping, an innovative sound infrastructure is being developed to allow complex sound designs to be transmitted over the Internet as part of atlas content. Through this infrastructure the user can select as well as contribute his own sounds. The overall cartographic message is becoming less predictable, thus opening new perspectives on the way we design, interact with, and modify sounded maps over the Internet.

Humorous Maps: Explorations of an Alternative Cartography

Maps are generally viewed as functional artefacts. They are considered accurate and useful conveyors of information, helping individuals find their way, understand environments, and inform decisions. However, maps also have a strongly pleasurable component. They generate and support narratives, they are tied to emotions, memories and adventures, and sometimes they make people laugh. In this paper, we engage with a very specific form of alternative cartography: humorous maps. We begin with an interdisciplinary review of the general theories and functions of humor to discuss the three major impediments of the use of humor in cartography: (1) the lack of recognition of the potential of humor; (2) the complexity of humor creation; and (3) the scientific orientation of modern cartography. We then turn to alternative forms of cartography to emphasize the function of humor in mapmaking through a chronological review of some examples of humorous maps. Through this review, we demonstrate that humorous maps caricature scientific cartography by drawing on the latters persuasive power. In this sense, humorous maps can destabilize the scientific and technological bases of contemporary cartography. Freed from scientific constraints, humorous maps provide societal commentaries rather than geospatial facts. We conclude by arguing that humor—along with other forms of expression—can be combined with scientific maps to generate hybrid forms of cartography; these new representations could help us to represent anew the worlds we inhabit.

Live Hypernarrative and Cybercartography: You Are Here, Now

AbstractThis article explores some of the potentialities of narration in the context of cybercartography. We have developed a new kind of dynamic or “live” form of hypernarrative, in which the content and structure of stories is determined by live information. This system would ultimately allow the creation of hypermedia narratives capable of mining public databases on the fly in order to customize and integrate narrative material appropriate to the users particular temporal and geospatial context. Unlike other forms of hypermedia, a live hypertext narrative can actually be different every time it is read. More akin to an improvised performance than to a recorded one, a live hypertext changes depending on where and when it is accessed, and on what is happening in the world and on the Web. Live hypertext thus presents a new development in the history of writing that challenges our inherited notions of the stability, fixity, and even authority of printed text. The role of live data and the spatial and temp...

Chapter 12 Art, maps and cybercartography: Stimulating reflexivity among map-users

Abstract In this chapter the case is made for encouraging reflexivity by making map-users aware that any map is a “construction of the image of space” and is thus inherently subjective. Informing map-users of the constructed dimension of maps is particularly vital given the exponential production of maps via the Internet. This growth expands the presence of potentially dogmatic and misleading messages. To address these issues, the interrelation between aesthetics, science and technology, and its impact on the perception of maps by most users is discussed. On the one hand cartographers have widely used the aesthetic dimension of art to increase the impression of objectivity associated with maps and on the other hand, developments in the humanities provide grounds to challenge this concept of map objectivity. In this context the potential of cybercartography to combine multiple media, art, technologies, and perspectives into maps is highlighted. This chapter concludes by arguing for stronger presence of artistic creativity and social criticism in maps on the Internet to stimulate map reflexivity.

Role-Playing Games in Cybercartography: Multiple Perspectives and Critical Thinking

This article discusses the use of computer games in cybercartography and how computer game characteristics can enhance the design of cybercartographic products. We focus on investigating multiple perspectives through role play in a geospatial virtual environment. The ways in which literature and film support multiple perspectives can guide us in our design efforts for developing cybercatographic atlases. We explore the potential of games for presenting multiple points of view in an environmental context through the modification of an existing computer game that includes quest narratives and character interaction as well as role play. Active engagement with different characters and the environment in role-playing games encourages exploration and learning, and these interactions give a player the opportunity to discover diverse points of view and develop different ways of solving problems. Multiple points of view in cybercartography can offer a plurality of voices on critical issues. In particular, information presented in maps can stimulate ideas and encourage critical thinking. This leads us to conclude that the engaging and emotional dimensions of computer games can be combined with the multiple perspectives they offer to attract new atlas users and to provide them with a more critical perspective on geographic and environmental information.

COMPUTER GAMES AS HOMEWORK

We are interested in exploring how entertainment in games can be combined with educational goals to make a compelling experience. In this paper we present our design study for the development of a mod game, Antarctic NWN. We first present the background for the game, objectives, and then discuss the gameplay of Antarctic NWN. We then explore issues that influence the design of a gripping game. One important issue is the relation between reality, simulation and game word. Then we focus on enhancing emotional involvement. Emotion is especially relevant to role-play game as it draws players into the story, and supports aesthetic understanding. We also look more specifically at the role of humour in this context. Humour enhances learning as well as providing a more pleasurable experience. In our quest to understand how games can both delight and instruct, we review the environment in which our game might be played, within the classroom or as family entertainment and describe different scenarios of use.