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“Embodied Code, Interactive Liveness” is an art installation that aims to explore live coding as a paradigmatic example of the liminal space between the virtual and the real. With a multi-layered approach based on three interaction modes, this work focuses on embodiment, code, interaction and liveness. It is built on an educational approach aiming at dissolving the boundaries between programmer and participant.

Mimicking a live-coding session, the work presents two interconnected modules: one for generating audio and one for real-time visuals. Both modules react to the user’s presence while, at the same time, offering an interface to directly interact with some variables and manipulate the code that is producing such sound and visuals. The sound module is programmed in MicroBlocks. The visual module is programmed in Snap! using the performer mode in order to simultaneously show the code and its visual results. While both modules are essential to the overall experience in the piece, this presentation focuses on the Snap! visual module to exemplify and explain the overall approach.

Participants are invited to interact at different levels. The first is body interaction. As participants approach the installation, a camera will sense their presence and start activating and manipulating a series of parameters. Since this happens while the code is shown, what is affected by the users’ movements is visible at all times.

Once participants become familiar with the embodied interaction, they are invited to progress to the second level. In it the experience shifts closer to the role of a programmer. Here, a trackpad and a numerical keyboard are offered to manipulate the parameters. Additionally, using a custom-crafted hardware interface device the audience can load different scripts or reset the one they are working on, should they wish to revert the changes made. This transition from body-based to manual control offers a first step towards the participants' understanding of live coding, while still maintaining the playful nature of the experience.

At the third level, participants are given total control over the code, as they can freely interact with the Snap! blocks along with the parameters. This free interaction lets them modify anything they wish without any safeguards. This introduces the concepts of error and control, while keeping the reset button as a safeguard of a system that can be endlessly repaired.

In exploring several aspects of live coding through embodied and interface interactions, and combining creative, educational, and collaborative elements, this piece aims at creating a reflective experience where participants think about the connection between the body, code, and creativity. It encourages users to interact with the system in a fun and simple way, allowing them to explore live coding by moving their bodies, making what is often a technical or complex process into something that feels accessible and enjoyable.

Acknowledgements: Grant PID2021-128875NA-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and "ERDF A way of making Europe”.

Authors: Enric Mor, Joan Soler-Adillon, Bernat Romagosa, Laia Blasco-Soplón, Jonathan Chacón