A framework for element-based computer graphics

Abstract

There is an imbalance between personal and algorithmic control in existing techniques for element-based computer graphics. A reframing of the traditional graphics pipeline is used to address this. By turning modelling and rendering into an interactive process, and introducing semi-autonomous agents to manage elements, we develop a framework through which it is possible to build applications with a given control balance. Agents negotiate control of their representations on a canvas via interactions in agent space. Interaction with the rendered image on canvas is conveyed to agents responsible for that image, which interpret the interaction and adjust the underlying model appropriately. In addition, the concept of a coalition, as in game theory, provides a means for groups of agents to organise or be organised. This framework is realised as a prototype engine along with a series of examples that illustrate a broad range of variations in control balance that are possible within this framework.