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About

About

Associate Professor at the Design Department of the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto. His research explores computational art, design and aesthetics, topics to which he dedicated two books: "Art and Computation" (2022) and “Artificial Aesthetics” (2016). His artistic practice spans computer music, sound art, live performance, audiovisuals, and sound installations. He runs the Crónica label for experimental music and sound art, and the xCoAx conference (on computation, communication, aesthetics and x). 

Interest
Topics
Details

Details

  • Name

    Miguel Carvalhais
  • Role

    External Research Collaborator
  • Since

    01st July 2016
Publications

2025

Stuck! Stalling in Computer Games

Authors
Cardoso, P; Carvalhais, M;

Publication
Springer Series in Design and Innovation

Abstract
Games are commonly designed to assist players in their progression, maintaining their attention and motivation until they achieve closure while presenting challenges that need to be overcome to progress. But not all games are designed with this in mind, and players do not always play to progress. When that happens, we call it stalling. In computer games, stalling is when players or the game system try to maintain a particular state, impeding player progression and the game from developing. This chapter explores stalling as an act of players and, alternatively, as an act of the game itself that can be designed or result from emergent behaviours. It presents a model composed of two axes—Player/Game and Transitory/Permanent—that generate four types of stalling: Squandering, Casting-off, Lingering, and Taunting. This model leads to the conclusion that stalling is a legitimate playing tactic and versatile strategy for the design of games. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

2025

Exploring Interactivity and Interpassivity in Digital Narratives: A Critical Examination

Authors
Monteiro, AC; Carvalhais, M; Torres, R;

Publication
ADVANCES IN DESIGN, MUSIC AND ARTS III, EIMAD 2024, VOL 1

Abstract
The interaction between code and language shapes emergence and innovation in computational systems, turning them not merely into a series of connected structures but into narrative spaces. Interactive Digital Narratives (IDNs) are characterized by a tension between the control exerted by the system to engage readers and the autonomy that readers desire over the narrative's direction. This results in a ludic paradox, where the role of the narrative system is to enable and facilitate play while simultaneously being capable of communicating the outcomes of the readers' actions. On the other hand, the reader must be able to participate actively by playing along the system's rules. Based on the notion of interpassivity, which refers to the delegation of the cognitive activity to the object, thus transforming the reader into a passive observer of the system's interactions, this paper aims to explore the interplay between interpassivity and interactivity. As we navigate IDNs, we engage with narratives that challenge and empower readers, that create immersive and enriching experiences, and transform their relationships with the computational system. This contributes to understanding the pleasure of playing and the reader's role. Based on the premise that readers can derive pleasure from automation but also yearn for control over the narrative, we can investigate the playful interaction between humans and machines. This paper will analyze Emissaries (2015-2017), defined by its creator, Ian Cheng, as a video game that plays itself, and where the reader can seemingly only visualize the work. In this case study, we will look for narrative mechanics and the specificity of the medium in which the IDN is instantiated. We will discuss how the computational system actively shapes the narrative without direct reader input and consequently propose a reconceptualization of the concept of interpassivity and its relationship with interactivity.

2024

The Entanglement of Interactive Digital Narratives and the Body: The role of aesthetics and sensory perception

Authors
Monteiro, AC; Carvalhais, M; Torres, R;

Publication
Electronic Workshops in Computing

Abstract

2023

Computing Short Films Using Language-Guided Diffusion and Vocoding Through Virtual Timelines of Summaries

Authors
Arandas, L; Carvalhais, M; Grierson, M;

Publication
INSAM Journal of Contemporary Music, Art and Technology

Abstract
Language-guided generative models are increasingly used in audiovisual production. Image diffusion allows for the development of video sequences and some of its coordination can be established by text prompts. This research automates a video production pipeline leveraging CLIP-guidance with longform text inputs and a separate text-to-speech system. We introduce a method for producing frame-accurate video and audio summaries using a virtual timeline and document a set of video outputs with diverging parameters. Our approach was applied in the production of the film Irreplaceable Biography and contributes to a future where multimodal generative architectures are set as underlying mechanisms to establish visual sequences in time. We contribute to a practice where language modelling is part of a shared and learned representation which can support professional video production, specifically used as a vehicle throughout the composition process as potential videography in physical space.

2022

The Book of X: 10 years of Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X

Authors
Carvalhais, M; Verdicchio, M; Ribas, L; Rangel, A;

Publication

Abstract

Supervised
thesis

2020

A Revista de Moda Independente: a revolução através do impresso à sua chagada ao Instagram

Author
Nathalia Gabrielle Carvalho Duarte

Institution
UP-FBAUP

2020

Música, Razão e/ou Emoção

Author
Horácio António Barbosa Tomé Marques

Institution
UP-FBAUP

2020

Revista Sporting Cá Em Cima Descobrir, documentar e comunicar o Sporting Clube de Portugal no norte de Portugal

Author
Ricardo Jorge Pinto Moreira

Institution
UP-FBAUP

2020

Anticipatory Design for the Ubiquitous Computing Era: Towards a Human- centered Artificial Intelligence shift in Interaction Design

Author
Joana Machado Cerejo de Araújo

Institution
UP-FBAUP

2020

Narrativas especulativas: a arte contemporânea como uma mensagem enviada do futuro

Author
Chana de Moura

Institution
UP-FBAUP