Events

Concept & Mission

I created Hypnocade as a way to involve and engage people with the video art medium and allow them to explore a never-ending novel landscape. My journey as an artist has been one of inspiration and delight, and when I discovered how to incorporate my trained engineering skillset into my art I knew I was meant to share the love of creation with others. It brought me incredible joy to learn this medium and I want nothing more than to give others that same feeling. So far it has proven this concept in every way I hoped.

The Machine

Hypnocade is an interactive visual arts arcade machine that lets players create kaleidoscoping colorful visuals with a simple and intuitive set of classic arcade controls. Colors, shapes, and interactions are all created generatively by a player. The resulting visuals can be moved, spun about, mirrored, and otherwise manipulated in a wide variety of ways. I've shown this at a wide array of events, from very small events (1-200 people) to large gaming conventions (40,000 attendees) as well as festivals across the country. In 2025 I took it to Sound Haven and Fire Lights festivals (2-4,000 attendees) and received feedback from festival-goers ranging from "what even IS this thing?" to "my friend just spent the last three hours playing your arcade" to "the best festival side quest I've ever seen".

At Fire Lights I had the installation set up near one of the stages and ran the signal into FOH for VJs to mix in crowd-interactive visuals with their sets as desired. I would love to do this again, with alternatives of a stand-alone installation (base package, no external display) or have a lighted art-framed projection screen decorated similarly to what is created on the machine to provide an extra layer of entertainment for passers-by as well as those interacting with the arcade.

Previous Installations

Installation Options

Technical Details

If you want an even deeper dive I'm more than happy to accomodate so please let me know! Here's a short run-down with some specifics:

• The installation is built in a vintage arcade machine—housed in a friendly, approachable form factor—with visual-reactive LED marquee
• Brightly painted with UV reactive paint, I will have it installed with overhead UV lights to make it glow
• Installation sits on a wood palette with a small canopy overhead for weather protection
• Power requirement: a single 120V 15 amp outlet
• Space requirement: 6' square, 8' high (with canopy), and requires a level surface

Notes & Other Requirements

• If a wood palette can be provided on-site it would be appreciated, but not necessary.
• FOH involvement / additional VJ signal will require placement close to the booth at whatever stage it is installed. I will provide a cable run to the booth and help coordinate video input for visual artists. Additional communication with the visual team is required for this add-on.
• The projection screen with custom art frame is roughly 12' wide and 9' tall (150" diagonal viewing area) and will require a setback of 5-6'. I would recommend this to be installed along a forest path near the machine.
• The installation can accommodate both a projector output as well as crowd-sourced visuals to augment VJ performance. During budget discussions we can talk about base pricing and add-ons for each level to see what setup works best for your event.