Journal articles on the topic 'Leaf chopping machine'

This machine is used to chop leaves, twigs and branches into very small pieces, to avoid the bad smell due to the decay of organic waste and can be used as compost. The amount of cutting speed on the organic waste chopping machine with a chopping time of 2.5 kg of ketapang leaves is the average time obtained without fly wheels 2.0 minutes and with fly wheels 1.7 minutes, a time difference of 0.3 minutes. The chopping time of 2.5 kg of ketapang branches with an average time obtained without a fly wheel of 2.2 minutes and with a fly wheel of 2.0 minutes, a time difference of 0.2 minutes. The chopping time of teak branches is 2.5 kg with an average time obtained without a fly wheel of 2.6 minutes and with a fly wheel of 2.0 minutes, so the time difference is 0.6 minutes. So the cutting speed using a fly wheel is better. The results of the productivity obtained on the organic waste chopping machine, for the results of leaf chopping productivity without a fly wheel of 48% and those using a fly wheel of 58%, and the results of leaf chopping with a fly wheel are 10% more productive, for the productivity of chopping twigs without a fly wheel of 44% and those using a fly wheel of 49%, so the results of chopping twigs with a fly wheel are 5% more productive, and the results of chopping branches without a fly wheel of 37% and those using a fly wheel of 49%, so the results of chopping branches with a fly wheel are 12% more productive.

The Pelawan leaf chopper machine is an annual product of LPPM Universitas Brawijaya Malang and in collaboration with several universities, one of which is Bangka Belitung University which is focused on the Pelawan forest, Namang village, Central Bangka Regency. The chopping machine used has dimensions of 30 x 30 x 3 mm, and uses a 200-watt electric motor drive with a voltage of 220 V/150 Hz, with Rpm 2800 and 2 blades in the hopper. During the machine testing process, there were still deficiencies in the tool components which caused the results of the chopping to not be chopped properly. Therefore, it is necessary to identify existing problems and make design improvements to the pelawan leaf chopper machine to increase the capability of the chopping process. Identification was carried out on a pelawan leaf chopper machine in the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory at Bangka Belitung University. From the identification it is obtained; Firstly, the number of blades is 2, which causes the chopping process to not be optimal. Second, the distance between the hopper wall gaps is too wide, which affects the level of fineness of the chopped results. For this reason, design improvements were carried out to provide several alternative concepts (sketches) for the number of blades from various constructions on the machine. The alternatives given are 3 concept variants, the first is a 90° tilt propeller concept variant, the second is a 45° tilt screw layout concept variant and the third is a straight concept variant and a 90° tilt layout. In this research, variations of the concept following the assessment criteria and a distance between the blades of 45° enabled maximum results to be obtained.

Conventional straw-returning machines were incompatible with ridge cultivation terrain and unevenly distributed materials, resulting in substandard operations such as insufficient leaf fragmentation, damage to ratoon stumps, and high cutting energy consumption. In this regard, this paper proposes a novel profiling configuration of chopping and returning machine to adapt to the coverage characteristics of cane leaves in furrow-ridge terrain. The leaves piled at furrow sole are intensively collected and fed into the whirling space by the flexible hook teeth assembly, and are cooperatively broken by the unequal-length swing blades densely arranged along the double helix. Based on the measured topographic trends and dynamic analysis of the leaf-shredding process, experimental factors affecting profiling cutting and picking capabilities of the main components were determined. Further, using chopping qualification rate (CQR) and fragmentation degree (CFD) as indicators, field trails were conducted through a response surface method to test the comprehensive crushing performance of the machine. After multi-objective optimization, the optimal structural and operating parameters were determined as: blade length gradient of 1.57 cm, teeth spacing of 6.84 cm and feed speed of 3.2 km/h. With such adaptive configurations, CQR and CFD reached 81.14% and 0.101, respectively, which were significantly improved by 60.50% and 47.99% compared to those of conventional machines. Crushed leaves appeared to be more thoroughly mixed with the soil and more evenly spread in the field. Meanwhile, the traction resistance tended to be stable, with an effective RSM 45.85% lower than the value of higher-level blade gradient, indicating a better overall fit with the irregular terrain. This study can provide a reference for the development of leaf-chopping and returning machines suitable for ridge-type crops.

Processing leaves to make compost is generally still done by chopping using a machete, or many are not chopped, making it difficult for the leaves to decompose or rot. This research aims to determine the results of chopping using a single blade and by varying the size of the blade and varying the rotation speed of the machine. The benefit of this research is to determine the influence of leaf chopper machine components, especially the number of leaf chopper blades, using descriptive qualitative research methods with data collection methods, literature studies and observations. The research location is in the HKBP Nommensen University Laboratory workshop, Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra. The research process took the form of testing carried out in several stages, namely using a single blade by varying the length of the blade and varying the rotation speed of the machine to compare the speed and chopping results. Three trials were carried out each with varying blade lengths of 30cm, 35cm and 40cm and rotation variations of 2500rpm, 3000rpm and 5000rpm. The results are in the form of a comparison of speed and counting results between variations of 30cm, 35cm and 40cm. The test results more effectively lead to variations in blade size of 40cm. And the results of testing the engine rotation speed which is more effective leads to a rotation speed variation of 5000rpm.

<em>The P</em><em>e</em><em>lawan tree has many benefits in the community, one of which is its leaves for making herbal teas. The process of making this tea uses a chopper machine. This machine has existed before, but the dimensions of the previous were too large, which is where the initial purpose of making the machine was to help the community MSMEs whose users were women/mothers. Besides, the results of the chopping were still rough. Therefore, the design of the machine was carried out by changing the dimensions to 370 mm x 350 mm x 530 mm with an electric motor of 0.34 Hp with a motor rotation of 1325 rpm. There are four variations of blades angle, namely 10˚, 15˚, 20˚, and a combination of the angle. The goal is to increase the fineness of the chop. The results showed that with 10˚ produces 45.3% smooth and 54.7% rough, for 15˚ produces 37.31% fine and 62.69% rough, for 20˚ produces 36.24% fine and 63.76% rough, for the combined corners produces 38.58% smooth and 61.42% rough. The maximum production capacity of this machine is at an angle of 10˚ of 0.78 kg/hour</em><em>.</em>

Tobacco leaf chopping still uses the traditional method which is assisted by a motor that drives the blade to rotate, but the speed that cannot be adjusted. Therefore, an automatic tobacco chopper based on PLC and SCADA was created. This machine uses a blade that is driven by a 3 phase 0.5 PK AC motor which can be controlled manually using VSD and automatically using PLC and is also capable of monitoring and controlling using SCADA. In this chopping process using tobacco leaves that are still wet. This machine is equipped with an inverter whose acceleration can be adjusted so that the starting of the motor can be done in a soft start and braking can work optimally and efficiently. The results within one hour using a frequency setting between 15 to 35 Hz, a maximum of 116 kg of chopped tobacco leaves is produced with a thickness of 1 to 2 mm. The higher the frequency setting, the higher the RPM value where this RPM will determine the total capacity of the chopped tobacco

The design of the wilted tea stalk and leaf separation system aims to improve the quality of the tea produced especially by separating the tea leaves and stalks at the beginning of the process. Stages that are needed to be done include designing a chopper machine that is capable of chopping tea stems and leaves to a certain size and designing stem and leaf separation system with the pneumatic principle with suction. In this study, physical, mechanical and aerodynamic characteristics of tea leaves were measured. The result showed that force to release a leaf is in the range of values between 12.24-16.17 N smaller than the need for the cutting force of the stem and leaves and the greatest difference in force is achieved at a water content between 55 and 58% bb (leaves) and 66-68% bb (stalk). The leaf terminal velocity is &lt;3 m s-1 while the tea terminal velocity is &gt; 9 m s-1. Tea leaf yield value is very important as a reference in testing the performance of tea and tea leaf separator machines where the average leaf yield is 77.33% and the average stem yield is 22.67%. Keywords: characteristic of tea leaves, engineering, separation of tea leaves, withering of tea leaves

The physical and mechanical properties of sugarcane leaves were necessary for the design consideration of the relating storage, handling and processing equipment. The sugarcane trash at moisture contents of 23.40 and 73.91 % w.b. were used for this study. The mean length and unit weight of sugarcane trashes were 168.63 cm and 65.87 grams respectively. The average number of leaf of each sample was 4. The mean diameter of the thrash top, width and thickness increased with the increase of moisture from 23.40 and 73.91 % w.b.. The average leaf angles (β) relative to the horizontal plane of the first left leaf, second left leaf, first right leaf and second right leaf were 65.10, 73.36, 71.07 and 78.26 degrees for 73.91 % w.b., and 66.33, 73.50, 67.50 and 75.83 degrees for 23.40 % w.b. respectively. When the moisture content increased from 23.40 to 73.91% w.b., the static coefficient of friction increased from 0.30 to 0.43, 0.38 to 0.41, 0.30 to 0.37 and 0.54 to 0.66 for plywood, mild steel, galvanized iron and rubber plate respectively. The least static coefficient of friction occurred on the galvanized iron plate. The results from experimenting on mechanical properties showed that the maximum shearing force increased with the increase in moisture content from 23.40 to 73.91% w.b. respectively. The maximum shearing force was 360.15 and 457.32 N for moisture contents of 23.40 and 73.91% w.b.. The maximum tensile force decreased toward upper region of the leaf for both 23.40 and 73.91% w.b.. The results of this study would be useful for the design and optimization of the equipment associated with harvesting, threshing, chopping and processing.

A grass chopper is a machine used to chop grass and soft stems. In the grass chopping process, a sharp blade is required. The current problem is the blade get wear due to repeated sharpening of the blade, resulting in a non-uniform texture of chopped grass and often found some large grass sizes. Therefore, this research focuses on blade material engineering. This research was conducted by carburizing at 700°C for 60 minutes and adding carbon from coconut shell charcoal followed by quenching using water cooling media. The blade was made from a leaf spring made of JIS-SUP 9 steel. The results showed 106% of enhancement in carbon composition after the blade was treated by carburizing. This carbon composition enhancement affects the performance of the blade, namely higher hardness as shown by a 175% increase in hardness value and a 96.4% lower wear rate than the untreated blade.

With the use of current technologies of preparation of pressed forage, the losses of valued leaf part of grass plants come up to 14%, which is equivalent to significant losses of total weight of harvested hay. From this perspective, the purpose of the research is to develop a resource-saving technology of preparation of high-quality chopped hay, and to design a pick-up chopper for its implementation. To substantiate the offered technology, the method of system analysis is applied; to develop the structural and technological scheme of universal pick-up chopper, the method of design of agricultural machinery is used. As a result of theoretical researches, the analytical expression is obtained for determination of total yield losses, that are equivalent to the losses of leaf part of forage. The expression is proposed as a new optimization criterion for substantiation of different technologies of forage preparation. To improve the quality of forage and to exclude operations leading to the losses of leaf part of grass plants, a technology of preparation of chopped hay is proposed. Hammer and knife working bodies of a pick-up chopper provide high-quality chopping of dry and wet forage. The machine is equipped with new pick-up mechanism without treadmill, rollers, cranks or bearings for reliable hay picking up. The results of experimental researches allow to determine the following optimal parameters of the machine: the air flow speed in deflector 15 m/s; the rotation speed of pick-up reel 60 rpm; the optimal productivity 8-9 t/h; the losses of chopped forage 1.83%. The performance tests of a pick-up chopper equipped with hammer mill and new pick-up mechanism showed that it provides the preparation of high-quality chopped hay with reduction of operating costs by 2 times as compared to the roll technology of forage preparation.

In 2025, Indonesia has launched a zero-waste program. Towards a zero-waste program, of course, the community is given awareness in sorting and processing waste. Waste management is a common problem in urban or rural areas, along with the increase in population and people's lifestyles. Waste problems that are not handled properly can cause environmental problems (pollution of air, soil, and water) and public health. Based on the origin, waste is divided into organic and inorganic waste; organic waste is produced from biological materials that can be degraded by microbes or are biodegradable, or waste from fruit, vegetable, and leaf residues. This organic waste is the majority of the waste generated from households, so it is necessary to think about how to process it that is beneficial and efficient. One of these organic waste processing is processed into Eco enzymes, namely processing organic waste with molasses and water in a ratio of !:3:10. The organic waste processing process is first chopped to become a small part to facilitate the fermentation process. The automation of this chopping machine uses Arduino as a microcontroller, a load cell as a measure of the weight of organic waste, an electric motor as a driving force, a solenoid door lock as a lock for the organic waste load before grinding, and a knife as an organic waste count. The purpose of making this tool is to help chop organic waste in the process of processing eco enzymes. The research results on the automation of this organic waste chopper machine loadcell with a load of 1 Kg runs well; the solenoid door lock can hold organic waste to work well. The research results on the motor for upper milling are given a large torque equipped with a downward knife position and a pillow block so that the motor does not shake.

In the process of raising goats, one of the factors that affect the process of goat growth and development is the availability of feed in the surrounding environment. In an effort to meet this availability, it is necessary to have a food source that is always available and usually comes from plants that exist in nature, such as grass or leaves. The availability of animal feed is not immune from the influence of weather conditions and the level of availability of weeds around it which are needed in large quantities. To deal with this, some farmers use alternative feed sources, one of which has been used is palm fronds and leaves and other organic waste. With the size of the palm frond which is quite large, it is necessary to chop it up so that it can be consumed directly by goats (Latifa S, Anto A, David S, Jeni W, Alexander Y). Of course, manual counting can be done, but it is not very effective and requires a lot of time and energy. Based on these problems, it is necessary to mechanization of the midrib and leaf counting process in order to facilitate the process. The purpose of science and technology for the community in this goat farmer group in general is to improve the quality and capacity of livestock production. In addition, by helping the availability of goat feed through the use of alternative feed sources other than the sources that have been available so far and applying appropriate technology for the process of chopping palm fronds and other organic waste. This machine is capable of chopping palm fronds and leaves with a maximum size of 2 cm. Based on the results of interviews with farmers, this size is a size that can be chewed or processed by goats when eating. Then, through this IbM activity, it is expected to be able to establish cooperation between partners and proposers from educational institutions. Partners can develop their business because the need for animal feed is more fulfilled through animal feed chopper machines, while institutions can directly apply science and technology and apply their knowledge into appropriate technology and can introduce Polmanbabel educational institutions more broadly to the community.

Abstrak. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan bahan pelepah pinang muda yang menjadi limbah pembersihan lahan (pruning). Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini yaitu pengukuran dan perhitungan data pada beberapa parameter yaitu persentase hasil cacahan, kapasitas kerja mesin, bahan bakar yang dibutuhkan, ukuran hasil cacahan serta menganalisis hasil yang optimum berdasarkan variasi kecepatan yang diuji yaitu pada kecepatan 800 rpm, 1200 rpm dan 1600 rpm.Berdasarkan perhitungan hasil cacahan dengan berbagai variasi kecepatan maka persentase cacahan tertinggi terdapat pada kecepatan 1200 rpm yaitu 93,40%. Kapasitas kerja mesin paling banyak diperoleh pada kecepatan 1600 rpm yaitu 120,65 kg/jam. Bahan bakar yang sedikit dibutuhkan yaitu pada kecepatan 800 rpm yaitu 0,3 liter/jam. Hasil pengukuran panjang dan lebar hasil cacahan paling halus adalah pada kecepaatan 1600 rpm yaitu 2,1 cm dan 0,2 cm. Berdasarkan data yang diperoleh pada parameter yang telah diuji maka dapat dilakukan analisis perhitungan hasil optimum berdasarkan metode dieter dengan menggunakan digital logic. Hasil optimum cacahan berdasarkan perhitungan metode dieter didapatkan pada kecepatan 1200 rpm yaitu 88,18%. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa kecepatan putaran berpengaruh pada persentase hasil cacahan, kapasitas kerja mesin, bahan bakar dan ukuran hasil cacahan. Performance Test Of Betel Nut Chopping MachineAbstract. This research was conducted using young areca nut leaf material which is a waste of land clearing (prunning). The method used in this study is the measurement and calculation of data on several parameters, namely the percentage of chopped results, engine working capacity, fuel required, size of chopped results and analyzing the optimum results based on variations in speed tested, namely at speeds of 800 rpm, 1200 rpm, and 1600 rpm. Based on the calculation of the chopping results with various speed variations, the highest percentage of chopping is at 1200 rpm, which is 93.40%. The maximum working capacity of the machine is obtained at a speed of 1600 rpm, which is 120.65 kg/hour. Less fuel is needed at a speed of 800 rpm, which is 0.3 liters/hour. The results of the measurement of the length and width of the smoothest chops were at a speed of 1600 rpm, namely 2.1 cm and 0.2 cm. Based on the data obtained on the parameters that have been tested, it is possible to analyze the calculation of the optimum results based on the dieter method using digital logic. The optimum results of the count based on the calculation of the dieter method were obtained at a speed of 1200 rpm, namely 88.18%. It can be concluded that the rotational speed affects the percentage of chopped results, engine working capacity, fuel, and the size of the chopped results.

The growth of oil palm plantations in Indonesia, especially in Kalimantan and Sumatra, has resulted in an increase in palm oil waste from harvesting and tree care, both in the form of liquid waste and solid waste. As waste, palm fronds and leaves experience natural decomposition for about 4 months, which can cause a very large buildup and become a nest for pests to inhabit before decomposing. Designing an oil palm frond and leaf shredding machine involves designing special blades mounted on a rotating shaft, as well as a strong support structure to handle tough fiber materials, such as oil palm fronds and leaves, by producing flakes that can be used as organic fertilizer or ingredients. animal feed. The aim of this research is to create and test testing machines for chopping palm fronds and leaves showing that different blades have the ability to chop quite fine parts of the leaves with a chop length of between 20 mm and 50 mm, and the hardest part, palm fronds, can also be chopped finely. The amount of time spent is 1 minute and is able to chop 3 palm fronds. In 5 repetitions, an average time of 1 minute was obtained to chop the fronds. Based on the effective capacity of 5 repetitions on 19 blades, the average result was 1.45 kg/minute. Meanwhile, for effective capacity from 5 repetitions on 24 blades, the average result was 1.57 kg/minute and for effective capacity from 5 repetitions on 26 blades, the average result was 1.76 kg/minute

Community service activities is one of the obligations that must be implemented by lecturer at the university sabagai one aspect of Tri Dharma Perguruan Tinggi. The activity was carried out by a Team of Community Service entitled "The Application of Coconut Waste Processing Technology as Organic Fertilizer and Nata de Coco" is a devotion activity involving two partners, namely Bakti Karya Farmer Group and Mekar Jaya Farmer Group are two groups of farmers who are active in cultivation and coconut cultivation in Desa Asahan Mati, Tanjung Balai Sub-district of Asahan Regency. Problems faced is the low quantity and quality of coconut production caused by the limited information about the culture culture of coconut cultivation, especially aspects of pest control and fertilization. In addition, the presence of coconut straw waste in the form of midrib and leaves and coconut water that is very large to be a problem because it has the potential to cause environmental pollution and become a pest of nests. . In order to solve the problems of both partners, this activity will be conducted in the form of lectures, discussions, practices and introduction of coconut chopping machine in the form of leaf and stem to be used as raw material of organic fertilizer, hybrid coconut seeds and coconut waste water treatment equipment as nata de coco . After the implementation of the dedication activity to the partner community has been able to make organic fertilizer bokashi by utilizing the waste of coconut plants by digging the compost cutting machine that introduced, the practice of hybrid coconut cultivation, and waste water treatment of coconut to nata de coco. The results of these activities can increase hybrid coconut production while maintaining environmental sustainability,

Fodder cutter (toka) of both manual and powered type is among the commonest tool being used by people for the preparation of fodder for their cattle. Agricultural traumatic injuries can lead to serious disability and mortality. Out of the agricultural machinery related accidents the maximum occur with the chaff-cutters i.e. toka machines. An intriguing cervical trauma due to entanglement in agricultural implement while chopping fodder in a young individual is being reported, as there is no reference in global literature. Slightest mistake can lead to serious injuries with disastrous outcome.

General Background: Pandanus amaryllifolius plays a significant role in various industrial and agricultural sectors due to its versatile applications. Specific Background: The efficiency of the cutting and polishing process of pandan leaves is critical for enhancing productivity and uniformity in size, necessitating improved machinery for these tasks. Knowledge Gap: Despite the importance of efficient leaf processing, there is limited research on the design and implementation of specialized cutting machines for pandan leaves. Aims: This study aims to design a pandan leaf cutting machine with an electric motor drive to optimize the cutting process. Results: Utilizing SolidWorks 2016, the design concept was developed, featuring a machine powered by a 1-phase electric motor with a capacity of 1⁄4 HP. The selected design concept, termed Concept B, incorporates lightweight materials such as arc iron measuring 4x4 cm with a thickness of 1 mm, ensuring efficiency in operation. Novelty: This research contributes a novel design for a pandan leaf cutting machine that enhances operational efficiency and productivity. Implications: The findings suggest that implementing such machinery can significantly improve the processing of pandan leaves, thereby benefiting related industrial and agricultural sectors. Highlights: Design Innovation: The study presents a novel design for a pandan leaf cutting machine using SolidWorks 2016. Efficiency Improvement: The machine’s specifications, including a 1-phase electric motor, enhance productivity and uniformity in leaf processing. Material Selection: The use of lightweight arc iron contributes to operational efficiency, making the machine more effective in industrial applications. Keywords: Pandanus, Cutting Machine, Design, Efficiency, Electric Motor

The production of pineapple residue is increases in line with pineapple production in Malaysia. In order to overcome this issue, a conceptual design of harvesting and chopping machine will be developed to process the pineapple leaves. The combined-chopper is important to be developed as an alternative to the current manual handling method such as left on the ground until next plantation or burnt. This new machine will be introduced to harvest and able to chop the pineapple leaves into smaller size. This chopper machine will be comprised of a specialized blade to cut the pineapple leaves with a rotating conveyor to collect the harvested leaves prior chopping into the selected size. In this study, the average length and width of three most popular cultivars in Malaysia such as MD2 (V1), Josapine (V2) and Nanas Madu Kaca (A 11) (V3) were recorded. The results indicated that the average length and width of MD2 pineapple leaves were 742.00 mm and 58.00 mm respectively. The average length and width of Josapine pineapple leaves were 685.50 mm and 56.70 mm respectively. The average length and width of Nanas Madu Kaca (A 11) pineapple leaves were 817.75 mm and 56 mm respectively. These physical characteristics of pineapple leaf in important to design the chopper machine for pineapple leaves after the harvesting process.

With the increasing trend of mechanized harvesting of green sugarcane the trash residue needs to be used. Leaving large amounts of trash remaining on the field can sometimes lead to problems such as delay of sprouting of tillers, increased levels of leafhopper infestation and difficulty of tillage operation. Windrowing of trash after harvesting can minimize these problems. To eliminate the operation of trash windrowing and to facilitate the trash decomposition, the Sugarcane Technology Center, CTC (Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira), Brazil developed a trash shredder system for a primary extractor of John Deere chopper sugarcane harvester. Using rotating knives all vegetable material passing through the primary extractor is chopped, thereby reducing the particle size. After some adjustments, preliminary tests were carried out to prove the efficiency of chopping and sugarcane cleaning. The machine produces a much smaller trash particle size than conventional harvesters. The system shows promise in shredding trash either for use at the mill or for dispersion on the field.

Age-old mill still experiencing demands to improve the quality and oroduction capacity.Repair, renovation, addition of electrical equipment and production machines as supportingproduction should be done. For electrical equipment and machinery are aged beyond safe time limit.One of them : ACB-type circuit breaker point A, imposition of electrical equipment that exceed the timelimit on the plant safe will result in severe, be a disturbance explosion-fire resulting in total failureproduction. Being burdened Cane Cutter machines I which require a large torque because there is avery extreme narrow gap. Than the energy required large power, it takes great energy power,electrical system and installation of electrical equipment must consider regulatory electricity and PUIL2000 or international standards, so that the continuity of safe electric power energy. The use of electricmotor / Cane Cutter I should be considered more in the electrical system, due for chopping sugar cane,then a very large load torque too great and the gap in the extreme, can lead to Locked Rotor. Denganmethod IEC 60 909 in 2000 to calculate the locked rotor current noise ; simplification because thecalculation does not depend on the operating status of ongoing and future load flows. With a series ofanalyzes and short-circuit current using the formula of the total of 3-phase symmetrical fault currentobtained with the largest load disconnection times faster than the time settings. This fault currentDownstream ACB protected and unprotected then the Upstream ACB who do it (ACB point A), thisfault current lead to an explosion / fire in the ACB point A. ACB possible point A has exceeded the timelimit is safe and functioning of protection equipment ACB point A is Electronic or Solid state Trip Unit/ fully adjustable, the fault current exceeds safe limits (Imax overload dan fully adjustabl

Introduction Explorations of the multimedia game format within cultural studies have been broadly approached from two perspectives: one -- the impact of technologies on user interaction particularly with regard to social implications, and the other -- human computer interactions within the framework of cybercultures. Another approach to understanding or speaking about games within cultural studies is to focus on the game experience as cultural practice -- as an activity or an event. In this article I wish to initiate an exploration of the aesthetics of player space as a distinctive element of the gameplay experience. In doing so I propose that an understanding of aesthetic spatial issues as an element of player interactivity and engagement is important for understanding the cultural practice of adventure gameplay. In approaching these questions, I am focussing on the single-player exploration adventure game in particular Myst and The Crystal Key. In describing these games as adventures I am drawing on Chris Crawford's The Art of Computer Game Design, which although a little dated, focusses on game design as a distinct activity. He brings together a theoretical approach with extensive experience as a game designer himself (Excalibur, Legionnaire, Gossip). Whilst at Atari he also worked with Brenda Laurel, a key theorist in the area of computer design and dramatic structure. Adventure games such as Myst and The Crystal Key might form a sub-genre in Chris Crawford's taxonomy of computer game design. Although they use the main conventions of the adventure game -- essentially a puzzle to be solved with characters within a story context -- the main focus and source of pleasure for the player is exploration, particularly the exploration of worlds or cosmologies. The main gameplay of both games is to travel through worlds solving clues, picking up objects, and interacting with other characters. In Myst the player has to solve the riddle of the world they have entered -- as the CD-ROM insert states "Now you're here, wherever here is, with no option but to explore." The goal, as the player must work out, is to release the father Atrus from prison by bringing magic pages of a book to different locations in the worlds. Hints are offered by broken-up, disrupted video clips shown throughout the game. In The Crystal Key, the player as test pilot has to save a civilisation by finding clues, picking up objects, mending ships and defeating an opponent. The questions foregrounded by a focus on the aesthetics of navigation are: What types of representational context are being set up? What choices have designers made about representational context? How are the players positioned within these spaces? What are the implications for the player's sense of orientation and navigation? Architectural Fabrication For the ancient Greeks, painting was divided into two categories: magalography (the painting of great things) and rhyparography (the painting of small things). Magalography covered mythological and historical scenes, which emphasised architectural settings, the human figure and grand landscapes. Rhyparography referred to still lifes and objects. In adventure games, particularly those that attempt to construct a cosmology such as Myst and The Crystal Key, magalography and rhyparography collide in a mix of architectural monumentality and obsessive detailing of objects. For the ancient Greeks, painting was divided into two categories: magalography (the painting of great things) and rhyparography (the painting of small things). Magalography covered mythological and historical scenes, which emphasised architectural settings, the human figure and grand landscapes. Rhyparography referred to still lifes and objects. In adventure games, particularly those that attempt to construct a cosmology such as Myst and The Crystal Key, magalography and rhyparography collide in a mix of architectural monumentality and obsessive detailing of objects. The creation of a digital architecture in adventure games mimics the Pompeii wall paintings with their interplay of extruded and painted features. In visualising the space of a cosmology, the environment starts to be coded like the urban or built environment with underlying geometry and textured surface or dressing. In The Making of Myst (packaged with the CD-ROM) Chuck Carter, the artist on Myst, outlines the process of creating Myst Island through painting the terrain in grey scale then extruding the features and adding textural render -- a methodology that lends itself to a hybrid of architectural and painted geometry. Examples of external architecture and of internal room design can be viewed online. In the spatial organisation of the murals of Pompeii and later Rome, orthogonals converged towards several vertical axes showing multiple points of view simultaneously. During the high Renaissance, notions of perspective developed into a more formal system known as the construzione legittima or legitimate construction. This assumed a singular position of the on-looker standing in the same place as that occupied by the artist when the painting was constructed. In Myst there is an exaggeration of the underlying structuring technique of the construzione legittima with its emphasis on geometry and mathematics. The player looks down at a slight angle onto the screen from a fixed vantage point and is signified as being within the cosmological expanse, either in off-screen space or as the cursor. Within the cosmology, the island as built environment appears as though viewed through an enlarging lens, creating the precision and coldness of a Piero della Francesca painting. Myst mixes flat and three-dimensional forms of imagery on the same screen -- the flat, sketchy portrayal of the trees of Myst Island exists side-by-side with the monumental architectural buildings and landscape design structures created in Macromodel. This image shows the flat, almost expressionistic trees of Myst Island juxtaposed with a fountain rendered in high detail. This recalls the work of Giotto in the Arena chapel. In Joachim's Dream, objects and buildings have depth, but trees, plants and sky -- the space in-between objects -- is flat. Myst Island conjures up the realm of a magic, realist space with obsolete artefacts, classic architectural styles (the Albert Hall as the domed launch pad, the British Museum as the library, the vernacular cottage in the wood), mechanical wonders, miniature ships, fountains, wells, macabre torture instruments, ziggurat-like towers, symbols and odd numerological codes. Adam Mates describes it as "that beautiful piece of brain-deadening sticky-sweet eye-candy" but more than mere eye-candy or graphic verisimilitude, it is the mix of cultural ingredients and signs that makes Myst an intriguing place to play. The buildings in The Crystal Key, an exploratory adventure game in a similar genre to Myst, celebrate the machine aesthetic and modernism with Buckminster Fuller style geodesic structures, the bombe shape, exposed ducting, glass and steel, interiors with movable room partitions and abstract expressionist decorations. An image of one of these modernist structures is available online. The Crystal Key uses QuickTime VR panoramas to construct the exterior and interior spaces. Different from the sharp detail of Myst's structures, the focus changes from sharp in wide shot to soft focus in close up, with hot-spot objects rendered in trompe l'oeil detail. The Tactility of Objects "The aim of trompe l'oeil -- using the term in its widest sense and applying it to both painting and objects -- is primarily to puzzle and to mystify" (Battersby 19). In the 15th century, Brunelleschi invented a screen with central apparatus in order to obtain exact perspective -- the monocular vision of the camera obscura. During the 17th century, there was a renewed interest in optics by the Dutch artists of the Rembrandt school (inspired by instruments developed for Dutch seafaring ventures), in particular Vermeer, Hoogstraten, de Hooch and Dou. Gerard Dou's painting of a woman chopping onions shows this. These artists were experimenting with interior perspective and trompe l'oeil in order to depict the minutia of the middle-class, domestic interior. Within these luminous interiors, with their receding tiles and domestic furniture, is an elevation of the significance of rhyparography. In the Girl Chopping Onions of 1646 by Gerard Dou the small things are emphasised -- the group of onions, candlestick holder, dead fowl, metal pitcher, and bird cage. Trompe l'oeil as an illusionist strategy is taken up in the worlds of Myst, The Crystal Key and others in the adventure game genre. Traditionally, the fascination of trompe l'oeil rests upon the tension between the actual painting and the scam; the physical structures and the faux painted structures call for the viewer to step closer to wave at a fly or test if the glass had actually broken in the frame. Mirian Milman describes trompe l'oeil painting in the following manner: "the repertory of trompe-l'oeil painting is made up of obsessive elements, it represents a reality immobilised by nails, held in the grip of death, corroded by time, glimpsed through half-open doors or curtains, containing messages that are sometimes unreadable, allusions that are often misunderstood, and a disorder of seemingly familiar and yet remote objects" (105). Her description could be a scene from Myst with in its suggestion of theatricality, rich texture and illusionistic play of riddle or puzzle. In the trompe l'oeil painterly device known as cartellino, niches and recesses in the wall are represented with projecting elements and mock bas-relief. This architectural trickery is simulated in the digital imaging of extruded and painting elements to give depth to an interior or an object. Other techniques common to trompe l'oeil -- doors, shadowy depths and staircases, half opened cupboard, and paintings often with drapes and curtains to suggest a layering of planes -- are used throughout Myst as transition points. In the trompe l'oeil paintings, these transition points were often framed with curtains or drapes that appeared to be from the spectator space -- creating a painting of a painting effect. Myst is rich in this suggestion of worlds within worlds through the framing gesture afforded by windows, doors, picture frames, bookcases and fireplaces. Views from a window -- a distant landscape or a domestic view, a common device for trompe l'oeil -- are used in Myst to represent passageways and transitions onto different levels. Vertical space is critical for extending navigation beyond the horizontal through the terraced landscape -- the tower, antechamber, dungeon, cellars and lifts of the fictional world. Screen shots show the use of the curve, light diffusion and terracing to invite the player. In The Crystal Key vertical space is limited to the extent of the QTVR tilt making navigation more of a horizontal experience. Out-Stilling the Still Dutch and Flemish miniatures of the 17th century give the impression of being viewed from above and through a focussing lens. As Mastai notes: "trompe l'oeil, therefore is not merely a certain kind of still life painting, it should in fact 'out-still' the stillest of still lifes" (156). The intricate detailing of objects rendered in higher resolution than the background elements creates a type of hyper-reality that is used in Myst to emphasise the physicality and actuality of objects. This ultimately enlarges the sense of space between objects and codes them as elements of significance within the gameplay. The obsessive, almost fetishistic, detailed displays of material artefacts recall the curiosity cabinets of Fabritius and Hoogstraten. The mechanical world of Myst replicates the Dutch 17th century fascination with the optical devices of the telescope, the convex mirror and the prism, by coding them as key signifiers/icons in the frame. In his peepshow of 1660, Hoogstraten plays with an enigma and optical illusion of a Dutch domestic interior seen as though through the wrong end of a telescope. Using the anamorphic effect, the image only makes sense from one vantage point -- an effect which has a contemporary counterpart in the digital morphing widely used in adventure games. The use of crumbled or folded paper standing out from the plane surface of the canvas was a recurring motif of the Vanitas trompe l'oeil paintings. The highly detailed representation and organisation of objects in the Vanitas pictures contained the narrative or symbology of a religious or moral tale. (As in this example by Hoogstraten.) In the cosmology of Myst and The Crystal Key, paper contains the narrative of the back-story lovingly represented in scrolls, books and curled paper messages. The entry into Myst is through the pages of an open book, and throughout the game, books occupy a privileged position as holders of stories and secrets that are used to unlock the puzzles of the game. Myst can be read as a Dantesque, labyrinthine journey with its rich tapestry of images, its multi-level historical associations and battle of good and evil. Indeed the developers, brothers Robyn and Rand Miller, had a fertile background to draw on, from a childhood spent travelling to Bible churches with their nondenominational preacher father. The Diorama as System Event The diorama (story in the round) or mechanical exhibit invented by Daguerre in the 19th century created a mini-cosmology with player anticipation, action and narrative. It functioned as a mini-theatre (with the spectator forming the fourth wall), offering a peek into mini-episodes from foreign worlds of experience. The Musée Mechanique in San Francisco has dioramas of the Chinese opium den, party on the captain's boat, French execution scenes and ghostly graveyard episodes amongst its many offerings, including a still showing an upper class dancing party called A Message from the Sea. These function in tandem with other forbidden pleasures of the late 19th century -- public displays of the dead, waxwork museums and kinetescope flip cards with their voyeuristic "What the Butler Saw", and "What the Maid Did on Her Day Off" tropes. Myst, along with The 7th Guest, Doom and Tomb Raider show a similar taste for verisimilitude and the macabre. However, the pre-rendered scenes of Myst and The Crystal Key allow for more diorama like elaborate and embellished details compared to the emphasis on speed in the real-time-rendered graphics of the shoot-'em-ups. In the gameplay of adventure games, animated moments function as rewards or responsive system events: allowing the player to navigate through the seemingly solid wall; enabling curtains to be swung back, passageways to appear, doors to open, bookcases to disappear. These short sequences resemble the techniques used in mechanical dioramas where a coin placed in the slot enables a curtain or doorway to open revealing a miniature narrative or tableau -- the closure of the narrative resulting in the doorway shutting or the curtain being pulled over again. These repeating cycles of contemplation-action-closure offer the player one of the rewards of the puzzle solution. The sense of verisimilitude and immersion in these scenes is underscored by the addition of sound effects (doors slamming, lifts creaking, room atmosphere) and music. Geographic Locomotion Static imagery is the standard backdrop of the navigable space of the cosmology game landscape. Myst used a virtual camera around a virtual set to create a sequence of still camera shots for each point of view. The use of the still image lends itself to a sense of the tableauesque -- the moment frozen in time. These tableauesque moments tend towards the clean and anaesthetic, lacking any evidence of the player's visceral presence or of other human habitation. The player's navigation from one tableau screen to the next takes the form of a 'cyber-leap' or visual jump cut. These jumps -- forward, backwards, up, down, west, east -- follow on from the geographic orientation of the early text-based adventure games. In their graphic form, they reveal a new framing angle or point of view on the scene whilst ignoring the rules of classical continuity editing. Games such as The Crystal Key show the player's movement through space (from one QTVR node to another) by employing a disorientating fast zoom, as though from the perspective of a supercharged wheelchair. Rather than reconciling the player to the state of movement, this technique tends to draw attention to the technologies of the programming apparatus. The Crystal Key sets up a meticulous screen language similar to filmic dramatic conventions then breaks its own conventions by allowing the player to jump out of the crashed spaceship through the still intact window. The landscape in adventure games is always partial, cropped and fragmented. The player has to try and map the geographical relationship of the environment in order to understand where they are and how to proceed (or go back). Examples include selecting the number of marker switches on the island to receive Atrus's message and the orientation of Myst's tower in the library map to obtain key clues. A screenshot shows the arrival point in Myst from the dock. In comprehending the landscape, which has no centre, the player has to create a mental map of the environment by sorting significant connecting elements into chunks of spatial elements similar to a Guy Debord Situationist map. Playing the Flaneur The player in Myst can afford to saunter through the landscape, meandering at a more leisurely pace that would be possible in a competitive shoot-'em-up, behaving as a type of flaneur. The image of the flaneur as described by Baudelaire motions towards fin de siècle decadence, the image of the socially marginal, the dispossessed aristocrat wandering the urban landscape ready for adventure and unusual exploits. This develops into the idea of the artist as observer meandering through city spaces and using the power of memory in evoking what is observed for translation into paintings, writing or poetry. In Myst, the player as flaneur, rather than creating paintings or writing, is scanning the landscape for clues, witnessing objects, possible hints and pick-ups. The numbers in the keypad in the antechamber, the notes from Atrus, the handles on the island marker, the tower in the forest and the miniature ship in the fountain all form part of a mnemomic trompe l'oeil. A screenshot shows the path to the library with one of the island markers and the note from Atrus. In the world of Myst, the player has no avatar presence and wanders around a seemingly unpeopled landscape -- strolling as a tourist venturing into the unknown -- creating and storing a mental map of objects and places. In places these become items for collection -- cultural icons with an emphasised materiality. In The Crystal Key iconography they appear at the bottom of the screen pulsing with relevance when active. A screenshot shows a view to a distant forest with the "pick-ups" at the bottom of the screen. This process of accumulation and synthesis suggests a Surrealist version of Joseph Cornell's strolls around Manhattan -- collecting, shifting and organising objects into significance. In his 1982 taxonomy of game design, Chris Crawford argues that without competition these worlds are not really games at all. That was before the existence of the Myst adventure sub-genre where the pleasures of the flaneur are a particular aspect of the gameplay pleasures outside of the rules of win/loose, combat and dominance. By turning the landscape itself into a pathway of significance signs and symbols, Myst, The Crystal Key and other games in the sub-genre offer different types of pleasures from combat or sport -- the pleasures of the stroll -- the player as observer and cultural explorer. References Battersby, M. Trompe L'Oeil: The Eye Deceived. New York: St. Martin's, 1974. Crawford, C. The Art of Computer Game Design. Original publication 1982, book out of print. 15 Oct. 2000 &lt;http://members.nbci.com/kalid/art/art.php&gt;. Darley Andrew. Visual Digital Culture: Surface Play and Spectacle in New Media Genres. London: Routledge, 2000. Lunenfeld, P. Digital Dialectic: New Essays on New Media. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT P 1999. Mates, A. Effective Illusory Worlds: A Comparative Analysis of Interfaces in Contemporary Interactive Fiction. 1998. 15 Oct. 2000 &lt;http://www.wwa.com/~mathes/stuff/writings&gt;. Mastai, M. L. d'Orange. Illusion in Art, Trompe L'Oeil: A History of Pictorial Illusion. New York: Abaris, 1975. Miller, Robyn and Rand. "The Making of Myst." Myst. Cyan and Broderbund, 1993. Milman, M. Trompe-L'Oeil: The Illusion of Reality. New York: Skira Rizzoli, 1982. Murray, J. Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997. Wertheim, M. The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace: A History of Cyberspace from Dante to the Internet. Sydney: Doubleday, 1999. Game References 7th Guest. Trilobyte, Inc., distributed by Virgin Games, 1993. Doom. Id Software, 1992. Excalibur. Chris Crawford, 1982. Myst. Cyan and Broderbund, 1993. Tomb Raider. Core Design and Eidos Interactive, 1996. The Crystal Key. Dreamcatcher Interactive, 1999. Citation reference for this article MLA style: Bernadette Flynn. "Towards an Aesthetics of Navigation -- Spatial Organisation in the Cosmology of the Adventure Game." M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 3.5 (2000). [your date of access] &lt;http://www.api-network.com/mc/0010/navigation.php&gt;. Chicago style: Bernadette Flynn, "Towards an Aesthetics of Navigation -- Spatial Organisation in the Cosmology of the Adventure Game," M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 3, no. 5 (2000), &lt;http://www.api-network.com/mc/0010/navigation.php&gt; ([your date of access]). APA style: Bernadette Flynn. (2000) Towards an aesthetics of navigation -- spatial organisation in the cosmology of the adventure game. M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 3(5). &lt;http://www.api-network.com/mc/0010/navigation.php&gt; ([your date of access]).