Tag: John Miller »

The developer of Geom-E-Tree is back with a new app that combines artwork with the dark art of mathematics. PolygonFlux works using geometric principles to create what are called fluxagons, designs that are formed by vectors bouncing off the insides of a polygon. Users determine the starting point, determine the angle that it will fire off at, and watch as fluxagons are formed. Equilateral polygons can be formed in a number of sides from three to fourteen. The number of bounces can be controlled by pinching in and out, and double-tapping to return to 300 bounces, as higher numbers of bounces can cause even the latest iOS hardware to lag under the weight of the calculations. Precise angle measurements can be made as well; by tapping or swiping on different parts of the screen, the angles can be adjusted in degrees, minutes, and seconds.

There are a variety of themes to use with PolygonFlux to add style to the fluxagons, including "Fat Binary," which uses alternating white and black lines to look like the design from Eddie Van Halen's guitar. Fluxagons can be emailed to other people, saved to the Camera Roll, or saved to an internal album to be called back up specifically. PolygonFlux is available now for the iPad.

Art and math are two very distinct things - art being a typically right-brained activity, and math being very much a left-brained activity, and never the twain shall meet. However, developer John Miller has brought the two together, with his app Geom-e-Tree. A universal app for iPhone and iPad, you use the multitouch interface to change the angle and number of branches on the tree you're given to create increasingly complex trees and designs. Reading the in-game help screen or watching the tutorial video embedded below are a huge help for understanding how the app works beyond just creating crazy geometric designs. You could just randomly move fingers around and hope to get crazy designs, or you could follow the instructions, use the techniques provided to create something a bit less nonsensical than random pinching and dragging will get you. If you get a design that you like, you can save it to your arboretum to call it back up, email it to someone, or save it to your Photo Library. As well as the $1.99 Geom-e-Tree app, there's a simpler version for kids entitled Geom-e-Twee, that's currently available for free.