My Genuary 2025 Journey: Experiments in Creative Coding

This January, while everyone was following the official Genuary prompts, I decided to take a different path. I had a sketchbook filled with ideas that had been waiting for the right moment to come to life, and Genuary seemed like the perfect excuse to dust them off.

Going Off-Script

Instead of following the daily prompts, I challenged myself to explore concepts I'd been curious about: audio reactivity, video transformations, and interactive systems that respond to various inputs. What started as a simple goal to clear out my idea backlog turned into a month-long explosion of creativity that actually filled my sketchbook with even more concepts for future exploration.

The Experiments

I ended up creating 25 different interactive experiments, each exploring different aspects of creative coding:

• Time Reactive Boids: Clock digits that become obstacles for flocking algorithms
• ASCII Camera: Transforming video input into character-based art
• Raytracing Flocks: Watching boids merge to form white light
• Quad Tree Optimization: Finally implementing better performance for my beloved flocking systems
• Sequenced Visualizer: My first venture into audio-reactive visuals

The projects range from playful to meditative, from technically complex to conceptually simple. Some react to sound, others to video input or mouse movements. Some transform pixels into text, while others do the reverse.

Documentation Website

I didn't just want to post these experiments individually—I wanted to create a proper showcase. So I built a documentation website from scratch that presents all 25 experiments in an interactive gallery.

The site features:

• Live demos of each experiment
• Source code access
• Technical explanations
• A cohesive design that reflects the experimental nature of the projects

Building the website became an extension of the creative process itself. I wanted something that would do justice to the work while making it easy for others to explore and learn from my experiments.

Why I Create

All of these experiments exist for one simple reason: I love making things. A lot.

There's something uniquely satisfying about starting with a blank canvas (or in this case, an empty code editor) and bringing an idea to life. Every bug becomes a puzzle to solve, every unexpected behavior an opportunity to discover something new.

What's Next?

This Genuary reminded me of why I fell in love with creative coding in the first place. It's not just about following prompts or tutorials—it's about exploring ideas and pushing boundaries.

I'm hoping to turn some of these experiments into larger projects, and I'm open to collaborations or commissions that would allow me to explore creativity while also paying the bills. If you're interested in working together, please reach out through the contact form on my website.

In the meantime, I encourage you to explore the experiments yourself. Play with them, modify them, let them inspire you to create something of your own.

Because making things is worth it.

---

Have you participated in Genuary or similar creative challenges? I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments below!