- 2011Year、“COSPLAY SHOWCASE” took the App Store by storm
- why now、Will it be revived as a web version?
- Web development started with collaboration with AI
- AI is not omnipotent。Rather, “instructions” become more important.
- “I can do some coding”、It will become a major weapon in the AI era.
- Even in the age of AI、Human production value will never disappear.
2011Year、“COSPLAY SHOWCASE” took the App Store by storm
2011Year、One iPhone app ranks second in App Store sales rankings。
"COSPLAY SHOWCASE" created by photographer Nobutsugu Sugiyama and released worldwide.。
Inside a worldview that looks like it's housed in a glass case in an art museum.、120More cosplayers than humans、200More characters、1784display a photo。It was an app with an extremely advanced visual experience at the time.。
after that、An Android version was also created at the request of docomo.。In addition, a book version of the photo book has also been released.、Photo exhibitions were held not only domestically but also overseas.。This project was born in the early days of smartphones.、Easily crossing the border between cosplay culture and artistic expression.、Under the Cool Japan Strategy, it has spread to users all over the world.。
And ten years later。
I、I decided to revive this app as a web version.。
But what I had at hand was、The passion of those days、My only skills were that I could do some coding.。
why now、Will it be revived as a web version?
The iPhone app、Stops working after OS update。
No matter how complete the work is,、as long as it depends on the platform、It will disappear someday。
120Participating cosplayers。
200More characters。
1784photo archive。
This huge collection of works、in modern browser environments、I want to leave it in a format that everyone can access.。
That was the starting point for web development.。
There's no point in just arranging photos.。
What was important was、The goal was to recreate the experience of the work ``COSPLAY SHOWCASE.''。
Cosplayer standing inside SHOWCASE。
Tap to rotate、Production switching to another cut。
A UI that allows you to browse horizontally as if you were walking through the exhibition space.。
More than just an image gallery、It was necessary to port the “exhibition experience” to the web.。
Web development started with collaboration with AI
in recent years、With the evolution of generative AI、Not only image production, but also coding and PC troubleshooting.、The scope of what an individual can handle has expanded greatly.。
So this time、AI was used as a development partner。
I mainly usedClaude is。
Things went surprisingly well at first.。
I originally designed this app myself.、Looking back at the specifications, I was able to quickly recall the design intent and structure at the time.。
HTML、CSS、While organizing the structure of JavaScript、Texture expression of showcase、Horizontal scroll UI、Multilingual support、Search function、Lightbox display etc. were implemented one after another.。
further、
- Display by title
- Character order display
- Cosplayer order display
- Add to favorites
- Search function
- Multilingual switching
- Enlarged display
- Together function (multiple character composition)
Etc、I tried to recreate the app experience back then on the web.。
but、This Together feature is still not reproducible.。
Arrange multiple cosplayers freely、This function allows you to display composite images as if they were a single piece of work.、It was quite a special specification even at the time.。
I am trying to implement it in the web version as well.、the logic is very complicated、It has not yet been completed。
In other areas, the operation and specifications are inferior compared to the app.。
I definitely want to complete it someday。
AI is not omnipotent。Rather, “instructions” become more important.
The app at the time was、Created by cutting-edge and talented engineers。
its degree of perfection、There is no way it can be easily reconstructed using AI alone.。
actual、This work was a series of trial and errors.。
There are still problems everywhere。
What was particularly difficult was、It's a layout issue with the "favorites display" on the web browser.。
When it comes to a specific browser width、I always get called back from the 6th item.。
I said, ``I want it to wrap naturally depending on the browser width.''。
But each time the AI fixed it, it created another glitch.。
- line up vertically
- Title order display is broken
- Image size changes
- horizontal scroll disappears
- I should have put it back together, but another part is broken.
It was a repeat。If you don't repeat the same thing over and over again, you may end up making the same mistake.。
1When you do one task, you forget the previous task.、May do prohibited things without permission。
in the middle、Involuntarily towards AI、
“Are you stupid?”
The moment you type、I laughed a little myself。
The more I feel like that towards an AI opponent、I think he was serious about this project.。
However、Through this experience, I realized。
AI is not “an entity that completes automatically”。
rather、It is extremely important whether humans can organize the requirements.。
- Vertical arrangement is absolutely no good.
- Keep horizontal scrolling
- Keep image size same as title order
- Do not lose the balance of the number of lines
These conditions、It is necessary to convey the message in a structured manner rather than vaguely.。
In other words, in the AI era、Not only the ability to create、“Ability to define requirements” becomes extremely important。
This is very similar to advertising photo production.。
Even on the shooting site、The team cannot move with a vague image.。
lighting、show、Model、costume、art。
Everything is established through concept design and verbalization.。
The same thing happened in AI development.。
“I can do some coding”、It will become a major weapon in the AI era.
What I felt strongly about this web version was、The value of being able to do some coding is、That's huge in the age of AI.。
Can understand the meaning of the code output by AI。
Narrow down the error location。
Can guess the modification logic。
For example、
"The perRow calculation on line 687 is the cause."
When I was told、only if you understand the meaning、The accuracy of dialogue with AI will change dramatically。
Complete amateurs cannot control AI。
on the other hand、Even if you're not a complete engineer、Can collaborate with AI。
The value of this “middle class” is、It is sure to increase further in the future。
Of course there are limits。
Like this problem with wrapping favorites display.、Bugs that occur deep in the logic、Neither AI nor I can figure out the exact cause.、Repeated trial and error over and over again。
At such times、I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the engineering staff who were involved in this app.、I feel it now。
at that time、My unreasonable requests and detailed production intentions、The things that were shaped one by one、I don't think it was ever normal。
Specifications that even AI has a hard time reproducing、They implemented it within the technology and environment of the time.。His technical ability and tenacity、I would like to express my deep gratitude again。
Through this web version、Once again, I truly feel that the people who worked with me at that time were truly amazing.。I have nothing but gratitude。
The work “COSPLAY SHOWCASE” is、It was undoubtedly supported by the strength of our excellent engineering staff.。
And of course、All the cosplayers who participated in the photo shoot、To all the staff involved in filming and production.、I am deeply grateful once again。
This work is、This project was only possible because of the passion and strength of many people.。
Even in the age of AI、Human production value will never disappear.
In this production、There is another thing that I strongly felt.。
it is、AI becomes a “static record”、This means that we have entered an era in which new life can be breathed into。
Try it out、Load the photos of cosplayers taken at the time into AI、
I gave the instruction "Move this character"。
Then the next moment、The girls who were supposed to be still images、It began to move naturally, as if it were actually there.。
hair swaying、
Clothes fluttering、
eyes turn towards me。
That alone was shocking.。
But the surprise、It didn't end there。
AI not only moves、
Start dancing according to the mood of the character、
They even started singing songs.。
more than ten years ago、A time when people were enthusiastic about the new medium of expression called smartphones.。
Back then, just being able to carry around photos was the future.。
But now、
from one photo、
movement is born、
a voice is born、
We have entered an age where even emotional expressions are generated.。
that moment、This project, which I thought was just an “archive reprint,” turned out to be、
It's not just a matter of preserving the past.、I felt like it had changed to an attempt to connect expressions from the past to the future.。
2011The amount of heat that existed in the year、2026Awakened again by AI technology in 2017、
Get a new life and start moving。
it is、It's somehow strange、It was even a little moving。
AI is certainly powerful。Evolving faster than you can imagine。
but、What will you leave behind with that power?、What kind of memories will you pass on to the future?。
Only that intention、After all, only humans can have it。
“COSPLAY SHOWCASE” is、Obtaining a new device called WEB、
and now、
We are at the threshold of a new era called AI.。
The legendary app、It's not just about reminiscing about the past。
The passion of that era、To pass it on to the next generation、I started walking again。。
COSPLAY SHOWCASE by Nobutsugu Sugiyama
2011Year iPad/iPhone interactive photo book
20122018 Android Interactive Photo Book
2012年 書籍版写真集 玄光社コマーシャルフォト
2012年 pixiv Zingaro 写真展
2012年 ＋SANOW LABs. Photo Exhibition
2012年 Japan Expo and Matsuri in Sydney 写真展
2013年 littleMOCA in Taiwan 写真展
2016年「DAEGU PHOTO BIENNALE 2016」出展 メインイメージ（韓国大邱）
