The approach I take to gamified works is inspired by a quote by my teacher, Marko Ciciliani, during my first experience with gamified composition. As form is an integral concern for me, I was trying to figure out how to create a cohesive trajectory through time in a non-linear media such as games. I view the games I create in my works as sorts of interpretable open form scores, and attempt to design the environments in such a way that the performers will create a cohesive trajectory through time even though the form is so variable.
Sugar cubes (2020)
an interactive audiovisual installation designed in Unity
Sugar Cubes is an interactive audiovisual software that uses the concepts of boredom and “non-games” to create a virtual musical interface. Existing as a standalone application that can be downloaded and used at home or presented in a public installation, the work aims to provide a player with an environment that encourages them to interact and explore, and develop a sonic experience of their choosing. The interaction of sound was designed carefully to allow an environment that anyone could make sound in, but could also be explored to a virtuosic capacity. The simple aesthetic and lack of clear game goals are intended to induce boredom and the resulting creativity in a player, leading to different sound results between players.
Sonic escape rooms (2019-2020)
Collaboration with Martin Ritter
Both “Forum Stadtpark Sonic Escape Room” and “Virtual Escape Room” were collaborations between Martin Ritter and Alyssa Aska. In both of these audiovisual game artworks, the player has to find their way out of the room guided primarily by sonic clues. Solving sonic puzzles unlocks rooms. All composition and sound design was made with this interaction in mind so that not only do the works provide an engaging play experience, but also an interesting audiovisual presentation for the audience.
Occumbotactus (2019)
Collaboration with Martin Ritter – For two game players
This work can be performed in concert using one or two game players. The video is a complete performance/play through of the game. The game takes as starting material the canon Omne Trinum Perfectum by 16th century Swiss composer Ludwig Senfl. The players must proceed through a sequence of levels in which they are instructed to construct a countermelody using specific rhythmic changes and/or the given pitches in the starting melody. The aesthetic of the piece is inspired by genre of retro-games, or games which are created to evoke a certain historical period in gaming. This work includes a 2d platformer engine that evokes early video games, and also aesthetics invoking early music, to add another layer to the retro concept. All of the samples, including player sounds effects, are generated using Hauptwerk Virtual Organ.
The Missing Piece (2019)
for solo instrumentalist as game player
This work was commissioned as an Artistic Response to a paper by Olli Tapio Leino at the 2019 Gappp Symposium, Graz, Austria and performed by clarinettist Szilard Benes. The paper, titled “Performing Profound Boredom in Euro Truck Simulator 2 Multiplayer: An existential-ludological perspective on computer games, performance an authenticity” was presented to me and I was instructed to write a musical composition as a response. Two of the themes that I identified with in the paper were the idea of non-games, or boring games, games without a perceivable goal, and also the idea of empathizing with a non-human performer. Therefore, I created a game in which the goal of the game play is not clear, but the player is guided, or encouraged, to have certain engagements in the game. Large crystals are distributed throughout an endlessly generated, continuous runner environment, which immediately disappear as the player walks over them. Sonic and audio results occur as the player collects these objects, which become more dramatic as the player collects more objects – the world changes from a colourless environment to a more and more colourful one. However, this also makes the player’s base speed much faster, resulting in more difficulty collecting objects. When objects are not collected within a certain amount of time, the player’s base speed decreases, and the visual changes also disappear. A live instrumentalist, and specifically using a breath-based instrument, was used in the performance of the game to approach the idea of empathy in performances with a non-human avatar. All of the players movements outside of the continuous base speed, are a result of the audio input of the performer. Therefore, in order to turn, speed up, or jump to collect objects, the performer must play. This results in much more difficult game play than it appears as it should be, producing a frustration on part of the audience, as the player struggles to perform what should be a very simple task.
verschleierte. (2018)
for voice, cello, and game player
This work represents my first real gamified piece and also my first experience in using a game environment engine (in this case, Unity). As games are not a linear media, I desired to create a work that explored the possibility of a cohesive, but non-linear form. I started with something that is normally incredibly linear, that of an art song, which sets a particular poem, and turned it into a gaming environment in which a gamer “collects” text fragments of the poem, which then visually cue the performers to react by playing certain fragments of a musical score. In this case, excerpts from the poem Das verschleierte Bild zu Sais by the Friedrich Schiller were used. Both instrumentalists also took on “characters” in the poem, with the cello representing the conscious desire of the player to find the knowledge at all costs, and the vocalist representing the Heirophant, warning the player and trying to slow down their progress. As the cellist plays louder, the player may go faster. As the vocalist sings louder, the player’s look sensitivity increases, making moving more difficult. Additionally, as more and more parts of the poem are collected, the sound world gets more dense, providing a veil that somewhat masks the environmental sound responses in the game.