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Art Games

Zachary Seldess, Music

Using a combination of the MaxMSP/Jitter (Cycling 74) programming environment and the Torque 3D Game Engine (Garage Games), I will attempt to create virtual 3D sound environments that, via network connection, can be experienced and altered in real-time simultaneously by several users.

Starting with various 3D structures of my own design, I will compose musical works to reside inside these virtual spaces that can then be experienced in time by single or multiple users/players. In these sonic worlds, space and the unfolding of sound are perceptually entwined. In order to experience different facets of a given sound world, a player must move (at various speeds; over various times) through the space within which it is embedded. In doing so she will be able to hear only the sounds that exist within her local environment. The performer’s movement through the space will directly affect the unfolding and development in time of the sound in the work. If a performer so desires she can simply move around the space and listen, in effect reordering the musical object in time. However, she will also have the ability at any point in time and space within the work to move beyond her passive role as mobile listener by performing various physical actions on the environment (moving objects within the space, touching walls, singing, etc.). The results of these actions, depending on their nature, will range from minute alterations of the musical texture to jarring new moments of invention.

some scenes from within a sound world.
some scenes from within a sound world.


demo video of a sound world under construction.

In addition to purely artistic uses of 3D game space, I am currently working on building a set of 3D pedagogic tools for the effective and engaging teaching of music in blended learning environments. This project comes out of my work in ,a the Graduate Center’s certificate program in Interactive Technology and Pedagogy.

For a more detailed description read Use of 3D Game Space in Blended Learning Environments for the Teaching of Music.