COLLABORATIVE MULTIPLAYER MUSICAL INSTALLATION · 2008
A SHARED INSTRUMENT BUILT AS A PHYSICAL WORLD
Social Sound Patterns was a collaborative, three-player musical installation developed by Martin Lilliendal Hansen, Claus Bjerre Jacobsen and Mads Mosbæk Petersen. Three large screens were mounted on arms around a shared centre, each facing a different direction. In front of each screen, a tangible ball controller let a player guide a dragon through a star-filled audiovisual world.
Each star contained a sound. Collecting one added it to the dragon’s tail, building a flying six-step sequence in the process. When the three dragons met at the centre of the world, their musical sequences were combined to generate a new sound star for players to collect. The installation turned a familiar game mechanic—exploration, collection and encounter—into a shared, evolving music instrument.
The project combined custom tangible controls, electronics, a multichannel Max/MSP sequencer and Unity. The physical installation, controller interaction and audiovisual system were designed as one integrated experience: players could see each other in the room while meeting as avatars inside the shared world.
MARTIN’S CONTRIBUTION
Sound design · Physical-installation design and build · Electronics · Tangible interaction design · Max/MSP multichannel sequencer programming · Unity integration · Prototyping
COLLABORATION
Claus Bjerre Jacobsen · Mads Mosbæk Petersen
Concept development by the full team.
