17 April 2007

Interactive soundscape ideas

Well, I knew I wanted some movement (maybe size changing or particles?) and now I know what else I want to do with my mushrooms. Well, more than just them. Adaptive music. The only thing that stands out about Asheron's Call 2 to me years later (aside from the endless armidillos) is the music score - the music altered itself based on what creatures were around, their proximity, the key and melodic themes changed depending on the area, and the music avatars could play with instruments in-game changed key to work within each area. I wish I could locate the whitepaper I read years ago about it. "An Interactive Symphony: Music in AC2." It added an impossible-to-describe richness to the experience.

The hardest part about this might be the way SL handles sound. Clients have to load the sounds, so the first time they're played for an avatar may be several seconds after they've been triggered... which would make sounds which play well together due to rhythm rather tricky. I know there's llPreloadSound(), but I've never used it, and so don't know what quirks it may have, and whether playing the sound at zero volume would be more effective. And there's llSetSoundQueueing()...

This might work out well for me - I'll have a building and scripting project with lots of sensory delights, an information-gathering and teaching project (avatar toolbox), and a little vending on the side to keep it all funded.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Found the article you mention in the Wayback Machine for example here:

An Interactive Symphony: Music in AC2