Night Games brings people together within an interactive musical game environment to collaborate in an act of co-creation through rhythm and dance. This interactive musical environment inspires players to interact with a rich fantasy world to collaborate together on an sound sculpture within the context of a game. The players movements and choices create the music. Using surround sound, custom instrument controllers, costumes, color tracking, openCV and PlayStation moves the play space offers a rich terrain player exploration. Delving into the primal ritual of dancing around a fire, night games explores the subconscious desire we all have experience music and dance together. In an attempt to re-empower individuals with the fiery act of creation, Night Games encourages dancers to pick of instruments, put on costumes and become one with the game. Infused throughout this experience, strange creatures roam, cloaked in magical frocks encouraging revelry and participation. Underneath the entire sculpture a steady rhythmic drum beat pulsates acting as a canvas onto which players can layer new sounds and experiences. The speed of this beat is driven by number of players and their distance from each other. Through the sonification of motion through dance, Night Games brings a conscious awareness to players that their individual actions impact the collective ecosystem.
Exhibitions:
New York Hall of Science, Queens, NY. June 22, 2013. 4-6.30pm
Come Out and Play, South Street Seaport, New York, NY. July 12, 2013. 7pm – 12am.
Artist Bios:
Phoenix Perry:
Creative Direction, Game Design, Creative Technologist, Instrument Fabrication and Design
Phoenix Perry is an Adjunct Professor at NYU teaching Gaming, Design and Embodiment at Poly, Game Center, ITP and Steinhardt. She received a Master in Science from NYU Poly in January 2013 with her thesis work focusing on creating emotion through embodiment. From digital arts curator to Creative Director, she has extensive experience in new media, design, and user interfaces. Perry’s creative work spans a large range of disciplines including drawing, generative art, video, games, interfaces and sound. Her projects have been seen worldwide at venues and festivals including Come out and Play, Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science, Lincoln Center, LMCC, Transmediale, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, LAMCA, Harvest Works, Babycastles, World Science Fair, European Media Arts Festival, GenArt, Seoul Film Festival and Harvestworks. In 2011 she co-authored the book, Meet the Kinect with Sean Kean and Johnathan Hall.
Colin Snyder:
Art Direction, Project Development, Game Design, Graphic Design, User Interface, paper prototyping
Colin Snyder is a videogame & graphic designer, illustrator, and writer. Having been on the front lines of videogame retail, to the headquarters of Rockstar Games, and now on the frontier of indie games. He’s a member of Babycastles, New York City’s first independent arcade community and fledgling cultural institution. With Babycastles, he has produced events, installations, games, and videos. He founded Gameifesto, a forthcoming social network where aspiring videogame developers can meet and congregate to build their own communities and games. He’s currently working on his own games while writing for Vice Magazine’s Motherboard about videogame design and gaming culture.
David Last:
Music, Ableton Live
David Last is a musician and visual artist living in Brooklyn New York. With Sasha Kaline (Alka Rex), he is a founder of the Konque label and music project. Tracks range from electronic dance music to cinematic orchestral ambience depending on the setting. This is not surprising, as he has been creating music for a variety of venues; the dancefloor, Imax film, video installation, childrens’ animation, and albums. As a result of a broad curiosity about music, each project is considered anew as its own sonic world.
Margaret Schdel:
Creative technologist, Max MSP, Ableton LIve
An Assistant Professor of Music at Stony Brook University, Margaret Anne Schedel is a composer and cellist specializing in the creation and performance of ferociously interactive media. She is working towards a certificate in Deep Listening with Pauline Oliveros and serves as the musical director for Kinesthetech Sense. She sits on the boards of the 60×60 Dance, BEAM Foundation, EMFInstitute, ICMA, NWEAMO, and Organised Sound.
Sasha Richter:
Fashion Design, Instrument prototyping, Costume Design
Sasha K. Richter works as a Costume Designer, Milliner, and Installation Artist in New York City. She received her BFA in Costume Design from Boston University. Her previous costume work includes, La Boheme at the Huntington Theatre Company, The Weavers at the Boston Center for the Arts, The Maids at Fourth Street Theatre, as well as Alcina with the Boston Opera Collaborative. Sasha is also co-founder of Tin Can Phone Inc., a collaborative installation group. While designing for various theatres and galleries, she is also working on her fourth season as the Milliner for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.