opia_is_random-a
~ USE ARROW KEYS OR WASD TO MOVE ~
If your connection drops things might go out of sync, so you can reload each section below:
O (top left) - https://timsteemson.itch.io/opia-is-random
P (top right) - https://timsteemson.itch.io/opia-is-random-p
I (bottom left) - https://timsteemson.itch.io/opia-is-random-i
A (bottom right) - https://timsteemson.itch.io/opia-is-random-a
If you can't load it but want to see it in action, here's a (very pixellated) video - https://youtu.be/OSyr8-s7VSI
The music will carry on looping forever, so just tastefully fade it out whenever you like!
~~~
The concept was to try and capture how we connect as humans - how our lives intertwine unpredictably. Every encounter we have with someone is its own little moment of discovery, and we see a tiny bit of how each other's presence affects the world around us, and we in turn figure out a bit more our place within the ever-shifting tapestry of life. I found out the word Opia means something similar! So this is ‘opia_is_random’.
The way I wanted to do this was to create a piece that is built up of many tiny musical ideas that all interact and are discovered as the listener ‘meets’ them. I figured the best way to achieve this was to program it into a game. Each node and area has a musical idea attached to it and moves around randomly, and you can float around the space using the arrow keys or WASD. Whenever you enter a new area or get closer to a node, you'll hear it's part of the composition. I love the work of Steve Reich and John Cage which explores similar ways of creating randomness in a piece of music, so I wanted to find a fresh approach to that concept. Every listen will be a version of the track that will never repeat itself.
Big thanks to the Opia community for the challenge prompt that inspired this, and to my friend Michael who helped me figure out how to to export it from Godot so you can all actually play it!
