Studio 2 - Week 1 - Statement of Intention / Techno VR Music Experience

Techno VR Sound Room

RATIONALE – Why are you doing what you are doing?

The techno scene has been a very important part of my life. With it, different situations arose like providing me a space of self-reflection instead of the usual uncontrolled nature of many parties, and one of the most crucial ones, living the party as a one-person event rather than a group ritual. By being exposed to these new experiences, for me, the paradigm of parties changed forever.

That is why, in a world that is more isolated than ever thanks to technology and, one of the most obvious situations last year, the current pandemic context; virtual experiences are seeing an exponential rise. Its appeal may come in different ways, but with all the challenges that are presenting with social isolation (mental health issues, loneliness, etc) I would like to highlight its potential to tackle these issues thanks to the sensory potential due to the visual and sound combination.

One of my objectives with this project is, without seeking to demonstrate in a psychological/scientific way, the possibility of creating a powerful experience with techno music that is both visually and audibly pleasant; aiming for the reduction of negative feelings/sentiments and being able to introduce the user to something similar to what I was presented when I had the opportunity to live my first techno experience.

CONTEXT – Who else is doing what you are doing?

There are a lot of VR music experiences that you can find. From linear (static 360 videos on YouTube, for example) to fully interactive ones, the list is growing bigger and bigger each day. While this is the case, examples of web VR are rare and that is why I see a lot of potential bringing the accessibility barrier down, because they can be experienced in desktop, laptops, and mobile devices.

There are some experiments with WebVR (the predecessor of WebXR), like this project with LCD Soundsystem:

https://tonite.dance/

“Dance Tonite features the new song by LCD Soundsystem, “Tonite.” In it, you go from room to room experiencing a series of dance performances created entirely by fans. Using a new technology called WebVR, the experience is accessible from a single URL and works across platforms, giving the user a different role in the experience depending on their device.”

METHODS – How will you do what you are doing?

As the web field continues evolving, the integration of it with many other technologies are moving very fast. For example, complex 3D scenes in a web environment are possible thanks to WebGL, even in mobile devices; however, soon it will be replaced by WebGPU, which provides a more robust and optimized environment to take 3D graphics to even more devices, not only powerful ones.

With this in mind, AR and VR are no exception and thanks to the newer WebXR, both of these experiences are possible now from a web browser. The idea for this semester is to learn this API and develop this project using it, providing the user the possibility to experience it even from their own phones. For me, it is crucial to tackle the accessibility issue, given the slow acceptance of more traditional VR equipment due to its high costs and more niche user base.

OUTCOMES – What are the tangible objects that must be made to articulate success?

A web VR app with cross-platform capabilities (desktop and mobile), that will provide the user with a techno musical event that can lead them to a pleasant outcome.