Maschinenklangwerk
An interactive soundscape installed at Museum Hendrichs as part of the FUTUR21 festival in Cologne, Germany.
Mixed Reality Soundscape | Contract Work | C# | Unity Engine | 3 months (remote)
My responsibilities included:
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Conceptualization
The concept for Maschinenklangwerk was formed in the course of the FUTUR21 GameJam, where it was later comissioned for development. -
Tech Advising
After laying out the concept, we advised our client on the best technologies and tools to use for the project and carefully selected the appropriate frameworks and libraries to ensure the project would be successful. -
Tools for Lighting Design
I was responsible for implementing the core tools used for designing and lighting for the installation. The tools were used by our game designer to create dynamic and interactive lighting environments that complemented the soundscape and added a visually stunning spectacle to the experience.
Behind the Scenes
Background
In the midst of a pandemic, a group of students banded together to sit in a room and work on a game together. When we heard about the FUTUR21 game jam, we jumped at the chance to participate alongside numerous other students from our university – albeit online this time.
Our goal was to create a game concept for an interactive exhibition that would cast Museum Hendrichs in a new light and provoke thought on relevant topics about the use of energy. To ensure our project was meaningful, we worked closely with the museum staff to gain a deep understanding of the factory’s history and values.
From our discussions, we realized that we didn’t want to create some flashy augmented reality experience that would overshadow the museum’s existing exhibits. Instead, we wanted to create an interactive audiovisual experience that would complement the museum’s existing machines and create a new perspective on its themes. Thus, Maschinenklangwerk was born.
Development
The players are equipped with a mobile phone and headphones while walking through the exhibition. Each player’s position is tracked by determining the nearest Bluetooth beacon via the phone client. The player’s positions are then communicated to a server that controls light and sound that respond to certain events, such as players entering and leaving certain areas.
The development for this project took place while I was in my exchange semester in Scotland, which is why my capability for testing was limited, since all the equipment was located in Germany. To ensure testing is possible from all our homes without using real DMX lights, we replicated as much of the museum and the mechanism in Unity.
Working closely with the light designer, I implemented a variety of light animation effects and made them customizable within the Unity inspector. In addition to this, I provided assistance with other aspects of the project, such as UI design, networking, and preparing the presentation for the exhibition’s opening at the FUTUR21 festival in March 2022.
Although I was unable to be present for many of the project’s press photos, I am proud to have been a part of such an innovative and exciting project that pushed the boundaries of traditional museum experiences.
