As is evident in my repeated reference to it throughout my studies, Porter Robinson's Nurture website for his second studio album has been a major source of inspiration for my projects. nurtu.re featured 3D interactive multiplayer environments created by Active Theory as visual representations of the album's singles. Since it was released during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the site allowed people to connect with other players and explore the environments as a white line avatar. I really liked the way the environments reflected their respective music videos and overall contributed to an incredibly strong visual identity for the album and Porter as an artist. Not only did the interactivity immerse listeners in the music on a whole new level, but the multiplayer aspect allowed for a collective experience of the music in a time when live music events were not possible. Overall, I think Porter's work is an incredible example of the potential digital and emerging technology can have for enhancing the experience of music on a whole new level.
The first single from Nurture was Mirror and the corresponding 3D environment is by far the most detailed and complete experience. It features a walkthrough of the whole song following a virtual version of the forest path in the official music video. The scribbled, sketched artwork you can see as AR assets in the music video are also scattered throughout the path and animated at specific points in the song. Overall, this environment is the most accurate recreation of the music video in 3D out of all of the ones in nurtu.re.
Environment Walkthrough
Environment Images
Above is the music video to Something Comforting, the second single release off of Nurture leading up to the album's release. nurtu.re originally only featured environments for this and Mirror. The virtual environment is a field of grass with a few trees and rocks similar to the set in the video. In the website, there are origami birds flying around the scene and the yellow flowers blow away as your avatar walks through them.
Environment Walkthrough
Environment Images
3D Artists
Alexis Christodoulou | The Art of Dreaming Up A World
“I’m trying to bring nature into my work a lot more nowadays. We’ve invaded it so much as a human species, perhaps we could let it invade our digital worlds a bit more.”
Rebecca Lee | LEEBECCA STUDIO
“Rebecca Lee creates dreamlike surreal environments that take viewers on a journey into an idealized world. Through the suggestion of subtle movements and passing of time, she speaks to the ephemeral nature of a fleeting moment. She takes inspiration from architecture and nature to explore the balance between what we conceive as real and unreal.”
Mue Studio | MUE.
Non-linear, not concrete, intangible, disassembled memory space, exploratory virtuality
memory garden, ephemeral rooms e.g. voice over tidbits of memories
pete jiadong qiang e.g. rain going from right to left guides people, no collision https://store.steampowered.com/app/2884170/HyperBody/
superliminal whitespace e.g. callback to levels
Following Tadej's suggestion, we're thinking the Dream level can be similar to Ephemeral's Memory Garden and Pete Jiadong Qiang's VR game, Hyperbody in that it's a less tangible representation of memory in a surreal space - disjointed, exploratory, non-linear, etc.
Hyperbody:
Ephemeral:
There were a couple entries in my journal that didn't fit in the City or House levels that I am considering turning into voiceover for the Dream. They are relevant in that they make references or statements that would be very meta in the video game - "Why do I feel like I am living through a character whose thoughts and feelings I am aware of but don't own?"
I also wrote something when I was trying to get myself to just sit down and write something introspective reflecting on this game. I was originally thinking of using the first three lines for a promotional video that switched between the canopy bed in the meadow and the house and just extended it, trying not to overthink what I was writing so that it could possibly produce a more honest, short concluding monologue.
The problem was there was no conclusion I could think of. The introspection that went into this project hasn't been as fruitful as I'd hoped it would be so it's ended up more of a rough and raw presentation of my innermost thoughts than a polished, wrapped up storyline.
Bed transition video test:
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