Tina Blaine, Tim Perkis, Hila Dar, …

Jam-O-Drum / CircleMaze

Ein interaktives multi-user Musikspiel

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Clifton Forlines conceived of the CircleMaze game as an example of a control device mapping position and movement of a circular disk to a corresponding circular ring projected on the tabletop. Each one of four color-coded turntables controls one of four matching colored virtual rings. Players work together to align the rings' pathways, allowing virtual balls to travel from the outer ring into the center of the concentric maze. The game starts with one ball and sixty seconds for the players to devise a group strategy. Once players get the first ball into the center, they advance to the next level of game play, the number of balls increases exponentially and a new set of musical backing tracks and sound effects are introduced. Visitors of all ages quickly learn that progressing to higher levels of the game cannot be achieved without communication and teamwork.

The high-level "goal" for the players of this experience is to collect all of the CircleMaze’s pieces in the middle of the game board. The game starts with one ball and sixty seconds for the players to devise a group strategy. Once players get the first ball into the center, they advance to the next level of game play, the number of balls increases exponentially and a new set of musical backing tracks and sound effects are introduced. Visitors of all ages quickly learn that progressing to higher levels of the game cannot be achieved without communication and teamwork.

Each of the four rings is filled with maze-like paths, some providing the pieces a route from one ring to another, some looping the pieces back into the ring from which they came. Each of the players is in control of the rotation of one ring. Players turn their ring by turning a turntable disk attached to the side of the Jam-O-Drum. The rings affect graphics and one of the musical tracks through their absolute rotation – as a player turns their ring, they mix their track from among several complementary loops.

At the beginning of the experience, a number of pieces are distributed throughout the outer ring of the maze. Each of the many pieces moves blindly through the maze, pulsing to the rhythm of the music. If the paths from one ring to another align, a piece will cross into the new ring; however, if a piece hits a wall, it will simply reverse its direction. When pieces enter the center circle, they cease moving but continue to pulse to the beat.

The action of turning the circles back and forth clearly lends itself to the scratching of a DJ’s record. The game’s music fits with this metaphor. Each player is in control one of four complementary tracks of music – the bass, the beat, the melody or a special effect. We chose techno music for this experience because it lends itself to looping and to the blending of multiple tracks. Its high energy and fast pace fit in nicely with several qualities of the experience.