Immersive

In his thesis project, The Lambent Reactive, MFA student Noah Keating has taken on the task of integrating dance movement with digital interactivity. To bring the freeform kinesthetic enjoyment of dance and the structured entertainment of interactive media together, Noah has developed a new project that engages players in a "dance-off" on a dynamically responsive LightSpace floor.

The LightSpace interactive floor is 8' by 8' floor covered in pressure-sensitive LED tiles. These tiles can be programmed to glow several different colors on command, either in time-based sequences or in response to pressure. By scripting new behaviors for this technology and linking the floor's responses to music and other sounds, Keating has created several games that engage the user in different ways. The most developed of these games, the dance-off, will be on display at the 2007 thesis show.

Like the popular multiplayer dance game Dance Dance Revolution, the dance-off will be designed around specific pieces of music. Each player has several measures of music in which to perform dance moves; unlike previous games, however, the floor board will allow them to move freely, inventing their own unique dance patterns. As they perform, the placement of their feet, hands, etc. will be recorded by the pressure sensitive plates of the dance floor. The other player will then have to creatively replicate these movements on their own side of the dance floor. The player's success in this game, along with an "applause meter" that tracks audience response to each dancer, will be displayed along the sides of the system.
The integration of movement, physicality, and musical play into interactive media has been a popular topic in recent years; products like the Wii, Dance Dance Revolution, and Guitar Hero have introduced new audiences to games. As a fusion of arcade-style concepts of play and dance club innovation, The Lambent Reactive brings digital interactivity into yet another new social arena.

To access Noah's thesis paper and learn more about his experimentation with the music, movement and technology, click here or follow the link below.