Panoramical
Emerging Technologies

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Panoramical
Panoramical is a series of interactive musical landscapes. Players alter abstract environments, gradually changing the worlds' shapes and sounds. Every combination produces a different visual and musical landscape that players explore. It is a digital exploration toy, originally designed for a gallery setting where players can wander, fiddle, and immerse themselves in changing environments.
Players watch a moving abstract landscape and use dynamic music and control knobs and sliders (either physical or virtual) to introduce new elements to the landscape and soundscape. By playing and fiddling with the various combinations, players immerse themselves and explore the space of audio/visual possibilities.
Panoramical was originally designed around a Korg Nanokontrol music controller that consists of an array of knobs and sliders. The physicality of the control was an important aspect of the experience, as it allowed players to focus on the screen and not the input: one could touch the controls and know how each piece moves without thinking about it. Later, a custom controller (an Arduino-based 18-knob USB controller that reads as a MIDI device) was developed for larger-scale display.
After showing it at several art and games exhibitions around the world, the Panoramical team adapted the project to home computers as a downloadable PC/Mac/Linux title. It is now a fully fledged and polished application with multiple environments to explore, featuring collaborations with eight artists and musicians.
Fernando Ramallo
Brendan Byrne
Kevin Watters