“It’s 1996 and Jane is trapped in her middle school computer lab playing “The Oregon Trail.” Suddenly the game comes to life and whisks us back to 1848 to travel covered-wagon style with Jane’s great-great-grandmother. As the game moves us (and Jane) back and forth in time, Jane forms a bond with her ancestors while navigating the complexities of a modern life. “
Technical Challenges:
Through out the play, there is a voice of The Oregon Trail that speaks to Jane through the game on her computer. I took the microphone data and routed it through Qlab. Qlab used the volume of the microphone to generate a constant OSC signal and sent it to the lighting console. With the help of the lighting designer, we were able to fluctuate the intensity of the computer monitor on the face of the actress as the game spoke to her. A diagram of this can be found here.
Samples
Sample pulled from the original game used for atmosphere during the ‘in game’ moments.
As Jane travels from high school to present day, there are many stylized and time skips where the game offers choices. This one in particular is when Jane lands in college.
The (condensed) sound scape of Then Jane and her family trying (and failing) for ford the river.