As a sonic interaction designer (generally, a videogame composer) I've long experienced a disconnect with my audience. After being inspired by the direct connection you have with an audience when composing for- or even performing- theater, I began to look into the factor I believed could help me strengthen this connection. Namely, how awareness of an audience's potential surroundings (and their interaction with those surroundings) shapes their interaction with my art.

My thesis, the core around which my works have been built this year!

A sample of the Surreality Check soundtrack before applied ecological considerations

A sample of the Surreality Check soundtrack with applied ecological considerations (sfx not included)

The directional chart I used to write Cogs. It doesn't quite come across in the preview; after all, it was very much written with live performance in mind.

I've heard Apple users in particular have issues opening the game, so I've made a video of the current state of the game. It contains all the current levels, so only play if you don't mind the spoilers. It's a little choppy for reasons I can't seem to figure out- but it's a complete overview of what the play experience is like.

Artist statement

I identify myself as an artist, broadly, because though music is my core I like to use other skills to push the boundaries. With the advancement of technology, we've come to experience art in a dual-reality, which I've only started to explore during my time at the HKU. Even though digital- and interactive media are hardly new, there's a nearly infinite sea of sonic possibilities. Using research, coding and writing, I use my art to continue expanding the field of sonic interaction design.

Ambitions

I plan to continue growing my indie game studio, Absurdity Interactive, which I founded with two friends and colleagues in 2023. As I do so, I'm looking to work in other game companies, to continue growing as an artist and to learn from people more experienced in the industry. A good artist never stops learning, so by working with experienced professionals in the game industry, I can continue learning about the boundaries of my artform- and continue pushing against those boundaries.

Learned during the studies

To be one-hundred percent honest: the most important lesson has been that my successes aren't just dumb luck. I'm sure I'm not alone in struggling to see how my work could possibly measure up to that of my peers, but by increasing my expertise, gaining new relationships and continuing to receive positive (as well as constructive) feedback, I'm slowly settling in to the possibility that my work is received well because it's just... You know... Good!

List of publications / exhibitions / prices / concerts / shows etc.

Game Demos:

Surreality Check
Password: Oliveoil
https://lordl75.itch.io/surreality-check

Alone
https://xenaderks.itch.io/alone-demo

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Theater:

March '23, Bunnik: All the Isles of Europe

April '23, Glassgow: Limbo

November '23, Kampen: Kasko

February '24, Utrecht: 01011000

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Autonomous composition:

TBD, '25: Cogs, Zuilens Fanfare