A downloadable game

With thanks to ...

... Sam, for an inspiring quote ...
... Zander for an interesting discussion about haptic feedback and sound design ...
... Dan and Vincent, for an amusing lunchtime chat about guitars ...
... Ken (pictured right) and Chris, for letting me experiment with their precious guitars ...
... Lyndon and Kara, for being scary guitar villains ...

Quote: Sam, guitarist. (Used with permission.)
Regarding haptic feedback on the guitar. I can feel vibration (of different levels) in the fingers of my fretting hand depending on whether I’m playing single notes, or chords, and long notes versus short. And also if I am playing on thinner (higher pitched) versus thicker (lower pitched) strings. I get a good sense of dynamic and tone production through this. Different levels of vibration also come back through my body from the resonance of the guitar body. This depends on the construction of the guitar – acoustic, semi acoustic or solid body. All guitar bodies resonate but at different levels depending on the instrument type. I actually find the resonance of a guitar against my body a type of familiar comfort, if that makes any sense.

Meg's process.
I was vaguely researching an intersection between game controllers, haptic feedback and sound design, to work into a tertiary interactive media lesson about iteration. Zander, as always, engaged with me in a fascinating discussion which led me to an investigation of acoustic instruments and haptic feedback. I asked Sam (who is a very thoughtful musician) how it *feels* to play his guitar and he surprised me with an incredible quote (above) and I decided I wanted to set a game ON guitar. Dan, Vince and I met for lunch to have a fun discussion about "prepared guitars". They totally went on a tangent about modular synthesis and guitars that went right over my head, but that's fine. :P Lyndon and I took Ken's dodgy old guitar and stuck things to it, as traps. Coins worked well. Ken tried to hear the traps before he touched them - to experiment on the jam's theme of Can You Hear Me? Kara trapped Chris's actual guitar (because he is an actual guitarist) and he tried to navigate it, mostly just by feel. Both methods were a little challenging and very interesting. I hope you will enjoy playing yourself. I'm sorry about your guitar, especially if The Guitar Villain steals it forever.

Rules.

The Guitar Villain has come to steal The Guitarist’s precious instrument. The Guitar Villain will only respect a true guitarist; those who have a close haptic and/or aural relationship to their instrument. The Guitar Villain blindfolds The Guitarist and booby-traps their guitar. The Guitarist must navigate from the first fret to the twelfth without placing their finger on a trap. If The Guitarist places their finger on a trap, they lose their guitar.

Boobytrapping the guitar.

- 5c pieces - crosses two strings
- 10c pieces - crosses three strings
- Bluetack - only a tiny bit for sticking down traps
- (Feel welcome to use other objects.)

The Guitarist’s Movement.

The Guitarist plays one note at a time.
They start on the first fret, on any string.
The Guitarist either moves to the string lower/higher on the same fret. Or to one fret
higher/lower on the same string.
The Guitarist notices traps in advance by feel and/or aurally.
If The Guitarist places their finger on a trap, they lose their guitar. (And the players switch
roles.)
Difficulty is modified by The Guitar Villain. Consider …
Which traps are harder to feel.
The height of strings.
Whether to block a whole fret (forcing The Guitarist to guess.)
Setting a time limit. Don’t place a trap on the first fret.

An example of boobytrapping.