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Art & Artificial Life International Competition | Home | Entry | Editions | References | Español | |
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Dadatron Concept Dadatraon proposes a self-generating system for musical composition based on the VIDA algorithm of John Conway. The goal is to integrate the contribution of the user-viewer into the universe of random musical composition. Elements entered into and interacting with the application’s interface will have a sonorous correlation with the evolutions of the individuals in the virtual ecosystem. The result is a constantly evolving song in which the sound sequences are continually advancing and receding, with many of the elements of the system reappearing periodically. Dadatron has an interface which allows the user-viewer to introduce the variables of his/her choice in the initial positions of a VIDA system working atop a predefined program grid whose size can be adapted to suit the desired complexity of the final composition. Likewise, the interactive graphics of the application can be personalized using several different predefined templates available in the program. In addition, the progress of a given system can be frozen, with the frozen state becoming the starting point for another variable that the user-viewer can modify as he/she wishes. The system is able to capture the complex interactions of life in its many facets through a purely musical language. In short, Dadatron works as an interactive artistic installation on the one hand, but on the other, it can be used as a tool for musical compositions. Technical Details Dadatron is programmed in a script language, Dark Basic Pro, specific for creating multimedia and 3-D applications. It is derived from a graphic motor using Microsoft’s DirectX, so the applications created with it are compatible with most basic installations in computers. The underlying graphic and sound motor is controlled by a compiled language with syntax similar to that of BASIC. The program loads a bank of predetermined sounds when a session begins, distributing this bank through a 32 x 32 cell grid of the breeder in transparent groups of 4 x 4 cells. Another bank of sounds may be selected, without harming the algorithmic or visual progress of the composition, however a noticeable sound variation will occur. The sound calculation is based on the sum of the living elements found inside any one of the grid’s invisible divisions. When all the elements in one of these divisions exceeds the previously established minimum, the system produces the sound corresponding to those boxes. |
