Exploring 3D gestural interfaces for music creation in video games

Abstract

In recent years the popularity of music and rhythm-based games has experienced tremendous growth. However almost all of these games require custom hardware to be used as input devices, and these devices control only one or two similar instruments. In this paper we describe One Man Band, a prototype video game for musical expression that uses novel 3D spatial interaction techniques using accelerometer-based motion controllers. One Man Band provides users with 3D gestural interfaces to control both the timing and sound of the music played, with both single and collaborative player modes. We further investigate the ability to detect different musical gestures without explicit selection of mode, giving the user the ability to seamlessly transition between instrument types with a single input device. A formal user study is then presented comparing the musical interface of One Man Band to that of Nintendo's Wii Music. Our results indicate that users generally preferred the interface of One Man Band over that of Wii Music. We also found that users desire to express their own ideas and have explicit control of the melodies created in music-based video games.