AFK Fall 2024 Concert - November 16th, 2024 at Klavierhaus

Recorded by Mumeneer

Hot and Cold is a game about relative information: you are not told where your goal is, but only whether you are getting closer or further away. You wander through three dimensions of space, using hints to pinpoint your goal. Not too difficult – after all, the space we live in only has three dimensions.

What kind of space has more than three dimensions? MUSICAL SPACE! Consider a bowed string instrument. There are many dimensions for us to wander in: pitch, rhythm, volume, articulation, bow position, bow pressure, bow rotation, and so on. Unlike space, these dimensions are also messier: entangling, continuously impacting each other. If we're going to successfully locate our goal, we'll need some pretty good navigation.

In this minigame, one of the players writes a 4-note phrase. Another must guess that phrase without seeing it beforehand. Their only assistance is relative hints: the equivalent of "warmer" and "colder" for various musical dimensions.