Game Art: Virginia Tech's "OPERAcraft" (2013)
OPERAcraft is a brilliant project, developed by Ariana Wyatt; Tracy Cowden; Kelly Parkes; Katie Dredger; Ivica Ico Bukvic, Assistant Professor of Music in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Tech, IMPACT Studio Head:
"In December 2013, a group of Virginia Tech students along with local K-12 students performed OPERAcraft at the Moss Center for the Arts. The project, run through the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, merged video games with an opera. OPERAcraft's goal is to provide an opportunity for K-12 students to create and perform a fully produced virtual opera. Starting with music borrowed from Mozart operas and a specific number of characters, the project inspires K-12 students to create a story and then the libretto; create the virtual set through a custom version of ubiquitous Minecraft video game/ sandbox; create avatars for each character; and control said avatars within the confines of the virtual world, including body gestures, lip-syncing with real singing soloists, as well as multiple real-time camera feeds akin to that of a live video production." (Virginia Tech)LINK:
Submitted by Matteo Bittanti