Under Construction
This page is coming soon.
Please check back later.
Miglė Railaitė
Introduction
Résumé
Media Arts
Games
Fine Art
For fun
Miglė Railaitė
Last updated: Date, 2025
Miglė Railaitė
Media Arts
Video of playtesting here
Meditation
A meditative experience between physical and virtual spaces
Meditation is an experience of a forever developing world without the possibility to quit, pause or restart, only the handpan drum controller deteriorates with each iteration. The game, a world-building music engine, is inherently collaborative; each player builds upon the composition of the ones’ past, even without ever meeting them. The piece is a physical experience of a virtual space, the element of glitch further bridging virtual space with reality, breaking the game’s magic circle.
The handpan drum controller is used similarly to how the real instrument is played - by hitting the dents on the drum with your fingers. The world is populated with various sculptures from the artist’s physical work, each playing a handpan drum note upon being spawned, creating a musical composition. The player navigates the world by tilting the handpan drum back and forth and gazing left and right, and interacting with the characters populating it.
The handpan drum controller is used similarly to how the real instrument is played - by hitting the dents on the drum with your fingers. The world is populated with various sculptures from the artist’s physical work, each playing a handpan drum note upon being spawned, creating a musical composition. The player navigates the world by tilting the handpan drum back and forth and gazing left and right, and interacting with the characters populating it.
Timeline:
Role:
For:
6 months
Independent Project
Passion project, Design Media Arts Undergraduate Exhibition
Overview
The project was completed over a period of 8 moths during my undergraduate education. The game was developed and a personalised handpan drum controller crafted specifically for the project, which was exhibited at the DMA Undergraduate Exhibition at UCLA.
Developed on Unity. 3D models made using Blender. Controller coded using Arduino, made from stainless steel.
Developed on Unity. 3D models made using Blender. Controller coded using Arduino, made from stainless steel.
01. Controller
The controller was made from stainless steel and programmed using Arduino. By tilting the drum forwards, backwards or to the side, the player navigates the virtual world, and by tapping the copper stickers on the dents of the drum - this way playing the drum - the viewer populates the world with trees or building blocks. Each dent of the drum plays a different note with a representative game component planted in the virtual space.
02. Game Playtesting
Main Themes and Technical Components
The virtual soundscape blends with the exhibition space. With the element of glitch, often caused by spamming the drum notes quickly or while the controller is in motion, the virtual space is transformed in unexpected ways; game elements flying, sound morphed when at a distance. I left an Eastern Egg for particularly interested viewers - the possibility to reach the edge of the world and observe the colors as the player is falling into the depths of darkness, while listening to the sounds change and twist with the increasing distance.
03. Exhibition
Exhibition view of the game. Handpan drum controller can be seen on a pedestal on the right.
Documentation of viewers interacting with the piece.