Ib - "Paintings of Mystery" (Emotion: Fear)
20Composed by Kouri
Arranged by A. Posipanko
Conducted by Jared Sharpe
Our concert titled "What Makes Us Human" features pieces that explore some of the major emotions and feelings that we as humans experience throughout our lifetime.
Before discussing the game itself, I first must explain the context behind writing this piece to begin with. I had completed most of the arrangement in the month of December. When I had reached about two-thirds of my way through this arrangement in late January, the file corrupted and I was forced to recreate weeks of work on an old score. As I was rewriting the arrangement, the sheer frustration of having to do it all over again inched its way into the arrangement and in reflection, I feel that this feeling is in a way relatable to the game. Ib is a free-to-play adventure game with moments of horror. You play as Ib, a ten-year-old girl visiting an art gallery with her parents. As the power goes out and everyone else disappears, the gallery begins to come to life and Ib must escape the gallery before she is forced to become a part of the display. In booting up Ib, one expects a simple clicking game with a few puzzles as it was independently developed. However, as the game progresses, things are slowly revealed that not all is as it seems.
I attempted to reflect these concepts of deception and confusion in the arrangement itself. It begins simply with a waltz with growing melodies, but after a sudden pause, the orchestra is forced into a series of soloistic sections with a lot of dissonance and instability. Even in moments that a waltz or recognizable theme returns, it has been morphed and changed to further deception, even in moments of comfort. While the player feels fear and unease, they also experience levels of frustration as the puzzles are challenging due to their construction or lack thereof. As such, it is only towards the end of the arrangement that a level of cohesion and consistency is recreated based on the beginning.
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The 8-Bit Orchestra was inspired by the University of Maryland Gamer Symphony Orchestra, the first collegiate ensemble dedicated to performing video game music.
8-Bit pieces are arranged by students, conducted by students, and performed by students of the University of Delaware. The group organizes concerts twice a year: at the end of the fall and spring semesters. Starting with a group of around 40, now reaching nearly 60 members from a wide variety of majors, the 8-Bit Orchestra is continuing to grow. Today, we are the largest instrumental music RSO on campus, and have been invited to perform at off-campus events like Minefaire, the Minecraft fan convention.