Inside We Play Together: A Collaboration Between Music & ESports
Introduction
The We Play Together Project (WPT) has now been announced to the world. I’m excited to unveil this idea to everyone and look forward to its future implications for learning and potential for growth. I hope to continue this “series” on this project, called “Inside We Play Together,” letting everyone in on some of the “behind-the-scenes” happenings related to the project.
There are many events, relationships, and correspondence that have transpired during COVID-19 and the Fall 2020 - Spring 2021 semester, all of which cannot be discussed here. So, I will begin with how this project started (in summarized form). Enjoy!
Music & Gaming
I made the transition from professional instrumentalist and educator to conductor in 2015. A huge portion of my life until that point was spent practicing and playing the viola. I oddly enjoyed the process of practicing 8+ hours on end to perfect a technique or a difficult piece. I loved the payoff and thrill of performance. Twelve years later, I decided to go back to school to study conducting.
When I began my professional career, I found myself leaning towards video games as a hobby - a way to de-stress after long hours of practice and teaching. It wasn’t until a couple years ago that I began to play Apex Legends.
Those that play, know that Apex, is by far one of the most difficult aim and movement battle royale games out there. I distinctly remember watching TSM_Albralalie publishing a Q&A video on YouTube (CAUTION - video contains potentially offensive language) in July of 2020 about his career and the process by which he believes someone must be a pro player. What struck me was the way he spoke of aim, commitment, and grinding. As a professional musician, this resonated with me immediately.
COVID-19, Viola, and Aim Training
It was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and like most everyone, I was working from home. It was fall break 2020 for us here at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, USA. I had finished my work for the day and decided to play some Apex Legends. During this week, I wanted to increase my rank. So, like most people, I got on YouTube. After finding a few firing range training videos I liked, I turned on my XBOX, grabbed my controller, and decided to try them.
I remember the moment like it was yesterday…
I had been in the firing range for about 30 minutes working on aiming with the R-99 at long distance. I was trying to control the barrel rise to perfect long range shots. The moment was monotonous - fire, reload, try again - fire, reload, try again - and I was loving it!
And then it hit me...I WAS “PRACTICING!”
Like a movie flashback my brain immediately turned to a recent practice session on viola. (I was hired by a theatre company for a virtual performance during COVID-19 and had a difficult passage in the music I was trying to perfect.)
It was all there - I was listening and watching, I was analyzing, I was correcting. The process of cyclical learning was the same in music and video games. And, there was more. My brain began to spin with ideas. I pulled out my phone, opened a blank note, and began to type.
Striking Similarities
What I spent the next hour typing, became an official proposal to Shenandoah University for a collaborative project to premiere in the Spring of 2021. As a professional musician and casual gamer, I began to realize the similarities between the worlds of music and esports. Guiding questions arose:
The world of classical music is one of long-standing traditions in practice and performance. As a relatively new and innovative field of study, what could esports offer in terms of practice, pedagogy, and performance that would breath new life into the performing arts?
Consequently, with the classical tradition comes a wealth of techniques for success, handed down from generation to generation. What could it offer in terms of practice, pedagogy, and performance that esports could use when cultivating the next generation of professional players?
We have have an amazing ESports Program and Conservatory here at Shenandoah University. At the time, I was in correspondence with Joey Gawrysiak, Director of ESports concerning our first-ever offering of Video Game Music. During these talks, I began to relay some of my initial thoughts concerning We Play Together (WPT). He was immediately on board. We both realized the powerful implications for this kind of trans-curricular study unique to our school. Further, the conversations that spawned, showcased an innovative cross-disciplinary learning and research model that could be used on a broader scale.
We spent the next weeks planning and putting together a team of people across multiple disciplines of our university. In addition to myself and Joey, the academic team included Shenandoah University student performers; Esports Head Coach and Assistant Director Zach Harrington; Instructor of Esports Chris Scroggins, M.S.; Assistant Professor of Trumpet Mary Elizabeth Bowden, M.A.; and Associate Director of Performing Arts Medicine and Assistant Professor Division of Athletic Training Michele Pye, Ph.D.
Photo Credit: C King Media and Ardy Wunder, Shenandoah University
At Shenandoah, we have already begun to make exciting discoveries between disciplines. This kind of collaboration brings fresh life, especially during these seemingly difficult times.
Our philosophy behind the project is one of joy, discovery, and wonder that music and video games have to offer. Even in the initial stages of this project we understood the importance of sharing this with students, faculty, gamers, musicians, and the academic community at-large. We want to bring about community and collaboration. Hence, “We Play Together.”
Project Details
We Play Together: A Collaboration Between Music and Esports premiered online at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 and audiences accessed the free livestream via the Shenandoah University YouTube channel, Shenandoah Esports Twitch channel and Shenandoah Conservatory Facebook page. Audiences were invited to submit questions via the Twitch chat section and Facebook comments.
For interviews or general correspondence concerning We Play Together please contact me.
