home observations background acknowledgments david hindman email | site spencer kiser email | site		For most of my life I have consistently had two passions: music and video games. I began playing the electric guitar at age 11, but played my first arcade game "PAC-MAN" when I was about six. Growing up I spent time simultaneously developing my skills in both of these areas. Eventually the study of music gained the upper-hand and have spent the last seven years seriously studying classical guitar performance. During this period my video-gaming became purely social, meaning I ended up only playing games that were in bars, like photo-hunt and/or Golden Tee. My passion for gaming did not die, but my time for it did. It wasn't until I began programming that I would discover a possible connection between two of my favorite hobbies. My first project in sonically controlled gaming was a pong game in which the paddle's position was conrolled with the voice. From this point on, I knew that sound could and will be a valid means of graphics control. Sonically controlled games would be extremely valuable as music education tools, not too mention that they would be great fun for the practicing musician or non-musician. Learning the basics of electronics and programming opened my eyes to the possibility of controlling a pre-existing game with midi and/or audio from a musical instrument. A gaming interface could be built that would respond to musical conditions such as pitch and volume. My ultimate goal was to have two competing intstrumentalists plugged into each character of a two-player fighting game like Mortal Kombat. It would be the "dueling banjos" of sonically interactive video games. I just needed to find another musician...just when it seemed like all hope was lost Spencer Kiser stepped in to save the day. His experience as a trumpet player would be invaluable for insight into continuous versus switch contol. I played trumpet in middle school band, but gave it up after being told that I had to join high school marching band to continue classes. Twenty years later I dusted off the old horn, and discovered I still had the fingerings for a few scales in memory. Unfortunately, I now live in apartment, from which I would promptly be evicted for playing unmuted. Inspired by a desire to play indoors and by Ben Neill's Mutantrumpet, I thought I would attempt to improve the trumpet mute by embedding a microphone and using it as a midi controller. After hearing David's idea for controlling Nintendo with a guitar, I jumped on the opportunity to combine forces and extend my trumpet mute's capability to the realm of video games. I feel like this project has the potential to become a valuable tool for music teachers and parents to encourage students to learn their instrument in a fun environment.