Video Game and Music come together in Design

Guitar Hero 4 Drums Revealed and Tested!
http://kotaku.com/390363/guitar-hero-4-drums-revealed


The Designers of the Guitar Hero 4 drum controller must take into account everything from comfort to realism and accuracy. The design, although similar to the well-known RockBand controller, features only 3 drums and an added 2 elevated cymbals. The cymbals being elevated give a more realistic set up to gamers who want to want an experience very close to the real deal. Drummers such as Travis Barker and Chad Smith have been brought into the development department to record real-life motion capture to be used during game-play, analyze the set up, and test durability.

How hard a drummer can hit is a key factor in designing the drum and cymbal pads. They need to withstand heavy hitting while also being able to function properly and communicate dynamics to the game. Also the rate at which a drum pad can respond to rapid hits must be programs to handle fast moving sticks.

Here is a video showing some of the artists experimenting with the set:




Designers of High Fashion Enter the Age of High Tech:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/technology/08trend.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1220979660-Cb2LxLDi/+XrRrhIYk04Qw

Fashion designers are continuously sharing and uploading ideas online. Basic clothing outlines are uploaded onto Stylesight (where a subscription costs $15000 for 20 members of a company) and fabrics as well as templates can be networked to different designers and worked with in different ways. Designers, using this network, can search a huge database of tagged images for any style. The types of shirts or jeans people wear in another country can be researched as well as specific patterns that were popular during a certain decade.

STYLESIGHT is a website that connects fashion designers with the rest of the world without having to travel or directly communicate with other creators.




Client trends may be stored too in order to track how fashion changes with time and what people are more or less willing to purchase. Companies such as Macy's and Target use Stylesight to gather and share basic ideas on current fads. Once researchers conclude projected trends for the upcoming season, the databases are updated again. Designers may separate by colors, patterns, fabrics, sketches; anything.

Here is a link to the actually Stylesight community:
http://www.stylesight.com/