American Horror Story: Coven is the third season of the popular TV series, American Horror Story. This season revolves around a coven of witches in modern-day New Orleans. The storyline primarily focuses on a rivalry between two powerful witches, Fiona Goode and Marie Laveau, as they battle for control over the Coven and the city. The coven at the center of the story traces its origins back to the infamous Salem witch trials in the 17th century. The descendants of the Salem witches carry on their magical traditions while hiding in plain sight in the modern world. The Coven is led by the Supreme, the most powerful witch of her generation.
The player begins in the center of the room, and kicks off the audio experience by using gaze interaction with any of the cubes. Selecting a cube starts the audio engine. Audio is 3D spatial, with each cube having its own sound source. While all 4 audio clips are loaded and scheduled in the engine, only the selected cube’s audio is unmuted. This way, when the user selects another cube in the main room, its audio is immediately accessible. Selecting a cube that is already playing results in that cube’s audio being muted.
Obviously, this is necessary for mobile VR if the concept is to be extended to include other nodes, or more audio choices are to be made available in each node. Physically exploring a space to find and manipulate audio is much more satisfying than looking through a list of words meant to identify sounds in standard audio app or DAW.
The Coven is led by the Supreme, the most powerful witch of her generation. Fiona Goode, played by Jessica Lange, is the current Supreme who is struggling with her fading powers and mortality. She is desperate to find a successor to carry on the lineage and retain her power.
VRAudioLoopToy
I recently developed a virtual reality audio toy for a class I’m taking at Columbia College with Austin McCasland as the instructor.
Synopsis
VRAudioLoopToy is prototype of a system which enables a user to play and exchange audio loop tracks in an immersive, virtual reality experience.
Inspiration
The muse for the project is a musical toy for children called the Mozart Magic Cube.
How it was Built
The key aspect of the Mozart Magic Cube is that you can listen to a piece of music by Mozart and mute or unmute any of the featured instruments by pressing on the corresponding button. For VRAudioLoopToy, I created a central node (room) which had four cubes representing an instrument class laid out on the cardinal directions:
North: Beat cube
South: Bass cube
I wrote 3 original loops for bass, lead, and vibe, and used a virtual drummer from GarageBand to produce the beat. I laid these elements out with cubes representing them on a vaguely sci-fi theme.
The player begins in the center of the room, and kicks off the audio experience by using gaze interaction with any of the cubes. Selecting a cube starts the audio engine. Audio is 3D spatial, with each cube having its own sound source. While all 4 audio clips are loaded and scheduled in the engine, only the selected cube’s audio is unmuted. This way, when the user selects another cube in the main room, its audio is immediately accessible. Selecting a cube that is already playing results in that cube’s audio being muted.
System Behavior
When a user selects a cube and begins to play the audio, an animation shows the wall beyond it lowering to the ground. The outside world shows a corridor which leads to another node (room). A button also becomes available on the floor, color coordinated to match the theme of the cube. The player can select this button using the standard gaze interaction. Upon selecting the button, the user is transported to the corresponding “outpost” node at high speed via the corridor.
Each node offers the opportunity for the user to exchange the loop for a loop of similar theme (i.e. a beat for a beat). Indicators in a HUD help track which elements are selected and playing.
When in an outpost node, the non-related audio is essentially muted by the practical distance from the other sound sources. The context is different in the outpost nodes, and the underlying code architecture acts appropriately. When a new sound is selected for exchange, the audio is scheduled for the beginning of the next loop. Scheduling exchanged audio on the next loop avoids having the new audio loaded onto the CPU/ GPU until it is actually needed. Obviously, this is necessary for mobile VR if the concept is to be extended to include other nodes, or more audio choices are to be made available in each node.
Working Process
While I had the plan for the central node from the outset of the project, the outpost nodes on the cardinal directions came later. I originally intended for everything to take place in one room, but that quickly felt stifling. While it was admittedly cliché, I soon wanted to knock the walls down. Knocking the walls down offered a good opportunity to practice animations, particle effects, and a dash system for player movement. The most complicated problem came when solving an issue with audio not synchronizing properly on the first iteration in an outpost node, even though logging the time values of the audio indicated they were correctly entered into the system. After a lot of research, I finally realized that rather than a bug in my code, it was a logical problem. Since I was using spatial audio, and teleporting/dashing the transform of the audio sources, I needed to turn off the doppler calculations in the audio preferences pane of Unity itself. This destroyed a rather fun audio artifact during dashing between nodes, but fixed the timing issue.
Strengths
It’s fun. It works. It could easily be extended. Physically exploring a space to find and manipulate audio is much more satisfying than looking through a list of words meant to identify sounds in standard audio app or DAW.
Room for Improvement
Interactions with the objects in space could be made much more satisfying. For example, when exchanging related sound cubes, the transforms just immediately trade positions. There should instead be an animation and an effect. Also, there should be rhythmic pulsing and other indications when a new sound is about to begin playing.
Next Steps
If I decided to develop this into a full fledged app, I would include a community aspect. You should be able to travel to another user’s nodes in the game space and try out their audio. Since this is a BPM driven experience, a user could post all their different loops at different BPMs and the software could filter and only expose the nodes at the tempo a user was seeking (perhaps including BPMs at half or double speed, since those could also technically work). Ideally, there would also be some limited personalization of appearance of nodes, enough to give a vibe without distracting from the user experience.
Inspiration
The Coven is also home to a group of young witches, known as the "Generation of Wonders," who are learning to harness their powers under the guidance of the Supreme. Each witch possesses a unique set of abilities, ranging from telekinesis to clairvoyance, and they face various challenges as they navigate their newfound powers and the dangerous world of witchcraft. The Salem witches are a central element in the storyline, as their history and knowledge play a significant role in the Coven's survival. The past traumas and injustices endured by the Salem witches continue to haunt the present-day Coven, and their legacy is explored throughout the season. American Horror Story: Coven of Salem witches delves into the world of witchcraft, power struggles, and the consequences of past actions. It showcases the resilience and strength of the witches as they confront external threats and internal conflicts. The story highlights themes of female empowerment, sisterhood, and the enduring nature of magic across generations. Overall, American Horror Story: Coven of Salem witches is a captivating and dark exploration of the supernatural world of witches, blending history with contemporary storytelling and offering a fresh take on the witchcraft genre..
Reviews for "The Magical Traditions and Practices in the AHS Coven of Salem Witches"
1. Samantha - 1 star: I was really looking forward to watching "Ahs coven of salem witches" since I'm a fan of the American Horror Story series, but this season was a major disappointment. The plot was all over the place, and it seemed like the writers were just throwing in random twists and turns without any coherent storyline. The characters lacked depth and development, making it hard to connect with any of them. Overall, it felt like a messy and confusing season that couldn't live up to the previous seasons' standards.
2. Mike - 2 stars: As someone who enjoys supernatural and witch-themed shows, I had high hopes for "Ahs coven of salem witches." However, I was left feeling underwhelmed. The pacing was incredibly slow, and the storylines felt disjointed. The constant flashbacks, while trying to provide background information, only further confused the narrative. The acting was okay, but the characters felt one-dimensional and lacked the complexity that made previous seasons so captivating. I found myself losing interest by the middle of the season and struggled to finish it. Overall, it felt like a missed opportunity to explore the rich history of Salem witches in a compelling and engaging way.
3. Lisa - 2 stars: I've been a loyal viewer of American Horror Story, but "Ahs coven of salem witches" just didn't do it for me. The writing felt lazy and predictable, with clichéd characters and situations. The attempts at horror and suspense fell flat, and the scares were cheap and unoriginal. The portrayal of witches in this season was disappointing, as it lacked the depth and complexity that I was hoping for. It seemed more like a soap opera with supernatural elements rather than a horror series. Overall, this season lacked the creativity and originality that made me fall in love with American Horror Story in the first place.
4. James - 1 star: "Ahs coven of salem witches" was a complete mess. The plot was convoluted and had so many unnecessary subplots that it became impossible to keep track of what was happening. The characters were poorly written and lacked any real depth or motivation. The dialogue was cringe-worthy, filled with forced attempts at humor that fell flat. The performances were uninspiring, even from actors who have previously excelled in the series. Overall, this season felt like a lazy attempt to cash in on the popularity of witches without putting in any real effort to deliver a compelling and engaging story.
5. Sarah - 2 stars: "Ahs coven of salem witches" had so much potential, but unfortunately, it failed to deliver. The storyline was messy and inconsistent, leaving many loose ends unresolved. The characters were poorly developed, making it hard to care about their fates. The season tried to tackle too many themes at once, resulting in a jumbled mess. While there were a few standout performances, they were not enough to save the season as a whole. It felt like a wasted opportunity to explore the intriguing world of Salem witches in a way that was both entertaining and thought-provoking. It's a shame, as American Horror Story has proven in the past that it can deliver captivating and innovative storytelling.