GAME MECHANICS (GAMEPLAY)

Phase 1: From Curiosity
A mysterious shape – Thresholder’s heart – shows itself in the center of a large, dark space. It shoots a circular pulse outwards through the space. This evokes curiosity among bystanders. It draws them closer. Once close enough, a triangle grows from underneath a spectator’s feet towards the central heart. From that moment on, the spectator spontaneously turns into a player. By walking, the players start to discover that their triangle is their instrument.

Phase 2: The Instrument
The player’s triangle functions like a futuristic string instrument. By walking around, the players discover that they can stretch their triangle, and that this stretching causes an increase of intensity (expressivity) of their triangle’s sound. But when a triangle is stretched too far, it exceeds its threshold and snaps, after which the player can re-enter the game by simply walking away and returning. Every turn, the player gets assigned a random instrument from the composition. The triangle’s sound is triggered every time the pulse of the central heart reaches the current position of the player – which introduces the element of timing. These are the core elements (or game mechanics) of Thresholder’s improvisation method.

Phase 3: The Network
The network of sounds expands as more players join the improvisation: spectators can become players by connecting a triangle to Thresholder’s central heart or to one of the other players’ triangles. Through movement and exploration, players start to notice that many of the triangles are connected. A sense of social responsibility arises, as the player realize they can disturb eachother’s expressivity and break eachother’s triangles. Through balanced movement, collaborative efforts, and even through well-timed acts of destruction, the group improvisation results in a continuously morphing, thrilling, sound world that can be explored for long periods of time.