Being a musician is a costly passion. If you want to record music, or even rent studio space for access to more instruments, it’s gonna cost you. Big time. But if you’re in the lucky realm of the few with an HTC Vive, you might just be in luck. In comes SoundStage from single developer Logan Olson, which lets players create their very own virtual music studio. Creating music in a professional space just got a little bit more convenient.
bring back the physicality of crafting music
SoundStage isn’t just a create-your-dream-music-studio application, as players can also actively play instruments and record and mix music from within the space. It’s kind of revelatory, both for musicians and even those who haven’t picked up a pair of drumsticks in their life. Players can construct synthesizers, drum kits, and fine tune them to their preference. “I’ve been doing VR for years, but new platforms like the Vive allow independent developers like me to realize ideas without the need for equipment you’d only find in a lab or giant company until recently,” said Olson in an interview with Road to VR. “That means I could finally build SoundStage, which was inspired by the giant room-scale synthesizers you see in classic rock concerts.”
Olson’s idea, then, is to bring back the physicality of performing live and crafting music, since nowadays, with a computer, it’s easier than ever to replicate those very sounds. But the aura is absent. “This project started as a way to recapture that feel, but once I started building, I realized I wasn’t just limited to synths,” Olson told Road to VR. “Suddenly, I could create 3D theremins, maracas, sequencers, and anything else you can imagine performing on.”
SoundStage was released on Steam Early Access on July 7th. As development moves forward from the Early Access release, Olson hopes to add more instruments and customization to the software. SoundStage is the latest in a trend of sandbox experiments to give players inherent freedom in a virtual space—beyond what they can typically do in the physical world. But where SoundStage diversifies itself is the fact that it’s a tool, in lieu of a game.
You can get SoundStage in Steam Early Access now for $9.99.
