Soundscapes and Atmospheres: The Sound of Kentucky Route Zero

this project is an offshoot of a longer research thesis on kentucky route zero and richard wagner's concept of the gesamtkunstwerk, a german term generally translated as "the total work of art"; it's an experiment with research-as-practice formatted as an exploration into ben babbitt's work with the game soundtrack, and a small investigation into how it fits into the larger gesamtkunstwerk idea.

all sound and video within the title is being used for the purpose of education and research.

how to play:

• click anywhere on the screen to advance dialogue
• click listed options when presented with them to make choices
• right click and drag to look around
• please make sure to have sound on! certain parts of the game will prompt you with an option to listen to some of the songs discussed.
• press esc to exit the project window

some credits:

old tv by Justin Randall , via Poly Pizza

the chairs and character models are credit to my wonderful partner!

video (chopped down in length)

sounds:

• This World Is Not My Home, My Light Heaven, Dark Rum Noir, and What Would You Give by Ben Babbitt, for the Kentucky Route Zero original soundtrack
• Weightless by Brian Eno, on the Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks album
• Blue Moon of Kentucky by Bill Monroe

fonts:

• https://www.dafont.com/galyon.font
• https://www.dafont.com/american-purpose.font

research sources for ben's work:

• https://daily.bandcamp.com/high-scores/ben-babbitt-kentucky-route-zero-original-...
• https://www.factmag.com/2016/08/23/kentucky-route-zero-ben-babbitt/
• https://cherrydeck.com/blog/2021/04/20/ben-babbitt/
• https://invalidmemory.wordpress.com/2019/07/31/player-two-an-interview-with-ben-...
• https://unwinnable.com/2014/09/22/kentucky-route-zero/
• https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020596/Scenography-of-Kentucky-Route