Locus Diffuse: An Agent-Based Sonic Ecosystem for Collaborative Musical Play

Locus Diffuse is a networked multi-user instrument populated by a simulated slime mold and four human players. Mimicking the biological behavior of slime mold and establishing a virtual living network between player nodes, the system sonifies interaction along these connections. Participants use a browser based interface to play the multi-user instrument, and access an accompanying stream for audio and visual output of the system. Player responses from various play sessions are explored and reported in relation to sonic ecosystems as a product of sound sources intersected with agent behavior, defining interaction through personal connection to agents, an aural vs visual understanding of the system, and various frames of focus employed by participants in regard to human/machine and inter-human collaboration.