Journey to Longka

TELEMIDI · COLLABORATIVE GAME DESIGN CONCEPT

Two players. Two instruments. One shared journey.

Five-second interface concept demonstration from our presentation.

What if music could turn distance into a shared experience?

Our concept is a two-player online adventure where people in different locations make synchronized music to progress through the same story. We wanted connection and cultural discovery to happen through play.

My contribution

Presented the solution and cultural-story rationale in slides 3–4.
Contributed to our shared research and pitches exploring different cultures.
Presented an illustrative long-distance relationship scenario.

Team

Bua Gomutputra, Meenakshi Iyer, Emma Xiao, Keanna Bantay, and Saissha Jain.

Project status

Game concept and interface demonstration. Live Telemidi integration and user outcomes remain to be tested.

A story you build together.

We chose the Ramakien episode about constructing the causeway to Longka. Our game adaptation follows Hanuman and Suphanamatcha as their relationship moves from conflict to cooperation.

Hanuman and Suphanamatcha with taphon and ranat ek — Hanuman plays taphon rhythms to stabilize stones. Suphanamatcha plays ranat ek melodies to guide them into place.

Six steps in the player journey — Enter → choose → learn → conflict → synchronize → cross.

Listen. Coordinate. Cross.

Neither player can progress alone. Matching rhythm and melody moves the environment and completes the causeway. Familiar keyboard controls echo the instruments’ physical interactions, with cultural context introduced through character selection.

Making distance part of the design.

Our proposed architecture places Telemidi alongside the main game server. Musical inputs would travel as MIDI data to the other player, while local visuals provide timing feedback. The aim is to reduce the role of network delay in the musical interaction; this is a proposed integration, not a measured performance result.

Proposed game server and Telemidi MIDI-data architecture

The complete concept.

The original deck’s strongest moments are laid out as a visual trail, so the idea can be discovered without clicking through one slide at a time.

Presentation slide framing distance, loneliness, and cultural access as the human challenge — 02 / The opportunityThe human challenge
Distance, loneliness, and cultural access frame the opportunity the team explored.

Presentation slide describing a two-player musical adventure through Thai culture — 03 / The responseA shared musical journey
The proposed experience connects two people through synchronized music and a journey through Thai culture.

Presentation slide introducing the Ramakien construction of the causeway to Longka — 04 / The cultural storyA causeway built together
The Ramakien episode gives cooperation a narrative purpose and turns the journey into something both players shape.

Game interface concept showing Hanuman and Suphanamatcha making music together across the causeway — 08 / The experienceThe shared world
The interface imagines both players performing inside the same landscape while their musical actions move the story forward.

Character selection design for Hanuman and Suphanamatcha with instrument and control information — 09 / ChoosePick a role in the story
Character selection introduces each player’s instrument, controls, and place in the shared narrative.

Control guide mapping keyboard inputs to taphon rhythm and ranat ek melody — 10 / PlayTwo distinct musical roles
Keyboard mappings translate the taphon and ranat ek into approachable rhythm and melody interactions.

Presentation slide listing financial and user-experience questions for the concept’s next steps — 12 / What comes nextThe questions that keep the concept honest
The team identified open questions around development, licensing, cost, player retention, cultural learning, and the business model.

Browse the original 13-slide deckOpen the complete presentation viewer

Journey to Longka presentation, slide 1 of 13

01 / 13

Original team presentation. The “Meet our users” quotes are illustrative presentation scenarios, not verified user-test findings.

The questions we still need to answer.

Next, we need to understand development and Telemidi costs, authentic instrument-sound licensing, and a sustainable business model. We also need to test whether the experience helps people connect and learn, and what keeps them coming back.

For me, the interesting question is how a cultural story can become something people experience together, rather than only read about.

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