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This dissertation investigates the philosophy, frameworks, design methodology, and practices of humanistic tool-building in virtual reality (VR) through the lens of computer music. Humanistic tool-building refers to designs that prioritize values such as creative expression, aesthetics, social wellbeing, and culture. VR is a computer-generated, audiovisual medium that provides an enhanced sense of presence and immersion through fantastical environments and interfaces. Audio-driven creative expressions place music and sound as the first-class modality of the design experience. An overarching question of this dissertation is: How do we artfully integrate these three elements (humanistic tool-building, VR, and an audio-driven approach) to design tools for creating, performing, and engaging with music in VR for human flourishing? I explored this question through practice-based research with two projects.
Chapter 1 introduces the background and definitions of humanistic tool-building, audio-driven approach, and VR. Chapter 2 presents an exemplary design methodology for humanistic tool-building, called thematic alignment—a metaphor-based framework for crafting audiovisual interactions. Chapter 3 explores audio-driven creative expressions in VR, organized into three sections: creating, performing, and engaging with musical VR experiences. Chapter 4 describes the first case study of large-scale VR works, VVRMA: VR Field Trip to a CCRMA, which investigates VR as a pedagogical and expressive tool for computer music. Chapter 5 describes the second case study, SVOrk: Stanford VR Orchestra, which explores VR as a musical, creative, performative, and social tool. Chapter 6 concludes the paper with the overall summary, future work, and personal remark of this dissertation.