HIVE is a random ratcheting sequencer with 4 independent outputs which run on a common 2-dimensional hexagonal grid. HIVE is an oddball and a close relative of MAZE: Almost everything works the same way except for the playheads running on a grid consisting of hexagonal cells.
HIVE was kindly contributed to PackOne by Lexandra Maxine and this is what she has to say about the sequencer:
I've been intrigued by hexagonal grids for about as long as I can remember, largely driven by experiences with strategy games played on hexagonally-gridded game boards: Battle for Wesnoth, Settlers of Catan, Civilization 5, and recently games from Nick Bentley like Bug, Circle of Life, and Blooms.
In those scenarios which involve strategic positioning and movement, the six-sidedness of space creates a significant impact in the flow, feel, and apparent complexity of the game.
I also think that hexagonal grids and the games played upon them are pretty.
I wanted to explore the interface between the visual appearance of a grid, a set of rules for movement, and any musical information derived from a combination of the two. In my exploration of MAZE, I typically began with an idea which I would then translate into visual intent upon the grid. After reacting to the audible result, I'd find myself reinterpereting the grid's appearance.
It's like catching sight of a cloud that looks like a frog, listening to that frog, and beginning to see that it really looks a bit more like a butterfly. Then you tweak the cloud.
When a sequencer is also a visualizer, through human interaction there can be found a feedback loop from the visual to the aural and the aural to the visual. Building probability and randomization into the sequencer adds fuel to the process.
Arriving at the concept for HIVE provided me with a unique opportunity to explore my hexagonal fascination. At the outset I wondered exactly how a grid transformation from square to hexagonal might translate to the music-space of a sequencer when accounting for MAZE’s laws of physics. I found that the result was worth the effort.
For one, the density of hexagonal grids translates to increased variation within any derived sequence. This means that the musical difference between a square grid of 8 musical notes and a hex grid of 7 notes is more nuanced than just one note. But it's also the case that the density of a hexagonal grid makes for a visual display of higher definition. It can be described as an increase in DPI. I think that's an asset for a sequencer which encourages interaction informed by visual perception.
A lush example of how HIVE and MAZE can work together:
- v1.8.0
- Initial release of HIVE
- v1.9.0
- Fixed hanging ratchets on missing or stopped clock trigger (#216)
- Added new ratcheting modes ("Twos", "Threes", "Power of Two")
- v2.0.0
- Fixed broken reset-behavior