Electroplankton is not a video game. It could say it on the box and you still
wouldn’t believe it. It’s interactive. It utilizes the DS’s ingenious touch
screen in the most creative ways possible. It even allows electronica artists
like David Hollands to use the DS as a music-making tool and perform unusual
themes in front of a live audience. These themes are generated entirely by
your actions within the game. Bouncing little creatures off of a leaf, for
example, creates a brief sound that can be extrapolated and turned into music.
How, many
wonder, does this level of interactivity not constitute a video game?
Electroplankton’s unprecedented amount of freedom comes at the price of not
having a game goal. There are no rules. No punishments for performing badly.
No king to reward you for your efforts, and not a single mushroom person to
inform you that the princess is in another castle. There is no princess. And
there is no end to this experience.
Luminaria, one of ten plankton/music types.
I was aware
of this before playing the final version, so I entered the game with my mind
as open to this original idea as possible. People enjoy playing instruments
with no goal other than to hear its sound and to be the one making it. Why
can’t an interactive music tool be the same?
Electroplankton is separated into two modes, Audience and Performance.
Audience is a quick run-through of each music type and will cut off at some
point. Performance Mode is a bit more in-depth. You have the choice between
one of ten music types, each with a unique sound and a unique gameplay style
for creating that sound. (The following are ranked 1 through 10, 1 being the
best.)
1.
Marine-Snow
Who doesn’t
love snow? It’s white, makes great sculptures, and can easily be turned into
angel-like shapes. They say no two flakes are alike, but all of these flakes
are identical. Each one has two big, oval eyes and a quarter circle for a
smiling mouth. About 35 flakes fill the screen from top to bottom in a 5×7
rectangular formation. Tap one flake and it changes places with another,
similar but not entirely like Tetris Attack. The next flake that’s touched
changes places with the last one touched, regardless of either flakes’
location. Each flake has a different sound that represents a key on a piano.
Clever gamers, experienced musicians and child prodigies can take this simple
tool and turn it into music by tapping the correct flakes.
If you can
imagine what it’d be like to play the piano with keys that are constantly
moving and no definition of which key is which, you’ll start get the idea of
what Marine-Snow is like. It’s extremely challenging to perform successfully
and that could be viewed as an unofficial game goal – unofficial because you
don’t gain anything for performing well other than the satisfaction of having
done it.
Pressing the
Select button changes the Marine-Snow’s sound and formation. The other
formations are circular, placing all of the flakes in two large circles.
Another new challenge presents itself: can you play this instrument without a
stationary playing field? The different sounds are pretty interesting, ranging
from a xylophone to something with a higher, softer sound that blends together
very easily, making it easier to go from one flake to the next but more
difficult to play a distinct sound.
Marine-Snow
2. Beatnes
One of the
coolest music types in the collection, Beatnes takes a remixed version of one
of the themes from Super Mario Bros. (the one that plays when you’re
invincible), and lets players get in on the action by throwing in various
Mario sound effects. There are over 50 parts that can be touched, and the
plankton remember which part was touched and when, then plays it back in that
sequence. Mario sounds include: jumping, coin collection, coins maxed out (the
jingle that plays when you’ve collected 100 coins), pipe entry, and extra life
reward.
3. Volvoice
Talk, sing,
rap, bark like a dog – do whatever you want, just make sure the microphone
picks it up. Your voice is played back automatically. Its sound is changed and
distorted in various ways; you have a little bit of control over how much it’s
distorted by switching between 16 different facets.
4. Hanenbow
One of the
first music types revealed at last year’s E3, Hanenbow are tadpole-like
creatures that are shot out of a leaf every five seconds. These plankton sink
as soon as they hit the water; the object is to bounce them back and forth
between six leaves to create a repetitive array of chimes and high-pitched
sounds. It’s quite peaceful at first, especially the raindrop sound that
follows every time a plankton hits the water. Musicians will be surprised by
how much they can get out of the Hanenbow. The sound changes dramatically
every time the leaves are altered. It seems impossible to change the leaves in
real-time and keep the same plankton bouncing for several minutes. But you can
set up the leaves to keep them bouncing perpetually; as soon as one hits the
water, another is there to take its place.
Hanenbow
5. Nanocarp
This one’s a
little too sporadic for music creation, but I like the concept. Tap one of the
plankton and it’ll emit a sound and as well as a circle. If the circle hits
the other plankton (it almost always does), they’ll emit sounds and circles as
well. Clap a few times and the Nanocarp will swim together to form a new
shape.
6. Tracy
Directions:
"Draw lines through the water. The plankton swim along the lines to create
mysterious music." Plankton are happy-faced water creatures – this particular
one looks like a rubbery triangle with flowery fins. I took my stylus and did
as I was told, drawing lines through the water. The plankton swarmed together,
creating a distorted sound that’s enough to have your mom pull you out of band
practice. I messed around with the little swimmers for a bit, drawing various
shapes, when it finally dawned on me that that speed I draw at determines the
speed of the sound being played. Also, if I touched a specific plankton before
drawing, that would be the plankton that followed my orders. I could direct
the music, in a sense, and tweak the plankton to perform when and how I wanted
– within the boundaries of the creatures’ restricted movement, of course.
7. Luminaria
Four lights,
four sounds, and a multitude of arrows that send them on their way. There
isn’t as much interactivity with these plankton; they do most of the work on
their own. You can influence their actions only by touching the arrows, which
changes the direction their moving in. The music is beautiful but is
ultimately repetitive.
8.
Sun-Animalcule
Another one
that essentially plays itself. Sun-Animalcule are tiny plankton eggs that grow
and make sounds when touched by bubbles. No, I did not make that up. It’s a
cool concept, and you can change the sound a little by repeatedly tapping
plankton you don’t want in the game anymore. But really there isn’t much to
it.
Sun-Animalcule
9. Rec-Rec
I’ve yet to
figure out the point to this one. Four fish swim across the screen. Touch them
to change their color. When one flashes, speak. Then what? I don’t get it. I
thought that speaking, rapping, or rhyming in some way might create an
interesting sound the game could work off of. Apparently not. Techno artists
might get something out of it if they need to keep the music flowing during
intermission. I doubt anyone else will.
10. Lumiloop
Lumiloop
could have the disclaimer, "For background only." Spin the five circle as fast
as you can by spinning your finger or your stylus over the plankton. They’ll
emit a peaceful sound and a colorful glow – it looks and sounds kind of cool,
but I can’t picture myself playing this for more than a minute without getting
bored. [Tests theory and plays Lumiloop for three minutes.] Confirmed!
I can’t play this for more than a minute without getting bored.
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Gameplay: 7.0
Electroplankton’s
only real flaw is that it is not a game. There are no goals to conquer; no
triumphs to embrace. Electro-enthusiasts could argue the point I brought up
about "unofficial" game goals, but let’s get real: if a game doesn’t tell you
to do something specific and/or reward you for doing something specific, it’s
not really a game. I enjoy the freedom Electroplankton provides and am blown
away by some of its imaginative ideas. If there were goals behind it, this
probably would’ve been the best, most open-ended music game ever made.
Graphics: 4.0
Simplistic 2D
visuals that use an ounce (maybe two) of the DS’s true power. Colorful, but
over 20 years dated.
Sound: 9.0
A mixture of
sounds and clever implementation, Electroplankton is an open-ended tool for
manipulating electronic sounds and music.
Difficulty: Easy
With no specified
game goal, Electroplankton’s only challenge comes from personal desire.
Concept: 9.0
A wonderful,
highly original, electrically-charged concept that’s bound to turn at least
one gamer into an aspiring rock star. It makes you want to pick up a real
instrument and start playing it. Musicians will be intrigued and inspired by
the way Electroplankton implements music. If this “game” had goals and a
reward system that were as clever as its use of the touch screen, there would
have been no stopping it.
Overall: 7.5
Electroplankton
isn’t an acquired tasted. Come to think of it I’m not sure there’s a gamer out
there that this was designed for. I love music, the Nintendo DS, and original
concepts – chances are anyone who feels the same way will be able to
appreciate what Electroplankton has to offer. That doesn’t mean you’ll play it
till your stylus breaks. I guarantee you won’t. But it’s something that I’ll
always have in my game collection and will surely go back from time to time,
if only to see how much further I can push the boundaries of Marine-Snow – or
to have fun making weird sounds with Volvoice.
