Electroplankton
Verdict: Just imagine the whale song.
Platform: Nintendo DS.
Rating: 4/5
Opening with the sound of an orchestra tuning up that fades into the tranquil sound of bubbles in flowing water, Electroplankton perfectly communicates its essence in one brief moment. From that pure introduction and throughout the game, joy flows easily.
Game probably isn’t the correct description here though as it’s more like a musical toy or collection of sonic art pieces - there are no real goals (bar the flower blooming of Hanenbow) other than making sweet music by prodding, moving, drawing, firing, sliding and spinning cutely named creatures.
Created by renowned artist Toshio Iwai, Electroplankton falls under Nintendo’s Touch Generations banner and is another title from them that defies traditional video game categorisation. Like Nintendogs and Brain Training it’s accessible to anyone who can hold a stylus, eschewing complex interfaces and controls for something simple and elegant.
Numbering ten in total, each deliver their own pool of playful sound. There’s the ambient, doughnut shaped Lumiloop who sing long sustained notes when you spin them, the meditative Hanenbow who bounce and chime off movable leaves, Rec-Rec that works as a looping four track recorder with prepackaged beats, Sun-Amicule who grow like eggs in the digital heat, Nanocarp that respond to sound, Luminaria who flow along a grid of rotatable arrows, Tracy who follow your freshly drawn paths, Marine-Snow who sing and dance as you slide through them, Volvoice who mutates your own sounds and Beatnes that let you jam with 8 bit sounds to the tune of old-school Nintendo beats.
Seemingly influenced by musicians like Steve Reich, Oval and Brian Eno, the Electroplankton wouldn’t be out of place in a gallery or sound installation (in fact Luminaria and Lumiloop originally were) but instead they can reside in your pocket as sonic art on the go, ready to brighten any bus journey or queue at the bank.
At £30 the price may put off some people that expect a little more for their moolah which is a shame because its bioluminescence out-shines the population of bland, recycled ‘me too’ games out there.
One for the musician in us all.