Sunday 17 Sep 2006

Everyday scientists are researching new technologies to take them deeper into the unknown depths of the ocean in order to discover fascinating new species of fish and other aquatic life forms. Creatures with no skin or colour because they have no need for these things in this dark water hidden far, far away from the harsh rays of the sun. Little did these scientists know that a Japanese musician and game developer, Toshio Iwai, had discovered a new species of his own, Electroplankton!

At first look one might think that this game is not a game at all, but rather just a show piece to promote the features of the Nintendo DS. On further inspection one would be pleasantly surprised to find that it is not all just random noises coming from their system, but rather that the Electroplankton are singing and collaborating in tune to the conducting strokes of the player’s stylus and vocal directions.

In this watery world live ten breeds of Electroplankton, each with their own unique way of interacting with the player. These range from Electroplankton who record the player’s voice or noises coming from the outside world (such as a dog barking or a toilet flushing) and place the sounds seamlessly into a four track loop (Rec-Rec), to a set of six Electroplankton which follow a pathway drawn by your stylus to create a totally organic piano concerto (Tracy). Although whenever I connect the DS up to the sound system and give concerts for my friends there will be the odd one or two people who refer to this as “noise.”

Below is a brief explanation of what a few more of the other Electroplankton can do:

Hanenbow – These little guys are launched from the water towards a plant that usually has six leaves. The player can rotate the leaves in order to get the Electroplankton to bounce off and hopefully hit another leaf, with each collision the Electroplankton plays a note on what sounds to be a vibraphone. If a leaf is hit frequently it will become red, and should every leaf of the plant become red a special surprise is presented to the player.

Luminaria – Definitely one of my preferred Electroplankton, they move around the screen following the direction of the current. There are four Electroplankton to play with this time, each moving at a different speed. You can change the direction of the current in a cell by tapping it with your stylus or a simple press of the D-pad can change all the current cells at once.

Sun-Animalcule – Presented with the whole screen to play with, you can plant tiny seeds of these Electroplankton and watch as they “play” out their lives, excuse the pun. Depending on where you have placed the seed will determine the note the Electroplankton plays. There is a day night cycle that changes the way the plankton react and sound. Sun plankton are placed during the day and have a light crisp sound whereas moon plankton, placed at night, have a deeper more brooding tone.