Throwback Thursday - Sound Shapes

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday, our weekly look into my Top 100 games and general nostalgia.  On the menu for this week: The musical-platformer of sweet beats and impressive feats that is Sound Shapes.

Released in the US on August 7th, 2012, Sound Shapes is of a unique breed that marries side-scrolling platformers with a focus on music and unique art styles.  Controlling a small eyeball, players travel across vivid landscapes collecting beats scattered about.  As players collect these beats, the music develops and carries over from screen to screen, building into a looping symphony.  For those with a competitive edge, they can also race through the levels to see who can collect all the beats in the fastest time, receiving top marks on the scoreboard.  But the main charms I find of this game are the musical compositions and creative tools it has to offer.



The game's main campaign features some superb support from esteemed composers such as Deadmau5 and Beck.  A particular favorite track of mine in the game is the trek across a war-torn urban landscape in Beck's "Cities":

While the main game may be a quick, groovy experience, there is tons more content to be explored through the creation tools Sound Shapes has to offer.  Using all the beats and art assets found in the game, players can create, play, and share their own musical bouts.  Level creation can be tricky because the position the beats are placed in the level dictate the pitch and timing they are played in their musical loops.  This in effect either dictates your choices in gameplay / level design, or else requires a degree of forethought to achieve your desired gameplay / design.  While I do wish there was more freedom to create longer melodies and gameplay experiences independent of a beat's position in the level, the tools offered are still enough to develop many creative jams.

Bonus Content: If you search for the following levels online in Sound Shapes, you'll find two levels created by yours truly.  Those levels include:

Steampunk Funk - This was a linear level designed to offer funky, soothing beats with bouts of action and calm.  I found the mix of authentic guitar plucks and the claps and clanks of the many industrial equipment to be a compelling fusion.  While it is a short level, I try to provide a gradual curve in challenge and ideas, filled with moments of reprieve and a climatic / tranquil finish.

20,000 Beats Under the Sea - This level was designed with the exploration being the driving theme.  Players start at the end of the level, but they must dive into the ocean to find the hidden 100 beats of the deep abyss before returning to the surface / end of level.  It was a challenge creating varied musical loops that would eventually all layer on top of each other, but not become too repetitive.  So I tried keeping the melodies simple and using the environment to help create variance in your undersea journey.  I also hope players will enjoy once finding all the notes and then figuring out the fastest route for that top score.  The fact that the level offers many choices in paths and where to go should make time challenges an interesting puzzle.