PS Vita: General Discussion

[Bearskopff]

A great writer once said that perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there's nothing more to take away. It's a principle the developers of Sound Shapes must have had in mind when creating the game, because it impresses from the outset with its streamlined, minimalist approach. 

In place of multiple menu screens and options, you get instant action in brilliantly designed worlds (or albums) that feature cute, colourful and beautifully animated visuals by some of the world's most forward-thinking artists – not to mention soundtracks from some of the planet's greatest musicians.

These are no ordinary soundtracks, however: they're bleeping, twinkling, organic creations that you help put together as you play – a unique and ever-evolving collaboration between you and musicians including Beck, deadmau5 and I Am Robot. Musical notes are strewn throughout each stage and the pace and route of your progress will influence the music you make. It's a superb and imaginative way to add depth and complexity to the game, and the result is a lush, compelling and super cool sensory experience that grabs hold of you and won't let go.

 

Play, compose and share.

• Play a unique take on the classic side-scrolling platformer where your actions make the music in over 20 levels and endless user-generated stages. 
• Groove along to original music by artists such as Beck, Jim Guthrie and Deadmau5. 
• Compose new levels and music with the easy to use editor and PlayStation Vita touchscreen controls.
• Upload and share your inspired creations with the PlayStation community.
• Buy this product for PlayStation 3 and get the PS Vita version at no extra cost and vice versa with the Cross-Buy feature. 
• Begin a game at home on PS3 then continue on PS Vita wherever you travel using Cross-Save.

Community Challenge.

Be sure to check out our Sound Shapes Community Challenge too! Just click THIS to be transported to a place where your creativity will be challenged!

[rank__bajin]

Not much activity in here - much like the similar topic I started!

Anyway as this is the new place for level promotions, tips and so on I thought that sound shapers might be interested in this: 

How to make curves by Daftbomb

As far as I'm concerned, Daftbomb is the master and builds the sound shapes levels that I aspire to (got a long way to go!). 

His tip along with the level above that shows how to construct curves is that you should switch snap to grid on.

In any case try out some of his other levels - Typewriter of Doom is probably my favourite so far.

[rank__bajin]

Advanced Techniques subtitled "Text and other stuff"

Daftbomb gives away more secrets!

[bravo9zero]

I still haven't bought this game, probably due too the quite high price (£9.99 is steep for a d/l game)

and lack of a demo (should be mandatory!)

Still it looks like a cool game, just not £9.99 cool

[Bearskopff]

I personally don't regret purchasing this title at all, but I'm sure there's someone that'll be happy to write up a mini review for you or hook you up with some cool footage. It's definitely worth a try - especially if you're even remotely creative

[rank__bajin]

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bravo9zero wrote:

I still haven't bought this game, probably due too the quite high price (£9.99 is steep for a d/l game)

and lack of a demo (should be mandatory!)

Still it looks like a cool game, just not £9.99 cool

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I think if you're comparing with vita games then by comparison 9.99 for sound shapes is a bargain against 8.99 for plants vs zombies.

Clearly I'm biased as I'm obviously a sound shapes fan from my recent posting but if you're looking for something a little different then sound shapes is worth it. Even if the "campaign" is a bit short, there are thousands of player-created levels both beautiful and challenging - you'll never run out of levels to play (even if you exclude those that are not as polished as the best ones).

The editor is simple to use - if, like me, you enjoy experimenting then you'll get a good few hours of enjoyment out of that and more if you feel you can start publishing your creations. The simplicity can be restricting - there are some things you can't do easily (text can be a particularly time-consuming exercise) and some you can't do at all but overall I have managed to communicate my design in the few levels I published.

I'd say for £10 it's worth a shot!

[rank__bajin]

Published an experimental level The Newton Parallel

An experiment in anti-gravity! 

Couple more experimenal levels with a bit more to them are on the way.

[rank__bajin]

Another experimental level from me for you to try: A good walk spoiled

This was an experiment in building a travelator. Can you get a hole in one? 

I have also published my first 1SL (one screen level) Jarre 1SL

[xElfenLied]

I still don't know what this game is. Even watching YouTube gameplay doesn't explain very well. It just looks like pixel junk shooter or something.

[rank__bajin]

My new level is published: Bouncy 1SL

I'd also recommend RED by TonyTough - this is a great level! Challenging, decent music and great artwork considering the tools in Sound Shapes.

There are loads of good levels around at the moment as creators refine their techniques.