Electroplankton
| Electroplankton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Nintendo |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Toshio Iwai |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release | April 7, 2005 (JP) January 9, 2006 (NA) |
| Genre(s) | Music game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Electroplankton is a media art "video game" developed by the famous Japanese multimedia artist Toshio Iwai and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS portable gaming system. This unique software allows one to interact with animated "plankton" and create music through one of ten different "plankton themed" interfaces. This title is commonly not regarded as a video game in the fullest sense because there is no objective, timer, or top score. Everything that the game has to offer is available from the beginning. The first-run edition of Electroplankton in Japan came bundled with a set of blue colored ear bud headphones.
Plankton
There are ten different plankton to chose from, each with different attributes, sounds, and personalities. The Plankton are as follows:
- Tracy
- Hanenbow
- Luminaria
- Sun-Animalcule
- Rec-Rec
- Nanocarp
- Lumiloop
- Marine-Snow
- Beatnes
- Volvoice
Game Modes
The game only offers two game modes -- Performance and Audience. Audience mode simply allows the user to put down the system and enjoy a continuous musical show put on by all of the plankton. The Performance mode is considered to be the beef of Electroplankton, allowing the user to interact with the plankton with the use of the stylus, touchscreen, and microphone.
Controls
L & R: Change plankton in Audience Mode.
X & Y: Zoom In/Out of current action.
Start: Pause
Select: Different action depending on plankton.
A: Different action depending on plankton.
B: Return to previous screen.
D Pad: Different action depending on plankton.
See Also
- Jam With The Band - A music game developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS.
- SimTunes - A PC game created by Electroplankton designer Toshio Iwai.
Future Release and Importing
Electroplankton has developed a niche following around the entire globe. The title made an appearance at the 2005 E3 show, but from then until October 19, 2005, details about the game's release outside of Japan remained somewhat vague. However, in October 19, 2005 Nintendo of America revealed Electroplankton's release date in the US: January 9, 2006, with sales of the game limited to online retailers and the Nintendo World store in New York City. Unfortunately, no release date for European territories has been revealed at this moment. Nonetheless, Electroplankton is an import friendly game for most people, mainly because of both its simplistic menu and its heavy use of English.