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‘Floor Kids’ is Kid Koala’s video game tribute to breakdancing
Kid Koala is not a game developer. Born Eric San, the Canadian DJ and turntablist has been spinning records and making beats since he was 12. Over the past three decades, he's DJ'd breakdancing battles and worked with legends of the electronic music scene like Amon Tobin. He's also scored films, written graphic novels and even collaborated with Mike Patton of Faith No More and Dan the Automator on an album of "love" songs. But he is not a game developer. Like many, he grew up playing Super Mario Bros., and back then if you'd told him one day he'd work with Nintendo, he'd never have believed you. His latest project is Floor Kids, a rhythm game that's a celebration of breakdancing culture. It's something he worked on, one way or another, for over ten years. The game was released last December for Nintendo Switch as part of the company's "Nindies" program. When San and creative partner Jonathan "JonJon" Ng were first approached by Nintendo, neither had any idea what a Switch was, but agreed anyway. "Nintendo was like some company from outer space that created this awesome game," he said. "It was a no-brainer for me." Now, the game is coming to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One very soon.
Kid Koala bundles working cardboard gramophone with album, spurs on budding turntablists (video)
If you've been enough of a Kid Koala fan to have heard his original Scratchcratchratchatch mixtape, you'll remember a sample that mentioned building a "finger-powered record player." Kid Koala, also known as Eric San, certainly remembers -- buy the Limited Edition of his recently launched 12 Bit Blues album and you'll get your own functional, build-it-yourself cardboard gramophone along with a playable disc. The only further requirements are a sewing pin and some hand power. It's cheaper than tracking down the real thing, and a nod both to San's turntablist style as well as the back-to-basics nature of the music. We call it clever and potentially inspiring; just remember that you'll want some proper equipment before you DJ any house parties.
