Sound Shapes
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You must watch Jon Mak build this super hot Sound Shapes jam
Could you refer to Jon Mak's on-the-fly Sound Shapes level as a "club banger?" Why yes, yes you could. We'd even go so far as to say you should refer to it that way, but you may just call it "that really impressive thing that convinced me to buy Sound Shapes."
New Beck songs get visualized, inspire musical platforming
Beck's latest album won't debut on the shelves of your local brick-and-mortar retailer. Instead, Cities, as its called, will roll out on Sound Shapes for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita. The platformer's song-inspired stages transform the record's three tunes, Cities, Touch the People and Spiral Staircase, into interactive music videos, with original art and lyrics inserted into the environment. If traipsing through the included soundscapes -- not all of which are Beck-centric -- isn't enough to please, the developers are gifting gamers with the tools needed to build levels of their own. As a cross-play game, the $14.99 price tag nets both the console and portable versions of the downloadable title. Sound Shape won't hit digital shelves until August 7th, but you can catch a sneak peak (and a quick listen) after the break.
Hear and see Beck's voice in Sound Shapes
Would you like to hear a new Beck song? Of course you would. Would you like to see a new interactive music video for said song, with art by Pyramid Attack? It's very likely you would.Would you like that song and music video to actually be a level in Sound Shapes, in which you literally travel along Beck's lyrics (like taking a trip through the Becktionary)? You're really going to enjoy this video.
Odelay! Beck conributing three new tracks to Sound Shapes
The synaesthetic platforming of Sound Shapes is getting bolstered by three tracks from pseudo country/hip-hop/folk/whatever artist Beck, Billboard reports. "Cities," "Spiral Staircases," and "Touch the People" will apparently each get their own levels in this August's PlayStation 3/Vita game. All three tracks are brand new for Sound Shapes, rather than from Beck's lengthy discography.Beck joins co-developer I Am Robot and Proud (Shaw-Han Liem), Sworcery composer Jim Guthrie, and notoriously game-centric DJ Deadmau5 on the game's soundtrack, which, like, it's gonna be a super good soundtrack, right? We totally agree.When the Deadmau5 collaboration was announced, Queasy Games told us that his tracks weren't just implemented into game levels, but also part of the game's level editor, allowing players to break apart the track and use it to create a soundscape behind the platforming. It stands to reason that Beck's tracks will also get this functionality, making this news all the more thrilling.[Image credit: Flickr user 'lizzk']%Gallery-160640%
'PSN Play' launches Sound Shapes, CS: GO, Papo & Yo, and The Expendables 2 across August [update: release dates!]
Sony is gearing up for its second annual big summer digital launch promotion, which we're dubbing "PSN Play 2: Digital Sale-a-roo." Between July 24 and August 27, the following four games will launch on the PlayStation Network: Papo & Yo, Sound Shapes, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and The Expendables 2 Videogame (yes, we recognize that one of those is potentially less thrilling than the other three).Moreover, if you buy any combination of those games, you'll get some virtual bucks back to spend on PSN. The more you buy, you the more you get back (two games gets $3, all the way up to all four getting $10 back). And if you're a PlayStation Plus member, things get even better – each game is reduced by 20 percent just because.Update: Sony announced the dates of all the PSN Play games in a press release (after the break). The promotion begins with The Expendables 2 on July 31. Sound Shapes follows on the previously announced date of August 7, then it's Papo & Yo on August 14 and Counter-Strike on August 21. Pre-orders for each game will be available before release, granting exclusive PS3 themes.
Sound Shapes coming to PS3, both versions out August 7
After a long Sound Shapes-filled commute, you can go home and play more Sound Shapes. Developer Queasy Games just announced that it'll be released day-and-date with the Vita version.So ... when is that date? August 7, for $14.99. Best of all, if you buy it on one system, you'll get it on both. User-generated content can be shared between versions. You'll be able to see the PS3 version on Sony's livestream at about 5:30PT, and you can see the Vita version (played by composer Jim Guthrie) up here.
Superbrothers and Jim Guthrie make Sound Shapes' 'Corporeal'
The next artist and musician pair to create a Sound Shapes album has worked together before: Superbrothers and Jim Guthrie famously collaborated on Sword & Sworcery EP, and now they've made "Corporeal," a series of levels for Queasy Games' Vita platformer."After some initial discussion with Queasy," Craig "Superbrothers" Adams said on the PlayStation Blog, "we chose to explore some of the concepts in prior Superbrothers films including Children of the Clone and Dot Matrix Revolution, so our levels are populated by computers, mainframes, office workers and water coolers." The level design is modeled on "something like Impossible Mission for C-64 & Spectrum," though still within the mechanics of Sound Shapes.Adams didn't offer a specific release date for Sound Shapes, but he did say it'll be playable at Sony's E3 booth. Good news ... for us!
Deadmau5 and Pixeljam make beautiful Sound Shapes together
Sound Shapes' levels are presented in an "album" format, with each collection of levels having a distinct look and sound. This video features a demonstration of an "album" whose sounds are provided by Deadmau5, a musician respected enough to get away with having a number in his name, and whose shapes are designed by indie developer Pixeljam.Check out the collaboration above, and start thinking of how you can use those visual and musical elements to make your own levels.
Sound Shapes getting pre-release demo, still looks fantastic
Here's something you shouldn't be surprised at all by: Queasy Games' upcoming PlayStation Vita music-driven platformer, Sound Shapes, still looks absolutely delightful. As demonstrated in the above video to the PlayStation Blog by Jason deGroot, the game's art style has evolved more naturalistic looking environments which help all the more to showcase the game's synaesthetic approach.Beyond the new footage, Queasy confirmed a pre-launch demo of its new game, though the indie studio and its publisher remain mum on a solid release date.
Shuhei Yoshida expects a focus on new IP for Vita
Sony president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida has expressed his love for Queasy Games' Sound Shapes over the rest of the PlayStation Vita's lineup, and offered a couple hints as to the future of the new handheld's software lineup. "When we introduce new hardware with unique interfaces and network options, it is almost easier to work on something completely new," Yoshida said in a recent interview with Sony's EU PlayStation blog. "Take rear touch on PS Vita – we'd rather be thinking about how we can make fresh games using that feature than figuring out ways to add it to something that already exists." This concept is already reflected by games like the aforementioned Sound Shapes, as well as Escape Plan and Gravity Daze, while the opposite is reflected in entries like Uncharted, Resistance, and Killzone. That said, Sony's plans extend at least a few years into the future. "Generally we look three years ahead when we work on games. We have a fairly firm plan right up to 2013," Yoshida told the blog. He also admitted that, with PSP, the company's attention shifted dramatically to the PS3 when it launched, leaving the portable handheld somewhat in the dark -- something he promises won't happen with the Vita. "In the past we launched PSP and then shifted our attention to PS3 when that came on the horizon, which we now concede was a mistake. So with PS Vita we are working on this huge range titles and planning ahead for a constant supply of excellent games." Fingers crossed, folks!
Made in Toronto: Deadmau5 collaborating with Queasy on Sound Shapes
When electronica artist Deadmau5 isn't busy hanging out with famed game developer Shigeru Miyamoto, or tricking tweeters into thinking he lost an early retail PlayStation Vita, he's teaming up with Queasy Games to handcraft tracks for upcoming Vita game Sound Shapes. He likely does other things, sure, but we're not privy to that. An announcement this morning revealed the partnership -- apt given the studio's Toronto roots alongside Deadmau5. As if the collaboration couldn't be more serendipitous, Queasy Games head Jonathan Mak has been building Sound Shapes alongside Shaw-Han Liem, otherwise known as "I Am Robot and Proud," a Toronto-based electronic music artist. When asked about the collaboration, Liem was modest, telling Joystiq, "There is no special history between myself and Deadmau5, other than the fact that we both come from the Toronto/Canadian electronic music scene, which is quite small!" He related the collaboration to Queasy's work with Capy Games, the indie studio responsible for Critter Crunch and Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, among other things. "We know that he plays games, and indie games in particular - he's a fan of 'Sword & Sworcery'," Liem told us. It's not clear how many tracks from Deadmau5 will end up in the title, but we'll find out in the not-too-distant future as Sound Shapes launches some time in 2012 for the PlayStation Vita. It also sounds like players will have a chance to cut up said tracks for level creation, as Liem concluded, "We've always had the goal of making the musical 'toolset' something that is flexible and that people can use to make different kinds of music. Adding Deadmau5 to the mix gives people a whole new set of musical tools to work with, which is totally exciting to us." [Image credit: Facebook]
Groove to the beat of this new Sound Shapes trailer
Here at Joystiq, it's our job to know what you want. We've heard your cries for more trailers featuring attractive 20-somethings playing Sound Shapes, so here you go.
Sound Shapes preview: Run, jump, dance
Do you own any of the following? A. Very flexible, DJ-quality headphones B. A messenger bag sized specifically for vinyl records C. A modded Game Boy/Game Boy Color/etc. for creating music D. The freshest styles and moves, straight from Planet Funketron If you answered "Yes" to any of the above, and you also share my love for precision platforming in video games like N+ and Super Meat Boy, then Sound Shapes is gonna be your jam.%Gallery-125607%
Capybara, Metanet helping to develop Sound Shapes
This morning, while thoroughly enjoying a preview of Queasy Games' next project, Sound Shapes for the PlayStation Vita, I had a chance to chat with project leads Jonathan Mak and Shaw-Han Liem. Given Mak's past with game development (Everyday Shooter), I wondered how much his team had grown since its first Sony game -- and accidentally stumbled on a really exciting detail about the forthcoming music/platformer. "It started with us two, then there were four of us, then there were six, then there were eight," Liem told me. "We have some people helping, on contract," said Mak. "Capybara Games is helping us, Metanet is helping us. We're all friends in Toronto." It seems that, beyond the small group of people employed under the "Queasy Games" umbrella, folks from acclaimed indie dev houses Capybara Games (Critter Crunch) and Metanet (N+) are putting work into Sound Shapes. Mak further noted, "A lof of these levels are actually Capy," referencing the levels I played in the preview build on-hand. He also explained to me that the folks at Queasy iterate on the levels before they make it into the game. Which isn't to say that the only folks working on Sound Shapes are Queasy Games and the aforementioned duo of dev houses. "All the indie game companies in Toronto hang out together and help each other out," Liem explained. "For us, I think a lot of the stuff that we're doing is new to us, or stuff that we're doing for the first time. So to be able to draw upon the people who've gone through it before is really great."%Gallery-125607%
Sony NGP soaks up the pre-E3 glitz in official demo videos
With E3 2011 just around the corner, expectations for Nintendo announcements are mighty high, but you can get a glimpse at the heat Sony's packing before another day goes by. The official PlayStation.Blog spat out some footage of the quad-core NGP in action, and it's not just playing last-gen games; rather, there's yet another glimpse at Uncharted, a brand new platformer called Sound Shapes where you build levels with a music sequencer (and which procedurally generates tunes as you play) and a taste of the cross-platform PS3 vs. NGP wireless racing you can expect in Wipeout HD. There's definitely a lot of dual-analog action here, but demonstrators are also taking advantage of that five-inch touchscreen, and Wipeout will apparently use the front-facing camera to beam taunt-filled pictures and video of the victor to the losers in each race.You'll note that Sony's focusing on software over hardware here, and that's not by accident -- the company's careful to state that we're looking at early dev units. "They're the right size, but they don't possess that final PlayStation-quality fit and finish," says the official blog, "What you'll eventually be able to pick up in a store will look a heck of a lot better." Two more vids after the break.
Sound Shapes heading to NGP from Everyday Shooter dev Jonathan Mak
It's been four years since Jonathan Mak released his last game on Sony's PlayStation Network, Everyday Shooter, to critical acclaim. In that time, Mak has been working on a variety of projects -- 10 (failed) games with a Toronto-area musician, for instance -- but today he's unveiling his next major release as Sound Shapes for Sony's NGP. Like Everyday Shooter took a basic shooting concept and added a musical twist, Sound Shapes aims to do as much with platforming, it seems. VentureBeat explains the gameplay by saying, "You manipulate a sticky ball through a two-dimensional landscape and create music as you interact." According to VB, the objects in the game's 2D world all correspond to different sounds, forcing players to move based on the beat of the music. Mak, and his dev studio Queasy Games, are bringing Sound Shapes to E3 next week where we'll check it out more thoroughly. Update: Mak notes in a separate US PlayStation blog post that Sound Shapes can also be used to make music, "but then you can 'play' that music like it's a video game." He also notes that the game will be playable at E3.%Gallery-125161%
Feast your eyes on a menagerie of new NGP game images
We may not know much about Sony's NGP (or is it PlayStation Vita?) just yet, but we do have a whole mess of new images from its game lineup. After the break, you'll find eight (eight!) galleries of brand new screens, pulled from Uncharted, Wipeout, Little Deviants, and many more.
