PolyFauna for iOS is a trip into another dimension from Radiohead
We mentionedPolyFauna last week, and now I've had a chance to look and listen. This free app from the rock band Radiohead is a trippy portal to another dimension. You start up with a dark screen that gradually lightens and you see a sort of alien environment. Is that snow falling, or stars? Am I under water? What are those strange skeletal creatures floating by?
You navigate by moving your screen in any direction. Every so often, a red orb appears. Intersect it, and you'll be transported elsewhere. You can draw on the screen and create some of your own "life forms."
What's it all for? The app is an experimental collaboration between Radiohead and Universal Everything, a very creative U.K.-based design studio. The imagery and the sounds come from the song Bloom. You'll have to take it from there. I found the app compelling to explore, although I did get some people wondering what I was doing when tested it at lunch.
The app is best with headphones, with directional effects and immersive sounds to go with the visuals. It's fun to explore, and the app fully utilizes the directional sensors provided by iOS hardware.
PolyFauna is a universal app. It requires iOS 7.0 or later, and it's optimized for the iPhone 5. I've put some screen grabs in the gallery, but you will see different things as you explore more and more deeply into the bizarre world PolyFauna creates.
