Auditorium

A week or so ago I picked up Auditorium for the iPhone. I played the free Flash version some time ago. The game hasn't changed much if at all since then. Although having it on the iPhone allows me to easily present it to others in person.

The game is interesting in that it's a music based game, but not like so much of the rhythm games that we see today like Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, Garage Band, and even DJ Hero if you dare call that a game. Those games are more about hitting the right beats with the right notes.

Auditorium involves steering streams of colored light into instrument nodes. The instruments play a small loop as they are struck by the light. Many of the puzzles involve multiple instruments. The goal is to 'fill' all of these instruments. As you get closer to your goal you'll have a lot of instruments playing loudly, which makes an excellent feedback system. The music that comes from the game as you play it isn't going to win awards, but it still sounds good and natural. Overall I think this part was well done.

The only part that's a little annoying about the game is the physics-ness about it. A lot of the levels feel like you have to move all of the pieces into that "just right" spot. Maybe that's the intent of the game's high concept. It's definitely not a deal breaker, but something to keep in mind with a game that uses physics for its main game mechanisms (or is physics like in the case of light particles that can be pushed, accelerated, and gravitated) - it's a good idea to think in terms of areas and values with a lot of imprecision.

Overall it's a fun little game. Play it when you can have sound so you can get the full light/sound effects from it.