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PixelJunk Lifelike
While we've been aware of PixelJunk Lifelike's existence, we've yet to hear much about the game itself. After sitting in on a behind-closed-doors demo with Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert and Baiyon, the artist and musician responsible for the hypnotic tunes of PixelJunk Eden, I discovered that in fact it's not a game by standard definition. Instead it's a visual and auditory experience that allows users to experiment with sounds using PlayStation Move and PlayStation Eye for their own unique musical creations.
The team kicked off with a demo showing off the visuals and mechanics. PixelJunk Lifelike shares a visual style with PixelJunk Eden that increases in detail and intensity as sounds are developed by the user (similar to how a music visualizer on a computer would work). You can add a musical track that will play on a loop on which you can layer on your sounds. With the Move controller in hand the user can move the controller in various directions (left, right, up, down, forward, back, twist) and use button combinations to trigger specific sounds to add to your track whether it’s a pulsating bass line or percussion set. With a headset you can even add warped vocal effects as well. Plus, a second player with a Move controller can join in for musical collaboration. Users can experiment with the different sounds to create a club-worthy musical track that can be shared through a live stream with the rest of the world.
Baiyon is a Japan-based visual artist that performs at clubs across Kyoto and with PixelJunk Lifelike the team wants to recreate the performance experience. If you’re playing Lifelike, friends on your PSN friends list can tune into a livestream of your performance. Your audience will see the visualizer and listen to your trance-like tunes from their livingrooms.
The team at Q-Games mentioned during the demo that PixelJunk Lifelike will not be in 3D, there will be no cross platform compatibility with Vita, and as it stands you won’t be able to import sound samples from other sources.
PixelJunk Lifelike will hit PSN sometime this fall.
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