“Different” is an understatement when it comes to PixelJunk Lifelike. Shortly before our demo began Q-Games’ Dylan Cuthbert gingerly warned us that Lifelike didn’t fit the traditional videogame mold, but I’m not sure any sort of preemptive explanation could have prepared us for what in the exact hell we were going to be looking at. In fact, even after reviewing our exclusive video footage, I’m still not sure.
Let me paint you a picture. On the screen appears a radial dial of multiple colors and lines, like a DNA strand of Saturn’s rings filtered through varying degrees of colors and shapes. Frequent Q-Games music collaborator Baiyon grabs and Move controller and begins to make music by intuitively swiping it at the screen and, apparently, doing so in rhythmic fashion. Composed of the same low key ambience that marks his distinctive sound, Baiyon proceeds to spend the next fifteen minutes augmenting and further building his beat with various elements of percussion, all the while dancing around with the Move controller. No, Lifelike wasn’t necessarily a game, but it certainly appeared to be more of an interactive experience than mind-numbing detritus like Wii Music.
Certain observations arrived with further absorption. With each swipe of his wrist, it seemed like Baiyon was pulling sounds in from each side of the screen. A percussive sound that closely resembled throwing a rock at a symbol occurred in harmony with each swipe of Baiyon’s arm; the sound would get further away until it disappeared into a symbol, and when that happened his arm was once again in ready to start the signal. It was almost like Baiyon was anticipating a ricochet or a tennis ball and volleying it back to the source. In rhythm with the beat, Baiyon continued to pull sounds out of the sides and corners of the screen, twisting and changing his own song. This also had a profound effect on the pulsating circle that composed the visual component of PixelJunk Lifelike, though I couldn’t be sure if the visuals were affected by the rhythm that had developed or in tandem with the Move input.
I sort of got the sense that Baiyon was more of a creative lead in the project than Cuthbert himself. It’s obvious that Q-Games has a tremendous amount of respect for Baiyon, and their willingness to let an artist shape and craft an altogether different experience represents a genuine risk in the PlayStation space. PixelJunk has thrived on a constant output of dissimilar genres, but Lifelike’s level of abstraction makes Eden seem pedestrian. Better yet, the demonstration we saw was said to be a mere taste of the visual and sonic components Lifelike has to offer.
One thing Lifelike won’t be is difficult. Though Baiyon’s actions looked to be composed from the whims of a genius level auteur, Cuthbert promised that Lifelike could be intuitively performed and enjoyed by anyone. Speaking of which, music created can be shared (but not modified!) between fellow PlayStation Network members.
PixelJunk Lifelike will be out by the end of the year. Count us among the genuinely excited and curious.
(below are parts 1 and 2 of Baiyon’s fifteen minute PixelJunk Lifelike performance. Apologies for the darkness and, well, Baiyon’s constant presence in the center of the frame, but hearing Lifelike and watching someone play it is probably more informative than a direct feed of the screen – – right?)
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Also, don’t miss part 2 of our footage of the game!
