NatalieKS-LookingOutwards-12

Since my project is a sound-based DJ-type game, I searched for other games that are similar in terms of building and creating music. I’ve already talked about Patatap in a previous Looking Outwards (my very first one – almost like I’ve come full circle!), but it isn’t as close to my idea as I’d like it to be. So, I searched for other things that were more music-based and had more of a DJ feel rather than something freeform. In doing so, I found Incredibox and Beatmaker.

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A video showing one of the most popular songs created with Incredibox.

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Incredibox is a music app and site where the player can create a song by managing a band of people. You can drag icons – various types of clothing or symbols – from the bottom bar and place them on each person, which each icon producing a unique sound. Each sound can either be percussion, instruments, voices, or sound effects, and combining these various sounds can create really cool and unique mixes. The project was initially released in 2009 by French company So Far So Good, a company composed of a trio of friends named Romain, Paul, and Allan. What I really admire about this project, and what really inspired me was the actual sounds the player can work with. It’s a good range of sounds that includes both music-related (like instruments and percussion) as well as some sound effects, and they all work really well together. Even though you can combine any of these in any order, they are still cohesive and maintain the same rhythm. The one thing about this game is that you can only play a limited number of sounds at a time, and each sound is limited to a select number of options. As amazing as the game is, it is limited in what is available to use (but that hasn’t stopped people from creating really awesome music!).

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A video showing an example of what you can do with Beatmaker. (Sorry about the title of the video, videos were few and far between!!)

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Beatmaker, on the other hand, is exactly what’s named: a beat maker. It is less of a game and more like a DJ-oriented music production site. There are 8+ channels for various types of instruments, and the user can click on each row to fill in space to indicate beats and play the instruments. The user can edit the track, and utilize the full library of samples Splice has available, resulting in an enormous range of possible beats and sounds. I really admire the versatility and functionality of this project. It is easy to use and figure out, and there are tons of different tones and types of sounds you can use to create something really cool. Although it does have this wide range of sounds, it is mostly focused on the EDM/electronic pop genre of music, and I think there’s untapped potential to utilize sounds and instruments from other genres as well! The website was created by company Splice, which was founded by Matt Aimonetti and Steve Martocci.