Lumines
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(pronounced as "Loo-min-ess") is a
puzzle A puzzle is a game, Problem solving, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together (Disentanglement puzzle, or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at th ...
video game series developed by
Q Entertainment was a Japanese video game developer. The studio created, produced, and published digital entertainment content across multiple game consoles, PC broadband and mobile units. It was founded on October 10, 2003 by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, formerly of S ...
. The core objective of the games is to survive by rotating and aligning 2×2 blocks varying between two colors to form 2×2 squares of a single color which will be erased when the Time Line passes over them. The game is lost when the blocks reach the top of the playing field. The series was initially conceived when
Tetsuya Mizuguchi is a Japanese video game designer, producer, and businessman. Along with ex-Sega developers he is the one of the co-founders of the video game development firm Q Entertainment. He formerly worked for Sega as a producer in their Sega AM3 'arcade m ...
heard about the
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
and wanted to develop a game for it. Since the original release, several sequels have been developed and released for multiple platforms including, PC,
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
,
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
,
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, and Android. The series has received many positive reviews and awards with the original receiving the highest review score ratings and the majority of the awards.


Gameplay

''Lumines'' is a block-dropping game that seems at first similar to ''
Columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...
'' and ''
Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
''. The game is made up of a 16×10 grid playing field. A sequence of 2×2 blocks varying between two colors fall from the top of the playing field. When part of a falling block hits an obstruction, the remaining portion will split off and continue to fall. A vertical "Time Line" sweeps through the playing field from left to right. When a group of 2×2 blocks of the same color is created on the playing field, it creates a "colored square". When the Time Line passes through it, the colored square will disappear and points are added to the player's overall score. If the colored square is created in the middle of the Time Line, the Time Line will only take half of the colored square and no points will be awarded. Certain blocks with gems are known as "special blocks" and if are used to create colored squares, they will allow all individual adjacent blocks of the same color to be eliminate by the Time Line. In some games in the series, the special block is replaced with the "chain block", which connects to all adjacent blocks, regardless if a square is created. The games feature background skins, which change the appearance of the visuals and blocks, and contain a different music track and sound effects. Skins are unlocked by progressing through the different game modes. Skins have different Time Line speeds, depending on the track's
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
. This can affect the gameplay; faster Time Lines make it more difficult to create large combos, and slower Time Lines may cause the playing field to fill while waiting for the Time Line to erase squares. The objective is to rotate and align the blocks in such a way as to create colored squares. Increasing score multipliers are earned by repeatedly clearing 3~4 squares (depending on the game) on consecutive Time Line sweeps. Score bonuses are also awarded by reducing all remaining tiles to one single color or for removing all non-active tiles from the screen altogether. Multiple colored squares of the same color can be shared between a single geometric shape. For example, if one should get a 2x3 area of matching blocks, the middle portion will "share" itself with both the left and right halves and create two colored squares. The player loses when the blocks pile up to the top of the grid.


Development

The series began with '' Lumines: Puzzle Fusion''. The game was the first game developed by
Q Entertainment was a Japanese video game developer. The studio created, produced, and published digital entertainment content across multiple game consoles, PC broadband and mobile units. It was founded on October 10, 2003 by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, formerly of S ...
and was a launch title for the
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
. The game was developed with an estimated amount of 4 or 5 people for over 1 year. Mizuguchi was inspired by the PSP when he first learned about the technology. He described the PlayStation Portable as an "interactive
Walkman Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for p ...
" and "Dream machine" due to the system being one of the few video game handheld consoles with a headphone jack, allowing the game to be played at any time, any location, and any style with good sound. After choosing the PSP as the next console to work with, Mizuguchi was inspired to make a puzzle game with music. Mizuguchi stated he wanted it to be an audio-visual puzzle game for the challenge, but he also wanted to make something that was less daunting to players compared to his previous titles '' Rez'' or ''
Space Channel 5 ''Space Channel 5'' is a music video game developed by Sega AM9 and published by parent company Sega. Originally released for the Dreamcast (1999 in Japan, 2000 worldwide), it was later ported to the PlayStation 2 (2002 in Europe, 2003 in Japan ...
'', so that it would attract casual players. Originally, Mizuguchi wanted to make a ''
Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
'' game with music but due to various issues including licensing, it was not possible at the time and the concept of Lumines was used instead. His original hopes would eventually come to be when, in 2018, ''
Tetris Effect The ''Tetris'' effect (also known as ''Tetris'' syndrome) occurs when people devote so much time and attention to an activity that it begins to pattern their thoughts, mental images, and dreams. It takes its name from the video game ''Tetris''. ...
'' was released for PS4. Lumines' subtitle "Puzzle Fusion" reflected that the game's music was essential to the game itself.
Katsumi Yokota is a Japanese video game designer and amateur musician who has contributed to the visual design and music of the ''Lumines'' series of games. He served as the art director of the original PSP game and as the director of ''Lumines Supernova'' for th ...
implemented strict rules for the series that the songs would follow time signature, with the exception of "Big Elpaso". This was due to the playing field being divided into 16 rows, and the Time Line needing to match the tempo of the music and in sync with the beat. By using time signature, it allows a total of sixteen eighth-notes to correspond to two bars precisely. After the game was released, three titles were being developed simultaneously: ''Lumines Plus'', ''Lumines II'', and ''Lumines Live!'' for
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
, PSP, and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
respectively. Tetsuya Mizuguchi wanted to achieve different things for each game. ''Lumines Plus'' was intended to be a direct port of the original ''Lumines: Puzzle Fusion'' with additional songs and skins. For ''Lumines II'', Mizuguchi emphasized he wanted the game to have its own original atmosphere and stylistic experience, different from the original. In addition, licensed songs from famous artists such as
Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...
, Black Eyed Peas and
The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre t ...
were incorporated into the game's soundtrack. Mizuguchi described ''Lumines II'' as a party and described himself as a party organizer to make the biggest party experience on the PSP. For ''Lumines Live!'', Mizuguchi developed the game with the concept of customizing music and choosing and downloading new songs. The goal of the game was to use everything that was happening during the time and make it available through DLC. Mizuguchi compared the game to a TV channel where they feed what the next thing will be. Originally development of ''Lumines: Puzzle Fusion'', audio had to be completed before finalizing the skin's design. Yokota decided to do a different approach with ''Lumines II'' and ''Lumines Live!''. Instead, skin designs took priority in order to provide more concrete suggestions for the audio. Yokota stated this made greater variation possible for the music tracks.


Games


Main series


Mobile phone

Multiple mobile phone titles were released in Japan, Europe, and North America. In Japan, a number of mobile phone versions were released by different carriers as part of the ''Lumines Mobile'' subseries. The first one is titled and was released on April 18, 2007. The game changed names between carrier.
i-mode NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a mobile internet (distinct from wireless internet) service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocols, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail, and the packet- ...
's version is titled , the
EZweb au, or au by KDDI, is a Japanese mobile phone operator. au is a brand marketed by KDDI in the main islands of Japan and by Okinawa Cellular in Okinawa for their mobile cellular services. au is the second-largest wireless carrier in Japan, wit ...
version is titled, , and the
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version is titled, A customized version of this game for
DeNA Dena (in Luri and fa, ) is the name for a sub-range within the Zagros Mountains, Iran. Mount Dena, with length and average width, is situated on the boundary of the Isfahan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Prov ...
's Mobage Town titled ''Lumines for Mobage'' was released on January 24, 2008. A mobile phone version of ''Lumines Live!'' was released pre-installed on NTT Docomo's N-02B model. Another version of ''Lumines'' was pre-installed on NTT Docomo's N07A mobile phone model via i-αppli widget on July 10, 2009. In Europe and North America, two Mobile phone versions were released by Q Entertainment. The first mobile phone game was an adaptation of the original ''Lumines: Puzzle Fusion'' developed by
Gameloft Gameloft SE is a French video game publisher based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games with a special focus on the mobile games ma ...
. The second mobile phone game, titled ''Lumines: In the House Ibiza '10'', was developed by Connect2Media and released in Europe on August 11, 2010, and in North America on March 18, 2012. The game uses dance songs from
Defected Records In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...
and skins to match the feel of Defected Records. The game contains Survival mode, Time Attack mode, Skin edit mode, and DigDown mode from previous titles. In partnership with T-Mobile, a competition was made to promote the game that ran from August 12 to August 31, 2010. Winners were awarded merchandise from Defected Records.


Reception

As of 2018, the series has sold over 2.5 million units. The original ''Lumines: Puzzle Fusion'' won several awards including, 2005
Spike TV Video Game Awards The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 to 2013 that recognized the best computer and video games of the year. Produced by ' ...
for Best Handheld Game,
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
's 2005 PSP Game Of The Year,
Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...
's 2005 Handheld Game Of The Year,
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
's "Top 50 Games of 2005" list. ''Lumines IIs song, Heavenly Star by
Genki Rockets is a virtual band created by video game developer Tetsuya Mizuguchi and record producer Kenji Tamai. Rachel Rhodes portrayed the band's frontwoman, a fictional 17-year-old girl named Lumi who was the first human born in outer space on the Inte ...
, was nominated for Best Song in 2006
Spike TV Video Game Awards The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 to 2013 that recognized the best computer and video games of the year. Produced by ' ...
.


Legacy

''Lumines'' inspired multiple clones. The first is a clone for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
known as ''Luminator'' and was released in October 2008 by BVH Distribution. The game features music from DKDENT and was reported to play exactly like ''Lumines'' with no deviation in gameplay. A
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
version was in development by Xider Games and was scheduled to release in August 2007, but no further information was released. An independent developed video game known as Irides: Master of Blocks and was released on June 24, 2009. It was developed by MadPeet and published by Goat Store Publishing on
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
.


References

;Notes ;Citation


External links


Official site
(archived from th
original

Japanese official site
(archived from th
original


(archived from th

{{Lumines games Puzzle video games Q Entertainment games Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2004