''Sound Shapes'' is a 2012

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. The game is a side-scrolling

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

with a musical focus. The game also features the ability to create levels and share levels with other users. The Vita version of the game features use of the touch screen and back touch pad to place sounds of different musical instruments during creation of levels. ''Sound Shapes'' was shown at industry conference E3 in 2011 and picked up nominations for best of show award from media sites including IGN, 1UP, and Electric Playground. It also received 2

Game Critics Awards The Game Critics Awards are a set of annual awards held after the E3 video game conference since 1998. The awards are given to products displayed at E3 with the title Best of E3 of their category. Format The nominees and winners of the awards a ...

(Best Mobile and Best Casual). At the

Spike 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 ...

2011, it was announced that

Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produce ...

would be contributing songs and sound material to the project. Beck has contributed 3 new songs to the game: "Cities", "Touch the People", and "Spiral Staircase". These are still exclusive to the game as of 2017, despite fan desire to see them released digitally. It was included on the "Best of PlayStation Network Vol. 1" compilation disc, released 18 June 2013.

Development

Mak and Liem wanted to develop a game that could give beginners a sense of joyful creation, without the need for harmonic training or complicated music theory. They prototyped their idea for about a year before settling on the coin-collecting musical mechanics that the final game has. To cater to the 'hardcore platformer' player base, Death Mode was introduced. It was important to marry the sound with the style, so each album was a close collaboration between a musician and a visual artist. In some cases levels began with a song, in other cases a style, and evolved naturally from there.

Downloadable Content

At launch ''Sound Shapes'' had various

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...

(DLC) available. The first round of DLC was released on 4 December 2012, having three sound packs and a curved terrain pack. It introduces five new instruments and Beat School levels. The second round of DLC was released on 12 March 2013, having more milkcrate free updates and a Car Mini-Album Creator pack. It also introduced a much requested feature of offline play. On 14 May 2013, two new sound packs were released. One being an 80s sound pack, adding synth features, and the other DLC being a dubstep sound pack featuring new Beat School features. On 28 May 2013, five new Milkcrate albums were released as a free update.

Online Server Shutdown

On 15 October 2018, The server for ''Sound Shapes'' was shut down, meaning that people who played past that point were no longer able to access any online-related info. This included Community-made levels and uploading levels to the Community. This accounted for every console the game was released on ''PS4'', ''PS3'', and ''PS Vita''.

Reception

''Sound Shapes'' was selected for Best Handheld Game in the 2012

. ''Sound Shapes'' also won for Best Song in a Game for "Cities" by Beck. The game has also proven popular among Vita gamers due to its relatively simple and enjoyable Platinum Trophy. This is an award for attaining 100% of the trophies in a video game. The platinum is perceived as attainable and short, and has been featured on multiple websites because of this.

References

{{Reflist 2012 video games Music video games Platform games PlayStation Vita games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games Video games developed in Canada Video games with user-generated gameplay content Spike Video Game Award winners