As MONOmoda is a design-based site, you’re probably wondering why we’re doing a post on games. Well, firstly because we just felt like it, and secondly the games we’ve chosen below are all extremely well designed. How better to get inspired and boost your creativity by playing games with great visuals? We know the iPhone/iPod Touch has the power to deliver a mini One.dot.zero in that tiny well formed shell. So now we just need to kick it up a notch… Below are some classic games we think would look great on the iPod.
Rez
Rez. On the iPod. That is all that needs to be said. It would be like having One.dot.zero in you palms every single day. If you aren’t aware of Rez, it was a game released originally on the Dreamcast, followed by the PS2 and recently as Rez HD for the XBox360. It was (and still is) one of the most visually stunning games ever created, with a retro, wireframe aesthetic reminiscent of Tron or digital fireworks going on right in front of your eyes. Played to constantly changing dance beats, the game was strangely relaxing and would be great for unwinding on a bus ride home on your i/Phone/Pod Touch.
Wip3out
Wip3out. I’ve chosen the third one not because there’s anything wrong with the WipEouts before or after this one, but simply because in my opinion the design and styling of the third game cleverly titled Wip3out is second to none. Immaculately designed by The Designers Republic this would feel incredible running on a piece of Apple technology not to mention steering a futuristic hovercraft close to the speed of sound using the built in tilt-sensors would be close to perfection.
LocoRoco
We had a good run with Rolando on the i/Phone/Pod Touch, which is a great game by itself. It’s a real pity graphically it comes across as a desperate LocoRoco knockoff. I know no-one wants to say it, but I will. I think simply not enough people played or were even aware of the original LocoRoco on the PSP to notice. If Sony won’t put a tilt sensor into the PSP, at least make a version of LocoRoco for the app store. Loco Roco is immaculately designed, from it’s cheery flat blocks of colour to it’s cheery inhabitants after which the game is named, who sing and chant Ina strangely intelligible nonsense language.
FlOw
I don’t know if Sony had some kind of exclusive agreement with the guys who made the original experimental flash version of FlOw, all I know is if ever there was a game that needed to show up on the iPod, this would be it.
Space Channel 5
Space channel 5 was one of those infectiously addictive games that graced the short lived but incredible Sega Dreamcast. The games was a souped up Simon Says with a garishly kitsch 60’s retro-futuristic vibe which came across like playing an extended version of the ‘Groove Is In The Heart’ video by Deelite. Design-wise the game was excellent if you were willing to take the way it was designed as part of the aesthetic. Would be excellent on the iPhone/iPod.
Lemmings
Even before touch sensitive screens became available, I’ve always felt Lemmings was a prime candidate for touch sensitivity. This would be incredible with the ability to pinch and zoom in on lemmings or tilt the levels so they slip sideways, constantly shifting the gravity until all the little blue-dress wearing greed haired critters are safely home.
Grand Theft Auto
The original Grand Theft Auto is another game screaming to be made for the iPhone. We could have it so radio stations are streamed directly from your Last.FM account or Rockstar themselves, so the content is always fresh. We’ve seen what touch sensitivity brought to the franchise in the recent DS-based Chinatown Wars, it would be interesting to see what Rockstar could do on the i/Phone/Pod Touch.
About the author : Kwame Busia is a London-based multidisciplinary designer who spends alot of his time being a photographer, graphic designer, architectural visualiser and illustrator with a little web design thrown in, all at the same time often with interesting results… He created MONOmoda.com for inspiration, creativity and thoughts on design and his portfolio is online at kwamebusia.com. He believes he has far and away the coolest Twitter background out there and says if you don’t believe him, you’re welcome to follow him on Twitter and tell him otherwise! He’s just kidding though
Hinterland by Peter Dixie.
Vanishing Point by Takuya Hosogane.
Abstract TV Show Posters.
CSS3
Swiss Graphic Designers by Armin Hoffman.
The ABC’s of Branding.
QUE proReader.
Wolda 2010 Call for Entries!
Vinyl Font by Lee Suetorsak.
Videogame Pattern.
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
wow just played flow and damn its so awesome!
i want the psp game “mercury” on my ipod/iphone!
…
Pata-pata-pata-pon……..Pon-pon-pata-pon……………………………don-do-don-don-don…………………………..
You could even shake the iPod for ’shaka-shaka-shaka-pon!’
I really don’t know why Patapon escaped the list!
Good one. Mercury would be excellent with the tilt sensor, I always enjoyed that one… Luminez would be good too. Perhaps with your own music library?
Synth Racing is inspired
by wip3out, but I miss the graphics and the music…
http://www.touchgen.net/wipeout-style-with-synth-racing
Wipeout is the only racing game ive ever liked. Torally awesome graphics would be great on iphone/ipod touch!!!
Desperate for them to make the chaos engine (bitmap brothers cult amiga game) for this platform too, still a great game today and the music was excellent!
Always good to hear from a fellow Amiga user. Maybe I’ll do a post about the Amiga as a design icon. If you check out this post: http://monomoda.com/2009/fauxmography/ – take a look at the download icon – you might recognize it! Chaos Engine was a classic. We’ve had Monkey Island and Beneath A Steel Sky coming to iPod, maybe it’s only a matter of time… !
Synth Racing is clearly inspired by Wip3out. It’s like those toys you see at the $1 stores that are called ‘Ninja Raiders’ but are just really fake Power Rangers. If they had added engine trails on Synth, they would have had Sony giving them a phone call in the morning. That said, it does actually play sufficiently differently enough that it’s quite a fun game in it’s own right, a bit like Rolando. Being able to fly between stuff and twist to the right and left is very cool.
Wip3out was my all time favorite ps2 game. Also it was one of my first real introduction to high styled european design. I remember that year being one of collecting every TDR image and product I could. I totally lost my mind when I saw their video for Funkstorung: Grammy Winners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CESYvCI66rY
Please!
Thanks for posting the link to the video. Yup, that’s another reason wht TDR were awesome, it’s hard to believe they went out of business because of the economic crisis. I heard a rumour they might come back but I don’t know enough about that to say. Wip3out (the third one) design-wise completely changed the game (no pun intended) to the nature of design in video games (separate from actual game design) and Wip3out was so stylish it hurt.