Q-Games has quite the kaleidoscopic pedigree, touching on very different genres with each game they produce in the Pixeljunk series. The latest creation from the studio is called Pixeljunk 4AM and it is the most cerebral title they have to date. 4AM presents itself as a ‘Virtual Audio Canvas’ and I would argue that it is more of an experience than an actual game. It is a musical toy using motion controls in an innovative way, allowing the user to create a soundscape of rhythmic synesthesia. 4AM does away with the traditional sense of mixing music but is built on the foundation of loops, beats, and samples. You take the role as the conductor and with your Playstation Move baton, must paint a blank canvas with sounds as your medium.
At its core Pixeljunk 4AM is an ambient electronic four track music mixer. You have a bass loop, drums, rhythm, and a synth channel. Each of these instruments can be controlled independently or as a group, allowing you to tweak them to get the desired sound. During playback individual channels can be dropped in and out of the mix, allowing you to highlight different instruments for solos and dynamic mixes. Tie this in with some amazing visuals and you have yourself your very own home grown rave. Think of 4AM as a fun way to mix music because it does away with all the technical aspects of the art like knobs, switches, and sliders and replaces them with the PS Move controller. You’re free to control the music as you see fit and even though there is not much game to play I found this to be one of the most innovative uses for the PS Move.
This is what my basement looks like during a 4AM session.
You can control each of the channels by moving the controller to one of the corners. Each of the channels have four loops associated with them giving you sixteen in total, which is pretty limited when it comes to making a song. I would ‘grab’ a beat and pop it into the song, and experimented with many different combinations of loops and beats but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wanted more to work with. You can’t change the tempo of the song, so once you have played around for a couple hours it begins to all sound the same. 4AM gives you a couple tricks like ‘hitting’ one of the directions on the screen and that will activate an effect that will slightly alter the song. Each track can be manipulated by moving your arms around, and this is where most of the creativity comes into play. Moving up and down adjusts the pitch of the track, and side to side adds or reduces delay. Rotate your wrist to add phase effects and push and pull to control the reverb. It is a really cool system that words simply don’t do justice, you just have to try it out for yourself.
Finally a reason to dust off the Move controller.
You begin the game with only one arrangement to play, and are no limitations, rules, or win conditions. 16 loops and 16 sound effects are at your disposal to create your musical masterpiece, and you will unlock more sessions as you play more Pixeljunk 4AM. I couldn’t find any rhyme or reason to when I unlocked new arrangements but they seemed to pop over time. There isn’t a campaign, there isn’t a deathmatch, nor score attack - this is purely a musical melting pot that you get to play around in. There wasn’t a ton of variation across each of the sessions but it was nice to have something different to play once the current track became a little stale.
My favorite feature of the game was the live sessions that automatically integrate into the experience. When you begin a session, people can hop in and listen to what you are doing and have no effect on your experience other than the added pressure of a growing audience. It is almost like a virtual concert that people can view in the comfort of their home, and the player is free to express themselves through the library of sounds provided. During most of my sessions I usually forgot that I was connected to the network until the notification popped that integrated into the stunning visuals happening on screen. Listeners can shake their own PS Move controller to give you praise, and the only score that is tallied is the number of listeners you have for each session. I have to admit, that once I had a couple people listening/watching to my session I wanted to ensure that I didn’t make any mistakes so I could give them a better show.
This is what you see while you play, no joke.
Pixeljunk 4AM can be played with only one controller, but where is the fun in that? You can dual wield two PS Moves and pretend to be a Star Wars kid, making beautiful music at the same time. Pass off one controller to a friend and you have the co-op mode in 4AM. Two local co-op composers can create a symphony together straight from the couch. Even though we label it ‘couch co-op’ I would highly recommend playing standing up so that you can get your whole body into your interactive concert. I found that having a partner changed the way I played the game and was slightly janky at first. Once you figured out how to transition smoothly it became a game of back and forth, where each player was able to feed off of one another. Ideas would spawn in the middle of a session and it was inspiring to see your co-op partner take an idea and run with it. Thankfully 4AM is all about experimentation, and having more than one composer lends itself to this style of creation.
Pixeljunk 4AM is a very simple toy that uses the Move controller in a creative way. The tactile feeling of being able to manipulate the music with the flick of your wrist was unexpectedly satisfying. The performance aspect is a really cool interactive multiplayer idea and the inclusion of co-op is always welcome. However, 4AM is limited by the number of samples and lack of customization which I think will turn off hardcore music producers. Casual players may find some fun here for the first hour or so, but will become complacent because there are no real objectives to the ‘game’. Novice music makers will become frustrated because they cannot figure out how to truly grasp the music manipulation. 4AM is a really interesting experience, but not necessarily a game for any particular audience.