14th Entertainment Division Excellence Award
echochrome ii
Video game [Japan]
SUZUTA Ken / FUJIKI Jun / SUZUKI Tatsuya
Outline
echochrome ii is an action puzzle game based on PlayStation®Move and inspired by the theme of light and shadows. Using the PlayStation®Move motion controller as a flashlight, players can freely control the shadows projected on the game screen and employ their imagination to change the shape of silhouettes, discover various traps and shadow art objects, and lead the characters over the shadows to the ultimate goal. echochrome ii is an old-fashioned yet innovative shadow puzzle game.
Reason for Award
A dramatic leap from a light input device to entertainment
Using reversely the characteristics of 3D works, echochrome ii transforms a 3D world into a 2D puzzle through the metaphor of shadows. Other works with similar motifs have been submitted to the Japan Media Arts Festival in the past, but echochrome ii offers an unprecedented 3D expressiveness using a new input device as a light source.
This game is based on OLE Coordinate System, a technology developed by the artists of echochrome ii. It is software that can draw bizarre 3D pathways, which cannot be found in the real world. This software has been deployed for development of commercial games, and the same artists have created other ambitious games in the past. However, echochrome ii is remarkable with its outstanding entertainment properties that break away from the experimental trends typical for earlier games. As the artists reach maturity in their skills as game creators, they are fuelling expectations for further fusion between entertainment and media art.