Tranquility

[Tain]

http://www.tqworld.com/

Ever play that old PC game, Alpha Waves? It was a simple platformer that attempted the whole relaxation-through-a-game thing. The game's world was split into areas that were supposed to represent different parts of the game, and had different color and sound combinations for each. Gameplay consisted of hopping around, landing on bounce platforms, and trying to get to the next room.

Tranquility is like a really, really laid-back version of Alpha Waves. Movement is done entirely with the mouse, with left click as force yourself downwards and right click as freeze mid-air. There's little momentum, as you can pretty much stop on a dime. Gravity is low, and the only way you can move up is by forcing yourself to the ground, bouncing up, and hitting bounce platforms (be it landing on them or hitting them from below). The entire goal is to find a colored disc (a spinner), which takes you to the next level. The levels themselves are mostly just huge huge clusters of shapes floating in space, usually moving and shifting colors, but they aren't entirely forgettable.

One cool thing is how the audio acts. It's pretty sparse, ambient stuff, and every platform you hit makes some sort of noise. As random as it seems on paper, it never really makes a racket. Combine that with the complete floatiness of the game, and it actually kinda lives up to its name.

Pretty addicting, really. There's a "demo", which seems to be pretty damn functional; you get a new set of seven levels each day, can make your own levels, and can play at random other people's created levels. And if you want to buy it, it's a whopping five bucks.

[Brand X]

I'm no good at all at this game.

[Chux]

People need to understand that winamp visualizations are not games.

[Tain]

Like Geometry Wars.

Pisshaw.

Seriously, though, it's not all that out-there. It's not like the shapes pulsate to the beat while a big old spectrum analyzer goes nuts on the horizon with an unce-unce-unce-unce soundtrack.

[Chux]

Geometry Wars is the reason you're on this earth. IT GOT YOUR MOTHER PREGNANT.