Playing an instrument is a funny experience. The fear of failure is strong in the beginning, but then you learn there’s no failing, just varying degrees of success. Then you play in front of other people and it’s like standing naked in the middle of the street; do they like you, are you making them happy? But then you play with other musicians, and it’s like taking a shower after being sick for a week; there’s waves excitement, relief, and genuine happiness. That stress is there, but it doesn’t matter because all of your hard work and misery has led to this moment. It doesn’t matter how well you do, when you play music your skill level matters less than what you’re saying with the skills you have.
What in the world does any of this have to do with gaming? Take a look at Sentris by Samantha Kalman, does the connection make a bit more sense? Unlike other music games like Rock Band where you following the music, the point of Sentris is to push and drive the music, which is what it’s all about. The idea of the game is that you drop musical blocks into a puzzle-like circle, as the blocks stack they create your song. Based on the game description, Sentris should be similar to playing an actual instrument in that while it may be easy to chain together a series of notes that resemble a song, it’s difficult to attain a level of mastery that allows your creativity to truly flow.
Here are some additional details of the game courtesy of the Sentris Kickstarter page :
- Puzzle Mode – Solve colorful puzzles and make music at the same time.
- Freestyle Mode – An expanded musical creation experience, without puzzles and with more control over the instruments and progressions of each song.
- Local Multiplayer – Make music in Puzzle mode or Freestyle mode with your friends. Just like being in a band!
- Musical Instrument Library – A collection of different instruments, samples, and musical textures, compatible with any key signature.
- Song Sharing – Save and share your finished songs with anyone on the internet. Build your own fan base for your music.
- Platforms – Play Sentris on Mac, PC, and Linux
Sound intriguing? Watching the funding video is a must given that the screenshots don’t convey everything you can do with the game.
If you decide to become a backer of Sentris you’ll want to get your contribution to the $50,000 pot in by November 21st, which is when the campaign ends.
