SimTunes

SimTunes

released on Dec 31, 1996
by Maxis

SimTunes

released on Dec 31, 1996
by Maxis

A software "toy" released by Maxis in 1996, SimTunes allows the player to create basic music by using different colored dots on the screen.


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Sid Meier's SimGolf
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SimSafari
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SimPark
SimPark
SimIsle: Missions in the Rainforest
SimIsle: Missions in the Rainforest

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Reviews View More

Not really sure if this is something that I can really mark as "complete" as there's not really much of a goal here, it's like mfin saying you've completed mario paint. Semantics aside, this is actually an incredibly fun little toy to mess around with. Basically there are 4 bugs that move on a grid, and you can color the spaces on the grid various different colors that correspond to different sounds depending on the bug. Using the colors and blocks to turn the bugs around as they move, you can create music in an immensely unique way. It's certainly not the deepest or most practical music making program, but I think that the potential for creativity here is insane. You can just draw a picture on the grid and see what it can sound like. You can make little courses for the bugs to play a song through. You can see how complex a song you can make with only a handful of colored squares by having the bugs walk over them multiple times. Its sad that I haven't seen a lot of people talk about this one over the years. Maybe it would have been a bit more well-remembered as a super nintendo title as it was originally planned to be...? This game was also an exhibit in the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco before being converted to a home-use video game, and honestly I think it deserved it. Absolutely worth a play if you enjoy fun creative art tools