Wavelength was one of the few games we knew would be at the Yorkshire Games Festival, largely due to the team getting in touch with us before the event to let us know they would be showcasing. We’re thankful they did, as at the event we managed to have a great chat with them about their project and give it a few quick plays.
Wavelength is a casual game where you move the cursor to connect orbs of light. Such a simple premise is good, as it leaves plenty of room for straightforward enjoyment. The level of polish conveyed by its visually appealing graphics, where each point of light emits sparks and illuminates the undulating backdrop, adds to the experience. You don’t notice your surroundings much as you search for the next light, but this, if anything, is a good thing — being distracted by a scruffy environment would be a far different story.
Albeit an easy concept, there are some things you’ll want to pay attention to: your cursor (indicated as an orb of light itself) changes colour every time you connect with another light, meaning you have to find a light of that colour this time; and there is a time limit as you’re searching for a likely candidate. This time limit appears to be indicated by several segments around the cursor, but we didn’t notice the indicator at the time of play, so could be mistaken.
Connecting the dots sounds simple. Achieving it is less so. Touch the wrong colour and your streak will reset. Spend too long searching and the same will happen.
When you do succeed in building a streak, however, you’re rewarded with an ever-swelling series of musical notes. Even if you lose your streak quite often, it’s satisfying to try to go just one note further each time and further build the web of shining lines connecting the light. As the title suggests, it’s all about the sound.
It sounds simple, and it is — that’s the beauty of it. Likely it’s that same simplicity and visual appeal that made it so popular with the public at the festival. That and the fact that it was available on Cardboard VR for mobile phones, where your eyes act as the mouse. It’s easier to play this way as there’s less inertia, but it can be difficult to look straight down without tilting the box.
As a project, it sounds like it’s come a long way, with each new demo prompting them to add just a little more each time. This may sound a few warning bells for some, but if one thing can be said about Wavelength, it’s the fact that it’s an example of the good kind of scope creep (if its scope has indeed crept).
In any case, it will be great to watch out for Wavelength as it works through its future instalments. The team suggested two separate modes — Zen and Challenge — may be on the horizon, which will provide a great choice between relaxed ‘free-play’ and time-limited play. They’re a great bunch of people, with even more ideas for improvements hovering on Wavelength‘s horizon.
