Today marks the official release of KORG Gadget for Nintendo Switch. From KORG’s main site the game’s developers announce:
Award-winning music creation software KORG Gadget is now available for the Nintendo Switch. Plentiful instrumental gadgets combined with a simple and intuitive graphical interface enable speedy music creation. With this new music creation studio, one can create and perform music by actively twisting and turning the Joy-Con™.
Initially announced for a Switch port back in October 2017, KORG Gadget started as an iOS app in 2014 and established its way to the Mac platform to be used for various DAWs (Digital Audio Workspaces). It has received multiple accolades including “Apple App Store Best of 2014” in Japan & the “TECH AWARD 2015 for Best Music Production App.”
Less than its iOS and OSX counterparts that house a max of 31 gadgets, KORG Gadget for Nintendo Switch is collection of 16 tools for creating music. These drum machines, bass and synthesizer modules have seemingly been selected to match the character of the Nintendo Switch.
In the following video the KORG Gadget for Nintendo Switch, developers DETUNE Ltd. quickly run through the process of song creation after some introductions:
As seen in the video, the streamlined user interface for this game is divided into 4 parts: Sound, Phrase, Sequence and Mix. First you choose the instrument you’d like to jam on (drums, bass or synth). Using the Joy-Con you can change sound parameters with a simple twist or turn of the controller. Once you’ve got the sound you want you can start writing a musical phrase or beat.
Like most DAWs, KORG Gadget for Nintendo Switch uses what is called a piano roll for creating phrases.
A great feature the developers added is the “Scale Mode”. There is no need to worry about having to brush up on your music theory. You can simply pick a scale and draw any melody or chords with your given synth or bass as you please (again, with the simple twist or turn of the Joy-Con). Going down this route in terms of how users create and arrange sounds is a far cry from the early experiment that was Wii Music.
The Sequence and Mix portions of the UI come into play once you’ve got multiple instruments and phrases written out. Seen below, you can adjust the panning and volume of each instrument in the Mix panel (left) while arranging the sections of your song in the Sequence tab (right).
This port’s difference in gadget amount can be correlated to its inclusion of multiplayer functionality and game modes. Continuing from KORG’s main site the developers provide more detail:
We’ve added a multi-player mode that allows up to 4(*) people to collaborate on a song. This new style allows four people to play simultaneously on a screen divided into four parts. Each player can be responsible for his or her own part, or you can make it a DAW competition – perhaps erase or add the notes of another player, and turn music creation into a game!
*To play with for players, 4 sets of Joy-Con™ are required. Also LAN and WAN communication are not supported.
The potential here for easy collaboration and beautifully destructive chaos goes harmoniously hand in hand with Nintendo’s historical line of unique multiplayer experiences. KORG Gadget for Nintendo Switch is exclusively available from the Nintendo eShop for $48.