I didn't realize that my life lacked a color-coded particle physics simulation game until I discovered Auditorium. Currently in beta, Auditorium takes that tried and true puzzle formula--put object A into slot B--and runs it through its paces in a way I haven't experienced before. In this case "object A" is a stream of high-energy particles, and "slot B" is a series of colored meters. As the particles flow over the meters, they fill, dialing up a section of atmospheric, piano-and-strings background score. Filling up each meter brings the music to a head and completes the level.
You manipulate your stream of particles using a selection of controls. The center of each control produces a specifice gravity-like effect: pushing the stream in a certain direction, attracting it toward the center point, or repulsing it away, and so on. Expanding the radius of the control generates more force according to the nature of the control. By position and resizing the controls, you maneuver your particles through a series of color-changing rings, in, around, and through the meters, until the music swells and the entire board fades away into nothing.
A combination of smooth graphics and a very well-composed music loop makes for a game that is playable perhaps indefinitely without even completing a level. I was perfectly content to just fiddle with my controls, making new patters in colored particles shooting across my screen. Any game that keeps me engrossed without any concern paid toward completion deserves major kudos.
I'm looking forward to the full version of Auditorium in the near future, especially if the hinted iPod Touch port is also forthcoming.
