The Interrogation Room: Sound ShapesThe Next Generation Portable from Sony is the PlayStation Vita. The Japanese tech giant officially named, priced, and detailed its upcoming handheld at E3 2011 today, positioning its PSP successor to go head-to-head with Nintendo's 3DS. Let's get right down to it: the PS Vita will run you $250 for a standard Wi-Fi version or $300 for a model with 3G connectivity provided by AT&T (no specific 3G service plans were announced). The portable is set for launch in holiday 2011, and Sony boasted that more than 80 games are now in development for the system. More IGN Videos "By blurring the lines between interactive entertainment and reality, our goal was to design a device that offered a revolutionary combination of rich gaming capabilities and social connectivity, bringing users closer to each other and closer to their gaming experiences wherever they are," Sony stated. While specific launch titles were not announced and mention of battery life was conspicuously absent, Sony did roll out live demos of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Street Fighter X Tekken, and new Mod Nation Racers, Little Big Planet, and BioShock games designed specifically for the Vita. The Vita is here at E3, and we'll have our hands-on impressions with the device later this week.

Welcome to the Interrogation Room, GameSpy's signature pre-release game coverage format. Here, a GameSpy editor (typically one who's relatively in-the-dark about the game in question) grills his peers for information on a hotly anticipated game -- hopefully with more entertaining results than the typical boilerplate preview would provide.

Ryan Scott, Executive Editor: What's up with this game? Is it the NGP hotness? And what do shapes sound like? Give me the gist of it.

Andrew Pfister, Contributing Editor: At Sony's recent press event, all of the stations had headphones so you could hear what was going on -- but one peculiar area had a pair of external speakers emanating a random assortment of beats and effects. When I sauntered over, I realized that it wasn't random... someone was actually designing these "songs" on the NGP. Then I noticed that Jonathan Mak -- the guy who made Everyday Shooter -- was giving personal demos, and I knew that something special was happening.

Sound Shapes is the name of the game, which doesn't really tell you much about what it's all about. Basically, you're given reign over a music sequencer, and you use a library of beats, instruments, and effects to generate music like you would in the old MTV Music Generator "games." But you also have access to libraries of backgrounds and objects that you place in the sequencer. After I had arranged a satisfactory beat, I started messing around with these objects without really knowing what they did... but when I generated my "song," I realized that I was actually designing a level for a platforming game.

Within the song/level, you play as a little creature with suction-cup appendages that stick to the objects you've placed. As you jump and stick your way around the level, you avoid enemies and collect the actual notes of the song you've created -- the more you collect, the more layers of your song become audible, until everything crescendos into the full arrangement you originally created. So while "Sound Shapes" might not be the most descriptive title, it's a lot less confusing than "Recursive Musical Platformer Generator." If I were Mr. Mak, I'd consider going with "Everyday Sequencer."

Ryan Scott: So is this as pointless as Electroplankton (oh geez, here comes the hate, I just know it), or is it actually fun, or what?

Andrew Pfister: Hey, don't hate on Electroplankton! Well, OK... I can kind of see where that would come from. I bought Electroplankton hoping it would be a magical synaesthetic gameplay buzzword experience, but it was just some artsy beeps and bops. I respect it more as an experiment or a conversation piece than a game. Sound Shapes is far more robust, without being intimidating and complex like the KORG programs for the DS. So I guess I'd put it right in the middle of that experimental music spectrum, where a lot of the enjoyment for the musically challenged comes from making neat sounds. But Sound Shapes also shares elements with LittleBigPlanet...

Ryan Scott: As in, it's incredibly boring when you're not dealing with community-made stuff, and it's more fun to watch than it is to play? Oh, I'm just bringing the hate today!

Andrew Pfister: You hate because you love... to hate. I imagine you have to be at least slightly musically inclined to derive full pleasure, but yeah -- if you're not a creator-type, you'll be able download shared songs/levels (I'm not even sure what to call them at this point... compositions, maybe?) and just enjoy listening to and playing other people's work. I'm excited to check out the results when people start remixing compositions and putting their own spin on things, either through the music or the level design. It's the same sense of community collaboration you can get with LBP, but remixing is a huge part of musical language.

Ryan Scott: So why the NGP? What makes it particularly applicable to this platform? It seems like a lot of these music-creation games (like the aforementioned Electroplankton and KORG DS-10) turn up on handhelds.

Andrew Pfister: Well, that's the thing... it's not particularly applicable to the NGP. As was said by a fellow journalist at the event, this is something that could conceivably have lived on the PSP. Like Everyday Shooter, it's got a great look to it, but it's not graphically intensive.

However, this is the first good example of how a Sony portable can benefit by having a front touch-screen, as it's much easier to place notes and objects in the sequencer simply by touching on the spot. And since my demo time was limited, I didn't get to see quite everything. Bringing the NGP up to spec with the 2004 Nintendo DS isn't worth throwing a parade for, but the tech isn't the reason to be excited about Sound Shapes. I'll happily let Uncharted and Wipeout be the poster children for that.