Bit.Trip Core
Encyclopedia
Bit.Trip Core, marketed as BIT.TRIP CORE, is an arcade-style
rhythm game
developed by Gaijin Games
and published by Aksys Games
for the Wii
's WiiWare
download service. It is the second game in the Bit.Trip
series, directly succeeding Bit.Trip Beat
and preceding Bit.Trip Void
, Bit.Trip Runner
, Bit.Trip Fate
and Bit.Trip Flux
.
controller held sideways. Players control the 'core', a plus-shaped ship located in the centre of the screen. The object of the game is to aim the core's lasers with the four directions on the D-Pad and fire the laser with the 2 Button in order to collect multi-colored dots known as 'beats'. There are three levels in total, named "Discovery", "Exploration" and "Control" respectively, each approximately 15 minutes in length.
As the player builds up a score multiplier by collecting beats in a row without missing, the game transitions into Mega and Super modes, making alterations the level's graphics and music. In addition, bombs can be acquired and used with a press of the 1 Button, which is useful for clearing the screen of beats during difficult sections. If the player misses several beats, a Nether meter fills - this puts the game into a silent, black-and-white phase. This can be escaped from if the player collects beats, but further misses will result in a Game Over.
game that was a personal favourite of designer Alex Neuse. After going through several iterations of the game's design, which the team thought would be way too confusing, they settled on a system that shared some similarities with rhythm games such as Guitar Hero
. Meanwhile, the controls were influenced by feedback from playtesters.
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
rhythm game
Music video game
A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...
developed by Gaijin Games
Gaijin Games
Gaijin Games is an independent video game development studio, best known for their BIT.TRIP series of video games. The studio was founded in 2007 by Alex Neuse and is located in Santa Cruz, California.-History:Gaijin Games initially emerged in 2004...
and published by Aksys Games
Aksys Games
Aksys Games Localization, Inc. is a video game publisher that specializes in translating and localizing Japanese video games for English-speaking markets. It was founded by Akibo Shieh in 2006. Some of its clients include Namco Bandai Games, Xseed Games, and Atlus USA. Aksys Games is best known for...
for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's WiiWare
WiiWare
WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
download service. It is the second game in the Bit.Trip
Bit.Trip
Bit.Trip, officially spelled BIT.TRIP, is a series of six video games developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for Nintendo Wii and Nintendo 3DS, Arc System Works for WiiWare in Japan, and by Namco Networks America Inc for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad...
series, directly succeeding Bit.Trip Beat
Bit.Trip Beat
Bit.Trip Beat, marketed as BIT.TRIP BEAT, is an arcade-style music video game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys for the Wii's WiiWare download service. It was released in 2009 in North America, and released in Japan and PAL regions in the same year...
and preceding Bit.Trip Void
Bit.Trip Void
Bit.Trip Void, marketed as BIT.TRIP VOID, is an arcade-style bullet hell rhythm game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service. It was first released in Japan in 2009, and later in North America and PAL regions in 2009 and 2010, respectively...
, Bit.Trip Runner
Bit.Trip Runner
Bit.Trip Runner, marketed as BIT.TRIP RUNNER, is an arcade-style 'rhythm game' developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service...
, Bit.Trip Fate
Bit.Trip Fate
Bit.Trip Fate, marketed as BIT.TRIP FATE, is an arcade-style scrolling shooter rhythm game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service.-Gameplay:...
and Bit.Trip Flux
Bit.Trip Flux
Bit.Trip Flux, marketed as BIT.TRIP FLUX, is an arcade-style rhythm game developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for the Wii's WiiWare download service.-Gameplay:...
.
Gameplay
Bit.Trip Core is played with the Wii RemoteWii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
controller held sideways. Players control the 'core', a plus-shaped ship located in the centre of the screen. The object of the game is to aim the core's lasers with the four directions on the D-Pad and fire the laser with the 2 Button in order to collect multi-colored dots known as 'beats'. There are three levels in total, named "Discovery", "Exploration" and "Control" respectively, each approximately 15 minutes in length.
As the player builds up a score multiplier by collecting beats in a row without missing, the game transitions into Mega and Super modes, making alterations the level's graphics and music. In addition, bombs can be acquired and used with a press of the 1 Button, which is useful for clearing the screen of beats during difficult sections. If the player misses several beats, a Nether meter fills - this puts the game into a silent, black-and-white phase. This can be escaped from if the player collects beats, but further misses will result in a Game Over.
Development
Gaijin Games began development on Bit.Trip Core even before the release of Bit.Trip Beat. The game was inspired by Cosmic Arc, an Atari 2600Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
game that was a personal favourite of designer Alex Neuse. After going through several iterations of the game's design, which the team thought would be way too confusing, they settled on a system that shared some similarities with rhythm games such as Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...
. Meanwhile, the controls were influenced by feedback from playtesters.