Tuttuki Bako
Encyclopedia
is a roughly cubic hand-held electronic game
created by Bandai
in 2008. The game comprises five mini-games (called "Stages"), and a resettable alarm clock. While the minigames are rather simplistic, Tuttuki Bako has received international acclaim for its unique means of control and the game has been put forward as an archetypal example of Akiba-kei
and Japanese gadgetry in general.
(LCD) screen, and a 24 mm (0.94488188976378 in) hole in its right-hand side. Into this hole the player is intended to insert an index finger
to a depth of up to 6 cm (2.4 in). Inside the box, a matrix of small motion sensors detects the finger and render it on the screen. In this way the player's moving finger is used as the device's primary input. There are five minigames that a player can select from. The single input button brings up the selection menu and then the virtual
finger is used to select the game to be played from the screen.
Available games include:
Tuttuki Bako also features a resettable alarm clock option that allows the player to interact with and set a virtual alarm clock that will then go off at the selected hour. Further selection options include time, sound volume, and contrast
. On the back-side of the device there is an embedded "Reset" button that can only be pushed with a pin. This button restores the original conditions bringing the clock and alarm to 00:00AM and resetting any highscores to 0.
s relating to the insertion of the player's finger into the box. This innuendo
did not go unnoticed in the international community and some English-language reviews reflect similar humor.
line. Although some reviews described the Tuttuki Bako as "useless and barely entertaining," the same reviewers were quick to point out the exonerating retro
-feel of the system. One negative aspect of the game that reviewers noted was its relatively steep import cost in the range of $50-$70 USD. Because the game was released only in Japan, international players had to go through importers and Tuttuki Bakos sales price tended to reflect increased shipping/handling as well as third party markup.
Electronic game
An electronic game is a game that employs electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. The most common form of electronic game today is the video game, and for this reason the terms are often mistakenly used synonymously. Other common forms of electronic game include...
created by Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
in 2008. The game comprises five mini-games (called "Stages"), and a resettable alarm clock. While the minigames are rather simplistic, Tuttuki Bako has received international acclaim for its unique means of control and the game has been put forward as an archetypal example of Akiba-kei
Akiba-kei
or is a Japanese slang term similar in meaning to otaku.-Definition:Akiba-kei is a Japanese slang term meaning "Akihabara style". It dates back to the early 80s and refers to a subset of otaku, now largely older males, who spend much of their time in and around the Akihabara area of Tokyo and are...
and Japanese gadgetry in general.
Gameplay
The game features one input button, a pixelated liquid crystal displayLiquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
(LCD) screen, and a 24 mm (0.94488188976378 in) hole in its right-hand side. Into this hole the player is intended to insert an index finger
Index finger
The index finger, , is the first finger and the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the first and third digits, between the thumb and the middle finger...
to a depth of up to 6 cm (2.4 in). Inside the box, a matrix of small motion sensors detects the finger and render it on the screen. In this way the player's moving finger is used as the device's primary input. There are five minigames that a player can select from. The single input button brings up the selection menu and then the virtual
Augmented reality
Augmented reality is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is...
finger is used to select the game to be played from the screen.
Available games include:
- Ameba Stage - Players poke at an amoeba-like blob. If the blob becomes attached to the finger then the minigame enters its second phase by announcing "GAME START". Here the player must bounce the blob as if it were a ball. The player earns points for each completed bounce and the score is tallied at the bottom.
- Face Stage - Players poke at a girl's face to try to get her to sneeze.
- Panda Stage - Players poke at a small panda riding a tire swing to try to spin the tire without swinging it. If the tire is swung, however, the minigame enters its second phase in which the player must swing the panda in order to increase points tallied at the bottom.
- Sea Stage - Players prod an undersea vase to try to flush out an ink-spraying octopus that dwells within.
- Figure Stage - Players poke a small stick figureStick figureA stick figure is a very simple type of drawing made of lines and dots, often of the human form or other animals. In a stick figure, the head is represented by a circle, sometimes embellished with details such as eyes, mouth or crudely scratched-out hair. The arms, legs and torso are all...
. If sufficiently riled, the figure will enter "KARATE" mode and will set to work attacking the finger with "PUNCH!" and "KICK!" moves. The minigame features a second phase in which the figure and the player's finger use a seesawSeesawA seesaw is a long, narrow board pivoted in the middle so that, as one end goes up, the other goes down.-Mechanics:Mechanically a seesaw is a lever and fulcrum....
with points awarded and tallied at the bottom for each completed switch.
Tuttuki Bako also features a resettable alarm clock option that allows the player to interact with and set a virtual alarm clock that will then go off at the selected hour. Further selection options include time, sound volume, and contrast
Contrast (vision)
Contrast is the difference in visual properties that makes an object distinguishable from other objects and the background. In visual perception of the real world, contrast is determined by the difference in the color and brightness of the object and other objects within the same field of view...
. On the back-side of the device there is an embedded "Reset" button that can only be pushed with a pin. This button restores the original conditions bringing the clock and alarm to 00:00AM and resetting any highscores to 0.
Development
Tuttuki Bako was developed by Bandai in 2008. It was released only in Japan at a retail value of $30, and it is manufactured in China. It comes in three colors - red, black, and lime green. In the months prior to its release, Japanese advertisements for the Tuttuki Bako playfully emphasized risqué double entendreDouble entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
s relating to the insertion of the player's finger into the box. This innuendo
Innuendo
An innuendo is a baseless invention of thoughts or ideas. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging , that works obliquely by allusion...
did not go unnoticed in the international community and some English-language reviews reflect similar humor.
Reception
The game was generally well-received internationally where it was described as "delightfully inexplicable" and "wonderfully weird." The game was also compared favorably with Bandai's earlier TamagotchiTamagotchi
The is a handheld digital pet, created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was first sold by Bandai in 1996 in Japan. As of 2010, over 76 million Tamagotchis have been sold world-wide...
line. Although some reviews described the Tuttuki Bako as "useless and barely entertaining," the same reviewers were quick to point out the exonerating retro
Retrogaming
Retrogaming, also known as old-school gaming, is the hobby of playing and collecting older computer, video, and arcade games. These games are played either on the original hardware, on modern hardware via emulation, or on modern hardware via ports or compilations...
-feel of the system. One negative aspect of the game that reviewers noted was its relatively steep import cost in the range of $50-$70 USD. Because the game was released only in Japan, international players had to go through importers and Tuttuki Bakos sales price tended to reflect increased shipping/handling as well as third party markup.
See also
- Mugen PuchipuchiMugen PuchipuchiMugen Puchipuchi is a Japanese virtual bubble wrap keychain toy by Bandai . “Mugen” means “infinite” in Japanese while “puchipuchi” means “bubble wrap” and also refers to the sound of the bubbles being popped. The toy is designed to mimic the sensation of popping bubble wrap for infinite number of...
- A similar game/toy from Bandai (asovision). - TamagotchiTamagotchiThe is a handheld digital pet, created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was first sold by Bandai in 1996 in Japan. As of 2010, over 76 million Tamagotchis have been sold world-wide...
- A similar virtual pet game released by Bandai.