User-created content comes to DS with Drawn to Life

Considering the flexibility available from the DS' touchscreen, it's a wonder no-one has yet enabled players to create their own characters and gameworld (okay, Pac-Pix aside). Well, now they have.

That seems to be the conclusion to be drawn from small US studio 5th Cell's Drawn To Life DS-exclusive, which has just been picked up by publisher THQ. Indeed, THQ is proudly boasting it's the first original game specifically created for DS that it will publish.

At the heart of the excitement is the in-game 25-colour paint set, which with its eraser, three brush sizes and flood fill will let you create a company of four heroes (including flying and aquatic characters) who will then battle their way through a 2D action-platformer that requires you to save a distant village from the shadow-like evil that has covered it in darkness.

As you progress, you'll also get the chance to rebuild the gameworld by adding in elements such as the planets, the sun and moon and various animals, which once drawn will start to wander around the streets, interacting with the other characters.

Think of it as a DS cross between Okami and LittleBigWorld on the home consoles.

For those of us who can't draw, template torso, leg, arm and head pieces will be available so we can use pre-built designs, or you can get really detailed and handcraft your own from the bottom up (so to speak).

Drawn to Life will also feature the ability for players to trade their created heroes with friends via wi-fi, although it's not yet clear whether this will include support for the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Still on the drawing board, Drawn to Life is due for release sometime this autumn.