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GDC Next 2014: Hands-on with Tin Pan, an upcoming music creation tool for iOS

Music making, made easy

GDC Next 2014: Hands-on with Tin Pan, an upcoming music creation tool for iOS
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iOS
| Tin Pan

Music creation tools are a growing trend in games, and I don't mean rhythm games.

There are the more puzzle-oriented experiences, like Sentris, a digital toy that generates layers of musical bliss as you mix and match various synths.

Then there's the upcoming Imitone, more tool than game, that translates your own voice into different instruments.

It's an exciting landscape, but with most of these projects exclusive to PC and Mac, it begs the question: where are the mobile music makers?

Enter: Tin Pan.

Tin Pan is an upcoming iOS app that strives to branch the toy-like aspects of music creation tools with the more technical workstations built for professional musicians.

It's even in the name, Tin Pan, evocative of both a child exploring sound with pots and pans, and the infamous Tin Pan Alley collective.

Tin Pan's accessibility is most evident in its simplified, yet intuitive interface, made up of sliders and switches, drag-and-droppable notes and interactive chords.

While the GDC Next demo featured a rather quick jump into learning the game's musical ropes, developer Gil Carmel tells me that the final game will include a 30 to 40 minute intro of "guided jamming."

Tin Pan

This experience will gradually introduce each layer of the game's music making approach, from mixing and matching notes to custom writing a loopable melody, unlocking the interface as you progress.

After this tutorial, players are left with a dynamic music toy that is easy to use, without being too limiting in its music making functionality.

The game also features a login system and dashboard where players can listen to, share, and edit each other's finished songs.

You can expect to see Tin Pan on iPhone and iPad in March 2015.

If you're at GDC Next, stop by the MIX Showcase and check out Tin Pan for yourself. Stay tuned for more GDC Next updates!

Chloi Rad
Chloi Rad
Chloi games, and Chloi writes, and at some point she made the dangerous decision of merging the two. Now she spends her time formulating words about weird games she finds, playing Dark Souls, and also playing Dark Souls.