Cello Fortress combines what are probably our two favorite things: video games and cello really weird concepts for video games. Okay, so that's just one favorite thing.
It's a multiplayer indie game by Joost van Dongen (great name, bro) that supports up to five players: four are playing what amounts to a twin-stick shooter using normal controllers, while the fifth is playing the cello. Literally playing the cello. Like, you can't play it if you're not good at the cello. It's not Guitar Hero.
The cellist is faced with playing music that sounds good and controlling his or her in-game turrets against the other players. We're told it takes a lot of practice, but the game reacts to what the cellist plays, and it's possible to direct the turrets to fire at other players. Fast notes produce rapid fire, discordant chords cause the turrets to spit flames, low notes create mines around the battlefield, and so on.
The graphics you see above are just a prototype version, though the game is already "on tour," according to a press release sent out today. Obviously this is more of an art exhibit or live performance type of game; the cellist and gamer populations probably don't overlap quite enough to make Cello Fortress a successful commercial endeavor. But you've got to admit it's pretty incredible that the game recognizes and adapts dynamically to the sounds of a real instrument.
Now just make a version for banging awkwardly on an acoustic guitar and we could play too!
