SIMTUNES: THE BUG CRAWLING, MUSIC-MAKING, PICTURE-PAINTING SOFTWARE

HELPS KIDS DISCOVER THEIR OWN CREATIVITY!

SimTunes is the only creativity software that allows kids to make their own "musical pictures!" Just draw with the colored dots that double as musical notes. Then watch and listen as a cool quartet of animated Bugz dance around the screen, triggering bursts of light and sound each time they pass over a different colored dot or line. String the colors together to create a colorful jam session!

Bugz crawl across colored dots, each color representing a different note. Every Bug has its own unique sound and light animation, creating a lively musical picture.

Select 4 Bugz from 48 choices ranging from musical instruments to zany sound effects. Some even rap!

Kids can choose from among 100 different stamps (plant, animal and geometric shapes) to enhance their own art and music creations.

Share your musical pictures with friends-even those without SimTunes.

• Helps kids discover their own natural creative abilities
• Allows kids to explore and experience elements of music and art
• Provides a variety of playing levels: from "basic" menus for simple tunes to "advanced" menus for more complex creations
• Because kids make their own musical pictures, it's new every time they play

~ from the back of the box

In the mid-90s, there was a sudden influx of interactive creative tools designed specifically for kids - Mario Paint on the Super Nintendo being a prime example. PC users weren't left with just MicroSoft Paint either, with Broderbund's KidPix and Disney's many Print Studios also available. But it would be Maxis that would bring their own take on Mario Paint's music composer to PCs with SimTunes. Released in 1996 amongst a glut of Sim-titles, SimTunes is probably one of the least remembered entries in the traditionally strategy and business simulation game series, but this one is different. There's no city management or acting sadistic to virtual life; instead, you have a creative sandbox of bugs wriggling about to create music in a visually expressive way. Essentially, it's a music creation tool, a rhythm game, and an art project all rolled into one.

Composing a song is simple; arrange music dots on a grid to create a rhythm or melody. These dots represent different tones from a chosen scale such as Major, Minor or Blues. Once placed, you can populate the image with bugs, or bugz as the game likes to call them. These represent the instrument which could be your basic guitars or drums, but also the do's from the Do-Bee, hums from the Humbug  or bums from Bumms (they call him that 'cos he's "always bumming around the place"). Add some dots that control movements, such as teleports and right-turns, and you control their movements however much you like. In many ways, it reminded me of SEGA's Chu Chu Rocket in how you indirectly manipulate them.

Choose your bug to play the instruments. Just beware of all the bumming going on (left).

You don't have the full piano scale available, but different chunks that suit different styles (right).

As well as creating music, the grid of dots can also create an image. You can stamp out pre-generated pictures trees, stars or letters as well as a bunch of patterns that will give you a bunch of ready-made rhythms. For a more chaotic arrangement, you can spray paint a scattering of notes wherever you hold the mouse or even draw a rolling scale. Beyond this, Maxis has provided a bunch of pre-designed tunes that play out over the teeth of a bird or a carpet's design. They all look impressive, but if I'm going to be honest I didn't recognise many of the tunes, and the ones I did know didn't sound much like them. The reason is that you're limited to the tempo of a grid and the speed of a maximum of four unchanging bugs. It may be fairly simple to make music, but to create anything worthwhile is almost impossible. And to turn that song into a picture too requires a particularly artistic mind that I don't possess. It's easy to lose hours to this game, finetuning rhythms or simply experimenting how tiny changes in placement or timing can drastically shift a song's mood.

While you can mess around with the pre-designed tracks, there isn't much of an actual game here. The lack of levels or challenges might turn some players off, as it's more about self-expression and discovery than making anything worthwhile or completing objectives. You can play around with it like an abstract art project, or you can challenge yourself to create intricate compositions but that's about it. Don't fool yourself in thinking you could compose a new orchestra-worthy symphony.

There's a good number of pre-designed songs to choose from in the gallery (left).

Once loaded, click "Watch" for a fullscreen view that cuts between each bug (right).

More than any other entry in the Sim series, SimTunes is not a game. It is a creative tool. If you go in expecting the structured gameplay of SimCity or even The Sims, it might feel a little too freeform. Furthermore, the sound palette is limited. While the game offers a decent range of noises, they are often on the quirky side with chirrups, crashes and vocal "bums" sitting alongside actual instruments. It can quickly become annoying to place a note in precisely the right spot and the repetitive nature makes it harder to stay engaged over long periods. 

SimTunes is a curious, if flawed, piece of gaming history. It's not a traditional Sim game by any means, yet it succeeds in offering a novel, creative outlet for younger players willing to look past its lack of goals and reward systems. If you're a fan of experimental music, it's worth checking out but it's by no means a timeless classic. What it is, undoubtedly, is a unique experience.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses DOSBox running Microsoft Windows 3.1 to get the game working on modern systems. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 76.5 Mb.  Install Size: 216 Mb.  Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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SimTunes: The Bug Crawling, Music-Making, Picture-Painting Software is © Electronic Arts & Maxis, Inc
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

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