This ox can get down. His deep synth rumbles in my stomach. From the sound of it, this cartoon animal, which mixes hot beats while sticking out his tongue in total confusion, just might be one of the elusive visages behind Daft Punk.
I’m playing Bandimal ($4), the latest irresistible iOS app from Yatatoy. The studio’s digital toys (because I’d be remiss to label what they create as “games”) are built around zany, hand-drawn animated animals. The team consists of a few creatives developing kids apps in their spare time, and it has already given us the virtual flipbook Miximal, along with the beat sequencer Loopimal. These apps are full of charm and whimsy, and devoid of the gem collecting and microtransactions that drive most iOS apps.
Designer Lucas Zanotto found his answer in a real instrument, the African Kalimba. This thumb piano creates notes simply through its flickable buttons of different lengths. So to create melodies inside Bandimal, all you do is tap an animal, and then you drag several bars to different lengths. Within moments, you realize that each bar represents a beat, and its length determines the note played. Once you have that concept down, you can simply tap, drag, and jam.
