Yo! Noid 2: Enter the Void

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Yo! Noid 2: Enter the Void
Developer(s) Dustin Bragg
Series Yo! Noid
Engine Unity
Platform(s)
Microsoft Windows
Release
  • Windows
    • WW: August 1, 2017
  • Remastered Build
    • WW: June 28, 2018
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Yo! Noid 2: Enter the Void is a freeware platformer fangame developed by Dustin Bragg and a team of indie developers for Waypoint's 2017 New Jam City game jam. [1] It was released on August 1, 2017, and received a remastered update titled Yo! Noid 2: Game of a Year Edition on June 28, 2018. [2] The game is a parody of, and unofficial sequel to, Yo! Noid , a 1990 platformer redesigned as an advergame for American audiences to promote Domino's Pizza.

Contents

Gameplay

The game is heavily based around fifth-generation console platformers, such as Super Mario 64 and Tomb Raider . [3] The game also utilizes movement options like wall running, wall jumping, and swinging and grappling with a Yo-yo item, and introduces gravity effects resembling Super Mario Galaxy 's planetoids, and puzzle platforming sections. If using a controller, the player can perform a pressure-sensitive dab move. [4]

Plot

The game's opening uses a live action FMV cutscene to show Domino's Pizza mascot, The Noid, getting his Yo-yo stolen. As The Noid goes on a quest to retrieve it, he finds himself in the Noid Void, a cosmic realm full of sentient pizza toppings and ingredients. The Noid learns that the Heavenly Spire, a leaning tower of pizza, has been stolen. With the denizens of the Noid Void living in a world without pizza, The Noid takes it upon himself to find the stolen pizzas and bring them back to the Noid Void.

Upon reconstructing the Heavenly Spire, The Noid climbs to the top to discover a dark room, with chains and television screens of a shadowed figure illuminating the space. The shadowed figure reveals himself to be 'Mike Hatsune', a blue-haired corporate official, who stole The Noid's Yo-yo and the pizzas that composed the Heavenly Spire. Mike tells The Noid that he is no longer a worthy mascot, and has been replaced with a new icon who can be a voice for people and pizza alike, calling the new mascot a "Vocal-Noid". Once the new mascot is released, Mike Hatsune threatens to erase the Noid Void for good. The Noid defeats Mike in combat, and Mike tells him that his fate is already set in motion, as the first domino has fallen, and his replacement is out for delivery. The room becomes overrun with visual glitches and cuts to black, as a digital voice says "Domino’s Pizza".

Development

Yo! Noid 2: Enter the Void was completed in one month, from June 30, 2017, to August 1, 2017. The name used on platform itch.io comes from Episode 58 of the Waypoint Radio Podcast, titled "Yo! Noid Was Ahead of Its Time", following one of the game jam's rules that the title had to come from a Waypoint Radio title. [5] [1]

The visual style of the Noid Void was inspired by the backgrounds of Will Vinton's Noid advertisements. [6]

The game's plot, including its antagonist Mike Hatsune, is based on vocaloid Hatsune Miku, and uses elements of the 2013 Domino's App feat. Hatsune Miku, a Japan-only food delivery app that gained notoriety in the west after its commercial, featuring president and CEO of Domino's Pizza Japan, Scott Oelkers, went viral. [7] The idea of a vocaloid replacing The Noid as a mascot comes from the discontinuation of Domino's Noid mascot in America. [8]

Reception and legacy

The game had overall positive reception, with critics noting its surreal, but lighthearted tone, but occasional brutal difficulty. [4]

The game was featured in Summer Games Done Quick 2018, as speedrunner AlucardX60 completed the game in 13:15. [9]

The game was featured on the WWAYTV3 news channel, as a review on the Gaming Trends segment, with critic David Lewis noting its surreal nature and work of love from fans. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domino's</span> American multinational pizza restaurant chain

Domino's Pizza, Inc., commonly referred to as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware-domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor Township, near Ann Arbor, Michigan. As of 2018, Domino's had approximately 15,000 stores, with 5,649 in the United States, 1,500 in India, and 1,249 in the United Kingdom. Domino's has stores in over 83 countries and 5,701 cities worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Noid</span> Animated antagonist

The Noid is an advertising character for Domino's Pizza created in the 1980s and briefly revived several times. Clad in a red, skin-tight, rabbit-eared body suit with a black N inscribed in a white circle on his chest, the Noid is a physical manifestation of all the challenges in delivering a pizza within 30 minutes. Though persistent, his efforts are repeatedly thwarted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vocaloid</span> Singing voice synthesizer software

Vocaloid is a singing voice synthesizer software product. Its signal processing part was developed through a joint research project between Yamaha Corporation and the Music Technology Group in Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. The software was ultimately developed into the commercial product "Vocaloid" that was released in 2004.

<i>Yo! Noid</i> 1990 video game

Yo! Noid, known in Japan as Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru, is a platform video game developed by Now Production and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was first released in Japan on March 16, 1990, and was localized in the United States to promote the Noid, the mascot of Domino's Pizza. The game is in Nintendo's PlayChoice-10 arcade series and was featured in the Japanese TV show GameCenter CX.

"Ievan polkka" is a Finnish song with lyrics printed in 1928 and written by Eino Kettunen to a traditional Finnish polka tune. The song is sung in an Eastern Savonian dialect spoken in North Karelia. It is sung from the point of view of a young man, about a woman called Ieva who sneaks out and dances the polka with him all night. The song is often mistaken for a traditional folk song, but the lyrics by Eino Kettunen are still under copyright. Later, a scat singing version of the song by the band Loituma was incorporated into the viral animation Loituma Girl. In 2007, the song was brought into worldwide popular culture through a cover sung by Hatsune Miku, with Otomania arranging the music and providing Miku's voice manipulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatsune Miku</span> Singing voice synthesizer software

Hatsune Miku, sometimes called Miku Hatsune, officially code-named CV01, is a Vocaloid software voicebank developed by Crypton Future Media and its official mascot character, a 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails. Miku's personification has been marketed as a virtual idol, and has performed at live virtual concerts onstage as an animated holographic projection.

<i>Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA</i> Series of Video Games

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA is a series of rhythm games created by Sega and Crypton Future Media. The series currently consists of 6 main titles, released on various PlayStation consoles, the Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, and in arcades, the 2 Project Mirai games for the Nintendo 3DS, and 4 spin-offs for mobile and VR platforms. The series primarily makes use of Vocaloids, a series of singing synthesizer software developed by the Yamaha Corporation, and the songs created using these Vocaloids, most notably the virtual-diva Vocaloid Hatsune Miku.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaito (software)</span> Vocaloid software

Kaito is a Voice Synth developed by Yamaha Corporation for the Vocaloid engine, and distributed by Crypton Future Media. He has performed at live concerts onstage as an animated projection along with Crypton's other Voice Synth characters. His original codename was "TARO" back during "Project Daisy", the predecessor of Vocaloid, and was one of the original four known vocals for the project. His voice provider is Japanese singer Naoto Fūga. He was the fifth and final vocal released for the original Vocaloid software, and the second vocal released in Japanese.

Crypton Future Media, Inc., or simply Crypton, is a Japanese media company based in Sapporo, Japan. It develops, imports, and sells products for music, such as sound generator software, sampling CDs and DVDs, and FX and BGM libraries. The company also provides services of online shopping, online community, and mobile content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AH-Software</span> Japanese brand

AH-Software is the software brand of AHS Co., Ltd., an importer of digital audio workstations and encoders in Tokyo, Japan. It is also known as the developer of Voiceroid and a number of Vocaloid voicebanks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MikuMikuDance</span> Freeware 3D animation program for Windows

MikuMikuDance is a freeware animation program that lets users animate and create computer-animated films, originally produced for the Japanese Vocaloid voice synthesizer software voicebank Hatsune Miku, the first member of the Character Vocal series created by Crypton Future Media. The program itself was programmed by Yu Higuchi (HiguchiM) and has gone through significant upgrades since its creation. Its production was made as part of the VOCALOID Promotion Video Project (VPVP).

<i>Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Arcade</i> 2010 Video game

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Arcade is a 2010 arcade rhythm game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega and Dwango Music Entertainment as well as character and voicebank licensing from Crypton Future Media for arcade machines with the Sega RingEdge arcade system. The game is a port of the 2009 video game, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, with updated visuals and was released on June 23, 2010 in Japan. Like the original, the game primarily makes use of Vocaloid, a singing synthesizer program, and the songs are created using voicebanks from the program, most notably, the most-famous and moe anthropomorphic virtual diva and mascot Hatsune Miku.

<i>Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA 2nd</i> 2010 video game

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA 2nd is a 2010 rhythm game created by Sega and Crypton Future Media for the PlayStation Portable. The game is a sequel to the 2009 video game, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, and was first released on July 29, 2010 in Japan with no international release. Like the original the game primarily makes use of Vocaloids, a series of singing synthesizer software, and the songs created using these vocaloids most notably the virtual-diva Vocaloid Hatsune Miku.

<i>Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai</i> 2012 video game

Hatsune Miku and Future Stars: Project Mirai is a 2012 rhythm game created by Sega and Crypton Future Media for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is a spin-off of the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series of Vocaloid rhythm games and was first released on March 8, 2012 in Japan with no international release. Like the original, the game primarily makes use of Vocaloids, a series of singing synthesizer softwares, and the songs created using them, most notably the virtual-diva Vocaloid Hatsune Miku. It is also the first game in the franchise to include a Vocaloid made by Internet Co., Ltd.; the mascot of Megpoid, Gumi, appears as a guest star.

<i>Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F</i> 2012 video game

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA f is a 2012 rhythm game created by Sega and Crypton Future Media for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3. It was released on the PlayStation Vita in Japan on August 30, 2012 as the fifth entry in the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series.

<i>Miku Flick</i> 2012 video game

Miku Flick (ミクフリック) was a 2012 rhythm game created by Sega and Crypton Future Media for the iOS operating system for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The game was a spin-off of the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series of Vocaloid rhythm games and was released in Japan on March 9, 2012 and internationally on April 9, 2012. Like the original the game primarily makes use of Vocaloids, a series of singing synthesizer software, and the songs created using these vocaloids most notably the virtual-diva Vocaloid Hatsune Miku. Miku Flick was the first game in the Project Diva series to ever be released outside Japan in English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vocaloid 2</span> 2007 singing voice synthesizer

Vocaloid 2 is a singing voice synthesizer and the successor to the Vocaloid voice synthesizer application by Yamaha. Unlike the first engine, Vocaloid 2 based its output on vocal samples, rather than voice analysis. The synthesis engine and the user interface were completely revamped, with Japanese Vocaloids possessing a Japanese interface, as opposed to the previous version, which used English for both versions. It is noteworthy for introducing the popular character Hatsune Miku. It was succeeded by Vocaloid 3.

<i>Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!</i> 2020 Japanese mobile game

Project SEKAI: Colorful Stage! is a video game developed by Colorful Palette and published by Sega. The game is a spin-off from Sega's Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series, featuring the 6 Virtual Singers of Crypton Future Media, Hatsune Miku, Megurine Luka, Kagamine Rin and Len, MEIKO, and KAITO, alongside the cast of 20 original human characters that are split into five themed units. Set in the real world where Virtual Singers only exist as fiction, the characters come across another dimension called "SEKAI," where various "true feelings" are projected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domino's App feat. Hatsune Miku</span> Food delivery app launched in 2013

Domino's App feat. Hatsune Miku is a discontinued food delivery app released exclusively in Japan that was developed by Kayac and hosted by Domino's Pizza. Launched in March 2013, the app was a collaboration between Domino's Pizza Japan and Crypton Future Media, the creators and developers of the Vocaloid software voicebank Hatsune Miku. The app's functions were similar to the traditional Domino's App but had additional features themed around Hatsune Miku. The service became an Internet meme after a commercial for the service went viral on YouTube.

References

  1. 1 2 "New Jam City". itch.io. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Yo! Noid Was Ahead of its Time by DustinBragg, Levi Davis, Quade Zaban, Harrison Bright, breadotop, ompu co, Dozzyrok, Nick, myles, Baycunn". itch.io. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Yo! Noid 2: Enter the Void – Game Jam Build Download | Alpha Beta Gamer". www.alphabetagamer.com. August 7, 2017. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Someone made a Yo! Noid sequel and it's shockingly good". Destructoid. August 4, 2017. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Waypoint Radio: Episode 58: Yo! Noid Was Ahead of Its Time". vicegamingnew.libsyn.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  6. ↑ Dominos Avoid The Noid 80's Commercial, archived from the original on February 12, 2022, retrieved February 12, 2022
  7. ↑ "A Truly Bizarre Domino's Pizza Commercial". Kotaku. March 7, 2013. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  8. ↑ "A void: The Noid". The World from PRX. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  9. ↑ Yo! Noid 2 by AlucardX60 in 13:15 - SGDQ2018, archived from the original on February 12, 2022, retrieved February 12, 2022
  10. ↑ Gaming Trends Yo Noid 2 Live Archive . Retrieved February 12, 2022.
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