A new game designed by Constantino Oliva, lecturer at the University of Malta’s Institute of Digital Games, is intended to help players explore their musicality.

The game was created for research purposes as a tool to demonstrate musicality in digital games.

The name Otogarden is inspired by the musicking concept introduced by musicologist Christopher Small, the works of media artist Toshio Iwai and the Japanese musical soundscape.

Players get to control a mischevious kappa, a traditional yokai spirit, and feel the musical possibilities of your surroundings.

Through a loop mechanic, the kappa is able to multiply itself, creating subtle rhythms or exaggerated cacophonies.

Otogarden has an intuitive game face that lets you explore the topic of musical improvisation, "an activity of enormous complexity and sophistication, or the simplest and most direct expression” (Derek Bailey, 1993).

You may play the game online.