Incredibox

Official app icon.

Official title Design.

Alternative title design.

Incredibox (also stylized as INCREDiBOX and formerly stylized as incRedibox) is a beatboxing-based indie game created and developed by the French company So Far So Good. The game aims to create a musical composition through a group of virtual beatboxers, crossing different musical genres.

The game was released on many devices, with the iPad version released on March 28, 2016, the iPhone version released on September 24, 2016, the Android version released on December 15, 2017, the Amazon Store on April 19, 2018, the Mac App Store and the Microsoft Store on December 11, 2018, and Steam on April 30, 2021.

Gameplay

By choosing one of the nine available versions, the player finds themselves in front of a gray space with seven identical-looking and completely topless characters; in the space below, there are twenty “icons” divided into four categories: Beats, Effects, Melodies, and Voices. Each category Has five sounds that all share the same color palette.

At this point, the player must drag an icon onto one of the characters to apply an outfit and make him sing. Each icon corresponds to a different sound and outfit. Furthermore, by finding the right combination of five sounds, it is possible to unlock an animated bonus of a few seconds. For each version of the game, there are three bonuses, which can be unlocked through different combinations of icons. In case you lack inspiration, you can enter the Shuffle Mode and let the game continue the song by choosing random icons. There is also the possibility to record and publish your song, in the hope of receiving "likes" and reaching the top 50 rankings.

Versions

Incredibox currently has nine versions, each with a unique genre and setting. Versions from V5 onwards are exclusive to the complete app and cannot be played on the free demo on the site. The lineup consists of:

• V1: Alpha (Formerly called The Original) (2009, 2018): The first-ever version of the game. In the version, you can find characteristic sounds of jazz and funk. Each icon will make the selected character appear in a black t-shirt with the corresponding white icon on it. The belonging of the icons to one of the categories listed above is indicated by the similarity of their shape of these. The version was remastered on the website on June 26, 2018, also adding new sounds where they were missing. It was later added to the app on September 26. The bonus titles are The Choir, The Sailor and Santa.
• V2: Little Miss (2012): This version is characterized by rhythms that allude to hip hop. The characters appear in clothes typical of American rappers. The bonus titles are Satisfied, Little Miss and Why This World.
• V3: Sunrise (2013): The genres that intersect in this version are pop, disco, and Andean music. It is the first version of the game to have a matching color for each sound category. The bonuses are Little Child, Dance and Sunrise.
• V4: The Love (2014): Originally created as Axe Boat to advertise the Axe Boat Festival in France, this version is very reminiscent of EDM music typical of nightclubs, mainly inspired by French house. Two of the Incredimen are very reminiscent of the electronic music duo Daft Punk. The bonus titles are Baby, Follow and Eagle.
• V5: Brazil (2016): The sounds present are typical of Brazilian music and the animated bonuses are also sung in Portuguese. The bonus titles are Felicidade, Chegou and Musica.
• V6: Alive (2018): The characteristic genre is an intertwining of trap music and Japanese folk music. The bonus titles are Alive (Bonus), Busta, and VR.
• V7: Jeevan  (2019): This version is inspired by Indian music and culture, especially Bollywood, with bonuses also sung in Hindi. One of the costumes represents the Hindu deity Ganesha. The bonus titles are Kofitez, Sapna and Kabikabi.
• V8: Dystopia (2020): This version is characterized by a dystopian style and with clear references to cyberpunk culture. The sounds featured in Dystopia are mostly synthesizers, distorted voices, and minor-key melodies. The bonus titles are Riviera, Zemetekile and Cumulor.
• V9: Wekiddy (2023): This theme is inspired by 90s Hip hop music. This version features multi-colored designs for all outfits & icons. There are two bonuses, both of which are named Flow and URFO.

Development

Original logo for Incredibox used from V1-V3.

Title design for Incredibox used briefly in 2014.

In 2006 three French friends Allan Durand (director and programmer), Romain Delambily (graphic designer), and Paul Malburet (aka Incredible Polo, musician) started development on the first version of Incredibox and published it on August 16, 2009, and after a year of positive reviews and criticisms: they established the group So Far So Good and continued working on new versions of the game.

There were also collaborations with well-known brands, such as Axe and M&M's, for which they created a United States-exclusive version Bite-Size Beats, where the characters are replaced by the six M&M's spokescandies; Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Green.

On September 20, both So Far So Good and Incredible Polo released a digital music album called Incredibox 10th Anniversary. This album is a remastered collection of all 7 versions of Incredibox, celebrating its 10th anniversary. A limited-edition 12" Vinyl was released on November 25, while the physical CD was released on December 11. On April 28, 2020, they added a Dark mode feature as well as parental controls settings for the app that can be enabled via settings.

On September 6, 2021, a new album from So Far So Good and Incredible Polo called The Unreleased was announced. This album of 9 tracks was made during many of Incredibox's demo phases. The digital album was released on October 1, while the physical CD including the limited edition 12 ”Vinyl was released to pre-ordered customers throughout early 2022.

Reception

Since its release, Incredibox has registered millions of connections and has always received positive reviews from international media such as the BBC, FWA, and Softonic. It is also used by many schools as a musical prophetical tool due to its attractive design and bright colors. This also resulted in the creation of Incredibox For Schools on February 3, 2022.

Website

The Incredibox website is an important part of Incredibox. On it, the first four versions of the Incredibox were first published, as well as listen to the mixes of other users on the Playlist tab. On the top bar, you can go to the Incredibox Shop (where can you buy official merch) and listen to the album for the 10th anniversary of Incredibox.

Site History

On August 16, 2009, incredibox.fr was launched.

On April 14, 2012, the site got to 750000 users in 24 hours, Because their capacity in terms of visitors was too limited at that time and that day they had a peak connection of about 700,000 visitors in 24 hours on the site, the website crashed because it could not handle all the visitors.

The App

On March 28th, 2016, Incredibox was released for the iPad. Initially, only Little Miss was released alongside the app, then later, it received more versions with Sunrise & the Love coming afterwards, then a new version called Brazil came out, exclusively for the app. On September 2016, the app came to iPhones, and then later, it came to Android devices. In 2018, Alive came out as another app exclusive, then later in the same year, Alpha gets released to the app. Later in 2019, another app exclusive version, Jeevan was released to the app stores, then a year later, Dystopia came out also as an app exclusive. In 2023, Wekiddy came out as another app exclusive version.

Differences

• In the Flash version, an animation plays when an icon gets selected, It shows how the clothes/costume is put on the Polo, with the clothes rising from the bottom of the screen and hats and other headwear falling from the top. However, in the app, it has no animation and already shows the Polo being dressed.
• In the flash version, there will be one inactive Polo available until the player has 7, but on the app, there are 7 inactive Polos on the screen at the same time.
• In Little Miss & Sunrise, some bonuses have different combos.
• For some reason, two of the voices in Sunrise had swapped positions.
• The Polos in Little Miss' icons are now white in the app.
• There's no indicator in the app describing the categories.
• Alpha's bonuses are already formed in the app, rather just appearing one by one in the Flash version.
• The first beat's body in The Love has no animation in the app.

Trivia

• The first YouTube video related to Incredibox was by the Peruvian tech YouTuber Arturo Goga titled “Incredibox, funny musical game”. It was uploaded on September 16, 2009, and is viewable here.
• The title is a portmanteau of the words "Incredible" (likely meant to refer to Incredible Polo) and "Box" (as in "beatbox").

External links

• So Far So Good company website
• Incredibox website