The Neon Platform

The Lightsynth comes of age...

Neon is Llamasoft's latest and most breathtaking light synthesiser. Capable of generating anything from soothing ambient swirls to strobing multicolour explosions, it's infinitely configurable thanks to its modular nature, and always stunning to look at.

Neon can run purely off audio input or from up to four joypads, each controlling a different display element with incredible ease and precision and generating hypnotic, multi-layered end results that are way ahead of every other piece of audio visualisation software available.

A version of Neon comes built into Microsoft's Xbox 360.

For a glimpse of Neon in action, view the available screenshots or download the teaser trailers

Random Screenshots


Neon, The History of...

Back in the VLM-0 days I had a conceptual idea for a lightsynth that would be truly worthy of the name - something which really *was* a synthesiser, with modules that you could plug together and dials and sliders you could adjust to create a huge variety of effects, just as a musician does with a music synthesiser. That idea was well ahead of what consumer-level hardware was capable of at that time, and so it remained just a neat idea, something for "one day"...

Remember what I said about Nuon and "computational resolution"? Well, without giving any secrets away and getting myself into trouble with Microsoft, I can tell you that the Xbox360 can bring to bear an absolutely *staggering* amount of computational power on each and every pixel, and never drop below 60 frames a second. The thing's a *monster*.

Finally realising my design of a modular lightsynth on top of that awesome computational power, and inheriting the multi-user controllability from VLM-3, is NEON - and the results are simply amazing. Even I am continually amazed at what it is possible to get out of it, and I designed it }:-D. It is a true light synthesiser, and easily the most beautiful thing I have ever made, by a very long way. We thought VLM-3 was good, but this makes VLM-3 look like Psychedelia. It's truly a generational increment - hence after years of long service I decided it's finally time to lose the VLM name.

It can be used purely as a visualizer - but a visualizer which instantly obsoletes all those still currently struggling along with VLM-1 techniques straight into the Stone Age. Or you can pick up the controllers and feel what it's like to fly it as a Crew. It is truly a thing of beauty... I believe it finally begins to achieve the potential that I saw all those years ago when I first made Psychedelia... and I am happier with it than I have ever been with anything I've created in my entire career.

And we got it into the firmware again...

Microsoft firmware.

Of the Xbox360 for goat's sake }:-D.

At last... after more than 20 years' work, one of my lightsynths is going to reach a decent sized audience.

Millions and millions..... }:-D

Beam me up Scotty!