John Irwin takes a closer look at the oft-overlooked home screen in the 3DS. What he finds is a world of childlike wonder and majesty:
These moving placeholders-a swirl of photos represents the camera application, for instance-float within some cauterized, antiseptic arena. The place has volume. Though no bottom or sides are discernible, you can see white rounded squares slowly shift over a grey field. The ebbing movement creates a subtle drama necessary for providing the imagined depth. Your eyes flit back and forth from the rotating object in the foreground and the shifting tiles behind, an ecosystem of living symbols.