Lumines Electronic Symphony uses the new features of the PlayStation Vita such as the touch pad on the back, while keeping classic controls already known in the first Lumines on the front. Lumines Electronic Symphony now uses animated 3D blocks instead of 2D sprites. The game will use the front touch screen controls to move and rotate blocks but will also support analog and D-pad controls. In previous Lumines titles, a player unlocked skins based on their ability to successfully reach that skin. However, in Lumines Electronic Symphony, an experience point system has been integrated. Now all the points that a player receives in a session are converted into XP, so as the player levels up, additional skins and avatars will be unlocked. Each avatar has a single player and multiplayer ability mapped to them. Players unlock more avatars and find the abilities that best suit their style of play. Q Entertainment enlisted the design firm, BUILD (which was founded by former Designers Republic and Psygnosis members), to create much of the game's marketing materials, such as the new logo, in-game font, and graphic elements for the package design.
