Just got notified you finished this, great job John! I've just played through season 1. My favorite so far was the first ice puzzle. Also I appreciate the character selection in the options!
I just replayed it to remind myself how it felt, and I just noticed the yellow raindrops! They tell you when a potential "right arrow" moment is coming up. I didn't get this before: that the right-arrow cues are on the same beat as the rain drops. it's so much simpler than I was making it my head.
My eyes were so fixated on the raindrops, but I would also try to keep an eye out on the left side of the screen on the pulsing arrows until they'd turn yellow. So hitting the arrow key felt like a scramble and like something I couldn't anticipate.
But I feel like I get it now, and playing it a second time with this in mind, it feels a lot different. I'm not sure how you'd improve anything, but maybe my lengthy explanation of my experience gives you some ideas!
Ah yes, that's hard spot to find to prevent cheesing. Like you want to allow playing notes outside the normal beats, but not so forgiving you can spam key presses during hard sections. (thanks again for the detailed overview)
Thanks for the thorough explanation. I like the method of using easing functions, giving you tons of flexibility! This explains how you drew the line path in front of the circles, just take songtime and add a beat or two, put that in the easy function to get points for drawing the line!
I can't remember from playing, but does the scoring system have a hit window for late/early hits?
I struggled with the platform mechanics at first, but when I got it figured out and ascended to the top I realized how glorious it was. Made some pretty great songs I think. Cool project!
I got really stuck on the second level, using deduction to figure out what the ghost liked vs the pastor. I think the solution had something to do with the lower level blocks.
I like the narrative and the silly graphics (is that a lizard on the church? lol)
The motion and sway give the circles personality. I laughed a bit on the first ones that psyched me out. I've never used Love, but I needed it on Linux to run, so now I've got it!
What was your method for creating and storing the beat maps for the songs? Each circle looks like it would have several properties.
That final "hard" song was outrageous. Nice work on this!
Oh that answers my question! I've been thinking about different ways to choreograph game play and/or visuals with music. As a programmer, data files seem the most logical. Aren't there tools for helping create these? I know a lot of rhythm game communities tend to have tools specifically for their game. I wonder about beat map tools that could help regardless of game.
Wow great work Ben! I can tell you're a rhythm game enthusiast with song maps like these! The response from key inputs feels quick and sharp, so you can just focus on the music. I'd love to know more about your workflow in Godot. Did you create data files for the beat maps, or use the scene editor? (I suspect the former)
I my only quarrel was that the up/down (jump and slide) keys didn't switch on the ceiling. I had to make an effort to switch my thinking for ceiling sections.
I couldn't stop cleaning! This was very calming, it put me in a really good mood. The illustrations and animations are way cute. I lol'd several times. The music and tedium of cleaning set an atmosphere I really appreciated.
Fantastic, the art is wonderful! It seems like you and your team knew exactly what you wanted to accomplish. Doesn't feel like anything was left unfinished. The concept of a music bug makes me smile!
The art is cute! I like that the music is broken intro different staged loops. I struggled a bit to get the hang of it between watching the arrows and rain. But I got it!
Wow great work! I wouldn't think a metroidvania could be pulled off in a game jam, but the world is kept simple enough to explore the core mechanics.
Thanks for releasing the source! Looks like there's some cool stuff going on in there. I'm especially interested in how the levels were put together, they look like tilemaps, but radial of course. Gonna find out...
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for playing. I'll be adding levels and objectives in the next couples weeks, keep an eye out if you want to play the update!
This is art. I love the pacing of the game. It felt relaxing and peaceful - great music choices, it set the tone of 1800's British country-side.
I didn't have anyone to play with, and I still enjoyed controlling all the dogs.
In the middle of level 2 I wondered how fun it would be to have wolves, and then BAM. The mood shift was great.
Honestly I'd love to play a future version of this, especially with friends and the same type of music score (maybe even adaptive as sheep gets in danger).
Thanks for checking it out John! I had a friend play test it and they came up with a very similar strategy to what you're describing. I'd love to design some proper levels that require creative thinking. I want the player to feel like a music producer, trying to find the *right* fit of sounds.
Thank you! That means a lot. I plan on making many more games/toys like this. There's a jam going on right now you might be interested in keeping tabs on focused on music games: https://itch.io/jam/ssjmusicfirst
I go through a similar experience during jams, where I have a big idea, and in the last 4 hours I rework things so it's playable and at least mildly interesting.
This was fun - I loved trying to grab the potions in mid air and "dunk" them in the cauldron. Also another favorite strategy was sitting in the cauldron. My top score was 290! Almost had a perfect run.
Nice job! Fun game. What do you think you would have improved next, given more time?
I had that thought too, with something musical and creative it's important to give the player freedom to find their own solutions. I'll check out Kerflux, thanks!
I love the concept! I worked on something very similar.
I'm a bit stuck early on though, is there control to pick up the key? I can't seem to grab it.
EDIT: Oops, the controls are nicely placed in the environment, my bad.
I love the art, btw! The mechanics force you to slow down and think about programming useful sequences. I'd love to see this with some additional work put into level design. Probably more to explore here!
Wow amazing job! The level design is brilliant. I'm impressed you created 10 well-designed levels. I love that each explore a new mechanic and also make you feel smart for figuring it out.
