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Composition Piece


Download from Mediafire (http://www.mediafire.com/?zm2ydntmjzb)

Download from Box.net (http://www.box.net/shared/d30itlvum1)

YoYo Games (http://www.yoyogames.com/games/130929-composition-piece)

EDIT:  I have uploaded a new, easier version (v1.1), with better controls.



Overview:

Composition Piece is a short game I built around a piano piece (kind of like with Ceramic Shooter:  Electronic Poem).  In the game, you play as a young composer who is writing a piece for a girl whom he likes.  The game itself is a scrolling platformer; this gameplay type is meant to be a metaphor for the composer's creative process (among other things).  You control the composer as he runs and jumps through a world of classical composers, creative roadblocks, and talking metronomes.

The piece has to be perfect, though - so no mistakes!  These include falling out of the scrolling view or hitting spikes.

Talk to the NPC's to get points, but you don't have to get 10/10 to get through to the end.


Screenshots:

(http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1850/compgame1.png)

(http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/8421/compgame2.png)


Controls:

Arrow Keys:  Move
<UP> or <X>:  Jump
<SPACE> or <C>:  Use hammer (to break walls - this is explained in-game)
<ENTER>:  Advance text


Specifications:

Title: Composition Piece
Download Size: 6.26 MB zipped
File Type: A '.zip' archive that contains the main executable, README.txt, a folder containing the game music, and two DLL's used to play the Ogg Vorbis music.
Version: 1.1
Written In: GM8 Registered

Are you trying to make us play 'find the hidden meaning'?

I don't think the game has anything too hidden, but I'm sure it can be interpreted in different ways.  I had my intended ideas, but anyone else's are just as valid.

Did you try the game?

Sure did. Sorry, I just thought either you were being honest, or it was a meta-game you were playing with us (which it may still be), hence my post. There are a good bunch of games out there that play with this more or less (http://sites.google.com/site/realnoyb/apophenia).

I find it very strange to be told by the author to discover the 'meaning' or 'message' of their work. This is either implied (the work invites reflection), or irrelevant (no interpretation necessary for its enjoyment), so there is usually no need to actually go ahead and say it. In fact, it's worse: it's like ruining a joke by asking 'did you think it was a funny joke?'. But, well, that's just my opinion.

What I saw in the game was a gamer/game maker trying to compose music and falling back to what they find most comfortable, as tough virtuosity was transferable in such a way. In the mechanics, some connections are made between musical performance and game playing (I noticed no significant relation to composing); namely, timing and speed. I guess that's mostly what I got.

Okay, I suppose, in general, the game itself should invite discussion of its themes, should it have any.  About your interpretation - much of what you said was intended in the game, although I did not think of the composer's entry into the "game" world as a return to a certain comfort zone; I did not intend for the composer himself to be a gamer or game designer.  Also, I explored the similarities between music performance/composition and playing a video game, but [spoiler]in the end, with Qing Ge's last statement, this metaphor is essentially destroyed.  There are major differences between the two.[/spoiler].

I like your interpretations, though.  Thanks for your comments,

 ~ Theta

A lot of people had thought this was difficult, and since adding checkpoints wouldn't have fit with the spirit of the game (and would have been difficult due to the music synchronization), I have uploaded a new version (1.1) with easier platforming and much better controls.

Please let me know what you think!

I understood the point of taking you to the beginning when you fail, but when I failed 3 times and had to wait so long to progress, I got frustrated and quit.

And I just played again (2x) and got the the same part, with the wall and lost because I couldn't figure out how to break it. I really don't want to play all through it again just to get to the same part still confused. The readme says something about a timer, but I recall no such thing.  :shrug2:

In the lower right-hand corner of the screen (below the word "Wall"), numbers will count down to zero.  You have to hit <SPACE> or <C> when this reaches zero, in order to break the wall.

I had a hard time getting into this, especially compared to Ceramic Shooter: Electronic Poem. The beginning is very slow-paced and boring once you've done it 3+ times, really makes the game frustrating. I feel like this style (music synchronization, full restart on game over) lends itself way better to Ceramic Shooter than to a platformer (loved Ceramic Shooter btw, even posted it on my blog which I'd link to but it seems to be down currently).

I thought this was pretty nice, it definitely seems to represent some of the pitfalls of the creative process.  Although, once I failed at 8/10, I quit because it made me start all over again  :\

I understand it is a bit slow in the beginning, but it just didn't make sense to me to make it very intense at this point, since the game would have nowhere to build towards.  About Ceramic Shooter:  Electronic Poem (thank you, by the way, for the blog review - I had read it before), since the player has a sort of "damage bar," which is a lot different than one mistake causing a full restart.  However, this is exactly the feeling that I wanted to convey - the composer feels as though one mistake will ruin the entire piece (which is analogous to him feeling like one mistake with Qing Ge would ruin everything with her).  Also, the piece (and game) is very short (about three minutes), and it would, in my opinion, break the continuity of both the piece and the game if checkpoints were added.

You don't have to talk to all of the NPC's to get to the end of the game; some of them are in fact somewhat difficult to get, especially on the first runthrough.  As stated above, I felt as though the full restarts were necessary (besides, the game is really short).

Thank you all for your comments!