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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperPlaytestingRhythm Doctor - A Rhythm Heaven Style One-Button Hard-as-Nails Rhythm Game
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Author Topic: Rhythm Doctor - A Rhythm Heaven Style One-Button Hard-as-Nails Rhythm Game  (Read 39927 times)
fizzd
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« on: December 28, 2012, 11:28:09 AM »

Hi guys,



>>PLAY CURRENT DEMO<< (now on itch.io!)


Press & Feedback
22/1/14 - IGF STUDENT SHOWCASE WINNER!! Oh my goodness. I'm just checking my statcounter and wondering where the spike of traffic is coming from and then this. I cannot thank everyone enough, thank you for the comments, thank you for the feedback, the criticism, the exposure, everything aaah. Come visit Cambridge I wanna hug you!

Destructoid
"Even if you've checked it out before, please try this new build. It's deliciously difficult, and that's really what keeps me coming back."

Indie Haven
"A genuine masterclass in rhythm game design."

Eurogamer
"a rad Rhythm Paradise-esque browser game (...) sadistically difficult."

Indiegames.com
"The base mechanic and premise of Rhythm Doctor are gold for me. (...) Rhythm is in everything, and I'm glad the developers found it in medicine."

"This Rhythm Doctor Demo was fun as hell. Definitely helped me get my mind off things"- Rekcahdam/Roger Hicks (part of the Celestial Mechanica team!!) via Twitter

David Rusak, Designer of Guacamelee
"I just opened the afore-RT'd zany rhythm game and played as far as the first boss and it was indeed wonderful, recommended."

Gioco Indie (in Italian)

FreeGamesReview (in Japanese!)
"ブラウザ上でプレイする、リズムゲーム。
 操作は非常にシンプルで、リズムに合わせてタイミングよくスペースキーを押していく。
 「リズム天国」のようなゲームといえば分かりやすいかもしれない。'
[I have no idea what this means but I love it anyways]


Reddit thread
"You've really nailed that quirky Japanese game sort of personality, that often really quirky and surreal sense of humor with a gentle sort of grounding to it. It has a resonance to it that most flash games don't." - Clumpy

YourGameBlog
"The creators are very open in regards to the incontrovertible fact that their one button rhythm game is heavily influenced by Rhythm Heaven and if there have been much more games with its charm and strange humorousness (which this game has in spades) the realm can be a closer place."

Videos


by Clang Reviews. Thanks Connor!


(no commentary) by IshnatalGames
A Youtube playthrough that brilliantly shows off the game. Made me smile all the way through! Thanks BluBerryGamer Smiley

Summary
Rhythm Doctor is a tough ONE-BUTTON rhythm game heavily inspired by Rhythm Heaven!

For those who haven't played Rhythm Heaven, the defining feature of the series is the extremely strict margin of error, compared to any other music game out there. This means many people don't even realise their rhythm is a little off until they play Rhythm Heaven. My game seeks to emulate that feeling Grin

I've been working on this on and off for two summers now. Most of the work believe it or not was making the engine precise enough to be playable. Many, many hours were spent making the engine accurate (Flash is not a good choice for millisecond accuracy.. but hey it was the most popular thing), testing it in different browsers and Flash versions, and I have come to the conclusion that the following is what you need so that the game registers a hit only when you are PRECISELY on time (within 0.02s):

Browser: Anything but Chrome
Flash Player: 11.4 or above

A lot of thought went on whether I should just make the margins wider to compensate for lag, but then that would just turn this game into just a typical Guitar Hero / Rock Band game which I don't want.

Enough blabber now. Would really really appreciate feedback on DIFFICULTY, PACE and ACCESSIBILITY (was it clear enough what to do during the game?).

Thanks!
« Last Edit: November 12, 2016, 02:17:47 AM by fizzd » Logged
Justsometoast
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« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2012, 12:55:59 PM »

I'm liking it so far. Good music and addictive gameplay. One thing i think it needs though is some more variance in the levels. It would be nice to have maybe a differently shaped line once in a while, and maybe not always pressing space on the 7nth beat.

Also, I'm using chrome and I had absolutely no problems. It didn't lag at all either.

Difficulty's good, Its not to hard or too easy, but making the curve a bit less steep might be a good idea. Level 3 was pretty difficult.
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fizzd
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« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2012, 08:17:37 PM »

Thanks- variety is something I did think a lot about - I decided in the end to always keep to the 7th beat for simplicity's sake, also so that the game can be played COMPLETELY aurally as each beat has a distinctive sound. For the variety argument I'm having every level add one new element, while the Night Shift levels (have you unlocked them?) further test your skills you've just learnt.

Cheers for the difficulty, I'll consider toning down the end of the third level.
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Kunal
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« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2012, 08:33:20 PM »

Very nice. I understood immediately what to do so in terms of accessibility I think its fine.

For some reason I'm always early. I realize that tuning this must be extremely difficult for you, but still thought I should mention it. Maybe you could make things a tad more forgiving but still reward the player for getting it perfectly right.

I think some better feedback would be useful in text stating "too early" "too late" "perfect". I realize the green explosion indicates that I hit it perfectly, but maybe some text would make things clearer.

I'm not sure if this is intentional but the background seem a bit distracting. I loved the transition to space. But floating through so many stars and planes kind of made the whole screen look very busy.

All these are quibbles though. Looking forward to playing through all of the game. Awesome work.

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Justsometoast
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« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2012, 10:08:45 PM »

If you do end up making the game easier you could put more emphasis on getting good ranks. That way skill is rewarded, but the game is more accessible.

That being said, I didn't find it particularly hard as a whole to begin with, so I wouldn't change anything until you have a bigger pool of testers.
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fizzd
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« Reply #5 on: December 29, 2012, 08:51:51 AM »

Kunal - being too early is awesome news! cause that means it cant possibly be input lag and afaik should be an error on your own timing which is what this game is meant to improve  Smiley most people tend to be too early without realising it from my experience. The physical sound of you hitting your spacebar should coincide exactly with the clap. Thanks for the suggestion bout indicators, that's exactly the kind of thing I want to hear. The busyness was intentional, wanted to give a 'wtf' moment in the first level.  Grin

Justsometoast - noted thanks, I actually was already suspecting the end two notes of level 3 were a bit too much, so it's not only your feedback that's making me change it.

Could I ask if in level 2 it was obvious what was going on in the middle of the song? Like -spoilers--   If it was obvious you needed to ignore the second row. Originally you had to deal with both rows but people found that way too hard.


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zlandael
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« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2012, 10:40:48 AM »

I didn't ignore the second row...oops!
Anyway, I loved this entire game (even if it was a demo) and the bonus stage surprised me.

The difficulty depends on the user's experience with rhythm games. If a beginner were to play this, I think he/she would be frustrated with the sudden change in the first level. However, a vet would understand the gimmicks and speed through each level.

Pacing was kept in quite well, the samurai character was in every three levels which I thought was hilarious.  Corny Laugh

Accessibility was easy to understand, just hit on the seventh beat, count in your head for the missing beats.

Overall it's a one button game, and a visually pleasing one with great music. I loved the second tier music. I can't wait for the finished product!  Hand Clap
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« Reply #7 on: December 29, 2012, 11:57:02 AM »

I don't like forums.
I hate forums.
But here I am, logging into an account I never use, just to tell you how BRILLIANT this game is. Seriously. I found nothing wrong with it. The difficulty was ok, the new elements appeared with good pacing, the songs were nice, the bonus was surprising.
I can't wait to see it done.
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« Reply #8 on: December 29, 2012, 01:14:03 PM »

Another user who registered on TIG just to comment on this AWESOME game:

* I'd argue against toning down the 3rd hard stage; it was the only one I didn't A-rank on the first try, and loved the polyrhythm.  I'm a drummer & I've been playing rhythm games for years, so I know I'm likely not representative of a random player.  Adding more/easier stages or "in between" difficulties is fine, but please don't remove the hard stuff.  Some of us really like it!

* I agree that some way of knowing whether we were "too early" or "too late" would be helpful, sometimes I missed (and know that I did indeed miss, it "felt" wrong), but wasn't sure why.

* The head-bobbing samurai is one of my favorite things ever.

* It was a bit confusing when we were supposed to ignore the second track (2nd stage) and when we weren't supposed to ignore it (everything else).  I know it had the other hand in the 2nd stage, but I feel like it could've used something more, maybe something visually distinctive about the 2nd track to reinforce we're not handling it, like desaturated.

* I liked the "visual distraction" of the planet transition in the first stage, I didn't find it too hard as the rhythm was the same as the rest; it might be a bit much for THE first stage, though, maybe save it for the "hard" version?


I'm madly in love with the game, can't wait for it to be a release so I can throw money at it.
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dspencer
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« Reply #9 on: December 29, 2012, 08:08:29 PM »

Holy crap, man. This game is dope.

I agree with what other people said: visual distraction was cool, but maybe a bit much for the first stage. I liked the coop in the second stage as a good intro to there being multiple patients, before you had to do it yourself.

I especially liked in the bonus stage you were able to introduce a new mechanic (I didn't get all the night shift levels so maybe it was in one of those too) with having the rythym not be straight quarter notes without needing to introduce it. Seriously, it's cool that you are able to introduce new mechanics just by throwing them at the player, and having it be apparent how to deal with it.

But yeah, I finished playing and was just grinning all silly. Super impressed.
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doraeminemon
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« Reply #10 on: December 30, 2012, 12:38:10 AM »

First question : where do I pay for this ?

I love the Pace and Difficulty.Not too hard for first try, but still challenging if you want to "mastered" it.  Pixelated seems to be a current trend on the graphic and I'm in a love-hate relationship with it( love the art but hate the overused ).

Anyway, I managed to break your game so maybe get on with fixing some bugs ! When game over, then I can still press R and the music still playing, while the game being send back to the level select menu. Choose a menu item and it will break the game.

Also you should send some thanks to http://www.youtube.com/user/MaxaNum?feature=g-subs-u, since he introduce me your game, and I just register a new account to comment on this.

I swear I'll buy your game the day it come out. But please, don't develop your second beat game on Flash. It's just buggy and not suitable .

« Last Edit: December 30, 2012, 12:45:42 AM by doraeminemon » Logged
fizzd
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« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2012, 06:57:31 AM »

Pacing was kept in quite well, the samurai character was in every three levels which I thought was hilarious.  Corny Laugh

We'll admit that was just due to us not having enough characters drawn yet, haha. Glad it made for comedic effect anyways. Grin

* I agree that some way of knowing whether we were "too early" or "too late" would be helpful, sometimes I missed (and know that I did indeed miss, it "felt" wrong), but wasn't sure why.

* The head-bobbing samurai is one of my favorite things ever.

* It was a bit confusing when we were supposed to ignore the second track (2nd stage) and when we weren't supposed to ignore it (everything else).  I know it had the other hand in the 2nd stage, but I feel like it could've used something more, maybe something visually distinctive about the 2nd track to reinforce we're not handling it, like desaturated.


Brilliant idea with the desaturation, don't know why I never thought of that! I'll take that, thank you. And don't worry for lack of hard difficulty, I've got some truly devious cross-rhythms in the making.  Smiley

Holy crap, man. This game is dope.

I agree with what other people said: visual distraction was cool, but maybe a bit much for the first stage. I liked the coop in the second stage as a good intro to there being multiple patients, before you had to do it yourself.

I especially liked in the bonus stage you were able to introduce a new mechanic (I didn't get all the night shift levels so maybe it was in one of those too) with having the rythym not be straight quarter notes without needing to introduce it. Seriously, it's cool that you are able to introduce new mechanics just by throwing them at the player, and having it be apparent how to deal with it.

But yeah, I finished playing and was just grinning all silly. Super impressed.

Thanks!

First question : where do I pay for this ?

I love the Pace and Difficulty.Not too hard for first try, but still challenging if you want to "mastered" it.  Pixelated seems to be a current trend on the graphic and I'm in a love-hate relationship with it( love the art but hate the overused ).

Anyway, I managed to break your game so maybe get on with fixing some bugs ! When game over, then I can still press R and the music still playing, while the game being send back to the level select menu. Choose a menu item and it will break the game.

Also you should send some thanks to http://www.youtube.com/user/MaxaNum?feature=g-subs-u, since he introduce me your game, and I just register a new account to comment on this.

I swear I'll buy your game the day it come out. But please, don't develop your second beat game on Flash. It's just buggy and not suitable .

Cheers for the bug report, didn't realise that! And no we're not gonna sell this game (..I think), the reason it was done in Flash was so we could try get LUCRATIVE SPONSORSHIPS by flash game portals and put it online on Kongregate or whatever for free. As of now it's not going particularly well but we'll see...
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SuperAj3
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« Reply #12 on: December 30, 2012, 10:54:39 PM »

I registered just to say how much I thoroughly enjoyed this game!
It's a nice reminiscence of the Rhythm heaven for GBA, I love the level ideas and gameplay so far and can't wait for more!
Level 2 (Hard) was my favourite, when the samurai comes out instead of the girl! Cheesy

Anyway, a fantastic game, and I hope to see more of it as you progress with your development!
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« Reply #13 on: December 31, 2012, 12:07:11 PM »

Thanks for the feedback, glad people are liking it! Small update just added to the game, fixing one bug that made the little grumble cutscenes after level 2 and 3 not play.
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SolarLune
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« Reply #14 on: December 31, 2012, 04:28:53 PM »

The game's pretty cool so far. I like the simple graphics, and the music's really good so far. I'm pretty sure you could sell it for a nice amount of money.
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« Reply #15 on: January 01, 2013, 12:52:52 AM »

This is really, really good. I'm eagerly anticipating a finished version.

Potentially useful difficulty feedback: got a B on the first level (which I only got worse at for some reason... hitting a lot of beats too early), then A ranks on my first plays of all subsequent levels except tier 3 hard. The tier 3 levels were definitely my favourite, though, I liked keeping track of all the concurrent beats... reminded me of Cheer Readers 2, though your take is frankly a lot more elegant. Lastly, on my first attempt at the bonus level I got kind of confused by the rhythm when the chorus kicked in (and failed) but it seemed to work pretty well!
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« Reply #16 on: January 01, 2013, 09:06:23 AM »

So what do you plan to do with this. Web sponsorship or make it standalone?
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fizzd
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« Reply #17 on: January 01, 2013, 10:01:58 AM »

I... honestly don't know, heh. Being my first game I want to play it safe and keep it a free thing. Maybe go the Canabalt way and have a paid iOS version once the free one gets popular. So yes, free but with web sponsorship. I put it (only the demo that is) up on FlashGameLicense for bidding, but right now it's still pending approval so sponsors can't see the games yet. Honestly don't know how well it's gonna go, and whether the exposure of the demo is a good thing or not. (FGL says sponsors won't take games which have already had exposure, but then again this is a demo we talkin about)

Any thoughts?

This is really, really good. I'm eagerly anticipating a finished version.

Potentially useful difficulty feedback: got a B on the first level (which I only got worse at for some reason... hitting a lot of beats too early), then A ranks on my first plays of all subsequent levels except tier 3 hard. The tier 3 levels were definitely my favourite, though, I liked keeping track of all the concurrent beats... reminded me of Cheer Readers 2, though your take is frankly a lot more elegant. Lastly, on my first attempt at the bonus level I got kind of confused by the rhythm when the chorus kicked in (and failed) but it seemed to work pretty well!

Thanks, you're probably one of the better ones at the game. I'd reckon it's cause you've played the Rhythm Heaven series before - that's as strict a timing as you can get! Nice to have really contrasting opinions on difficulty from people. Yeah fast paced levels like the first one tend to make you hit earlier just as a reflex, the way to correct it is to think of it as slow crotchets ('1,2,3,4!') instead of what the game tricks you into doing with the voices ('1234567!'). That should put you on course for an S rank Wink

Solarlune - thanks, greatly appreciated. Glad you like the graphics, this game is actually the artist's first time doing pixel art so he should be happy with that Smiley
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« Reply #18 on: January 01, 2013, 02:18:03 PM »

You should totally push this to mobile devices, it's great! You might need to fiddle with difficulty settings. I love how "hardcore" the timing is, but I can see casual users giving up quickly.
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« Reply #19 on: January 01, 2013, 07:34:18 PM »

I think you've already gotten enough exposure and probably could garner some more if you use the momentum you have now to promote on other sites beyond indiegames and tig(if you haven't already). You should do fine on FGL although I never use it when I'm looking for sponsorships.

This game would definitely work well for mobile though. I don't know if you coded it using Stage3D/starling but if you did you could probably port it to adobe air with a few command strokes. If not it might be a bit of work.
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