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[baconman]

So over Thanksgiving, my brain was babbling 100 ksph, and got me to thinking of a nifty concept I call "the rhythm trigger." What it is, is basically an invisible line/point that travels and wraps around the screen, acting as a reaction trigger in other entities. Well, I suppose the reality of it is that there would be two, one that scrolls/wraps horizontally and one that scrolls/wraps vertically; with the entities themselves programmed to react to alignment with either of them.

There's a number of things this can apply to, like traps and level design widgets, to AI impulses. What all would you do with something like this?

[s0]

doesn't lumines use something like that?

[iffi]

doesn't lumines use something like that?

If I understand the post correctly, Lumines is indeed something like that - the 2x2 blocks that are formed are deleted when the vertical line that travels across the screen touches the blocks, as shown in

.

I think that if you were to use a mechanic like this, it would be better to keep the line(s) visible in some way or another, or else it would likely be difficult to tell what's going on. Just imagine what it would be like if you couldn't see the line in Lumines.

[baconman]

Actually, I've never played Lumines. And in a game like that, it sorta makes sense. But let's say in a normal platformer/adventure game, perhaps that line is what triggers trap sequences, widget actions, or supposedly "impulsive" decisions in the AI.

[tesselode]

I'm not sure how this would benefit the game unless the player was aware of the triggers.

[LuisAnton]

Aren't games like Elite Beat Agents something like that?