Car Simulator
by Derek Chung
Demo
Screenshot
About
Car simulator is a game/musical instrument built on the foundations of music theory. You drive the car around and pick up blocks. Each block represents a chord. You can change the key signature and play your own melody. I wanted to create an interactive music game (Eg. piano tiles), but also apply the concepts I'm learning in my other music classes.
Gameplay
Use the WASD keys to drive the car. Use the number keys 1-9 and 0 to change the key. Use the row of keys from C to / to play the piano. Finally, press L to change from major/minor.
Principles
I wanted this to be an ear training game with multiple different aspects of theory involved. First, the speed of the car changes the tempo of the music in the background. Throughout the course, there are rows of 4 blocks. Each row indicates a certain area within a musical phrase (tonic, subdominant, and dominant). Each block within a row is a different chord within the area. The user has the power to create whatever harmonic progression they'd like simply by driving around the course. They can also change the tempo by driving faster/slower, so there is some skill required. However, it's not just harmony that the player has control over. Using the bottom row of keys, the user can create a melody like one would on the piano.
