Included are a full level, which can be accessed by running run2.ck in terminal, and the prototype demo level from the earlier milestones, which can be accessed by running run1.ck.
The prototype level can be messed around with no goal. In the full level, the goal is to return music to the people of the world. Specifically, you must make the people sing a C chord by possessing them. You must navigate through the world, possessing objects and assigning pitches to them as needed to change their properties and advance through the level.
But be wary of the evil rests, which seek to keep the people silent and sad! These nefarious fellows will also kill the Spirit of Music on contact, so avoid contact with them at all costs!
Instructions:
Antinotes Screw People
The main things I added here were the new screw objects, which can create platforms and walls, and the addition of enemy "anti-notes", when they touch the player note you die and are sent back to the start of the level. The original idea behind this was a world without music and that is the story and theming I want to be present throughout the game. To that end, I've added people you can possess. I think the end goal of each level will be returning pitch and color to all the people in the level, perhaps to create a specific chord, which will create the effect of the level gaining more backgroud sound as you progress and literally return music to the world. The anti notes work against you here as well by actually removing sound and color from any people they touch, so they must be defended against. I'm having some trouble with the VoicForm instrument for the people, so I might switch to wav file samples for the singing, I am unsure at this moment. I attempted some code to streamline collisions, as right now I have to manually code in which walls are right walls and which walls are left walls for collision purposes, but my attempt to do so ended in failure.
Spirit of Music
For this milestone, I simply wanted to get basic platforming mechanics and the possession mechanic working in ChuGL. The main challenge here was setting up collisions. I didn’t have enough time to make the spring moving up actually push the player up as well; but the spring still serves its purpose by being able to jump on it while it is elongating. I’m pretty pleased with how the possession mechanic turned out; this is going to be one of the core mechanics so it is good to get it working. It can be seen with the spring. If time permits, I’ll add some more aesthetic flourishes as well, though the minimalistic look also works.
Idea #1: Musical Fighting Game
My first idea is some type of musical fighting game. The theme and motif I’m currently thinking of is a boxing match. In the sketch above, I am using a top down perspective but I think a first person, behind the back view like Punch-Out!, or a 2D view like Street Fighter might also be worth exploring.
I have two ideas for how the “fight” would play out, but I think a sequencer will be involved in both. It could be done in real time, with both players inputting commands into the sequencer as it is played in a scrolling bar fashion, meaning new moves would have to be continuously put in in real time. Each move would have a unique sound associated with it to be played when it is triggered. Instead of real time, each round could have a preparing phase where players input the moves; and then an active phase where they are played and affect the boxing match.
It also could work with one player having the rights to sequence beats and moves, and the other playing having to react to those beats in real time, with control passing off each round or determined by some other factor.
Idea #2: Lightspeed Flight Simulator
I don’t really have as much for this idea, but the core ideas I’m thinking of are speed and flight. I want a fast paced explorative sound box is the core concept. A high tempo flight simulator where crashing into things and impacting objects create sounds, combined with a backing track that could speed up and change pitch based on what direction you’re flying in. The control scheme would utilize a first person camera and you would simply accelerate in the direction you’re looking at. There would be no way to slow down. At some point, the speed would grow to be too much and then perhaps the universe explodes into a black hole before restarting with a big bang event.
Idea #3: Spirit of Music
This is my more narrative game/experience. I am envisioning a silent cityscape in a world where sound and music have been vanquished, and you take control of a little spirit tasked with bringing sound back to the world. The game would begin completely silent, in this soundless, desolate world. Then, the player would appear, a little music note spirit. As they do so, a single, quiet note will begin to play, representing the player. The player would navigate through levels, possessing objects to “bring back music” to them, at which point they would regain color and begin to produce their accompanying sound. It could be a bit of a puzzle platformer game, where the player manipulates sound and music to reach the end of a level. The ultimate goal is to restore music to the entire city, though for the final presentable I would likely only have time to design a few levels.