The Single More Important Aspect Than Rhythm In Rhythm Games

Rhythm is an incredibly strong tool to engage players. This statement can be deconstructed in ways that give me a tremendous amount of self-worth, but let’s keep it simple: rhythm is a very primal pulse which we see and feel in things that are and are not considered musical. Things like game feel, core loop and animation are constructed to create a subconscious rhythmic experience. It’s much like a bass player in a band as in you don’t notice it until it’s missing.

The topic of rhythm became much more relevant a year ago when we decided to start developing Wub Wub Apollo. The presence of rhythm wasn’t a subtlety anymore, instead it is the very core we are building our game around. To nail down this aspect we recruited two external musicians to make sure our music provides a good foundation for “the beat”.

Music, while being the most obvious aspect of a rhythm game isn’t the most important one.

When it comes to games like Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution, the fun comes from the interaction with the music. Player actions should really connect with the rhythm to nail that essential feel of “flow”.

In Wub Wub Apollo rhythm gaming is mixed with 3D platforming. Creating satisfying interaction between the two genres has been very challenging. We settled on a runner style approach since it keeps the gameplay nicely in sync with the music. We thought of a bunch of different moves Apollo could perform and settled with moves that had the most immediate feedback since that’s the best way to connect with the rhythm.

A big problem we are dealing with is maintaining the sync with the gameplay and the music. Apollo must never stop while running, otherwise the sync is lost. Taking damage makes him invulnerable for a moment, getting stuck on terrain is a big no-no, and then there’s the input lag that may need calibrating. This a problem every rhythm game has to deal with, but our mix of genres provides some unique challenges.