I won’t lie: I love music based games. Once I seen the cover of this one, I knew I had to make it a reality.
So far, I’m still playing with various ideas, but I have decided that I will use Java as the programming language because: a) It’s cross platform b) I know how to use it i) I have created applets before, allowing it to be published on the web ii) I have played around with midi, allowing me to create the sounds needed for this game c) I can use any machine around my house (unlike flash, which comes with difficulties in Linux development)
Hopefully, I’ll have some of the game fleshed out by the end of this week.
I decided for time purposes to not use Java, and instead use python/pygame. I still achieve cross-platform development and deployment, but I also have access to a game library I know how to use effectively that has midi capabilities.
As for the game itself, I’m still toying with the idea. I was originally thinking of having a maestro cat who trains the notes on how to play their parts, but after looking at the cover again, I decided that the ‘notes’ were the bad guys (possibly minions of the dark cat). So, I’m re-looking the concept again.
I’ve been playing at the concept some more, and this is what I have: Basically, you tap the rhythm on your keyboard (I’m thinking just the spacebar for now) to match the red keys on the piano that scrolls by (Every quarter note on easy, eighth note on medium, and sixteenth note on hard). As you hit the notes at the right time, the clouds go away. Miss them, and the clouds turn day to night. If it’s fully night, game over (the evil cat swoops the screen). I was thinking about having some of the minions (the evil notes) on the piano as an obstacle you have to jump over, but I think I’ll leave them out.
I haven’t used pygame for years (apart from a couple of internal puzzle testbeds last summer) The last time I used it to create a proper game running it through py2exe and py2app was really broken so I really hope that’s fixed to maximise the number of people who get to play your game.
Sounds like a really old school game idea and I’m looking forward to having a play.
