Fantastic Beats and Where To Find Them
By Callum Fraser and Salma Abou Elenin
Play it online: https://salmaae.itch.io/fantastic-beats
Fantastic Beats was a Unity game created for my Video Games Development module in my third year of university at the University of Kent, created in a pair with Salma Abou Elenin. Within the space of three months, I learned how to program in Unity using C# from the ground up, basic game theory and development cycles, and content creation suitable for video games (such as graphics, music, and controller support).
I completed this module with a first grade, assessed on programming, quality, time management, and final product.
Starting Idea
I came up with the concept of using a rock-paper-scissors approach to combat, replacing it with sword, shield, and healing potion. Sword beats healing potion (attacked while drinking), healing potion beats shield (healing while opponent defends), and shield beats sword (defending from attack). This idea didn't change throughout development.
A narrative was conceptualised to justify the player's engagement with the story, and a gameplay loop was originally designed to make the player encounter enemies in a grid map environment, devoid of colour. If they won the battle, they would "colour" that section of the grid map, with the intent of filling the world with colour.
We moved away from a narrative and the grid map idea to focus on fleshing out the core gameplay and save production time for programming, asset development, bug fixing, and final polish before submission.
Team Assignments
Throughout development, Salma and I took part in producing every aspect of the video game. However, we decided on the final description for our contributing roles to the project:
Callum: All Music, Lead Programmer (Combat, Rhythm Bar, Gameplay), Character Art (Protagonist, Scarecrow, Knight, Goblin), Combat Icons, Backgrounds (Main Menu, Tutorial, Meadow), Debugging.
Salma: Leap Motion Controller Programming, Character Art (Ghost, Demon), Backgrounds (Volcano, Spooky Forest, Forest), Map UI, Web Porting, Debugging, Game Over Graphics, Misc Buttons, How To Play Screen.
Programming Implementation
To facilitate combat flow, I programmed and created a combat bar, which tracks in time with the music and places "moves" on the bar to visualise the flow of combat in time with rhythm. I also programmed the tutorial level to guide audiences in time with the rhythm.
Gameplay features - such as extra beat moves, mystery moves, were added once I programmed a reliable system for determining how the combat bar placed moves in time with the rhythm. The final version of the project features a main script where values for each level can be adjusted for combat speed, animation speed, when the song ends (based on how many bars of music have passed), and the chances of gameplay features happening to a move.
Graphical Asset Implementation
Throughout development, we maintained a pixelated style inspired by the chiptune genre we chose. to All six characters had four key animations with four frames each: idle, attack, defend, and heal. Six backgrounds were designed, one of which was animated (the main menu background). Development of the combat icons didn't change much from their original conception, and I ensured they followed a key visual code using colour to help players associate the correct move to the enemy's moves.
Musical Implementation
I had previous experience making chiptune music and created all of the music tracks for the game. These tracks are available to listen below. The lengths of tracks were kept relatively short so that players wouldn't get fatigued or bored listening to the music. They were also kept relatively simple and relied on musical hooks, as I didn't want to complicate the gameplay experience with complex music.
As players progressed through the levels, the music track would increase in tempo to lend to the rhythmic challenge of the game. For the final level, I used a rock-genre theme of music to lend to the idea that the final boss was going to be intense.
Tutorial Level Music (60 bpm)
To structure the tutorial, I introduced a new instrument every time the tutorial introduced a new move type. Then, I changed the song up when the move types were combined.
Level One Music (Meadow - 78 bpm)
Level Two Music (Forest - 82 bpm)
Level Three Music (Dark Forest - 84 bpm)
Level Four Music (Volcano - 85 bpm)
LEAP Motion Support
We programmed LEAP Motion support into the game as a way to improve player engagement and accessibility. Originally, we wanted to use the motion sensor to track three fingers tapping, corresponding to the type of move the player wanted to play. However, the sensor had trouble tracking finger tapping, so instead we tracked player hand movement over the sensor and mapped this to a choice of moves that the player could move their hand and choose from during gameplay. This encouraged active engagement with the videogame and was received positively by playtesters.
