Fused Finale

by ACWraith
Fused Finale
Guide travellers to the warp gate with procedurally generated rhythm.

About Fused Finale

ID:102001
 
Sep 11 2010, 9:00 pm
You can gain in-game benefits in Fused Finale and other games through Fooldom Come!

Fused Finale won 2nd place in BYOND Casual's Imagination Competition!

I hate my job and my immobility. I prefer to sing.

I am the AI fused to the ceiling. I manage the four scanners of the warp gate. I make travel safe for both the organic and the synthetic in what management hopes is an energy efficient manner.

Both injuries and wasted energy lower my productivity rating. Threats of lawsuits force management to run diagnostics after we close. I shut up and listen, but they're just trying to confuse me. Though it lets me keep singing, I will inevitably be dismantled.

I'd rather go out with style.


Subscribers can start on any level they have experienced and their high scores for each will be saved.
Sep 16 2010, 7:05 pm
It's very hard to time anything when they turn one tile away from the end.
Sep 16 2010, 9:40 pm
Thank you. I'll keep it in mind when designing new maps. =)

Originally, there was only the map with 4 paths. I added the rest in an update to provide a more gradual difficulty curve. I paid attention the the number of paths and how long they were. However, I'm probably still not aware of the full set of attributes to consider.
Sep 19 2010, 6:42 am
On the level where ther are three paths and they turn right at the last tile, you should change it so they don't turn to go inside the white thing because it messes up the sensitivity.It looks like they are in the in one block but in reality they are still outside of the block.
Sep 19 2010, 7:04 am
I'm looking into changing it, but the Imagination Competition ends today so I don't think it's fair to mess with it until the judging is done. I would have edited it yesterday, but I was too attached to the idea of keeping the path lengths the same and didn't have room. I did remove that issue from the first map with two paths though.
Sep 20 2010, 8:01 pm
With the Imagination Competition deadline extended, I managed a quick update. There are no maps with that issue anymore. Enjoy. =)
Dec 16 2010, 3:49 pm (Edited on Dec 16 2010, 3:54 pm)
Your interface kicks butt. I love it. Sounds go so well with it. It was a little confusing though. Hard to tell where you would go without studying it.

In the game, I was clueless how to play or which way the arrows needed to go even though I had an idea that I needed to do something about the time the things reached the middle. The arrows made sense but not much else does.

When it got to the doubles, it only seemed to work half the time and I got dinged the other half.

I felt that the rounds were way to long. I might suggest 10-20ish note rounds and 3 rounds per map or something. You could end up with the same amount of notes but you would feel like your progressing instead of waiting for the round to just end.

Oh... I think the game concept is terrific and has a good deal of potential.

I agree with others about the last minute turns. That should be reserved for higher levels or something.

A couple more suggestions..
- Change it so there is an obvious hit zone in the pathway. Instead of the speak/diamond thing, perhaps a circle or a rectangle with <<< or something.
- Consider variable speed objects at higher levels
- Consider crossing paths (figure 8s)
- Consider a special pathway block which occasionally randomizes the direction of an arrow.
- For the first couple of levels (as far as I made it my first game) it seemed as if all the arrows faced the same way depending on the entrance. I could be wrong about that. seems like they should have random directions. Perhaps I didn't make it far enough.
- Give me a dropbox share and I'll add some of this stuff for you. ;)

[edit] - I missed the tutorial screen my first time around. I think there is a good 2 second delay before the screen shows so you click the up arrow twice and perhaps skip it.

- I dont understand this: "Repeat the patterns when surrounded"

- ah.. just found the introduction after screwing around with the navigation system again.

- Never noticed the health bar on the right. Very subtle.

- Having the 4 arrow keys showing you can use any to proceed is slightly confusing because you don't know if clicking in one direction will give you a different result compared with another. Try... "Hit any key to continue?"
Dec 16 2010, 4:29 pm (Edited on Dec 16 2010, 4:35 pm)
@Tsfreaks:

[Edit: Sorry, I write slow and missed your edit.]

Did you read the introduction in the menu or the summary that pops up before the first level? You tap towards the red organics and away from the blue synthetics as they pass over one of the four scanners (little diamonds).

You don't need to click the arrows. They're automatic. You're supposed to memorize them. They mark which one of the "doubles" is real. Tapping any other one is a failure.

I also think the rounds are too long. The next version makes the durations increase more slowly, but it still might not be short enough. I built the levels based on songs like a standard rhythm game rather than the bite-sized Williams-era arcade influences I tend to favor. The songs have variable timings and structures. For balance between players, I use a common denominator to keep the durations roughly even. Unfortunately, it doesn't make them brief.

Most of the last minute turns were already removed, but it appears I missed some in the 4th map. That will be fixed in the next update. =)
Dec 16 2010, 4:43 pm
ACWraith wrote:
@Tsfreaks:

[Edit: Sorry, I write slow and missed your edit.]

Sorry for editing. :)

Did you read the introduction in the menu or the summary that pops up before the first level? You tap towards the red organics and away from the blue synthetics as they pass over one of the four scanners (little diamonds).

I get that part.

You don't need to click the arrows. They're automatic. You're supposed to memorize them. They mark which one of the "doubles" is real. Tapping any other one is a failure.

heh... perhaps I'm a little slow. I get that there are fakes now but I still don't understand what the indicator is. I'm trying to play it some more (was afk since posting) but your game tanked my windows sound for some reason. May have to reboot. Sounds work in everything else except your game and my taskbar for sound icon is producing errors when I click on it. Not sure what to make of it. It's happened with other BYOND games though.

I also think the rounds are too long. The next version makes the durations increase more slowly, but it still might not be short enough. I built the levels based on songs like a standard rhythm game rather than the bite-sized Williams-era arcade influences I tend to favor. The songs have variable timings and structures. For balance between players, I use a common denominator to keep the durations roughly even. Unfortunately, it doesn't make them brief.

Most of the last minute turns were already removed, but it appears I missed some in the 4th map. That will be fixed in the next update. =)

How long should a song be? Can I submit a song?
Dec 16 2010, 5:03 pm
@Tsfreaks:
"I get that there are fakes now but I still don't understand what the indicator is."

The arrows are the indicators. Remember the sequence of arrows and then repeat it when the clones come.

"How long should a song be? Can I submit a song?"

No. The songs are procedurally generated right before every level. It's pretty much the point of the project. I'm saying that the rules I use in that creation currently limit the brevity.
Dec 16 2010, 5:34 pm
ACWraith wrote:
@Tsfreaks:
"I get that there are fakes now but I still don't understand what the indicator is."

The arrows are the indicators. Remember the sequence of arrows and then repeat it when the clones come.

ok. On level 2, its like 5 minutes of hitting <- and -> over and over. I think level 2 should be about 1 minute of singles mixed with a few doubles.

Speaking of doubles, they all come down the path like doubles but when they turn they become offset a little which makes it nearly impossible to time it just right. Your talking about having to make a split second decision for which stagger direction you do.
"How long should a song be? Can I submit a song?"

No. The songs are procedurally generated right before every level. It's pretty much the point of the project. I'm saying that the rules I use in that creation currently limit the brevity.

Oh. Do you actually mention that anywhere? I may have missed it.
Dec 16 2010, 5:55 pm (Edited on Dec 16 2010, 6:16 pm)
[edit] - By the way, feel free to nuke these comments when you're done with them.


The game ended and I was in the middle of pounding on my arrow keys and your interface design through me right back into a new game in a blink of an eye so I didn't get to relish in my score.

I've always appreciated your abstract art and approaches in your games.

As I'm playing this, I can't help but think of a some other ideas for a less "abstract" version. This core concept of button mashing in the middle of a maze might be fun without the additional logic and beat matching. It would be far from original though.

I may toy with the idea some. lol... I hate the shadiness that comes with being inspired by another persons work that isn't a stranger to you. I also hate that people don't share projects because I know my intentions are solid gold but when I ask myself if I would share my half written project with some half-stranger, my immediate thought is, no way. Why would I give them all my hard work and "potential". Funny Brain.

Anyway, in short. I think this is pretty neat and inspiring although, I honestly don't get the significance of the generated music. I can't really hear any rhythm or sync'ing of beats going on.

ts
Dec 16 2010, 7:44 pm
@Tsfreaks:
I don't know if it will make it in the next version, but I'm thinking of adding a new mechanic that makes occasional use of the space bar. If so, I can make that the button to confirm menu navigation as well. That might help you avoid skipping things. =)

"I can't really hear any rhythm or sync'ing of beats going on."

It's there, but the mixed time signatures might make the repetition of drum clanks and splats difficult to sense without knowing the structure. Meanwhile, the notes follow round-based harmonies rather than any one melody so none of it sounds traditional. I think it fits as a science fiction soundtrack for the setting. *shrug*

Ever hear a choir sing "Frere Jacques" or "Row, Row Row Your Boat" in time-offset layers? Picture that with more variations added to each new layer.

As for the significance, I'm sort of trying to figure out how to make a rhythm action game work with raw mechanics rather than familiarity with the soundtrack. Many games in the genre seem to thrive on nostalgia, but I don't find their actual gameplay appealing.
Dec 19 2010, 6:56 am
Finally figured out the whole pattern matching thing. :)

I noticed my health bar was acting pretty wonky. At one point, I had the #1 down there and the bar was fully white. I took a hit, and it went down to nearly the bottom.

On or around lvl 3 or 4, the level is clipped. Not sure if that was by design or not. This screen shows the high health bar when I only had 1-2 hits left as well.


Dec 19 2010, 9:54 am
@PopLava: You might be seeing that higher levels cause more damage. Also, the meter starts from the bottom again when it passes the top.

The top and bottom row of tiles are clipped on every level. The third map just happens to have the warp a tile lower. Check the Screenshots page. =)
Dec 19 2010, 10:16 am
The top and bottom row of tiles are clipped on every level. The third map just happens to have the warp a tile lower. Check the Screenshots page. =)

ah... funny I didn't notice that... prolly not until I was looking at the bottom of the health bar.