Rhythm/Music gameplay within an RPG...??

[Reapergurl]

A few years back, a friend of mine who is also a game developer had a wild idea of characters from an RPG being in a rock band, and actually having gameplay in the game much similar to (if not the same as) Guitar Hero or Rock Band, and though I never thought too much about it, it made me wonder if anyone had ever tried to implement such gameplay sub-mechanics.


I've played Rock Band, Guitar Hero and the PC adaptation of these engines by the name of Frets on Fire (not extensively but enough), and wonder if such sub-mechanics would be even remotely possible within an already complex game such as an RPG...


Any thoughts?

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Possible, yes. I've not yet seen anyone do it though

 

[Dr. Delibird]

Possible? Of course! 


There are a few scripts out there that work on using precise button presses in a row at varying or same paces (Mog has a few scripts for this). Whether or not you can use existing scripts to make a rythem based game I have no idea since I have not tried to do so.

 

[Harosata]

Hm, Final Fantasy Theatrhythm and Harmonix Knight (both 3/DS) both remind me of a fantasy adventure that meshes with rhythm...but both technically do not follow RPG rules since each song is a stage.  There's also that other DS game that's a platformer/fighter that lets you customize a finisher to make it sound pretty.  Closest I can think of that combines beats with RPG is Earthbound 3 (a mechanic to add extra hits with guitar twanging).


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Well, there was an old game on Android that I have trouble finding now, but in a sense, it was like an RPG.   If I recall, you could equip things to increase your health and attack, and you could equip three tracks that deal damage or heal you.  I believe the combat system went back and forth, one of their tracks then one of your tracks, pressing buttons to match the current track.


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Anyway, I guess people like button-mashing though I don't think 1-minute tracks make for a standard battle.  Maybe snippets of a song for normal battles and then the full song as a boss battle.


Or perhaps a regular RPG starring a band:  each skill is a piece of a song, and with a Combine Skill script, the pieces merge to become a stronger song.  Might need some variables to lower the value of the super-song so that there aren't any repeat performances (I think there's a Rampaging Skill script here to help with that).

 

[Wavelength]

Puzzle Quest uses Match-3 mechanics as the core of its combat system, and it was a moderate success, and if that's not a hint that anything can be used as a core mechanic in an RPG, then I don't know what is!  It's possible, and it's feasible.


You just need to put a lot of effort into making sure that the theme and flow of the game are appropriate for the type of "battle" mechanic that you choose.  Obviously, characters dancing isn't an appropriate battle system for a serious game about epic wars.  You might be able to transform DDR gameplay into some kind of "swordfighting" or "magic duels" mechanic for a serious game about epic wars, or you might be able to have players dance to save the world in a very tongue-in-cheek game like Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents.  In either case, the flow of the game would have to be carefully streamlined (e.g. you don't want to play through a 60-second song every 20 steps you take in a dungeon).

 

[Reapergurl]

My friend called me this morning, and when I told her about this, well...


Let's just say that she wasn't too pleased...and I still have ringing in my left ear.


But now that I think about it, I believe she had envisioned it as a non-battle scenario, but more like something that would be done on the side, or something like that. Or something to keep a business going when battles were not happening... @.@


Of course, I wasn't looking to implement this in any way, it was a bit of curiosity I had (and a lot of screaming in my ear for sharing what I had forgotten was a private thought-oops)...

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

You can implement it as non-battle... You can implement it anywhere... As long as you can code it

 

[Reapergurl]

You can implement it as non-battle... You can implement it anywhere... As long as you can code it

Of course, if I wanted it to look like this...


Example of Gaming Scenario


It would require more than just code...

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

well, your question was if it's possible and we told you that it is.. so I kinda don't know why your friend was not pleased

 

[Reapergurl]

well, your question was if it's possible and we told you that it is.. so I kinda don't know why your friend was not pleased

Because my friend is weird and she had told me a private thought which I had forgotten was a private thought...


Hormone Replacement Therapy has made her quite *****y (which is rather nicely put considering)...


I also think the context of the responses threw her off (don't ask, it's better we DON'T know)...

 

[Crabs]

Check this plugin


https://atelierrgss.wordpress.com/rmv-theatrhythm/


It's for RMMV. I never tested it, but I think it's something like this you are looking for. 


You can study the code to learn how you can implement this kind of mechanic.

 

[LaFlibuste]

Honestly it pretty much sounds like a big gameplay feature, I'm not sure I'd do it as a mini-game thing on the side, I'd rather integrate it as a core feature. Maybe replace battles with songs? Or the skills you use in battle are party-wide bits of song you have to perform. hitting/missing notes could result in the party's characters receiving damage/dealing damage to the opponent, who would be fighting back or whatever. The different songs you could pick could have different effects, elemental properties, etc. Think of  more elaborate, less RPG-y but more music-y Legend of the Dragoons battle system... It could work and could be integrated within pretty much any kind of setting if done right.

 

[Reapergurl]

Check this plugin


https://atelierrgss.wordpress.com/rmv-theatrhythm/


It's for RMMV. I never tested it, but I think it's something like this you are looking for. 


You can study the code to learn how you can implement this kind of mechanic.

I never played Theatrhythm, so that was new to me, but it looked pretty cool. Kinda reminds me a bit of Rock Band Unplugged for PSP/Go or Rock Band Blitz for PS3/X360, the way the notes come at different characters.

Honestly it pretty much sounds like a big gameplay feature, I'm not sure I'd do it as a mini-game thing on the side, I'd rather integrate it as a core feature. Maybe replace battles with songs? Or the skills you use in battle are party-wide bits of song you have to perform. hitting/missing notes could result in the party's characters receiving damage/dealing damage to the opponent, who would be fighting back or whatever. The different songs you could pick could have different effects, elemental properties, etc. Think of  more elaborate, less RPG-y but more music-y Legend of the Dragoons battle system... It could work and could be integrated within pretty much any kind of setting if done right.

I see. Though I've no real intentions of actually doing this myself, it seems the consensus is that it is better off as a battle-type system.


Seems my friend knew that this sort of discussion would lead this way; she gave me a bruise on my knee for it (I guess some dreams are best kept to one self)...

 

[Dr. Delibird]

@Reapergurl it is actually doable as a mini game type system. It's just that it would be a lot of work for a mini game (that's not a bad thing).

 

[Reapergurl]

@Dr. Delibird <---- (I literally just figured that out just now - fml)


I can only imagine. I'd probably have six people or more helping me with that alone (I'd need graphics help for which I'm a klutz with artistry).


Hell, my trigger fingers keep clicking while I'm trying to draw with a mouse in any graphics program...lol


Oh, and then there's these people, going door to door right now, wanting to sing songs for a holiday I haven't celebrated since before I hit puberty...


It drives me crazy and I can't think. Like now, I hear them down the street (it's f*ckawful), and I just started writing again. Now I have a mental block,


and because I don't want them to come to my door (again), I can't play any loud music or show any signs that I'm home...


I'll even be turning off all my monitors to ensure they don't think I'm home (I've literally no other lights on except a candle lit in the living room).


Anyway...oh yeah. My friend seems to believe that there was one game that had this as a secondary system. I don't think I ever got that far in


Chrono Cross, but there's supposed to be some sort of concert that you play or something (I know that there are a few characters that are


a part of a band that you can play as depending on the choices you make).

 

[Dr. Delibird]

@Reapergurl yeah those people can get anoying.


Anwho I have played a couple of games with this thrown in a side system or mini game but I cannot think of their names off of the top of my head. Also PM me about the graphics if you want, I may or may not be able to help you lol