Dynamic Fill Feature for Rhythm Games
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rhythm-action games face challenges in providing dynamic and engaging multiplayer experiences, particularly in maintaining player engagement and varying the play experience when playing the same song multiple times, as existing systems lack mechanisms to adapt gameplay based on player input and provide realistic drum improvisation.
Innovation Solution
A dynamic fill feature for rhythm-action games that uses a simulated drum controller, where a processor selects and alters gameplay elements, such as soundtracks and cues, based on player input, offering variable fills and improvisational sections with different difficulty levels, styles, and synthesizer settings, ensuring a unique experience each playthrough.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a rhythm-action game uses fixed pre-recorded musical compositions with static cues, then the game structure is simple and easy to implement, but the play experience becomes repetitive and lacks engagement when playing the same song multiple times
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically selects and transitions between different fills during gameplay based on performance evaluation. The fill selection is not static but changes in real-time according to player performance, creating variety in the play experience without requiring completely different game structures. This allows the same song to provide different experiences across multiple playthroughs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters of the musical composition by selecting different fills (short musical passages) to replace or supplement portions of the pre-recorded track. By varying which fills are selected and when they are inserted, the system creates multiple valid versions of the same song performance, increasing adaptability while maintaining the base game structure.
2Measurement precision
If the system provides detailed real-time evaluation of player input against pre-recorded cues, then performance accuracy can be measured precisely, but system lag increases and responsiveness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs partial evaluation by focusing on key performance indicators rather than analyzing every single input in detail. It evaluates whether player input substantially matches the expected cues at critical moments, rather than requiring exact timing and precision for every note. This partial evaluation approach maintains measurement precision for scoring while improving system responsiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-processes and prepares fill selections and performance evaluations in advance where possible. By having multiple fills pre-loaded and organized by song and difficulty level, the system can quickly select and transition to appropriate fills without real-time computation delays, maintaining both precision in evaluation and speed in responsiveness.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the game allows free improvisation without structured cues, then player creativity and engagement increase, but the game becomes too difficult to master and lacks consistent evaluation criteria
Solution Approach 1:
The improvisational space is segmented into discrete, selectable fills rather than being completely open-ended. Each fill represents a predefined musical passage with specific characteristics (style, tempo, difficulty). This segmentation provides structure for evaluation while allowing variety in expression, as players can demonstrate skill by selecting and executing appropriate fills within the segmented framework.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides immediate feedback on fill selection and execution, evaluating whether the chosen fill matches the song context, difficulty level, and player skill. This feedback mechanism maintains consistent evaluation criteria by comparing player choices against predefined standards for each song and difficulty level, while still allowing creative freedom in which fills are selected and how they are performed.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure is directed at systems, methods, and apparatus for implementing a rhythm-action game having an improvisational fill feature. The rhythm-action game can provide a musical track having at least one section that can be varied. The rhythm-action game can also provide a database having a plurality of fills, wherein each fill includes a soundtrack and a set of cues. During run-time, the rhythm-action game can select, for each section in the musical track that can be varied, a fill from the plurality of fills. In some embodiments, this selection can be based on various characterizing parameters to ensure that the fill is a good fit for the musical track. The rhythm-action game can also display a set of visual cues associated with the selected fill, and to evaluate whether received user input substantially corresponds to the displayed cues.