This is the 2nd iteration for the Marching Leading game, where a drummer gives command to a blindfolded person in order to direct him towards a destination.
Compared to the first iteration, there are some slight changes to the commands now. The person lead only moves with the drum roll and stops when the drum isn't beating. More precise directions on how to turn left and right are also added.
The result ->
It seems that having people turn 90 degrees is more intuitive when 45 degrees. That said, this is the first time we have someone running into an obstacle....
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Evelyn Glennie is a deaf percussionist, and this is her lecture on ways to listening to music - other than through the ears, that is.
That remind me of the first time I went to see of performance of Yu Theater. Other than the sound, you could literally feel the vibration in the air as well. Certain parts of the performance also evoked imageries in which the drum sounds transforms into sounds of thunder, rain, and bamboo.
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User test on the gameplay for Stage 7, where the drummer has to use the drum beat to give commands to an army on where they move.
Or, for a more simiplied version, the drummer has to give directions to someone on how to move and where to go, when that person has little idea of the environment within which he is moving.
For this first iteration, I have 4 commands that the drummer can give: Turn Right, Turn Left, Go Forward, and Stop. Once that is established, the one who being lead by the drummer is blindfolded (technically, he has a bag over his head), and the drummer gives commands so that person can reach a given destination.
The general feedback I've got is that the protocol is easy to understand. There are, however, some different interpretations of the same commands; for the next iteration, more precise definitions for the commands are needed.
Other suggetions are that the commands for moving foward and stop can be more intuitive. The test could also be conducted in places outside of school or at places where the subjects aren't too similiar with.
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This project might be my thesis, though I'm also considering other topics.
Nonetheless, there are a few stuff I wanted to try out for this project.
For example: 1) Change the interface of Stage 2 a bit. Namely, make the score move into the playhead as Rockband does.
2) Play around with different media for the drum. Other from the practice pad, that may include: The Wiimote - For which I will need a Bluetooth adaptor and perhaps an IR sensor bar. Scripting languages such as GlovePie allows the Wiimote to be used when playing PC games. Processing and Actionscript appearantly have libraries that can work with Wiimote as well
Midi Drum Machine - Trying to get a Yamaha DD-5...
Taiko no Tatsujin Drum Controller for Wii - I got this in China, which is a quarter of the price for the regular ones (called TaTaCon). It's specifically for the Taiko games.
Normally this should be attatched to the Wiimote. If the Wiimote doesn't work, I will have to hack it by connecting it to Arduino, as some people have done with the Nunchuk.
3) User Test on Game Play Paper prototype, that is. While drums have been known to be used in communication with drum codes similar to Morse code, driving an army with the drum probably can't use a system that complicated.
There is something I want to try out in terms of using the drum to help someone navigate to somewhere.
The subject is blindfolded and needs to move to a specific spot. The drummer, on the other hand, can give instructions to the subject by beating the drum with a drum code as followed:
I also have to get drumming tutor before school starts....
There have been people telling me that instead of having the playhead move, I should follow Rockband's example and have the score run towards a fixed playhead instead....
As my previous post stated, the story for this whole game is divided by episodes. Here's a quick synopsis for each stage.
Stage 1: Beast in the Village Shortly after the Drummer gets his new drum, he immediately has to put his drumming skills into use. A group of boars are spotted near the hero’s village, and they don’t look friendly. All able men are sent to different parts of the village, where they will use their drum beating to drive the boars off, as the villagers has done for generations.
Since it’s the first time the boy attends such missions, he is to guard a post where boars are not spotted yet and warn the others when something else happens.
Time passes idly as the boy guards his post. He then notices a rustle in the woods. When he approaches to inspect, he bumps into a boar resting inside the bushes; to make things worst, he has accidentally stepped on its tail.
The boar gives the boy a good charge in the front; luckily, the drum hanging on his front acts as a cushion and reduces the concussion. As the boy falls to the ground, he notices some commotion from his drum. To his surprise, a fuming little Drum Spirit pops out from the drum.
The first thing the Spirit does is castigating the boy for nearly damaging the drum. With the still aggravated boar around, he then tells the boy that most animals are scared of the drum’s sound. The boy will have to use his drum to drive away the beast. Game Play: This stage is about the frequency and volume of the drum beating. In order to appear imposing over the beast, the hero needs to beat the drum in order to increase his vigor. Louder beatings increase more vigor, while faster beatings allow faster increase of vigor.
During the game, the hero stands in front of his village, while the beast attempts to charge towards the village from the other end. In order to drive the beast away, the hero needs to sustain a certain amount of vigor to drive the beast backwards, and eventually back to the forest.
Stage 2: Scarecrows The hero arrives at a village, where the villagers are currently harvesting their crops. The villagers are currently troubled with the voracious crows that have been praying on their grains, and ask the hero to help them drive the crows away while they harvest their crops.
Game Play: The field starts off with a certain amount of grains on their crops. Crows will attempt to land on the field and steal grains from the crops, but will fly away if the player approaches with his drum beating.
This will proceed in first-shooter perspective, where the user can move left and right across the field by beating the shell instead of the head.
The crows might launch a raid in groups, where a stronger and more intense beat is requires to scare them away.
The player wins when, after a given time period, he succeeded in keeping a certain amount of grain safe from the crows.
Notes: There are those who felt the concept of using the drum for agricultural purpose is not interesting enough. My concern, however, is whether or not the gameplay can be used in later scenarios, where the Drummer has to use his drumming to drive away a group of entities.
Stage 3: Dragon Boat Festival The hero needed to travel down the river, but the port is now busy over the Dragon Boat Race.
A paddler from one of the team approached the hero and offered give him a lift under one condition: he will have to stand in as their team's drummer, who couldn't attend the race due to illness. After 2 days of crash-course training with the team, the day of the race has finally arrived….
Game Play: The player's team competes with one or more opposing teams. The boat's speed depends on the paddlers' speed of paddling, which is subject to the player's drum performance. A faster beat will tell the paddlers to paddle faster.
On the other hand, the player also has to pay attention to his team's stamina condition (indicated by another meter). If the paddlers are exhausted, they will not be able to perform up to a drum beating that is too fast - or may not be able to paddle at all.
The player wins when his team reaches the finished line before other teams.
Stage 4: The Exorcist Unable to reach the next town during the day, the hero had to spend the night at a deserted temple. He was not alone; there are other travelers who are also spending the night in the temple.
During the night, however, the hero felt an eerie presence, and the other travelers started to display disturbing behaviors. The only person who appears unaffected is a Taoist Monk, who informs the hero that the other are possessed by the evil spirits residing in the temple. He, unfortunately, was unable to overcome the evil spirits alone.
The Drum Spirit then told the hero that the drum has the power to frighten evil spirits, and suggested that he perform with the monk's assistance.
Game Play: The objective of the game is to drive away the evil spirits possessing the other travelers.
The method will probably be similar as the scarecrow stage, except it will take longer drumbeats to drive the evil spirits away from their victims.
The player wins when he successfully freed all travelers from the evil spirits.
Stage 5: Rain Wishers The hero made it to a village near the desert, and he stayed over at a peasant's home. There, he learned that the drought this year had been particularly long. At this rate, the crops will fail.
The Drum Spirit told the hero that there is a tone which can evoke a lower Dragon deity to appear and shed some rain. To repay the villagers' hospitality, the hero attempts to use his drumming to conjure some rain.
Game Play: The best game play I can think of so far is one similar to Taiko Tatsujin and Rockband, where the player has to beat the drum according to a given score.
Stage 6: Talking Drum The hero was traveling across a plain when a military officer demanded for his assistance. He belonged to a scouting team from a nearby fortress. Having discovered traces of enemies heading towards the fortress, it was too late to send a messenger and warn the fortress.
Instead, the hero must warn the people in the fortress with his drumming, using a drum code that the military used to communicate with each other.
Game Play: This will be similar to transmitting a Morse code. The player is given 5 beating patterns, which later he has to repeat.
The player wins when he can re-perform the patterns with few or no mistakes.
Note: Technically speaking, this should probably be less like Rockband. Instead of performing to a fixed score, it's more important to catch rudiment patterns such as a quick beat or a roll.
Stage 7: The Army March Thanks to the hero's performance, the fortress managed to hold off the intruding army. The general at the fortress, however, revealed that his own war drum was rendered unusable after the last battle. He therefore ask the hero to accompany the army into battle.
The hero was left with little choice, as he couldn't travel any further through a warzone either.
Game Play: Similar with the previous stage, the players are given several beating patterns that stand for different commands (which includes advance, stay still, retreat, etc.) There are also tunes that will bestir bravery within the troops, allowing them to advance with boosted drives or withstand offense with more resilience.
Note: I'm not sure if the way the Drummer drums out a command to the army should be similar to Stage 6's Morse Code. In a situation such as a battlefield, the drumming patterns should probably be short and easy to remember. The gameplay will also involve how the armies fight each other when they came into close contact and how one side can defeat the other.
Stage 8: Covert The Drum Spirit told the hero that they will need to sneak into a city under the enemy's territory. Feeling wary, the hero went forth with the suggestion and snuck in with the general's assistance.
In the city, the hero encountered a group of people persecuted by the magistrate of the city. They were about to make their escape soon, but amongst them was a pregnant woman in labor.
They had hid themselves near a deserted house near the bazaar, where a festival was taking place. With the guards still on their tails, the refugees feared the woman's cry would expose their position. They implored the hero to concealing their position with his drumming, wishing the drum beating would drown the woman's cry.
Given that the celebration outside is filled with drummers, the hero can blend in with little difficulty. He will need to perform a sound loud enough to suppress the woman's cry, while at the same time not appear suspicious to the guards nearby.
Game Play: Like the Rain Wishing stage, a score of music needs to be performed. This is so that the hero will appear to be performing for the festival.
However, volume will also determine whether the player can conceal the refugee's whereabouts.
The player wins if he can perform the score with little mistake and maintain a level of volume.
Stage 9: Scrapped Up Drum While successfully assisting the refugees in their escape, the hero was captured by the guards. Further yet, his drum was confiscated, separating him from the Drum Spirit as well.
In his prison cell, the hero met a mad man, who turns out to be the previous war drummer in the fortress.
The hero and madman later broke out of prison together. However, the ero felt uneasy to leave his drum behind in the city, so the madman suggested searching his drum with drumming; the resonance will help to locate the Drum Spirit. That, of course, means the hero will have to find a drum first, even with an unconventional one.
Notes: I'm still struggling over how to simulate the experience of drumming with objects other than a real drum. Think of the Steel Band, where oil barrells and cooking utilities are transformed into drums.
After many failed attempts with the Piezo, I asked for help from Joel Murphy and the people of Super Uber. Both of them suggested me to use a microphone instead.
In this case, the microphone embedded in the drum pad can connect to the PC directly through a phone plug.
The microphone can pick up the volume of the drumbeats. The fact that it's inside the drum pad also helps eliminating audio input that doesn't result from the drum beating.
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