Unity3D Mini-Rhythm Game
The Sage's Song is a short music-themed action video game part of Catalist: Prologue, an interactive comic. Travel to a magical world filled with fantastical Cats, music, and drama. Players meet Hal and listen to his song as he comes to grips with adulthood and responsibilities.
The game starts with the camera panning over a night sky of the world of Catalist. Fireworks launch over a distant castle as our hero Hal is sitting alone on a log with his pet dog, Tank. Hal laments about not participating in the talent show and that no one understands him. Hal starts to play a song on his keyboard to express his feelings.
Gameplay
Rhythm game is a music-themed action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. The Sage’s Song requires players to press buttons in a sequence as dictated on the screen. The game's protagonist Hal plays his instrument correctly, which increases the player's score.
Inspiration
The objective was to design a game late-90s home game console look and feel. This nostalgic played into Hal’s character design and remind players of hit games like Parappa the Rapper, Zelda: Mask of Majora and Gitaroo Man.
Original Soundtrack and Sound Design
Soundtrack and design for The Sage’s Song was vital for the development of the character and gameplay. Working with Johnny Mackay aka Lord Fascinator, we wanted to develop something with hard notes and instruments that mimicked the written lyrics, similar to Vocaloids.
“Down” Lyrics
I don’t know what to do
Everytime I try to see the sun it looks blue
You don’t understand all the things I been through
Hop off my back you crazy kangaroo
I do my 2 step and I try to make a move
Then I sit back down cause I ain't in the mood
It feels so rainy inside my head
Cold teardrops every time I go to bed
I get up to lay down then lay down to get up
My day seem wet up nutn but dark clouds
I keep my head down like the barnyard cows
Chilling in the dark like the neighborhood owl
It hurts in my heart like oooww
They said cheer up I said not now
And if I wanted I don't even know-how
Like an alleyway cat too sad to say meow
I'm not your happy go lucky
Yellow sunshine rubbaducky
Right now ain't feeling so lucky
I got the saddest frown all rain no sunny
CHORUS:
No smile no sunshine
No happy thoughts in my mind
I'm felling down down down down down (rep)
BRIDGE:
Raindrops keep falling on my head, falling on my head, falling on my head
Don't look so good cause im feeling so bad
I can find words so I put it in the bag
I don't need a face napkin I need a rag
I'm the sad face just a poor scallywag
I keep fighting to control emotions
But it's not a smoothe feeling like lotions
I'm in the deep blue sea no dolphins
Can't clean this feeling away like flossing
No room to spare no smile to share
Oh what a bummer but I wonder who cares
I'm the only one chilling in my dark cottage
Trying to get my mind right with all this baggage
I don't even have the appetite fa this porridge
Give me a horse and a carriage
My heads steaming like cabbage
Cheer me up or vanish
CHORUS:
No smile no sunshine
No happy thoughts in my mind
I'm felling down down down down down (rep)
3D Assets
Low poly is a polygon mesh in 3D that has a relatively small number of polygons. The mesh is an important factor to optimize for performance but can also giving the game a late 90s style.
Character Design
2D Assets
User Interfaces & HUD
The way in which the game communicates and interacts with the player is extremely important. User Interfaces (UIs) and Heads-up Displays (HUDs) are the game’s way of providing information to the player and in some cases allowing the player to interact with the game. The Interface is used to convey combo multipliers, score and a means of prompting the user for directed input.
Static User Interface designed for the game starts up, and the pause menu and final score rating are poppy and command to be interacted with. Other UIs during play like dialog and direction commands allow the player to focus on them using key commands.
Typography
The typography for the game needed to mesh with the general game mood and art direction. Unable to find a font for the game, we developed the typeface ‘Country Cat’.
2D Character Sprites
Concept Art
Concept Art: Kevin Hong
Concept Art: Natali Koromoto
Client: The Boss Cat LLC
Software: Illustrator, Photoshop, Keynote, Blender, and Unity3D
Roles: Creative Director, Copywriting, User-interface, User-experience, Interactive Design, Production, Graphic Design
Additional Credits
Writing and Creative Direction: Daniel St George
Programming: Dream Harvesters
User-experience: Daniel St George and Dream Harvesters
Character Design: Daniel St George, Jen Lee and Katherine Diaz
2D Assets: Daniel St George and Kanesha Bryan
3D Models: Katherine Diaz
User-interface: Daniel St George and Kentaro "ANI" Fujimoto
Music and Sound Design: Johnny Mackay
Lyrics: Daniel St George and Supatrubolocity