Take a peek into the development process of Rhythm Quest by reading through these development log articles!
Devlog 1 - Welcome to Rhythm Quest
A general introduction to the project.
Devlog 2 - Jump Arcs
Using some quadratics to help us create nice jump paths synced to the beat.
Devlog 3 - Flying Mechanic and Level Generation
A preview of a new mechanic, and a look into how levels are built.
Devlog 4 - Music/Game Synchronization
An initial look into how consistent audio/gameplay sync is achieved in Unity.
Devlog 5 - Water/Air Jump Prototyping
Prototypes of some additional gameplay mechanics.
Devlog 6 - Spike/Teleport Enemies Demo
Showing off even more new gameplay mechanics.
Devlog 7 - Build Pipelines
Explaining how the build and deployment process is automated.
Devlog 8 - Menu Rework
Going through some redesigns for the menu screen UI.
Devlog 9 - Settings Menus
Thinking about more UI designs, this time for options and settings.
Devlog 10 - Latency Calibration
Building out a simple but effective latency calibration screen.
Devlog 11 - Odds and Ends
A bunch of miscellaneous work on various things.
Devlog 12 - User Experience Flows
Redesigning a few flows in an attempt to make better UX.
Devlog 13 - Music and Level Design
Some thoughts about how the music and levels are put together.
Devlog 14 - Closed Alpha Test Feedback
Going over feedback from a closed alpha test and the current state of the project.
Devlog 15 - Palette Shaders
Explaining a new shader used to modulate the color palettes of the levels.
Devlog 16 - Level Graphics Experiments
Testing out various changes to the level graphics.
Devlog 17 - Coin Collection System
Coming up with a new gameplay system for in-game coins.
Devlog 18 - Character Unlocks
Building a UI flow for purchasing additional characters.
Devlog 19 - Extra Stage Unlocks
Working on the UI for purchasing bonus stages.
Devlog 20 - Speed Zones
Reworking the water mechanic into a new one.
Devlog 21 - Level Graphics Revamp
Drawing new graphics and effects for most of the stages.
Devlog 22 - Character Animations
Drawing animations for extra unlockable characters.
Devlog 23 - Samurai Shaver
Putting in animations for yet another playable character.
Devlog 24 - Level 1-5, Flying Doublehits
Putting in the last level in world 1, plus a new enemy variant.
Devlog 25 - Gameplay Trailer
Working on a video trailer to showcase the game.
Devlog 26 - Sayuri Animations
Animating a new main character for the game.
Devlog 27 - Level 2-4, 2-5
Adding in a couple new levels to finish off world 2.
Devlog 28 - WebGL Port, Checkpoint Graphics
Taking care of some WebGL issues, and polishing the graphics for checkpoints.
Devlog 29 - Level Select Rework
Reworking the level selection menu into a more visually exciting interface.
Devlog 30 - Enemy Character, More Odds and Ends
Adding another character to the game, and various miscellaneous fixes and tweaks.
Devlog 31 - Steam Page
Putting together the initial Steam page for the game.
Devlog 32 - Jump+Attack Enemies, Too Early/Late Detection
Working on another enemy variant, and a new quality of life feature.
Devlog 33 - World 3 Complete
Adding in more music and backgrounds to finish off world 3.
Devlog 34 - Level 4-1, Water Mechanic
Starting off world 4 by taking another look at the water zone mechanic.
Devlog 35 - Level 4-3
Building out another level, and exploring more charting possibilities for water zones.
Devlog 36 - Level 3-2 Revisited
Restructuring world 3 and replacing a level to shift some mechanics around.
Devlog 37 - Menu Tweaks, Shop Rework
Experimenting with a different approach to accessing the in-game shop.
Devlog 38 - Level 4-2
Putting in another level for world 4, and an update on the in-game shop menu.
Devlog 39 - Demo Build Work
Taking care of some features needed to handle the upcoming free demo build.
Devlog 40 - Particles and Menu Tweaks
Even more cleanup and polish as I try to clean up the demo build.
Devlog 41 - More Demo Polish
Even more polish work for the impending public demo build.
Devlog 42 - Demo Release
Reporting on the release of the free demo after a busy month.
Devlog 43 - Unpause Animation, Bugfixes
A few small updates as I continue to be busy this month.
Devlog 44 - Steam Next Fest
Recapping the Steam Next Fest event.
Devlog 45 - Alpaca, Localizations
A new set of character animations, and lots of work on localizations!
Devlog 46 - Performance Optimizations
Walking through some performance optimizations for Switch.
Devlog 47 - Level 4-4
Finally completing work on another level in world 4!
Devlog 48 - 10k Wishlists, Level 4-5, Localization Updates
Finishing up world 4, and reporting on the latest demo patch.
Devlog 49 - New Promo Art, Other Random Updates
New key art for the game, and updating a bunch of other things here and there.
Devlog 50 - Level 5-1
Starting off world 5 with a new level, defining the visual and musical identity for the world.
Devlog 51 - Levels 5-2, 5-3, 5-4
Lots of more work fleshing out the levels for world 5.
Devlog 52 - Level 5-5
Putting a capstone on world 5 with the final level in the world.
Devlog 53 - Level 6-1
Starting off world 6, which finally introduces the speed zone mechanic.
Devlog 54 - Backdrop Optimizations
Taking a break from levels to implement some fancy performance and memory optimizations.
Devlog 55 - Gamepad Rebinds, Odds and Ends
Working on some miscellaneous backlog items like handling gamepad control rebinding.
Devlog 56 - Gameplay Modifiers and More
Adding additional settings to alter the gameplay in various ways.
Devlog 57 - Level Editor, Scoring Rework
Starting on a level editor system, and reworking how coins and medals are handled!
Devlog 58 - Level Editor Progress
Continuing to work on the level editor.
Devlog 59 - Music Loading, Automatic Beat Detection
Working on the interface for loading music tracks, and delving deep into algorithmic beat detection.
Devlog 60 - Custom Level Browser, Stats/Metadata
Building out a system for browsing custom levels, and continuing to work on the editor.
Devlog 61 - Dotted Yellow Ghosts, More Custom Level Work
Unexpectedly adding a new enemy variant, and continuing to work on custom level functionality.
Devlog 62 - Custom Level Importer
Working on the UI flows and logic for importing custom level packages.
Devlog 63 - Graphics Editing, Boring Gamedev Woes
Adding the ability to switch the graphical theming of custom levels, and fixing a bunch of boring internal engine/plugin woes.
Devlog 64 - Bonus Levels
Working on some unlockable bonus levels, separate from the main ones.
Devlog 65 - More Bonus Levels, Readability Mods
Charting even more bonus levels, and adding some optional visual mods for the game.
Devlog 66 - New Characters, New Companions
Adding some more unlockable characters to the game, as well as a new "companion" system!
Devlog 67 - New Level 6-1, Level Publishing
Adding another level for world 6, and working on the mod.io publishing flow.
Devlog 68 - Rhythm Quest x Mozart, Assist Features
Adding some more bonus levels, and working on assist features to make the game easier.
Devlog 69 - Level 6-3
Working on yet another level for world 6, exploring some more complex rhythmic patterns.
Devlog 70 - Midnight Moon, Rondo Alla Turca
Adding two new bonus levels, and tying up some loose ends here and there.
Devlog 71 - Level 6-4, Even More Bonus Levels
More levels, more levels! Finishing the second-to-last main level in the main game, and adding some more classical pieces.
Devlog 72 - General Improvements and Optimizations
Taking some time away from adding content to focus on various improvements throughout the game.
...more to come...