SSRG (Sha's Sh*tty Rhythm Game) (2023)
Platforms: Windows
Project Length: ~1 month
Skill Focus: UI & UX Design | Tools Development
Engine and Tools: Java Swing
About
SSRG is a four-lane, tile rhythm game in the style of Piano Tiles or Guitar Hero in which players match button presses to the notes of a song. Notes approach from the top of the screen and move towards the bottom in one of four lanes. The player must press the correct lanes button in time with the note's arrival at the bottom of the screen and are scored on their accuracy. SSRG also includes a level-editor which allows users to create their own song packs that can be shared and played in other players' games.
Features
- Engaging four-lane rhythm gameplay.
- Level editor - ability to create and edit levels.
- Ability to import and export levels.
- Intuitive, interactive menus.
Development History
SSRG was the first game I completed. I don't quite remember where the inspiration to make a rhythm game came from, but I wanted to attempt creating a full game experience with UI/graphics. Prior to this, I had only ever made small text-based games that were interfaced with through the terminal, but SSRG was an opportunity for me to learn UI development.
After constructing the basic gameplay loop, I developed a level-editor to make creating levels easier for myself. Once a handful of levels had been charted, I decided to make the level editor part of the public release so that players too could create levels of their favorite songs.
While I was far too new to game dev (along with unwilling to balloon the project's scope) to make a polished way for songs to be imported/exported, I made sure to include detailed instructions on how to manually locate and add level files to the game's user directory in the project's GitHub. I even had a few friends send me their levels!
Postmortem
SSRG was not only an illuminating first step into UI/graphics development, but also served as an excellent exercise in creating internal and external development tools.