BoomChaCha!
Introduction
BoomChaCha! is a multiplayer rhythm game written in Processing, played by waving physical weapons: a sword, a shield and a wand, meaning an Attacker, a Defender and a Healer, which is pretty similar to the classic DPS / Tank / Healer model.
Sword, shield, wand
Classic “tank, healer, dps” model
The musical part is, it is a weird 6/8 beat rhythm game and you gotta start with the acting player at the 1/8 beat. But fighting alone is weak.
Fighting alone is weak
The collaboration is powerful, meaning that the acting player could be supported. If followed by two other players at 2/8 and 3/8 beats, then the power is maxed up, so you can attack efficiently, defend perfectly or heal a decent amount altogether.
Powerful “Boom! Cha! Cha!” collaboration
CHI 2016 Student Game Competition
The game was among top 3 finalists for “Innovative Game Design” in the CHI 2016 Student Game Competition.
Paper: BoomChaCha: a Rhythm-based, Physical Role-Playing Game that Facilitates Cooperation among Players.
My contribution
In this project, I was the main developer for PC game written in Processing (Java), with some crucial guidance from FY.
Work include player behavior, game logic, musical timing, interactive tutorial, user interface (UI), animation, serial data input, etc.
BGM class that provides music beat information to control graphics
Beat judgement model #2
UI implementation (heart display)
Final game in action
Interactive tutorials
I also participated in the game mechanics design, composed the music, coded most of the game with Processing, and fabricated the staff with laser cutter.
Playtesting
Music composition using GarageBand
Laser cutting Illustrator file
The wand
See also:
- Older documentation:
- FY’s blogpost: http://itpzhufy.com/2015/11/10/the-concert-of-sword-and-magic/