For our level design, we wanted to make sure that the platforms and attacks could line up with the music if the player played at the same tempo. However, we also needed to make sure that the player could still easily dodge the attacks and complete the level. Therefore, we changed up the projectile speeds to make them hit the right positions at the right times, but could still be dodged.

The environments for each level are also unique: a graveyard, a snowy mountain range, and a cave. We wanted to make them feel realistic and immersive without distracting the player with too many additional details in the foreground. As a result, we added some props that are randomly placed throughout the level.

In the third level, the player enters a cave and faces a horrific monster. We wanted to make sure the player knew that the cave wasn't always devoid of other living creatures so we made the platforms out of wood and gave most of the platforms a base to seem stable. In doing so, the cave then looked more like an abandoned mine, which felt more realistic and eye-catching.

We also took the third level to a higher standard by including platforms that "stack" on top of each other. Rhythm-wise, it made sense because the song we picked for Level 3 had a few different base-line patterns that repeated throughout the whole song and we still wanted the player to have a chance of beating the level vs having a slew of attacks all hitting at the same time. So we tried to cap out the number of stacked attacks to 2 or 3 and added in the choice of different platforms instead of being railroaded onto one path. 

In doing this, we faced some new challenges that weren't present in the rest of the game: Projectiles hitting a top platform and never reaching the bottom one and spring boards nonexistent usefulness. Typically, the player would have to dodge every single attack that appeared on screen, but in the third level, the player can easily not even face the attacks that are coming from above. With the stacked attacks, we decided that this mechanic was okay to leave in. 

For the spring boards, we found that placing them properly along with the rhythm prevented the player from properly using them due to the stacked platforms. In the future, we would ideally allow the player to pass through the upper platforms if they enter them from below, but for the early development stages, we decided that the spring boards were okay as they are since the player might not want to use them anyway.

Rhythm Boss will be available to play for free on November 20th during the Florida Polytechnic Virtual Game Expo. Please show your support by voting for this game if you are interested!