Rhythm Doctor OST - Puff Piece

Composed by fizzd
Melodica by Duncan Soo (  / szxduncanv2  )

Art by Daniel Wong (  / wopunk_  )
based on original designs by Winston Lee

Rhythm Doctor is in Early Access now:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/77...

Listen to Siivagunner's Puff Piece instead:
   • Puff Piece - Rhythm Doctor  

Gameplay video (thanks BluPen!)
   • 2-3 Puff Piece [Rhythm Doctor]  
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Notes from fizzd: This one existed way back in 2017 as a piano sketch at first. I wrote it for a tweet to accompany our artist Winston's coffee shop sketch:   / 889214101460733952  

It took until last year, 2020, to figure out the game mechanics I wanted for the level and finish the song. People have said this is the most Rhythm Heaven-like level in the game to them, and it's pretty clear why: the way it switches between just two rhythms is pretty similar to a couple of their mini-games. Originally this level was more complicated and had a third rhythm called a hemiola! Good thing we didn't in the end, cause it turned out people really struggled with beating this level..

The other maybe interesting thing: between 2017 and coming back to it in 2020, we changed the way SVT beats worked. Originally you'd just hear the beatsound and press some interval later. Cue.. hit! Cue.. hit! So if the cue was delayed by a beat, then you'd also press delayed by a beat. But we changed to be that no matter when you hear the kick, you still press at the same time. This change was to make the mechanic more versatile - most of RD's mechanics is about finding rhythm ideas used in pop music, and making the player feel and interact with those ideas. And the idea of shifting the kick around so its not always on 1 and 3, while keeping the snare on 2 and 4, is pretty common in lots of music. So that's why we did it! Anyway, this change let me do these little delayed hits in the song like at 1:08.

The Pokemon OST does this delaying the hit in Littleroot Town:    • Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald- Littleroot ...  , there's probably other tracks in the OST that did it that I can't remember now, but I think I got the idea from this one. A friend and sound designer Duncan recorded his melodica for the track after he brought it to a music jam while I was writing this song with a melodica in mind, and I was like oh, yes please. What else, hmm.. I always like recording acoustic guitars instead of MIDI-ing them so you can hear the fretboard squeaks. Usually it needs a couple of layers on top of each other - here in the intro for example there's a strumming take but also finger picking layered with it.

Well that's about it! Full OST still coming soon, a PC crash slowed things down a little but I'll keep uploading and writing notes here while I reinstall all these VSTs..