Finding the beat through environmental cues in the rhythm game Melatonin

gamedeveloper.com:

Melatonin is a rhythm game that takes players to a charming, dreamy world filled with music where their actions are informed by the beat of the song, but without an accompanying interface telling them when to press the buttons. Instead, the game leads them through the beats by using the visuals and events happening around them, drawing a rhythm out of the player in this soothing, surreal land.

Game Developer spoke with David Huynh, director of Melatonin, to talk about how to teach the player to feel a beat by looking at the world around them, how he worked to weave the beat through everything the player sees, and how to create harder rhythm challenges for skilled players when the music is already tied to the levels and their animations.

Melatonin explores a charming world where dreams and reality come together with rhythm-based play. What inspired its creation?

I wanted to make a game with a minigame-based structure, but I needed a way to tie all of the individual minigames together. Dreams felt like a fun way to do just that. I also wanted to tell a story that didn’t take place in any fantasy world or sci-fi setting because I don’t have any experience telling those types of stories. Instead, the themes in the game are based on personal experiences that I’m sure a lot of people can relate to.

If the themes in the game are based on personal experiences that players likely relate to, can you share some of those with us, and how you shaped them into gameplay moments or stages of the game?

The chapters in the game are all centered around the challenges we go through as we try to “grow up” in today’s world. For example, Chapter 1 is about indulgence, and it includes themes like food, shopping, and social media. The themes are good