Immediately upon loading the game, an atmosphere is being projected by the music and text. The usage of an erratic and practically unreadable font makes it seem almost alien like. The music is deceivingly calming with a background beat that feels ominous. Coloring of predominantly black and white suggests some sort of dark tones as if the player is shrouded by darkness. The choice of the developer to include instructions on how to play the game should be noted because it shows that the learning and focus of the gameplay is not centered around learning the controls but rather learning the patterns within the game. On a first playthrough each song is new to the player and it would be likely for them to fail. However, because the song notes stay static across all playthroughs, the player can actually remember the notes of a song and even play it without looking at the screen. This design decision rewards multiple playthroughs and dedication to learning the game. It could also play into the reason for having no random elements in the game. The developer probably intended for it to be purely skill based based on these decisions. I found the mechanic of clicking the notes in itself to be very satisfying when you get all the notes in a big combo. There was no need to add in the color change to green on a correct press for the game to function, and yet it adds a lot to the playability of the game. Imagine if the green color was not in the game. The only way to know if you had pressed the notes correctly would be to wait until the end screen to see if you woke up the person or not. This would be extremely frustrating from a player experience standpoint because learning the timing for the key press would take many attempts of trial and error. I think it shows how the addition of a small detail can drastically change the user experience when playing through. Coming back to the aesthetic of the game, the sound of the notes on the piano is one of the most defining factors of the game. The way that the notes sound almost out of tune sometimes gives the feeling of something being "off". The other defining factor in setting the mood for the game is the large picture that takes up a large part of the screen. It is extremely difficult to discern what is in the picture but the way that the figure depicted seems to be looking directly at you as the player conveys a feeling of uneasiness, as if they know you re there. There is also a sense of tension and stakes created for the player due to how the story is laid out. If the player does not do the actions correctly some consequence will occur. On the first playthrough, the player feels like they need to hit every note and that makes it very exciting. After more playthroughs, it becomes apparent that not that many correct notes are required, but that feeling on the first playthrough is very unique.
The Piano Sitter is unlike any game that I have seen before in this genre. The ominous music that is present from the start, instantly sets the tone for what the game play will look like. Though, the game does not live up to normal horror game expectations or parameters, and for this it makes the game stronger. I found myself expecting a jump scare while I was following along with the music, as I missed quite a few keys in my playing. I’m not a fan of horror games that skip over the build up of tension that comes with the uncertainty of the game play, as seen here with the music and note left for the player. We don’t know what is happening, what will happen if we make a mistake or what will happen if we succeed. The imagery also adds to the uncertainty of the game, as I found myself wondering who is displayed above the piano, if it was their son they spoke of, because it almost appeared unhuman. This, with the music and tension of the atmosphere it all created, left me with a sense of eerie prying into something I felt wasn’t for me.
As for the game play, it is reminiscent of the Guitar Hero franchise that I grew up playing, and for that I was instantly a fan. I was able to pick up game controls quickly, though written in the introduction they were somewhat wordy and confusing. This aside, I enjoyed the game and how it brought a horror narrative to a game play that relies on the players complete attention to succeed. This amount of focus that I had to dedicate towards the game is what had me on end, as it felt like something might come out at any moment while the game had my undivided attention. I think the game could benefit in some aspects for the piano playing, however doing so could alter some of the games overall feeling. Having the keys that needed to be pressed be displayed ahead of time, would help in pressing them at the exact moment; As it is currently the player has to go into the game play blind. However, by not having them displayed ahead of time, also adds to the inherent uncertainty of the game. Even having played it twice through, I did not know which keys to expect per each song and so made the tension of the gameplay greater than if I had known what was coming. So, adding this could have dual effects, making it easier to follow along, but also perhaps not as haunting. I could also see aspects being added to this game, such as searching for the piano notes, as mentioned in the opening title, and waiting for the parents to arrive. This game has great potential for future additions to it and I am interested to see where it is taken.
The Piano Sitter introduces gameplay that unique to any other game I have ever played by combining typing with playing the piano. Music was a huge part of my childhood, so this game really appealed to me. I used to love playing piano and guitar at my grandparent’s house with my siblings and cousins alongside me. We would listen to songs and try to look up how to play them on the piano and guitar, so playing this game brought me back to my childhood in that sense. I have never played a game like this, where you must play an instrument a certain way to not wake a child. Though there are games like guitar hero and rock band, where you must play an instrument well enough to not fail, there was no central story you were going through. Though the story is small-scale, it still gives a connection between what you’re doing as the player and how it impacts the larger world that the game takes place in. However, what makes this extremely personal and enjoyable for me is by connecting typing with playing the piano. I am majoring in computer science, so I am good at typing. By connecting a personal love of mine to my future career, this game links two things I love together and helps establish an emotional connection for me. I found the game to be super cool, since it sounded like original music that the creator used in the game. I would love to be able to create original music, but I don’t think I would be able to do a good enough job to impress myself after it’s created. Not only was playing the piano by typing a lot of fun, but the music itself was also impressive custom music. It was relaxing to be able to just sit down, type, and listen to good relaxing music. Since the premise of the game is to not wake up the child, you must make sure the music is soothing and that you do a good job playing the tunes on your keyboard so that he doesn’t wake up. This enforced the player to make sure they’re playing the music correctly and so it sounds soothing when playing the game. I don’t find a ton of games where I’m able to relax the entire time, but this game was a lot of fun to just sit down with and experience. The gameplay is simple, and I enjoy that aspect of it. Having the rules explained at the beginning of the game is also helpful when playing the game. The first time I played it, I found myself confused after skipping the instruction screen, but I didn’t think I would need it cause most games in this class are simple. Once I became confused and reloaded the window and read the instructions and everything made complete sense afterwards. Overall, this game was really enjoyable, and I think it’s a perfect game to play when you just want to relax and listen to some soothing music.
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Immediately upon loading the game, an atmosphere is being projected by the music and text. The usage of an erratic and practically unreadable font makes it seem almost alien like. The music is deceivingly calming with a background beat that feels ominous. Coloring of predominantly black and white suggests some sort of dark tones as if the player is shrouded by darkness. The choice of the developer to include instructions on how to play the game should be noted because it shows that the learning and focus of the gameplay is not centered around learning the controls but rather learning the patterns within the game. On a first playthrough each song is new to the player and it would be likely for them to fail. However, because the song notes stay static across all playthroughs, the player can actually remember the notes of a song and even play it without looking at the screen. This design decision rewards multiple playthroughs and dedication to learning the game. It could also play into the reason for having no random elements in the game. The developer probably intended for it to be purely skill based based on these decisions. I found the mechanic of clicking the notes in itself to be very satisfying when you get all the notes in a big combo. There was no need to add in the color change to green on a correct press for the game to function, and yet it adds a lot to the playability of the game. Imagine if the green color was not in the game. The only way to know if you had pressed the notes correctly would be to wait until the end screen to see if you woke up the person or not. This would be extremely frustrating from a player experience standpoint because learning the timing for the key press would take many attempts of trial and error. I think it shows how the addition of a small detail can drastically change the user experience when playing through. Coming back to the aesthetic of the game, the sound of the notes on the piano is one of the most defining factors of the game. The way that the notes sound almost out of tune sometimes gives the feeling of something being "off". The other defining factor in setting the mood for the game is the large picture that takes up a large part of the screen. It is extremely difficult to discern what is in the picture but the way that the figure depicted seems to be looking directly at you as the player conveys a feeling of uneasiness, as if they know you re there. There is also a sense of tension and stakes created for the player due to how the story is laid out. If the player does not do the actions correctly some consequence will occur. On the first playthrough, the player feels like they need to hit every note and that makes it very exciting. After more playthroughs, it becomes apparent that not that many correct notes are required, but that feeling on the first playthrough is very unique.
The Piano Sitter is unlike any game that I have seen before in this genre. The ominous music that is present from the start, instantly sets the tone for what the game play will look like. Though, the game does not live up to normal horror game expectations or parameters, and for this it makes the game stronger. I found myself expecting a jump scare while I was following along with the music, as I missed quite a few keys in my playing. I’m not a fan of horror games that skip over the build up of tension that comes with the uncertainty of the game play, as seen here with the music and note left for the player. We don’t know what is happening, what will happen if we make a mistake or what will happen if we succeed. The imagery also adds to the uncertainty of the game, as I found myself wondering who is displayed above the piano, if it was their son they spoke of, because it almost appeared unhuman. This, with the music and tension of the atmosphere it all created, left me with a sense of eerie prying into something I felt wasn’t for me.
As for the game play, it is reminiscent of the Guitar Hero franchise that I grew up playing, and for that I was instantly a fan. I was able to pick up game controls quickly, though written in the introduction they were somewhat wordy and confusing. This aside, I enjoyed the game and how it brought a horror narrative to a game play that relies on the players complete attention to succeed. This amount of focus that I had to dedicate towards the game is what had me on end, as it felt like something might come out at any moment while the game had my undivided attention. I think the game could benefit in some aspects for the piano playing, however doing so could alter some of the games overall feeling. Having the keys that needed to be pressed be displayed ahead of time, would help in pressing them at the exact moment; As it is currently the player has to go into the game play blind. However, by not having them displayed ahead of time, also adds to the inherent uncertainty of the game. Even having played it twice through, I did not know which keys to expect per each song and so made the tension of the gameplay greater than if I had known what was coming. So, adding this could have dual effects, making it easier to follow along, but also perhaps not as haunting. I could also see aspects being added to this game, such as searching for the piano notes, as mentioned in the opening title, and waiting for the parents to arrive. This game has great potential for future additions to it and I am interested to see where it is taken.
The Piano Sitter introduces gameplay that unique to any other game I have ever played by combining typing with playing the piano. Music was a huge part of my childhood, so this game really appealed to me. I used to love playing piano and guitar at my grandparent’s house with my siblings and cousins alongside me. We would listen to songs and try to look up how to play them on the piano and guitar, so playing this game brought me back to my childhood in that sense. I have never played a game like this, where you must play an instrument a certain way to not wake a child. Though there are games like guitar hero and rock band, where you must play an instrument well enough to not fail, there was no central story you were going through. Though the story is small-scale, it still gives a connection between what you’re doing as the player and how it impacts the larger world that the game takes place in. However, what makes this extremely personal and enjoyable for me is by connecting typing with playing the piano. I am majoring in computer science, so I am good at typing. By connecting a personal love of mine to my future career, this game links two things I love together and helps establish an emotional connection for me. I found the game to be super cool, since it sounded like original music that the creator used in the game. I would love to be able to create original music, but I don’t think I would be able to do a good enough job to impress myself after it’s created. Not only was playing the piano by typing a lot of fun, but the music itself was also impressive custom music. It was relaxing to be able to just sit down, type, and listen to good relaxing music. Since the premise of the game is to not wake up the child, you must make sure the music is soothing and that you do a good job playing the tunes on your keyboard so that he doesn’t wake up. This enforced the player to make sure they’re playing the music correctly and so it sounds soothing when playing the game. I don’t find a ton of games where I’m able to relax the entire time, but this game was a lot of fun to just sit down with and experience. The gameplay is simple, and I enjoy that aspect of it. Having the rules explained at the beginning of the game is also helpful when playing the game. The first time I played it, I found myself confused after skipping the instruction screen, but I didn’t think I would need it cause most games in this class are simple. Once I became confused and reloaded the window and read the instructions and everything made complete sense afterwards. Overall, this game was really enjoyable, and I think it’s a perfect game to play when you just want to relax and listen to some soothing music.