Space Trip Stepper - A Rhythm Game Inspired by Step Dance

Space Trip Stepper - A Rhythm Game Inspired by Step Dance

By Isiah Rosa and Ziwen Zhang

Game Designer: Isiah Rosa

Lead Composer: Ziwen Zhang 

Controls: 

Spacebar - Overhead Clap

A - Left Stomp

F - Left Body Check

J - Right Body Check

L - Left Stomp

Space Trip Stepper is a 3D Rhythm game created by Isiah Rosa and Ziwen Zhang. The game was created as a final project for our Music and Gameplay course at the NYU Game Center. This game is an expansion of the BasicRhythmGame project created by Corey Bertelsen (8ude on Github).

The game was inspired by step team dance, which consists primarily of body percussion and rhythmic stomping on the ground. The dance was popularized in HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) during the 20th century. Here is a link to a cool video showcasing some pro steppers a dance lesson! 

Because step is a very unique type of dance, I wanted the controls to reflect that. The control layout splits the keyboard in two halves to symbolize the left and right sides of the body. The body keys are placed on F and J for the index fingers, A and L for the middle and ring fingers. The thumbs rest on top of the space bar, which unifies both sides of the keyboard. Were this game to be on console, I would want the controls to be mapped to the bumpers and triggers, and have the overhead clap be controlled by a unique action such as a shake of the controller or a special button combination.

The game is still a work in progress, with two levels to demonstrate a proof of concept. Next steps for this game include polishing the visuals (fixing up the 3D model) and UI for the game in order to make the controls and gameplay easier for players to understand.  I also need to add a scoring system and streak system to track a player's successful progress. I also would like to add two player functionality, and possible microphone support to detect clapping as an input.