A modular rhythm game engine built in Unity, featuring accurate DSP-based audio synchronization and a tick-based quantization system.
Rhythm Raven is a multi-level rhythm game where players perform tasks to the beat of a soundtrack. Unlike standard game loops that rely on frame-based timing (Time.deltaTime), this engine utilizes Unity's Audio DSP Time to ensure visual cues never drift from the audio track, even during frame rate drops.
- Play the Game: [Link to Itch.io]
- Watch Trailer: [Link to YouTube]
The core timing system is built on AudioSettings.dspTime rather than frame-based Update() loops. This ensures that beat markers, input windows, and visual cues stay perfectly aligned with the audio track regardless of frame rate fluctuations.
Input windows and gameplay events are calculated using "Ticks" (subdivisions of a beat) rather than raw milliseconds. An abstract base class allows each minigame to subscribe to tick events and implement its own beat-driven logic on top of the shared timing system.
The game is structured around multiple beat-synced minigames, each with unique mechanics:
- Level 1: Telephone-Line - Time your bird chirp on the 4th beat with input windows.
- Level 2: Star-Collector - Move your bird up and down and tap when you come across a star.
- Level 3: Whack-a-Mole — Tap targets that appear on the beat with input windows.
- Level 4: Mosh-Pit - Tap every every time a bird hits you with input windows.
- Level 5: Wine-Connoisseur - Recreate the tapping sequence the wine connoisseur performs.
- Each level inherits from the core timing engine, allowing new minigames to be added without reimplementing audio synchronization.
A global state manager handles scene transitions, pausing, volume mixing, and score tracking across all levels.
Developed by the Rhythm Raven Team:
| Team Member | Role | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Lu | Project Lead & Gameplay Engineer | View |
| Kalen Lauring | Gameplay Engineer & Audio Track Producer | View |
| Carter Ng-Yu | Gameplay Engineer | View |
| Hana Kopp | Art & Game Flow Engineer | View |
| Carlos Schober | Gameplay Engineer & Audio Track Producer | View |
| Cindie Li | Art | View |