The New Rock Band

Overview

The New Rock Band is a four-player collaborative rhythm game and installation where ordinary rocks become playable band instruments.

Players do not control a full song alone. Each player performs one rock instrument module, earns coins through repeated rhythmic input, and helps the whole band grow from a small novice act into a final concert performance.

The project was built in two playable setups:

• Physical installation setup - real rocks connected to Arduino-based sensors for touch, tap, and tilt input.
• Digital keyboard setup - the same progression system adapted to keyboard input for web play and quick testing.

Core Loop

Play an instrument module -> earn coins -> upgrade from Bronze to Silver to Gold -> unlock stronger visual and audio feedback -> advance the band through global stages -> finish with a ranked performance.

The design connects local player actions to shared band progression: every instrument has its own upgrade path, but the stage only advances when the group reaches the required overall milestone.

Gameplay Walkthrough

This short walkthrough shows how the digital version flows from keyboard input and coin generation into instrument upgrades, stage transitions, and the final collaborative performance.

My Role

My contribution combined game/system design and Unity implementation. I separated the work into two main roles:

• Game and system design - designed the cooperative progression loop, instrument upgrade structure, stage goals, coin economy, balancing logic, and final performance conditions.
• Unity development - implemented the C# gameplay systems, keyboard input, UI feedback, stage state synchronization, Global Visual Level Controller, and Dynamic Coin Multiplier.

Physical Installation Setup

In the installation version, players use real rocks as controllers. Sensor data from Arduino devices is mapped into Unity to trigger each rock instrument.

The physical setup makes the material part of the performance. The size, weight, and touchpoints of each rock affect how players tap, hold, or tilt their instrument, so the rhythm comes from both the digital system and the object itself.

Digital Keyboard Setup

To make the experience accessible online, the physical rock instruments were translated into keyboard modules while keeping the same economy, upgrade, and stage progression rules.

The keyboard setup also helped the team test balancing quickly because each instrument could be triggered repeatedly and compared against the shared coin and stage systems.

• P1 small-rock set - Q/W/E/R/T/Y
• P2 large center rock - A/S/D/F/G/H
• P3 single orange rock - M
• P4 orange rock with top trigger - P

Instrument Modules and Upgrades

Each rock is treated as an independent instrument module with three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Bronze is the starting state; Silver and Gold require coins to unlock.

Upgrading an instrument changes more than a number. Each level can update the model, UI icon, earning rate, and sound quality, so players can see and hear the band becoming more powerful.

• Bronze - starting level, base appearance, base sound, and base coin earning.
• Silver - first paid upgrade with clearer visual feedback, stronger UI state, and improved coin earning.
• Gold - final upgrade state with the strongest visual/audio treatment and the highest contribution to stage progression.
• Per-instrument data includes currentLevel, upgradeCosts, coinValue, levelModels, levelIcons, and levelAudio variations.

Progression Stages

Each game session is organized around global band stages. The stage is determined by the combined upgrade state of all instruments, so players need to coordinate instead of only maximizing one input.

• Stage 1: Novice Band - earn coins at x1 and upgrade all instruments from Bronze to Silver.
• Stage 2: Little Known - earn coins at x2 and upgrade all instruments from Silver to Gold.
• Stage 3: Rising Band - earn coins at x3 and build enough shared progression to unlock the finale.
• Stage 4: A Triumphant Performance - upgrade grinding stops and the group focuses on performance quality.

Balancing and Coin Multiplier

I designed and implemented the Dynamic Coin Multiplier to regulate pacing and make stage growth feel noticeable.

The balancing goal was to keep every instrument meaningful. Faster or easier inputs should not dominate the whole economy, and slower or more deliberate instruments need enough reward to stay useful.

Coin income is determined by:

• Each instrument's current level and base coin value.
• Overall band progression through the global multiplier: x1 -> x2 -> x3.
• Upgrade costs for Silver and Gold, tuned per instrument during balancing.
• Special Fire state, which temporarily doubles rewards.

When all instruments reach a required level threshold, the Global Manager increases the multiplier and updates the environment, audience, instrument visuals, UI icons, and audio state together.

Co-op Play and Final Performance

The co-op design asks players to balance individual tapping with shared timing. A player can push their own instrument forward, but the group cannot reach the next stage unless every module catches up.

In the final performance stage, the goal changes from earning coins to achieving a high style score. The score evaluates rhythm, input variety, on-beat timing, and overall performance quality, then ranks the band from SSS, SS, and S down through A-D.

UI and Feedback Design

The UI system is designed to make the state of the band readable at a glance. It shows both individual progress and shared progression so players understand what to do next.

• Real-time coin display and current target coin requirement.
• Clear upgrade requirements for each instrument.
• Dynamic icon updates that reflect Bronze, Silver, and Gold states.
• Environment and audience changes that communicate stage transitions.
• Upgrade lock during the final performance stage, shifting attention from economy to performance quality.

The goal was to ensure that players always understand three things: which instrument needs attention, how close the band is to the next stage, and when the experience has shifted into the final performance.