Cool game! :D I guess I didn't really understand the system, as I couldn't manage to beat the part with the stone that blocks the path. Nonetheless, I had a good time along the way. :D I collected two notes!

Good job with this entry! :)

That hurt my brain.  Great overall work and  design!

I think I figured it out? Maybe? After a certain point there were too many things going on in the background music for my ears to pick up on individual parts (assuming that does matter), and sometimes the pillars would say I was “correct” when it didn’t feel I was, but I got a decent amount in.

I unfortunately had to stop before reaching the end (the last level I reached was the one in your fourth screenshot, which I just couldn’t get to work). The puzzles were confusing me as-is, with solutions working that I didn’t expect to, but the breaking point for me was the timing. Even if I was 100% sure what rhythm I needed to perform, it often took me over a minute to actually successfully do so. Because the player’s motion is locked to the sixteenth note grid (and thus they don’t move until the next sixteenth note), I found I typically had to press the movement key before the sixteenth note I wanted to move on, which made my inputs feel very disconnected from the audio. What seemed like some kind of lag on the more complex levels later on exacerbated that.

I do think this is a really interesting mechanic, and if the game taught it a little more clearly I think this could be quite a strong puzzler. The graphics are nice and give off a relaxing vibe, the rhythms are fun and bouncy (it’s always nice to see a music-based game with at least slightly non-trivial rhythms)… it’s well-made. It was just the execution part on my end that prevented me from fully enjoying it, unfortunately. I’d definitely be interested in playing a touched-up version of this in the future, though, as I haven’t see anything quite like it before.

(Should note: I also experienced the softlock at the start of the game someone else mentioned earlier. It’s precise, but as far as I could tell not frame-perfect, so I think it’s pretty feasible for people to run into it before they’ve figured out the mechanic. This is why it’s often a good idea, when designing puzzles involving a timing that’s supposed to be impossible, to make said timing very obviously impossible; this one turned out to actually just barely be possible, so since I kept just not making it, I kept trying it instead of looking for a more logical solution. Of course the softlock revealed to me that was the wrong move, but…)

This is a really creative entry! There are a lot of rhythm-based puzzlers this jam, but yours stands out a lot in terms of mechanics. The amount of player agency in how to construct rhythms and solve puzzles is cool, and as a musician myself, I love how you actually get to create music in the process. (The music is great, by the way, and an excellent example of adaptive sound in a game.) The sort of surreal, minimalist visuals and sound create an excellent atmosphere around the puzzles, as well.

I agree with your sentiment re: tutorials - too many games dampen the sense of discovery by front-loading controls and explanations. However, I think you could have taught the mechanics better in the level design early on. It took me a few minutes before I figured out I was supposed to copy another pillar, and several puzzles after that to realize I got to choose my own rhythms at all. The puzzles became really interesting from there, but I wish I had gotten to experience that fun from the very start. That doesn’t mean a “tutorial”, of course - clever level design and visual telegraphing can often do a much better job - but with a complicated mechanic like those rhythm towers, you want to make sure the player gets it as quick as possible, so they can enjoy the puzzles!

(Side note - I believe movement was locked to 16th notes, which makes sense. I was having about a 16th of input lag, though, which meant it was hard to get into the rhythmic flow. That could just be my computer, but it’s something to keep in mind.)

Overall, one of the most unique games I’ve played this jam by far. You’ve found some unexplored ground here, I think. Well done!

Nice work!!!Enjoy your time

I would love your rating to my game!

Very challenging game for me. You really need to think your way through. I really like the music, it really sets the vibe. Great game!

Really unique concept and amazing use of the game jam theme, the mechanic was very complicated to learn  but once you got it, it was really fun!

I understand the challenges of creating a puzzle game with emergent mechanics in a jam game being difficult, so your description in the game resonated a lot with me haha. As a fan and maker of rhythm puzzle games, I'm a fan. Nice submission!

Very nice mechanics, simple and lovely artwork, awesome job. 

Really interesting mechanic! It's hard to work "music" into "gameplay" but you had some unique approaches here. Well done!

very clever mechanic

very clever mechanic