Concept
The game is inspired by the history of Taiwanese rock, which developed not as a direct product of American cultural imperialism but as a manifestation of our people’s desire to preserve our cultural identity through these modern forms of music; many Taiwanese rock bands write their lyrics in Taiwanese Hokkien and are very involved in social movements outside of their music. These are elements of Taiwanese culture that were suppressed during the martial law era, and the vibrant pop punk/punk rock scene embodies the resilience of our people. Taiwanese rock is an amalgamation of local Taiwanese, Chinese, American, and Japanese influences that reflects our complex history as a colonial subject of many but also our present and future as a country.
I intend for the game to be a light-hearted introduction to this aspect of Taiwan. In the spirit of the wacky, energetic aesthetic of the Scott Pilgrim franchise, the player controls a guitarist who is running late for a gig and has to get there as soon as possible, evading cops and picking up pirated music tapes to gain experience and recharge. My final project will be a game centered around a guitar repurposed as a gamepad: each string, when strummed, triggers a specific movement for the protagonist.
Progress
As of now, I have a rough configuration of the guitar controller; 4 of the 6 strings are connected to the breadboard, on which a circuit will send input if the strings are strum by the metal guitar pick.
In my previous assignments, I wrapped a regular plastic guitar pick in tin foil and taped jumper wires to the foil, but it was rather flimsy. This time, I decided to use a flat metal nut as a guitar pick so that I don’t have to wrap additional material on it to make it conductive. Right now, the wires are temporarily taped to the nut, but I am considering soldering them directly so that they don’t shift around and affect connectivity.
As for the game itself, I have set up the moving background, as the game will be a side-scroller.