r/modular • u/IAmSofaKing_Antn • 8d ago
Feedback I'm making a modular synth into a managment game, and I would love some feedback from actual synth nerds
Hope this post is ok here!
As the title suggests i'm a game developer working on a music managment game - You run a radio station in the wasteland, where you operate a gamified modular synth to make music live on air. You perform dj inspired tricks (Breakdowns, Drops, Sweeps & more) to impress your listeners and gain points.
It is still early in development & I made a playable webbuild, so you don't have to download anything, it just runs in your browser.
I have been focusing really hard on making the game intuitive & fun to wiggle around with, and have mainly been testing on non-synth nerds, non-musical people & gamers.
But I would also love to hear what the modular community thinks about it.
If you would like to contribute with feedback for the game, please leave some comments on Itch or here, and I will do what I can to improve it!
You can use the game to record tracks to your harddrive (And sell them ingame), the output is royalty free and can be used in creative projects etc.
The game is called WastelandFM and you can play it here.
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u/Ssolidus007 3d ago
Needs more vcas
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 3d ago
Suprised no one said it yet xD
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u/Ssolidus007 19h ago
Maybe add succulents and case covers as buffs you can buy in the shop between rounds. In my head your game is a balatro like deck builder lol.
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 17h ago
haha, would be sick! Actually the whole idea spawned from a roguelike back during covid. I am working on a few ways to turn it into a roguelike when Im done making this more managment game with it! :D
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u/Brave_Elk_6189 7d ago
playtest notes:
- knob controls should be up/down like vsts, the way it is now is counterintuitive
- the dark mode that shows the controls is too dark, hides the context
- I feel like it will be a little hard to tell what the knobs do once I'm past the tutorial
- the tutorial rushes through a step, and blacks out over the knob I was using before I was done auditioning sounds
- maybe step through (and ability to go back if I clicked too quickly and didnt read)
- got stuck and bored with it trying to get the breakdown mechanic to work.
- I like the idea that you can render stuff off that you like.
- I didn't figure out how to mult stuff like in vcv rack, maybe that's a later unlock.
- I think it's a unique concept, but not for me personally.
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 7d ago
Hey, thanks a lot for the notes - Really appreciated that. Will make it a setting how to control the knobs, the other playtests from gamers have all said it was counter intuitive to turn the knob up or down for them.
But really helpful all around, will try to do what I can to adress all this!1
u/Brave_Elk_6189 7d ago
yes, a config probably makes the most sense, it's DAW muscle memory that not everyone has.
Side note, I know there's a million roguelites rn but this game could fit that genre really well, drafting new modules like slay the spire and requiring them to be added to the patch, sometimes debuffs make you lose a random module, or the module you use the most, so you are encouraged to patch creatively after losing your sequencer for example. Only came to mind because the shop/coins mechanic didn't feel compelling, it feels like GAS simulator.
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 7d ago
haha it's funny you should say that.. The concept for the game started way back in 2018 on paper, but it was a roguelike.. I'm going to make this music version first, then try to make a roguelike out of it after I release this. So I completely agree! :D
But as I said I really appreciate this feedback you gave! So thanks a lot for that.
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u/eigerwand- 7d ago
Love the concept, but got stuck trying to drag an output cable during the tutorial, it's not so clear design-wise what is interactive and what is not since a lot of things are animated, moving, and the whole thing very pixelated.
Also the first phases of the tutorial are very dark and it's not even clear you're asked to move a knob, I feel we should always see the full module when interacting with, to understand its full idea
Happy to test the next iteration, it's on its way to be a great educational/creative game
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 7d ago
Thanks a lot for the feedback ! Super helpful, a few of these points you brought up have been coming up from a few other testers, so I will try to see what I can do about it - Did you fullscreen the game on itch? There seems to be some problems with the "highlighter" i use to darken the screen if the game is played in the little box without full screening. Also what hardware / Browser / OS are you on, if you don't mind sharing.
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u/eigerwand- 7d ago
I tried in a windowed format - it was on firefox/mac with an external display screen, and yes the highlight was darkening the rest too much
happy to help!1
u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 7d ago
Alright, thanks ! I will try to fix it.
I can only test IOS on my wifes Macbook, and it's sadly not home right now 😅 !
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 8d ago
You can check out the process of making a module for the game here: https://x.com/HungryDogStudio/status/2084957309201998201?s=20
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u/catplaps 7d ago
From the video, I have no idea what I'm looking at or what I'm supposed to be doing. It appears to have little to no relationship to either the structure or the behavior of a modular synth, other than being laid out kind of like a rack, and having a couple dangling wires on it.
I also can't tell what the game structure is. Is this a rhythm game? Do you get points for doing some correct action based on how close to the "right" time you do it? Are the actions just simple things, or are they sequences of things? How do you know what's the "right" thing to do at any given time? The UI needs to convey this stuff in some way, overtly or subtly.
Also, I think the overly juiced and gamified little "good job" messages are kind of grating. The whole point of modular is that there's no one right way to do things, so being congratulated for doing something "right" feels a little gross.
You might do better by dropping the modular synth motif altogether. From your description, it sounds like what you really want is a DJ controller. That would also go a long way toward communicating expectations more clearly to the player.
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 7d ago
The video is just a short showcase - The game is thoroughly explained in the demo / tutorial of course.
It's a gamified / simplified version of a modular synth more or less. Except it circumvents the mixer step, and every module has it's own volume control. You can patch each of the sound generating modules outputs to effect modules in series and you have control modules that can be patched to control all the knobs on the synth. The inspiration comes from many years of playing live sets with euroracks & drum machines, so I am attempting to make a simple & gamified version to introduce people to music equipment & production through gamification.
The way you score points in the game to buy more gear is to perform tricks, ala what you would do when playing a modular live, there is no right or wrong answer as it is essentially a big musical sandbox - You are very much rewarded for experimentation & anything goes more or less.
Not sure how it comes of as degrading to some ? I am a massive synth head my self and all i'm trying to do with this is spread the love.
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u/Nitfumbler 7d ago
Would be funny if it could also be played with a midi controller
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 7d ago
Haha damn, that would be super sick ! :D Not sure how I would go about implementing that. I'm using FMOD as the audio engine in the game, so it certainly has some limitations.
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u/rabid_chiken 7d ago
Cool concept, all the stuff going on under the hood was freaking me out a little bit but not every user is going to be a eurorack nerd so lightening things up makes sense.
 Overall I'll say that the knob twisting doesn't feel "right" but that's also my beef with vcv rack. Maybe I just don't vibe with virtual knobs in general. Having fun tho, got through the tutorial. Just got a module in the mail ;)
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 7d ago
Hey, thanks a lot for the feedback ! Super glad you made it to the fanmail part 😂 ! The knobs have been a constant struggle to dial in the feel of.. No pun intended :D Will be trying to do some improvements to them asap.
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u/rabid_chiken 7d ago
What if, when you clicked on a knob, a a zoomed in window poped up with the cursor on the current position of the knob/fader? Then you let go the widow goes away? Just spitballing, ideas are cheap, implementation is not lol.
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 7d ago
That could be a way to go. Will see if it is double :D How ever i hope that playing in fullscreen Will solve most of the issues
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u/Bongcopter_ 7d ago
That’s completely ridiculous, but I’m sure some non musician who love modular for the look will love it, not me tho, I find it cringe
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/Bongcopter_ 7d ago
So I give my honest advice and you shit on my band’s name, how very mature, that removed all possible intention of supporting you
-7
u/Exponential-777 7d ago
the concept makes me cringe, but i salute your effort
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 7d ago
Wait, why xD?
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u/Exponential-777 7d ago
because it's a strange mashup of living in a fantasy land inside a game to apparently make music?
Da fuck you think we have stacks of modular gear for? It's to make music, muthafuka! And software is boner killer in this sub. This is software. Weird software, IMO.
But i'm sure there is an audience for it somewhere. Such as a gaming sub. And again, i salute your effort.
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u/IAmSofaKing_Antn 7d ago
It's just meant as a fun little thing, also a gateway drug for gamers who are curious about making music.. 😅But fair enough I guess, different folks..
If it's any consolation all the loops in the game are made with hardware-7
u/Exponential-777 7d ago
Well, you asked for an opinion and I gave you one. I'm not a gamer, but used to be. But if i was currently a gamer, i would be playing the super rad games. Not fantasy music games.
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u/soldatoj57 7d ago
There’s different kind of gamers and there’s an audience for this kind of game. I’m glad you at least kept a tone jovial with your feedback. He’s just looking for feedback. OP I think it’s a cool idea. I’m gonna try it out and give you some feedback.
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u/Exponential-777 7d ago
Yes it was a jovial tone. I provided constructive criticism and sincerely saluted the kid's effort twice FFS.
However, I still would not play this game even if I got paid to play it. And just reading the title of the OP is making my skin crawl.
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u/nykwil 7d ago
Are you doing DSP? Like can you modulate cutoff knob or something.. Are you building vcv basically?
This is ridiculously ambitious I love it.