Thinking and Writing

Fast Beats and Button Presses

Crypt of the Necrodancer is, in a lot of respects, a pretty standard 2015 indie-video game. It’s a dungeon crawler where the player fights monsters, finds items, and makes their way to the final boss of the level. It boasts an excellent soundtrack, cute 8-bit graphics, and a very simple control scheme. By its own merits, this game would be very similar to many other dungeon crawlers that have come out in recent years—if not for one key difference.

It’s a rhythm game.

Every choice you make in the game, whether it’s moving around the dungeon, attacking an enemy, or using an item—it all has to be done to the beat of the soundtrack. It’s up to the player to perform each action according to the fast-paced tempo of the dance music as they progress through each level. The game won’t even work correctly if you press buttons willy-nilly; every button press must be exact. The mash-up of these two well-known but separate gaming genres (rhythm games and dungeon crawlers) makes for a compelling and unique experience—one that has garnered a very loyal fan following. But the novelty of the premise is not the only reason this game has received “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews on game services like Steam. Its appeal comes from the natural inclination we have to contribute or “be a part of” the music we hear.

The Rhythms in Our Lives

No matter what amount of musical experience we may have, we all have a tendency to tap our feet, bob our head, or unconsciously bounce when we hear music playing. Normal activities such as driving a car, walking to class, or sitting in the waiting room at the dentist’s office suddenly become much more involved when music is playing, as we tend to move to the beat without even realizing it. Why do we do this? These places clearly aren’t dance floors, so why do we move to the rhythm? Why don’t we just live independently of the music around us? I suggest it’s because it just feels right.

Perhaps it’s because we enjoy feeling like we are contributing to something larger than us, or maybe it’s that we all have a primal instinct to create and engage with music. But whatever the reason, there is something undeniably satisfying about moving to a rhythm. In fact, it feels unnatural not to (even now, as I type this, I find it incredibly hard to not sway back and forth to the music playing on my computer). As we move, we feel as though we are a part of what we hear, as though we are the ones causing the music, when the reverse is actually true.

The same can be said for video games—even non-rhythm based ones. Games with strong beats or catchy music make it tempting to hit the buttons in time with the soundtrack. For example, Koji Kondo designed the soundtrack for the iconic NES game Super Mario Bros. only “after playing the game repeatedly, to gauge how Mario ran and jumped, identifying the character’s unique “rhythm” in order to create a satisfying counterpoint between music and gameplay” (Donnelly). In this case, the music was inspired by the game’s controls, to make the player’s in-game choreography of Mario as natural as possible. It is this aspect of game design that Crypt of the Necrodancer capitalizes on even more than Super Mario Bros. did.

Necrodancer’s Genius Design

Everything about Necrodancer is centered on rhythm. The game mechanics are pretty simple: move, attack, and use items at the same time as the pulsing percussion beat of the soundtrack. There’s even a little visual aid on-screen to help you keep to the rhythm. Failing to do so causes the player’s character to freeze, leaving them vulnerable to damage from enemies that dance/attack you.

This core, rhythm-based gameplay is what makes the game so enticing. Unlike a traditional rhythm game, (such as Guitar Hero) where one must use timed series of button-presses to imitate a real instrument, Necrodancer lets the player decide what he or she wants to do in the game, provided it’s done to the beat. By doing so, the player has autonomy in how they strategically move and attack, but they also get the satisfaction of feeling as though they themselves are a part of the soundtrack. Even the sound effects caused by the player complement the soundtrack; the sound of each swing of your sword is short and precise, meshing well with the fast-paced drum beat.

Overall, Necrodancer feels good to play, and it’s worth pointing out that its creator, Ryan Clark, came up with the rhythm gimmick “accidentally.” In an interview, he said that he was playing the prototype for his dungeon crawler game to the beat of “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, and discovered that moving to beat “felt great!” (Hollingsworth). Clark based his entire game around the satisfaction of timing the button presses just right, so it makes sense that this pleasing sensation has helped the game gain widespread notoriety amongst indie-game lovers and game critics alike.

It’s possible that a lot of the game’s appeal comes from its other elements: the general design, look, and simplicity of the controls are undoubtedly polished. But you’ll be hard-pressed to read any review or talk to any fan of the game without at least one mention of the game’s unique premise. Crypt of the Necrodancer creates an experience that would be difficult to achieve using a medium besides video games. There really is nothing else like it out there, so give it a try! You may be surprised how addicting the gameplay is, and how good it feels to move to the beat. If nothing else, I think you’ll find that the music will be stuck in your head long after you finish playing it.

Works Cited:

• Donnelly, K. J., Gibbons, W., & Lerner, N. W. (2014). Music in video games: studying play. New York: Routledge. (pg. 56).
• Hollingsworth, K. (2014, April 17). Interview with Ryan Clark of Crypt of the NecroDancer: Rhythmic Charmer and Indie Darling. Retrieved January 16, 2017, from http://www.gameskinny.com/p4p2q/interview-with-ryan-clark-of-crypt-of-the-necrodancer-rhythmic-charmer-and-indie-darling