Sing Song Orbit

Objective

At each of the large planets there is an alien that sings a tune. By playing the tune correctly you earn a new ability that will help you get to other planets. If you complete all 4 songs you can finish the game by visiting the final large planet. There are also optional pick-ups to collect.

Controls

Left & right arrow keys: Moves the ship counterclockwise and clockwise around the nearest planet.

Up and down arrow keys: Increase and decrease gravity effect on ship.

X key: Jump

Z key:  Toggle music playing mode (only while on the ground).

In music playing mode the arrow keys become music keys, with each of them representing one tone. If you hold X while in music mode, the arrow keys will shift up 4 tones to complete the octave. Whenever you press or release the X key the shift will wait for you to change which key you're pressing before shifting.

Thoughts about development

It was challenging for me to come up with a good concept that utilized both the music theme and the "control gravity" limitation. What I arrived at was a combination of a gravity simulation toy, with an Ocarina of Time inspired music player.

I'm not sure the two parts fit together that well. I would have liked to make them feel more connected. But as it stands the "music" part of the game ends up feeling a bit tacked on.

All in all I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I feel that I managed to get the most out of the concept I tried to make.