I've watched total non-gamers play Rhythm Doctor with stars in their eyes - likewise, I've seen Rhythm Doctor challenge and enamor even my most seasoned rhythm-game friends with its eclectic set of B-side levels. As a result, there's almost no physical barrier between the player and the fun they're trying to have. In stark contrast with its contemporaries, Rhythm Doctor only relies on the spacebar, which sets the focus squarely on rhythm. I myself play a lot of Cytus II, a game where many of its maps require nothing short of jackhammer fingers, woodpecker levels of speed and precision. Cursor-based rhythm games like osu! test your reflexes and aim just as much as your rhythm. Dance pad rhythm games like DDR require lightning feet and triathlete stamina. Most modern rhythm games aren't 'just' rhythm games - they're rhythm games with a dexterity component. Part of Rhythm Doctor's promise towards accessibility also lies with its simple, one-button control scheme. By the end of the game, you will have an intuitive understanding of what all these words are, even though the game never tells you what they mean! It first introduces you to its main premise: tapping to the fourth down beat of a 4/4 time signature, which the game cutely describes as 'Press the Spacebar on the 7th Beat!' From there, it incrementally weaves attributes of music theory into its levels, such as polyrhythms, syncopation, and countermelodies. It takes a true artist to go the other way - to take a complex concept and render it accessible to a general audience.Īnd this is where Rhythm Doctor truly shines. Masquerading knowhow by throwing around technical terminology is easy, because it gives simple concepts the veneer of complexity. Of course, to the average person, none of these words mean anything - the vernacular is completely impenetrable. Those acquainted with Harajuku fashion might be familiar with its many substyles, such as 'decora,' 'visual kei,' and 'gothic lolita'. An avid tabletop gamer might describe a board game as 'worker placement,' 'tableau building,' or 'multiplayer solitaire'. For instance, a film critic might comment on a movie's use of 'cross-cutting,' 'Dutch angles,' or 'mise-en-scene'.

The more secular a hobbyist community grows, the more obscure its jargon becomes.

Rhythm doctor font