My idea for the midterm is a medieval game where you play as a traveling saint. Villagers and creatures rush toward you down a long road and you have to make a split second decision as they get close: bless them or smite them. One drum pad blesses, one drum pad smites. The catch is some things aren't obvious. Like maybe a demon is disguised as a villager. You have to read fast. The perspective is first person, kind of like Beat Saber where things are flying straight at you and you're reacting in real time. Things just keep rushing toward you and the pace gets faster the further you go. It feels less like a traditional game and more like a ritual you're performing, which I think is a cool feeling especially with physical drum controllers.
For the controller, I'm 3D printing the drumsticks and using piezo sensors as the pad. I envision the drumsticks to sort of be like a wand (think Harry Potter) while the pads will be designed like an alter with multiple zones. Each zone when tapped will trigger either a spell or attack or deflection depending on what appears on the screen. I want hitting the drum to feel like you're casting something, not just pressing a button.
The goal is to cleanse the village before the darkness overwhelms it. As creatures and villagers rush toward you, you have to make the right call fast. Bless the wrong thing or smite an innocent and your holiness meter drops. Lose it all and you fall from grace and the run ends. The further you get the harder it becomes, and eventually you face whatever is at the end of the road.
.png){kind=tracking}