If you get a certain score or rating in a level you get a glass fragment and if you collect enough fragments, it forms into a picture frame, showing a memory and progressing to the next act

rough concept:

I want to change the plot of your death from being a suicide from attempting suicide, fail/reconsider and then a student you were “mean” to ends your life

Dad didn’t sacrifice himself via jumping on a grenade
Dad bought time for comrades to escape but gets shot in eye (explains monoeye design)

• Sensitive Themes: Handle suicide, depression with care. Consider content warnings and resources in credits.
• Pacing: Balance rhythm challenge with narrative absorption—allow breathing room.
• Cultural Authenticity: Consult Korean 1970s historical/emotional context. (I can ask my grandmother and other relatives[a cousin of mine works in a memorial museum])

• Games
  • Deemo, Osu, Cytus, Arcaea, Lanota
• Music
  • MisomyL, Hiroshi Yoshimura, Laur, *wakadori, nulut, Xi, Yo Kaze, AO – infinity (by: 青龍)
• Others:
  • OMORI, Your lie in April, Violet Evergarden

Target Platforms

• PC and mobile

Controls

• PC: Keyboard/Controller: D/F/J/K for lanes
• Mobile: Touch-screen taps, holds

Accessibility Features

• Adjustable note speed, calibration.
• “Story Mode” option: No-fail, focus on narrative.
• Optional mods: Double time, Hidden, Flash light
• Subtitles, colorblind modes for note types.

Save System

• Auto-save after each song.
• Chapter select after completion for memory review.

Chapter	How many levels	Memory unlocked	Difficulty
Prologue	x	montage of decline	x
Tutorial	1	childhood piano lesson	–
Act 1	1-5	none (just getting used to being in limbo)	–
Act 2	1-5	dad’s last day at home, mom learning the news of dad dying, after funeral, mom losing it	medium
Act 3	5	–	hard
Act 4	10	–	expert
Act 5	5	learning how dad dies	–
Finale	1 (dad will play with you duet style)	struggle for life	master
Epilogue	0	waking up in the hospital	easy (impossible to fail)
Optional levels	(tbd)	x	easy – master

Music Philosophy

• Genre: Classical piano-driven, ambient, post-rock, occasional traditional Korean motifs.
• Track Progression:
  • Early game: Solo piano, sparse.
  • Mid game: Duet interplay (protagonist’s part represented in synth/string accents).
  • Late game: Full orchestral swells during climactic memories.
• Composer Goal: Each track must feel like a conversation.

Visual Language

• Limbo: Dark blues, blacks, grays. Piano is the only light source.
• Memory Sequences: Warm sepia/overexposed film for happy memories; cold, fragmented, high-contrast for trauma.
• UI: Minimalist. Judgment text is subtle; note highway is transparent, almost like sheet music lines.

Pianist Entity Transformation

• Stage 1: Monstrous, distorted.
• Stage 3: More humanoid, details of father’s uniform appear.
• Final Stage: Clearly her father, translucent but recognizable.

Core Rhythm Gameplay (Memory Resonance System)

• Note Types:
  • Tap: Standard note.
  • Hold: Sustained emotional connection.
  • Swipe: Memory transition/acceptance.
  • Double/Triple: Complex emotional spikes.
• Visual Design: Notes are not abstract—they appear as memory fragments (fading photos, leaves, raindrops, light particles).
• Judgment: PERFECT, GOOD, MISS. Affects Dissonance Meter.
  Example below

Source: Osu (from my laptop)

Dissonance Meter

• Function: Fills on misses/GOODs. At full, memory shatters, Pianist reverts slightly, player retries.
• Narrative Tie: Represents depressive thoughts overwhelming clarity.
• Similar to a “Fever” stage
  Example below

Source: Muse Dash (from my steam library)

Narrative-Driven Difficulty

• Easy: Simple patterns for calm, reflective memories.
• Hard: Complex, dissonant, rapid-fire for traumatic revelations.
• Unlock System: Beat a song to see its memory cutscene; higher scores unlock deeper “memory layers” (hidden story notes) similar to Append levels from Project Sekai.

Integrated Tutorial: “First Lesson”

• Context: Childhood memory. Father teaches Eun-bi basic piano.
• Mechanics Introduction:
  1. Tap notes = pressing individual keys.
  2. Hold notes = sustaining a chord while father harmonizes.
  3. Dissonance concept = “If you lose the rhythm, the feeling falls apart. Let’s try again.”
• Emotional Payoff: The lesson ends with father’s leitmotif—now a nostalgic anchor.