No, this isn't the countdown I teased, like, half a year ago. That probably won't be released until 2020, considering how much information we're getting about Cytus II's development.
This is something a little different. Despite what the title says, this isn’t going to be an “angry blog”, or something like that. I’m just going to be sharing a few minor problems that I frequently associate with mobile rhythm games, all in a light-hearted manner. You may or may not share these annoyances with me, so feel free to spark a discussion about them in the comments. Ah, who am I kidding, this Wiki is dead lmao
Notifications/Misclicking
I’m sure most of you can share this particular grief with me. That feeling when you’re on the verge of getting a full combo on that one super-tough song you’ve been grinding at for weeks…when suddenly, you get a notification from an app you don’t even care about. Or you accidentally hit the pause button, or the home button. Now you’ve been distracted, and your otherwise perfect run has been ruined.
Though these blunders don’t happen to me as much now, I can recall multiple times back when I was in high school where I got enraged as a result of a poorly timed notification cropping up during the killer of a certain song in Cytus or Deemo. Now, I play rhythm games a lot more casually, so I don’t find myself in many situations where a notification could actually cause me problems. That, and shortly after I switched to Android, a small update blessed me with something special:
Clearly, these tools are da real MVP. Though they unfortunately won’t stop me from hitting the home button when I’m playing Dynamix. ;-;
The Environment
The most advantageous feature of mobile rhythm games has to be that you can take them with you, and play them wherever you go…right?
The problem I’m about to bring up applies primarily to tablet users, as they’re burdened with the unfortunate requirement to play with their device on their lap whenever they don’t have a table in front of them. Already, playing this way can be disadvantageous, seeing as your lap isn’t exactly a solid surface. I wouldn’t exactly call this a “problem”, though.
Where things start to get troublesome is when you play in an environment that interferes with your gaming. By now, you’ve probably already thought of some kind of moving vehicle, and that’s exactly what I’m referring to. A single bump in the road can completely throw you off when you’re playing a rhythm game, and unfortunately for people like me, long and boring car rides feel like the best times to be playing mobile rhythm games.
Playing outdoors can also be a real hassle, for phone players as well. It’s certainly not fun when you have to have your brightness level on max to negate the sun’s glare on the screen, and it’s even less fun when you get interrupted by notifications telling you your battery is dying five minutes later. Or it could be really cold, and your hands end up going frigid after you’ve only played one song.
Even when you’re in an indoor location that might even have tables for you to place your device on top of, the amount of noise in your area can also affect how you play. Speaking of which…
Other People
Other people suck. Alright, not all of them do. Some of them just want to watch you from a distance, and some of them will even praise your abilities, which can admittedly feel nice. Then there are those people. The people that, either intentionally or unintentionally, make you never want to play rhythm games in a public location again. I’ve divided them up into three types, though there are likely more I haven’t encountered yet.
1) Neckbreathers
Yeah, you know these people. The people who sit right next to you while you’re playing, leaning in to the point where some of them actually block a part of the screen from your view. They don’t intend to be annoying, they just want to watch you play. Unfortunately, they don’t get that they don’t have to be pressing up against you in order to do so.
2) Chatterboxes
Trying to have a conversation with someone while they’re playing a game is one thing. Trying to do so while the game in question requires a lot of the player’s focus is another. Trying to do so while the game in question is also physically demanding, and the player is wearing headphones…are you for real? And then these people act all offended when you tell them that you can’t talk at that moment. F*ck off.
3) Assholes
At least in the first two cases, the perpetrators weren’t bothering you intentionally. But then, every once and awhile, you’ll come across people that simply delight in ruining your day. From making loud noises around you, to slamming their fists on the table you’re playing on, to mockingly mimicking you playing the game, they’ll do anything to spark a negative reaction from you. But the thing that irks me the most is when somebody PHYSICALLY TAMPERS with your device to interrupt you. I have had friends and family members alike do this to me, but no matter who it is, my reaction is always the same:
You Look Like a F*cking Idiot
I really don’t know if this only applies to me, but I cannot play rhythm games with a regular expression. The subtitle says it all, really. As soon as the chart gets remotely difficult, I furrow my eyebrows, grit my teeth, (at least I’m ready for Simon’s punch) and probably do a bunch of other stupid things with my face that make me look like I’m constipated. Again, I can’t help it. I can’t even afford to devote attention to how I look, because I have to apply all my focus to the challenging patterns that are making me look like an ass in the first place.
They’re Physically Taxing
I am a weak person. As such, I can’t play games like these for too long without feeling like I’m in pain, especially if the game is really difficult. (*cough* Dynamix *cough*) Hell, my physical abilities actually restrict me when it comes to playing really fast songs, such as Codename : Zero or Sweetness Overload!!!. I refuse to mention that other song.
Not only that, but I’ve found that doing certain things before playing rhythm games puts me in a state of pain a lot quicker. The main thing that causes this is cutting my nails. I guess because the tips of my nails are close to the tips of my fingers, playing even for a little while causes me intense amounts of pain, due to the nails digging into my fingers. I’ve actually drawn blood playing rhythm games for too long after cutting my nails. Of course, they can’t be too long, either, or else your nails click against the screen and make you sound like a human keyboard.
Many other things can decrease your physical abilities in relation to rhythm games too, such as feeling drowsy or sick. Not even speedrunners are affected too heavily by this kind of stuff. In a way, mobile rhythm games are almost like sports - you need to be in peak condition in order to do your best. Then again, rhythm games are fun, and sports aren’t. >~>i might think of more later idk