dodge the music
Soundodger is a series of music Bullet Hell games created by Studio Bean. The games place you in the role of a small, featureless circular cursor controlled by moving the mouse pointer. Your goal is to avoid several bullets that come into the circular playing field from the outside which are fired on beat with the music.
The games in the series are as follows:
- Soundodger (2013): A Web Game created in Adobe Flash and playable on the Adult Swim Games website. Though no longer hosted there, it has been archived in BlueMaxima's Flashpoint
. - Soundodger+ (2013): An Updated Re-Release of the original as a standalone game on Steam, published by Adult Swim Games. It added several new levels, new bullet types, and a Level Editor.
- soundodgerLIVE (2022): A Spin-Off played with Kinect motion controls and the game projected onto a floor. It existed as far back as 2013, but was only playable at certain events until its release.
- Soundodger 2 (2023): A full sequel to the first game that added Post-Processing Video Effects, several new bullet types, challenge levels, and a completely revamped level editor that supports importing Soundodger+ custom levels. Unlike the first game, it was entirely self-published.
The Soundodger series contains examples of:
- Bullet Time: Can be used in the first game by holding down the mouse button, slowing down all bullets while leaving your movement speed unchanged - with the tradeoff of reducing your score. It returns in the sequel, but as an unlockable powerup that only slows down bullets in a smaller area.
- Bullet Hell: The genre of all games in the series.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: You dodge sound.
- Gameplay Grading: Ranks in Soundodger 2 range from F to S+. Your average rank on all levels completed is shown in the level select menu.
- Gimmick Level: Most of the "challenge" difficulty levels fit this. They all feature spins on the gameplay such as locking your movement to one axis, having a dangerous shadow chase you, filling the arena with clones that mirror your every move, and more. Additionally, all of the challenge levels are far shorter than main ones - usually being under a minute.
- Heal Thyself: As you take damage, more and more cracks will appear on the cursor. They all disappear instantly when you collect a heart, which fully heals you.
- Hitbox Dissonance: The hitboxes for certain bullet types, particularly the standard "arrows" and the homing squares, are drastically smaller than their actual size. To add to things, they're centered on the tips of the bullets rather than their center. Soundodger 2 makes this clearer to the player, with the "how to play" window giving a visual representation.
- Hit Points: Introduced to the series in Soundodger 2, and shown with cracks appearing on the player as you get hit. Take too many hits too quickly, and you shatter. If you avoid getting hit for long enough, you'll slowly heal and the cracks will disappear.
- Level Editor: Introduced to the series in Soundodger+, with it returning in Soundodger 2.
- No Plot? No Problem!: Just dodge the music and make your way through all the levels.
- Post-Processing Video Effects: A key visual difference in Soundodger 2. It introduces effects such as bloom, blur, and vignette alongside several "filters" that adjust the colors of a level such as sepia and hue shift. Alongside being featured in the base levels, all the effects are usable in the game's level editor.
- Rank Inflation: The highest rank in Soundodger 2 is S+, which is achieved by scoring more than 100% on a level via bonus points earned by grazing bullets or taking no damage after collecting a heart.
- Scoring Points: Performance in all Soundodger games uses a percentage-based score system:
- Soundodger and Soundodger+ measure this as the amount of time in a level completed. Using Bullet Time drains your score by the amount of a level it’s used for, and taking damage fast-forwards through part of the level with the skipped time having a similar result.
- When you take damage in Soundodger 2, all bullets onscreen turn red and become harmless - with the percentage of bullets in the level affected being subtracted from your total score. You can gain bonus percentage points from taking no damage, carrying a heart until the end of a level, grazing bullets, and using no powerups.
- Tagline: "dodge the music". Soundodger 2 occasionally uses a slightly different version: "dodge the music again''.
- Teleportation: The "zip" power-up allows you to do this, with the first click setting your destination and the second click sending you there in an instant.
- Wrap Around: A mechanic in some of Soundodger 2’s challenge levels - moving the cursor to the edge of the arena will have it pop out on the other side.
