Reflection eternal: an innovative approach based on existing game genres

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Content Reflection Eternal
AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH BASED ON EXISTING GAME GENRES
by
Chengxin Zhou
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(INTERACTIVE MEDIA)
May 2025

Table of Contents
List of Tables............................................................................................................................................. iii
List of Figures........................................................................................................................................... iv
Abstract...................................................................................................................................................... v
Chapter 1: About the Project...................................................................................................................1
1.1 | Project Overview.......................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 2: Research on Action Games and Rhythm Games........................................................... 2
2.1 | Action Game Research..............................................................................................................2
2.1.1 | Active and Passive Reaction Frequency...................................................................... 2
2.1.2 | Player Control Precision..................................................................................................3
2.1.3 | Mastery Dimension...........................................................................................................4
2.2 | Rhythm Game Research...........................................................................................................5
2.2.1 | Definition of Rhythm Games.......................................................................................... 5
2.2.2 | Classification of Rhythm Games...................................................................................6
Chapter 3: Commonalities and Challenges......................................................................................... 7
3.1 | Commonality................................................................................................................................7
3.2 | Challenges and Issues..............................................................................................................8
3.2.1 | How to Interact with the Rhythm?............................................................................... 8
3.2.2 | Perfect Input Timing?................................................................................................... 10
Chapter 4: Workflow................................................................................................................................ 11
4.1 | Choice of Workflow....................................................................................................................11
4.2 | Rapid Iteration on the Animation Side................................................................................ 12
4.3 | Issues and Challenges............................................................................................................ 14
Chapter 5: Combat System Design..................................................................................................... 15
5.1 | Overview of the Combat System Design............................................................................. 15
5.1.1 | Core Combat Loop........................................................................................................... 15
5.2 | Resource Management and Depth of Combat.................................................................. 16
5.3 | Issues and Challenges.............................................................................................................17
Chapter 6: Play Test and Feedback.....................................................................................................19
6.1 | Balancing Art and Visual Cues...............................................................................................19
6.2 | Accessibility and Tutorial Design.........................................................................................20
Chapter 7: Conclusion............................................................................................................................21
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................................23
ii

List of Tables
Table 1 Characteristics for active/passive combat systems...........................................................3
Table 2 Rhythm game analysis example.............................................................................................. 7
iii

List of Figures
Figure 1 Classification of Rhythm Games............................................................................................ 6
Figure 2 Hi-Fi Rush poster......................................................................................................................9
Figure 3 Common standards for animation and music...................................................................12
Figure 4 Iteration on the Animation....................................................................................................13
Figure 5 Timeline for animation and music....................................................................................... 13
Figure 6 Core combat loop....................................................................................................................16
Figure 7 Final art comparison............................................................................................................... 19
iv

Abstract
This paper is based on my graduate thesis project, Reflection Eternal, a 2D action
rhythm game. It shares, from the perspectives of theory, design, and workflow, how to
step-by-step integrate action games with music rhythm games, as well as the challenges
and choices encountered during the development process. In the end, it hopes to
summarize a methodology applicable to making innovations based on existing game
genres.
Key words: Video game; Action game; Rhythm game; Innovation; Game Design
v

Chapter 1: About the Project
1.1 | Project Overview
Reflection Eternal is a 2D action rhythm game that combines elements of rhythm
games and action games.
Most rhythm games only reward players for performing the correct notes at the
correct time; they are only interested in perfectly reproducing recorded beats or phrases.
This game is more akin to jazz. Jazz is often about “playing the wrong notes at the
right time” – although it follows certain rules, these rules are built around improvisation and
expression. The music and rhythm mechanics merely provide a framework that helps
players create their own unique gameplay and combat experiences.
More specifically, our goal is to use the behavior of enemies during combat as
external cues for player reactions and inputs, replacing the traditional note charts found in
rhythm games. At the same time, we want to retain the freeform combat interactions of
action games, allowing players space for autonomous movement while keeping pace with
the rhythm. By combining both proactive and reactive combat interactions, we aim to
create a unique combat experience.
1

Chapter 2: Research on Action Games and Rhythm Games
2.1 | Action Game Research
First, I will begin with research on action games. By combining insights from a GDC
talk and industry design practices, I have summarized a framework for analyzing the
characteristics of action games. This framework enables us to better understand the
essence of action games and serves as the basis for exploring commonalities.
Based on PlatinumGames’ lead, Atsushi Inaba, in his 2016 GDC talk “Action Without
Borders”, described the essence of action games as reaction-based. More specifically,
action games are not genres where the player holds complete control; rather, they
predominantly require players to react within a given time frame to various situations. In
contrast, proactive genres—such as adventure or horror games—allow players to act
according to their own will without knowing what will happen next.
Building on the above, let’s analyze the characteristics of combat systems in
dierent action games. Generally, we can categorize an action game’s combat system by
three dimensions: the frequency of active/passive reactions, control precision, and the
mastery dimension.
2.1.1 | Active and Passive Reaction Frequency
● Active Reaction:
○ Behaviors where the player proactively attacks or engages in other combat
actions to achieve objectives.
● Passive Reaction:
○ Behaviors where the player responds passively, such as through evasion or
defense.
2

For instance, Devil May Cry 5 is often described as having a high active reaction
frequency, where the player is mostly engaged in aggressive oensive behaviors. In
contrast, the Dark Souls series is frequently characterized by a high passive reaction
frequency, where players tend to favor evasion and defense.
From this, we can also summarize some general design characteristics for combat
systems with high active versus high passive reaction frequencies:
High Active Reaction Frequency High Passive Reaction Frequency
Player character is high-powered Player character is less powerful
Enemies pose less threat Enemies pose a high threat
Basic actions have no resource
constraints
Basic actions are limited by resources (e.g.,
stamina)
Table 1 Characteristics for active/passive combat systems
2.1.2 | Player Control Precision
Control precision measures the entry barrier for an action game. It can be
subdivided into three dimensions: command complexity, spatial precision, and temporal
precision. In action games, the challenge to the player is often based on these three
aspects, and designers can increase diculty by raising the requirements in each area.
● Command Complexity:
3

○ Directly correlated with the number of commands, combination keys, combo
derivations, and combo length.
● Spatial Precision:
○ Refers to how well the player can manage direction and distance—including
directional adjustments, distance snapping, or even actions along the Z-axis.
● Temporal Precision:
○ Refers to how accurately a player can hit the specific judgment frames for
certain actions; mastery of temporal precision determines whether the player
can trigger the corresponding actions accurately.
Control precision is also related to the active/passive reaction frequency. For
example, higher command complexity often implies a higher degree of action intensity and
is usually applicable to combat systems with high active reaction frequency; meanwhile,
high active reaction frequency combat systems generally require lower spatial precision,
allowing for smoother action flow and enabling players to focus on executing combos.
2.1.3 | Mastery Dimension
● Strategy and Judgment: Influences strategy formulation, referring to the
eciency and completeness of one’s thinking, which can be honed through
observation and understanding.
● Technique and Proficiency: Influences strategy execution, referring to reaction
speed and control precision, which can be mastered through repeated practice.
For example, in Monster Hunter, the core fun of combat lies in observing the
monster’s moves and the player’s own status to formulate a strategy, then executing that
strategy with precise spatial and temporal control to evade attacks and counterattack.
4

2.2 | Rhythm Game Research
2.2.1 | Definition of Rhythm Games
Next is the research on rhythm games. But first, we need a definition. According to
Wikipedia, rhythm games are defined as a genre centered on musical rhythm, requiring
players to synchronize their actions (such as key presses, motion controls, or touch) with
the musical beat to obtain immediate feedback and scoring.
It is indisputable that traditional rhythm games are also largely reaction-based,
where players synchronize with the beat to play the correct notes at the right
time—essentially reproducing pre-set musical phrases. However, this definition seems to
limit the purpose of rhythm games to merely reproducing music, thereby overlooking
games aimed at creating music. For this reason, we will classify any game incorporating
“rhythmic interaction” elements as part of the broad category of rhythm games.
PaRappa the Rapper, developed by NanaOn-Sa and released on the PlayStation in
1996, is renowned for its unique visual design and rap-based gameplay. It is generally
considered the first true rhythm game, establishing the basic gameplay of key timing
judgments that continues to be at its core even as traditional rhythm games have evolved
in form.
Moreover, PaRappa the Rapper includes a notable free mode. In free mode, apart
from following the basic rhythm, players receive no specific key prompts and are free to
improvise within the rhythmic framework—regardless of whether their inputs align
perfectly with the beat. This freedom for creative musical expression is one of the reasons I
believe games aimed at creating music should also be classified under the broad definition
of rhythm games.
5

2.2.2 | Classification of Rhythm Games
With a clear definition of broad "rhythm games" established, we can now better and
more clearly classify the rhythm games currently on the market. Rhythm games can be
classified along two dimensions:
1. Music-oriented / Rhythm-oriented
a. Music-oriented: Emphasizing musical performance or reproduction.
b. Rhythm-oriented: Focusing more on improvisational rhythmic interactions.
2. Innovation in Technique and Gameplay
Figure 1 Classification of Rhythm Games
Games included in the chart above: DJ Max, Guitar Hero, Cytus, Phigros, Muse Dash,
Beat Saber, Just Shapes & Beats, PaRappa the Rapper, Just Dance, Crypt of the
NecroDancer, Rhythm Heaven, PATAPON, Hi-Fi Rush, Incredibox
6

Chapter 3: Commonalities and Challenges
3.1 | Commonality
The core commonality between the two genres is that both are reaction-based
games. Players must react within a given timeframe to external cues (whether it’s the note
chart in a rhythm game or enemy attacks in an action game).
At the same time, we can attempt to apply the three analytical dimensions from
action game research to break down rhythm games:
Cyrus II PATAPON
Reaction Frequency
The frequency of passive reactions
is high (driven by key presses or the
rhythm)
The frequency of active
reactions is higher
Player Control Precision
Mainly tests the player's temporal
precision
Test the player's spatial
precision and command
complexity.
Mastery Dimension
Primarily assesses the player's
technique and proficiency
The player’s strategy and
judgment are also tested
Table 2 Rhythm game analysis example
From the above charts, we can see that music-oriented games exhibit the
characteristics of high passive reaction frequency combat systems, whereas
rhythm-oriented games resemble high active reaction frequency action games. Both,
7

however, focus on challenging the player's temporal precision and mastery of technique
and proficiency.
Based on these conclusions, we can build a combat system for an action rhythm
game around these shared characteristics, providing a clear direction and pathway for the
subsequent design of our project.
Specifically for our entire project, we aim to combine music rhythm games with
action games, enabling players to create a unique musical and combat experience while
following the music. More specifically, because the essence of rhythm games and action
games is very similar, we can use the music—or rather, the rhythmic mechanics—as a
framework (which can also be seen as a temporal discretization), and fill it with the
real-time combat interactions from action games. This way, players can achieve the goal of
either following the musical rhythm in combat or even taking command of the combat
music through either passive or active combat interactions within the rhythmic framework.
3.2 | Challenges and Issues
3.2.1 | How to Interact with the Rhythm?
Having determined a potential design direction for the combat system, the first
challenge arises: What role should rhythm play in this combat system? The core
contradiction is that in rhythm games, rhythm itself serves as a constraint or limitation on
player actions—indeed, it is often the condition for victory or defeat. In contrast, in action
games, such constraints are typically absent, and victory conditions are more closely tied
to the combat itself.
Inspired by Hi-Fi Rush, in combat systems with high active reaction frequency, we
integrate rhythmic interaction with the complexity of player inputs, rewarding perfect
8

rhythm execution during combat. Rather than restricting input timing, the game uses
background rhythm and rhythmic input rewards to guide the player, while certain fixed
moves within combo chains provide obvious UI cues for timing.
Figure 2 Hi-Fi Rush poster
This raises the question: in a high passive reaction combat scenario where player
input is not restricted, how should the design proceed?
Drawing from the earlier discussion on commonalities, in rhythm games, the
external cue is typically the musical chart. Can we equivalently substitute this with enemy
attacks in an action game?
Specifically, in scenarios with high passive reaction frequency, can we combine
rhythm with enemy behaviors to drive the player's reactive responses—thus aligning with
the expectation that music and rhythm serve only as a framework to help players create
unique gameplay and combat experiences?
9

Details on the specific combat system design will be elaborated in Chapter 5.
3.2.2 | Perfect Input Timing?
Another unavoidable issue is the discrepancy between the timing of player inputs
and the timing of in-game feedback.
● In rhythm games, these two are typically equivalent; immediate player input results
in immediate feedback.
● In action games, there is often a delay between the player’s input and the
generation of the character’s attack hitbox.
How to compensate for this delay is key to whether players can use the rhythm as a
reference for reacting to boss moves.
Our design strategy is to align the player’s input with the boss’s move cues rather
than with the actual moment the boss attacks. This means that the boss’s attack prompt
becomes the moment for a perfect input, which requires us to standardize the initial frame
counts of both the player’s and the boss’s attack animations. Moreover, during the phase of
fine-tuning the combat feel, we introduce a margin of error before and after the judgment
point so that it aligns with most players’ sense of rhythm.
10

Chapter 4: Workflow
4.1 | Choice of Workflow
During development, our first challenge was choosing the workflow for animation
and music. We had three options:
● Animation-First
● Music-First
● Synchronized Advancement of Animation and Music
In the 2024 GDC talk “Developing ‘Hi-Fi RUSH’ Backwards and Finding Our Positive
Gameplay Loop,” the Hi-Fi Rush team shared that for boss battles, they adopted a
music-first workflow: the design team based the boss’s actions and behaviors on the
phases and states of the music—essentially, a music-driven boss design.
However, we believed this did not fit our project’s needs. We did not have the robust
art and music teams required for such an approach, and due to time constraints, we
couldn’t aord to have one discipline wait for the other to finish. Based on an overall
assessment of team capacity and project timelines, we ultimately decided on a
synchronized advancement of animation and music, prioritizing the animation team. In our
project, the music team was more specialized and had a higher risk tolerance.
At the project’s outset, we established common standards for both animation and
music, so that both teams could begin preliminary creation and iteration simultaneously.
For example, we set the music BPM at 90 and the animation frame rate at 12fps, and we
calculated a reference table mapping animation frames to musical beats. This approach
may seem conservative, but it met our actual development needs.
11

Figure 3 Common standards for animation and music
4.2 | Rapid Iteration on the Animation Side
After establishing the above standards, although in theory animation and music
could start simultaneously, in practice the music team required more visual and stylistic
references before commencing formal work. Whether it was motion references or concept
art, these visual cues greatly aided the music team’s process.
Thus, on the animation side, we conducted rapid iteration of the animations:
● Action References: Recording live-action footage to create motion references.
● Quick Sketches: Creating simple animated sketches to test the synchronization of
animation with music, and to provide motion references for the music team.
● Iterative Drafts: Determining the final requirements for the actions.
● Finalized Assets
12

Figure 4 Iteration on the Animation
However, during development, due to dierences in production capacities between
the art and music teams, our project ultimately adopted an animation-first workflow.
Figure 5 Timeline for animation and music
The biggest gap occurred during the winter break. As I was responsible for the art, I
completed the final animation assets and scenes during the break and integrated them into
13

the game engine. This, to some extent, improved the eciency of the music team, as they
had complete animation and art references after the break, which laid a solid foundation for
rapid music iteration later on.
4.3 | Issues and Challenges
During development, the most prominent challenges we encountered were
limitations in resources and time, which forced us to reduce the scope of the project. At
one point, we even contemplated removing all characters and animations, replacing them
with simple shapes to eliminate constraints related to animation assets, thus giving the
music team more freedom. However, after extensive discussions with team members, we
decided to retain the character animations to preserve the game’s fundamental framework
and ensure that prior work was not wasted.
Instead, we reduced the number of bosses and their actions. We scaled down from
two bosses and four scenes to one boss and two scenes. Based on an assessment of the
programming team’s progress, we also simplified the boss AI—from an initial 28 actions with
a complex behavior tree down to only 9 distinct actions. Subsequent playtests revealed
that even with 9 actions, the learning curve and challenge for players remained relatively
high—a point that I will detail further in Chapter 6.
14

Chapter 5: Combat System Design
5.1 | Overview of the Combat System Design
As an action rhythm game, the combat system is a critical component of our project.
The design direction for our combat system is to guide players to follow the music through
highly interactive combat, thereby creating music through combat interactions.
“High interaction” implies a high passive reaction frequency, and guiding players to
follow the music tests the temporal precision aspect of player control. This allows us to
build the core combat loop.
5.1.1 | Core Combat Loop
All action games can be viewed as turn-based games measured in frames. Based on
this perspective, we can divide a battle into enemy and player turns. Of course, the ratio
between these two in dierent action games varies greatly—the enemy/player turn ratio
reflects the active/passive reaction frequency. In these turns, players exhibit dierent
behavioral tendencies. For instance, we want players to focus on rhythmic combat
interactions during the enemy turn, while the player turn becomes their “solo time,” where
they can attack or perform freely. Thus, the core combat loop is illustrated as follows:
15

Figure 6 Core combat loop
The design of the conditions triggering the exchange of turns is crucial. In the early
stages of the project, we used a simple count-based system to determine turn transitions.
However, this led to issues: players lost sight of mid-battle goals, and a conservative
strategy—merely defending—became sucient to win, which made the combat
unengaging.
5.2 | Resource Management and Depth of Combat
How can we deepen the combat experience in a game that primarily emphasizes
passive reactions? There are two main methods:
● Resources the player’s passive interaction behaviors.
● Dierentiate the boss’s attacks.
16

Specifically, we turn the benefits of the player’s defensive actions during the boss
turn into resources. Players need to accumulate energy through parry and clash
interactions; once fully charged, they must initiate an oensive action to trigger the
transition between turns. This design eectively addresses the issues of lacking mid-battle
goals and the tendency to only adopt a defensive approach.
Next, to make the combat experience more engaging, we can dierentiate the boss’s
attacks. For example, some of the boss’s attacks may be impossible to parry—forcing the
player to either clash or evade. This dierentiation in attacks naturally leads to varied
gameplay experiences. By adjusting the proportion of these dierent attack types in the
boss’s behavior, we can create a dynamically diverse combat experience.
5.3 | Issues and Challenges
During the development of the boss knockdown feature, we encountered a major
challenge: it was dicult to reliably trigger a boss knockdown amid player-boss interactions
to temporarily interrupt the boss’s music and transition to the player’s attack phase.
Specifically, we faced two problems:
● Game Engine: The impact of frame rate limitations.
● Musical Aspect: The inability to achieve a natural transition due to too much
uncertainty.
Pursuing this approach further would have required a significant time investment
with uncertain results. Ultimately, based on our previous design, we modified the mechanic
so that after the player’s energy is fully charged, a clash causes the boss to be knocked
down. Our design revision aimed for the player to trigger the knockdown at the end of the
boss’s attack sequence, which allowed for a simpler and more reliable technical
17

implementation both in terms of programming and musical transitions. To achieve this, we
added a constraint: the boss can only be knocked down if the player uses the final segment
of their attack to trigger a clash. This forces the player to use the boss’s initial attack moves
as setup and trigger the knockdown at the very end of the boss’s combo sequence.
Surprisingly, this design passed player testing and successfully achieved our goal of
triggering a turn transition in the latter part of the boss’s attack sequence. I believe this is
an important lesson: designers can circumvent technical challenges through thoughtful
design.
18

Chapter 6: Play Test and Feedback
6.1 | Balancing Art and Visual Cues
The most common feedback from players concerned the readability of the game:
● Dierentiating between the player and enemies.
● Distinguishing between dierent types of boss attacks.
I believe this issue largely arose because our project lacked a professional technical
artist, leading to flaws in our art workflow. Specifically, during the mid-stage of the project,
to quickly achieve a visual eect, we adopted a global post-processing setup and based our
final character animations on it. This workflow made it dicult to make simple art
adjustments later on.
Figure 7 Final art comparison
To address these issues, we implemented several solutions—for instance, adding UI
elements behind the player to display energy and to identify the player character, and
19

making clear distinctions in the UI and sound eects for the boss’s dierent attack types.
However, these measures only partially resolved the issue. In future development, greater
emphasis should be placed on the order of operations in the art pipeline and ensuring it
remains easy to modify.
6.2 | Accessibility and Tutorial Design
Surprisingly, during testing, players responded positively to the tutorial and the
game’s accessibility.
Although our combat system is relatively limited in complexity, we still opted to
lower the player’s entry barrier by incorporating detailed tutorial levels and a simplified
version of the boss within a short gameplay flow. For example, in the tutorial level, we broke
down the attack interactions into detailed, modular steps and paired them with video
demonstrations on-screen. After completing the tutorial, most players reported that they
had a good grasp of the combat system.
The inclusion of a simplified boss significantly increased players’ enthusiasm to
challenge the full-version boss. Most players managed to defeat the simplified boss within
three attempts and were willing to continue trying the full boss. Although the overall
clearance rate of the game remained low, most of the feedback was positive.
20

Chapter 7: Conclusion
Here, I will provide a brief summary of our innovative approach based on existing
game genres.
First, from a theoretical perspective, we need to analyze and deconstruct existing
types of games to uncover potential commonalities across dierent genres. Typically, when
we break down a particular game behavior into the physical or mental skills required of the
player, we begin to notice shared characteristics. At this stage, we can reference
industry-based insights or summarize features through classification—for example, the
three dimensions used earlier to analyze combat systems in action games: active/passive
reaction frequency, control precision, and the mastery dimension; or for rhythm games, by
categorizing them based on whether the game’s objective is to reproduce music or to
create music, along with the direction of innovation.
In discovering these commonalities, we also encounter the gaps and challenges that
exist between them. Some challenges can be addressed through design, while others may
not. Thus, when faced with these issues, we must resolve them during actual development.
Regarding the development process, I believe a common problem is the choice of workflow.
Dierent game genres often have entirely dierent workflows—for example, music games
usually prioritize music production, whereas action games give precedence to combat
systems and character animations. Therefore, balancing these factors according to the
specific conditions of the team and choosing an appropriate workflow becomes especially
important.
Finally, through this graduation project, I attempted to identify the commonalities
between rhythm games and action games from a theoretical standpoint and to recognize
21

the gaps between them, which then informed our attempts to integrate the two. At the
same time, during actual development, due to time and resource constraints, we had to
choose a lower-risk approach that ultimately achieved satisfactory results. I hope that by
summarizing the issues and challenges encountered, the experience gained will broaden
designers’ perspectives and provide valuable reference points for other designers wishing
to explore this direction.
22

Bibliography
Action Games Without Borders: Making Platinum-Quality Games For The World. (2016). GDC
Vault. Retrieved from
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1023581/Action-Games-Without-Borders-Making
Developing 'Hi-Fi RUSH' Backwards and Finding Our Positive Gameplay Loop. (2024). GDC
Vault. Retrieved from
https://gdcvault.com/play/1034256/Developing-Hi-Fi-RUSH-Backwards
23

Asset Metadata

Creator Zhou, Chengxin (author)

Core Title Reflection eternal: an innovative approach based on existing game genres

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

School School of Cinematic Arts

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Interactive Media

Degree Conferral Date 2025-05

Publication Date 04/14/2025

Defense Date 04/14/2025

Publisher University of Southern California (original), Los Angeles, California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag action game,game design,innovation,OAI-PMH Harvest,rhythm game,video game

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Language English

Advisor Bilson, Danny (committee chair), Russworm, TreaAndrea (committee member), Lemarchand, Richard (committee member)

Creator Email czhou022@usc.edu,stephenzhou414@163.com

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Abstract (if available)

Abstract This paper is based on my graduate thesis project, Reflection Eternal, a 2D action rhythm game. It shares, from the perspectives of theory, design, and workflow, how to step-by-step integrate action games with music rhythm games, as well as the challenges and choices encountered during the development process. In the end, it hopes to summarize a methodology applicable to making innovations based on existing game genres.