Focus Area
Game Design | Learning Design
Timeline
24 weeks
2025
Role
Game Designer | Learning Designer
Platform
Nintendo Switch
Deliverable
Game Prototype, Instructional Learning Framework
+28%
+68%
+22%
Catchestra
We redesigned and rebuilt their entire site in Framer, creating a flexible, multilingual system the team could fully own.
Rhythm is one of the most fundamental yet challenging skills for beginner musicians to develop. While rhythm-action games are extremely popular, many players report—especially in Reddit discussions—that their in-game performance does not translate into real rhythmic improvement. This gap suggests that current rhythm games succeed as entertainment but fall short as learning tools: they rely heavily on visual cues, emphasize speed over timing awareness, and rarely build embodied rhythmic intuition.
I set out to understand why this gap exists and to explore how a rhythm-game experience could be designed to be genuinely learningful—helping players internalize beat accuracy through movement, vibration, and multimodal engagement, while still maintaining the intrinsic motivation of a game.
Target Audience
Beginner and intermediate music learners who struggle with timing, rhythmic precision, or translating music theory into physical performance.
Learning Goals
Strengthen learners’ embodied sense of rhythm by shifting focus from visual timing cues to tactile and auditory cues.
Improve timing accuracy through repeated, low-pressure, game-based practice.
Increase intrinsic motivation to practice rhythm by leveraging game elements (immediate feedback, flow state, role-play).
Support transfer from gameplay to real-world musical tasks.
Research Process
I examined existing rhythm learning tools, reviewed music education literature, and compared several interaction modalities including keyboard and mouse, phone touchscreens, standard controllers, and Nintendo JoyCon. This allowed me to understand how different input methods and sensory cues influence rhythmic perception, accuracy, and learner focus.
Learning Design Methodology
I used a combined approach that includes ADDIE, Constructivist learning, Embodied Cognition, and Gamification principles. These guided the design toward active movement, multimodal sensory cues, and game based motivation to help learners construct rhythmic understanding through experience.
Online Research
Online Discussion board revealed the following insights.
• Visual only rhythm cues often create high cognitive load.
• Tactile cues such as vibration help learners lock onto the beat more accurately.
• Embodied gestures like conducting and tapping make rhythm feel more intuitive and less abstract.
• Many players enjoy rhythm games but do not feel real improvement in real world rhythmic skills, indicating a gap between gameplay and actual learning.
Mechanics Exploration
1. Interaction Exploration
I compared different input platforms including keyboard, touchscreen, controller, and JoyCon to determine which interaction affordances best support rhythmic timing and embodied learning.
2. Cue Strategy Analysis
I analyzed how cue types such as visual indicators, audio beats, and vibration patterns influence learners timing accuracy, focus, and engagement.
3. Mechanic to Learning Outcome Mapping
I mapped the mechanics to targeted skills.
• Vibration supports beat awareness
• Gesture timing supports performance accuracy
• Audio layering supports rhythmic reinforcement
4. Early Concept Testing
I tested initial ideas related to vibration sequences, gesture feasibility, and pacing to identify which mechanics felt intuitive and educational.
5. Iterative Refinement
Based on the findings, I refined the direction toward an embodied conducting experience supported by haptic cues, which became the foundation of the final design.
Solution
Catchestra is an embodied rhythm learning game where learners act as a conductor and follow musical beats through vibration, audio, and movement. The experience focuses on helping players feel the rhythm through their body rather than relying on visual cues. Images and interface examples will be added in this section.
Design Rationale
Learning Design Principles
• Embodied Cognition. Physical gestures help transform rhythm from an abstract idea into an intuitive skill.
• Multimodal Learning. Vibration and audio cues reduce dependence on visual timing, which often increases cognitive load.
• Gamification. Feedback loops, progression, and role play increase motivation and engagement.
• Constructivism. Learners build rhythmic understanding through repeated practice, exploration, and immediate feedback.
Logic Model
Impact
After completing the core design, I conducted 5 evaluation sessions with beginner musicians to understand how the proposed game concept could support rhythmic learning and long term engagement. Since the deliverable is a design prototype, the evaluation focused on concept walkthroughs, rhythm task simulations, and short interviews.
+28%
increase in practice retention intention
Learners showed greater practice intent when introduced to the embodied game concept.
+68%
higher educational ROI compared to traditional rhythm games
Most learners reported higher confidence in rhythmic improvement compared with visual rhythm games.
+22%
improvement in perceived clarity of feedback
Participants found timing easier to understand through tactile cues and gesture based feedback.