Baron of the Bass
(3/2025 - Present)
A rhythm game for masochists.
My final project for a class called Virtual Reality Production. This is a rhythm game that lets you play a realistic simulation of an upright bass.
Made in the Godot game engine.
An odd fusion of Trombone Champ and Guitar Hero, it demands not only perfect timing but also perfect pitch... or as close as you can get.
Footage
Here's what the game looks like in action.
Played by yours truly, as well as I can. I tried to compose a simple walking bassline, but even that much is difficult in this game.
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All 3D models were made and animated by me.
Making Of
As a lover of music that could only poorly play a piano, I really wanted an instrument. I realized that VR would be a good way for me to simulate the experience, but it took a while for me to decide which instrument to recreate.
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I eventually arrived at the upright bass. I very much like basses and wanted to make a project that fosters greater appreciation for them. I also figured it'd be simple to code and also capable of making people look downright silly in VR. Godot made it relatively hassle-free to set up a VR environment, such that I could fairly quickly get to coding things like I usually do.
We only had simple HTC Vive controllers at our disposal - not VR gloves. To make up for the lack of dexterity caused by this, I made it a one-string bass - specifically the E string.
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For ease of playing, the neck has fret-like markers like a guitar. To make them visually distinct, these have different colors that correspond with both the keys of a piano and the colors of the rainbow.
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I made the model in Blender with plenty of references and some simplification, but it is made to scale at about 1.8 meters.
The string's movements are animated by changing the positions of a few bones with code.
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This approach allowed me to easily make the string feel like it's in your hands while animating the string's vibrations.
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The sound of the string itself comes from a sample of Karoryfer's free Meatbass blended with a Yamaha DX7 bass note to increase the sustain. This sample is then pitch-shifted so that you can use realistic fingerings for each note.
A simple, tab-like form of notation powers the rhythm game system. Godot reads this text file line by line.
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Each note number corresponds with an electric bass's frets.
The Past & Future of this Game
The game in its current state requires a lot of changes to fulfill my vision, but the laundry list can be distilled to three main things.​
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The first change is that I want to raise the "stakes" of the game. Similarly to how Guitar Hero has you performing with a live in-game band, I want the same to be the case for Baron of the Bass. Rhyme not intended. Perhaps some light story elements would be included to make messing up that much more painful.
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It might look something like this:
This is from a prior assignment, the goal of which was to create an immersive VR band performance - but I made the camera stationary for easier viewing. The character models (which I've updated a bit since) are made by me, and I got the instrument models from Turbosquid and CGTrader. Naturally, later versions will include better animations and a non-stickman saxophonist.
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I got the 3D hands used in the game from these characters.
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The second change would be to make the game a non-VR project. This would increase its potential outreach, which is essential to my goal of proselytizing for the glory of the bass. I also uh... don't have VR gear at home.
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The third change would be to make the game use an electric bass instead of an upright bass - this is for the sake of accessibility. Electric basses are easier to play and also easier to find in real life - anyone inspired by my instrument game should be able to get the instrument it focuses on. I also have an electric bass that I can use as a reference/sound source.
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The gameplay system will also be changed overall to be easier to play. Please look forward to a new version of Baron of the Bass.