Groove Tapper Template

Inspiration

I’ve always been a huge fan of rhythm games that test your reflexes and make you feel like part of the music. With Groove Tapper Template, I wanted to capture that same magic while pushing the Horizon Worlds editor to its absolute limits. My goal was to create not just a rhythm game, but a fully-featured template that other creators could remix, customize, and expand to bring their own musical visions to life.

What it does

Groove Tapper Template provides a groundbreaking framework for rhythm gameplay in Horizon Worlds. Creators can easily drop in their own songs and note charts to instantly produce a unique experience. The system is fully modular, supporting:

Seamless swapping of songs
Three difficulty levels per track
An advanced scoring system with streaks and multipliers
Easily adjustable visuals that look gorgeous out of the box
Calibration tools for lag and timing
Support for scaling to multiple songs and eventually multiple players

It’s designed to empower creators with all the features you’d expect from a professional arcade-style rhythm game without the massive technical overhead.

How we built it

I started by dissecting the mechanics of rhythm games I’ve admired for years, then worked to recreate that experience within the Horizon editor. From there, I developed a modular codebase in TypeScript that could handle everything from note spawning and smooth motion to timing windows, streak logic, and multiplayer scaling. Every element was carefully designed so creators can swap assets, adjust visuals, and customize gameplay without breaking the system.

Challenges we ran into

This project pushed me to the limits as much as I did Horizon! Latency and visual syncing were massive hurdles since timing is everything in a rhythm game, and Horizon wasn’t originally designed for millisecond precision. Achieving smooth note motion, building a complex yet manageable scoring system, and optimizing an extremely dense codebase were all major challenges. Each feature had to be engineered with precision while still leaving the flexibility for creators to remix and extend it.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I’m incredibly proud of how polished Groove Tapper Template feels. Despite the limitations of the platform, it captures the responsive, satisfying gameplay loop of a true arcade rhythm experience. I hope it serves as an excellent toolkit that creators can use to build their own versions or just dissect to see how it was made. I also LOVE how the included original song turned out!

What we learned

This project taught me so much about building timing-focused systems in a networked engine, as well as the unique challenges of synchronizing rhythm gameplay across different devices. I also deepened my skills in structuring large TypeScript projects and balancing technical flexibility with creator-friendly usability.

What's next for Groove Tapper

I plan to continue expanding the Groove Tapper Template with multiplayer support, additional track management, and new visual options. But most importantly, I can’t wait to see how other creators remix this project. The true potential of Groove Tapper lies in the hands of the amazing Horizon creators who will no doubt transform it into something bigger than I could have ever imagined.