{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/keyboard--family-timing","type":"mechanic","id":"keyboard--family-timing","lang":"en","title":"Time and rhythm","summary":"A key press is compared with a timing window. Crypt of the NecroDancer requires movement and attacks to follow the musical beat.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/keyboard--family-timing/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/keyboard--family-timing.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/keyboard--family-timing.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Physical keyboard interactions","Signals and timing"],"sourceIds":["source-d016f535d3996d45"],"sources":[{"id":"source-d016f535d3996d45","title":"Crypt of the NecroDancer","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/247080/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"The position of the press or release relative to the temporal structure is assessed."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants and applications\n\n<a id=\"family-timing-variants\"></a>\n\n- Reaction to a signal. Action: Press after the signal appears; response delay is measured. Application: Race start, object catching, response training simulator. Conditions: Device and output delays are included in the measurement; This is not a laboratory evaluation without calibration. Equipment: Regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k017\"></a>\n- Hitting the window. Action: Press inside the allowed interval. Application: Parry, active cooldown, QTE, precise stop of the indicator. Conditions: Window width and early input are difficulty parameters. Equipment: Regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k018\"></a>\n- Letting go out the window. Action: Hold the key and release at the right moment. Application: Release the charge at the peak, break the note, unhook from the moving platform. Conditions: It is the release that is assessed, not the beginning of the hold. Equipment: A regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k019\"></a>\n- Maintaining duration. Action: Compare the hold length with a given sample. Application: Long note, cooking, dosage in a conventional laboratory. Conditions: The error of the beginning and end can be assessed separately. Equipment: A regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k020\"></a>\n- Uniform pulse. Action: Repeat pressing with a constant period. Application: Playing with a metronome, marching, working a rhythmic mechanism. Conditions: Periodic rhythm differs from the maximum frequency. Equipment: Regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k021\"></a>\n- Rhythmic pattern. Action: Play a sequence of short and long intervals. Application: Musical password, drum part, telegraph code. Conditions: Morse symbols require a separate rule for parsing letter and word boundaries. Equipment: Regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k022\"></a>\n- Change of tempo and accents. Action: Adjust presses for acceleration, deceleration, weak beats or offsets. Application: Rhythmic pursuit, musical performance, changing the speed of a conveyor. Conditions: The emphasis on a regular keyboard is set by a rule or a separate key, and not by the force of impact. Equipment: A regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k023\"></a>\n- Several rhythms at the same time. Action: Different groups of keys serve independent temporary parts. Application: Polyrhythm, simultaneous control of two mechanisms, keyboard ensemble. Conditions: Complexity increases with the independence of streams; check rollover. Equipment: Regular keyboard. <a id=\"variant-k024\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Author's working classification for designing games and interactions. Options can overlap and combine; the list is not a generally accepted standard or proven exhaustive list. Application examples are conditional unless a specific verifiable observation is indicated nearby. Sources support individual techniques and technical limitations."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"keyboard","id":"family-timing","title":"Physical keyboard interactions","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/keyboard/#family-timing","categoryIds":["section-1"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Time and rhythm","description":"A key press is compared with a timing window. Crypt of the NecroDancer requires movement and attacks to follow the musical beat.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/systems-crypt-necrodancer-01.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Crypt of the NecroDancer","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/247080/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/247080/ss_bb057affa1f4ccac14d1a58e5707cd0fd66e82e7.1920x1080.jpg?t=1791916929","credit":"Brace Yourself Games / Brace Yourself Games / Klei Entertainment","rights":"© Brace Yourself Games / Brace Yourself Games / Klei Entertainment. All rights reserved.","caption":"Movement and attacks follow the musical beat","alt":"Movement and attacks follow the musical beat","markers":[{"x":50,"y":88,"label":"The lower beat bar helps time actions to the music"}]},"tips":["Show the input window and allow audiovisual latency calibration."],"examples":[{"title":"Crypt of the NecroDancer","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/247080/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/keyboard"}}