MuPi & the Lost Notes – platform game with a controller
The platform game "MuPi & the Lost Notes" on MuPiBox NG – pairing a controller, controls, difficulty levels, points, helpers and enemies, sound and known limits.
MuPi & the Lost Notes is a small platform game that runs completely offline on the box. MuPi collects lost notes in the music forest and brings them to the golden harp. The game is part of the kids apps and has one level in the alpha.
Real capture of the title screen. Play, Settings and Help can be chosen by touch or with the controller.
Requirements
- Enable the Games service under Content & Services → Providers & Services and add the "Games" tile under Media & categories.
- The platform game requires a Bluetooth or USB controller. Touch only operates the menus and leaving the game, and the keyboard does not move MuPi. Many older touch displays recognise only one finger, so running and jumping at the same time would not be possible.
- Pair a Bluetooth controller under Hardware → Bluetooth (Bluetooth). USB controllers work once they are plugged in.
On the touch display, open Games → Play MuPi. Without a controller the hint line on the title screen reads "Connect a controller, then press START"; "Back" at the bottom left returns to the games menu.
Controls
| Action | Controller |
|---|---|
| Run | D-pad or left stick |
| Jump (hold for a higher jump) | A (bottom action button) |
| Duck and crawl | D-pad ↓ or stick down |
| Sprint | R (right shoulder button) |
| Sound wave (after the headphones) | tap B |
| Pause / continue | START |
| Game sound on/off | X |
| Title menu: choose difficulty | ← / → |
Button labels differ between manufacturers; what counts is the position of the button. If the controller disconnects, the game freezes and shows the title menu. After reconnecting, START or A continues at the same spot.
Goal and points
The level holds 38 notes, two treble clefs on crumbling platforms (+3 each) and one bonus note that appears once MuPi has played all eight keys of the xylophone bridge – 45 points in total. 28 points are enough for the harp at the finish. Collecting all 45 earns a longer celebration.
Difficulty levels
| Mode | Hearts | Countdown | Enemies | Sound waves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 3 | none | 8 | unlimited |
| Normal | 2 | 120 s | 8 | unlimited |
| Hard | 1 | 80 s | 11 | 10 |
The countdown starts with the level and stops during pause and while the controller is disconnected. At 0:00 the game does not end: first the last open note blinks and disappears, then the next note disappears every 5 seconds in Normal and every 4 seconds in Hard – from the harp back towards the start of the level. Collected points are never lost; treble clefs and the bonus note do not disappear. A perfect run therefore needs some speed. In Hard mode the display shows the remaining sound waves (♫ 10/10).
Helpers in the level
- Headphones: after touching them, B releases a sound wave that sends nearby enemies to sleep for a moment. The first enemy contact with headphones costs the headphones instead of a heart; MuPi then blinks for 1.5 seconds and is protected.
- Protection speaker: gives a protective bubble for 14 seconds that absorbs the next hit.
- Musical updraft: air rises from the tubas. MuPi floats up in it and reaches the headphones and the speaker that hang high up.
- Spring drum: bounces MuPi up – one way onto the roof of the duck tunnel.
- Xylophone bridge: every key plays a note; all eight unlock the bonus note.
- Platforms: MuPi can jump through wooden terraces from below; one platform moves, two crumble shortly after MuPi steps on them.
- Duck tunnel and water gaps: under the low roof MuPi can only continue ducking. Falling into the water always costs a heart – even with headphones.
- Checkpoints: after losing a heart, MuPi starts again at the last checkpoint reached.
Enemies
- Grumpy hedgehog: walks back and forth and, because of its spines, is dangerous from above as well. Only a sound wave stuns it.
- Snapping flower: grows out of the ground, warns and then snaps. Only the open blossom is dangerous, not the stem or leaves.
- Purple tone eater: floats above the path. The stronger tone eaters need two or three sound waves within 7 seconds; the counter above them shows the progress.
Pause, victory and game over
- START pauses. While paused, A continues and B returns to the games menu.
- Victory: after a short celebration, A restarts the level and B returns to the games menu.
- Game over: after the animation the result page appears; A starts again, B opens the game's title menu.
- A and B only act 1.5 seconds into the victory and, after a game over, only on the result page. A sound wave or jump pressed at the last moment therefore does not end the game by accident.
Sound and volume
Title music, level music and effects play through the box's selected audio output. Set the game volume in the games menu under Vol. or in the game under Settings; it always stays below the maximum volume set in Audio. Starting a game pauses running playback, including Spotify. Parental control can lock the games.
Known limits (alpha)
- There is one level and no saved progress.
- Without a controller the platform game cannot be played.
- Measured on a Raspberry Pi 4: smooth 60 frames per second, about one CPU core in use while playing and around 5 % in the title menu. A Raspberry Pi 3 has not been measured yet.
- The game is available in German and English (DE/EN switch at the top right).