An example of Punk-O-Matic 2's song editor.
The MUSIC SHEET is the highlight of the Punk-O-Matic series. It allows users to put riffs and drum patterns together to make music! You can copy "song strings" from inside the game ('Get Data') and paste your song strings on the Punk-O-Matic website (You must be logged in to submit your song) or other major flash sites. With the addition of Punk-O-Matic 2's 'Load Data' feature, all user songs are playable in the traditional music game format.
Interface[]
The song editors have simple, easy to understand interfaces so that anyone can easily create music.
Punk-O-Matic 2 version[]
The editor appears as a sheet of notebook paper at the top of the main screen, with the song title above that can be re-titled by clicking on the current title, same goes with your band name. Hover over the top left icon of four people and a name will appear 'Change Band'. Click that and it will take you to the band selection screen that represents your current band you're using. . The four instruments for each row represent, in order, Drums, Guitar One, Bass, And Guitar TGwo. Click an instrument icon to toggle mute on/off. Below the four instrument icons is the "toggle autoscroll" button, which scrolls the music sheet while the song is active. In the bottom left, beside the tools, is the "new song" button, which resets the music sheet, clearing all riffs and drum patterns that were put on the sheet so you can start anew. To the right of the tools are the "play" button, "practice" button, and the "help" button. "Play" lets the user listen to his or her riffs and drum patterns he has composed together. "Practice" goes to a screen to practice playing the song, just like in a career mode concert. "Help" brings up a list of the various bits of information that can be reviewed while playing the game. The sticky notes in the bottom right are for getting and loading song information, while the sticky in the bottom left brings up tabs for the song to be played on real instruments. The composition list on the wall lets the user save songs for quickly loading or deleting in the future.
Tools[]
Click on a box with the "hand" tool to select a manual or special riff from the fourteen sections of the guitar neck illustration. Frets with specials appear darker on the selector. The selected riff will appear in the box you've chosen. Click and hold a riff to listen to it, and use the WASD or arrow keys to change the sound and picking. Users can erase riffs with the "eraser" tool, located to the right of the "hand" tool at the bottom of the music sheet. The "play from" tool allows the user to play his or her song from a chosen point. The "sync" tool copies, or "syncs" a riff from the other guitar to the one box clicked on the other Guitar. Guitar 1 has priority over Guitar Two when syncing the bass guitar. Use the "selection" tool to move, copy, or delete large sections of a song. The "repeat" tool quickly repeats the last used riff or drum pattern for an instrument.
Punk-O-Matic version[]
The first Punk-O-Matic version of the song editor is much simpler than its successor’s. The first noticeable difference is the setup of the game. The second difference is no bass player. The third difference is that rather than having riffs and drum patterns being separated by type and by fret, each individual riff is given a number. Since there are no manual riffs, each of these riffs are equivalent to the special riffs in Punk-O-Matic 2. In addition, the amount of picking riffs and drum patterns is much smaller than in Punk-O-Matic 2, with the highest amount of riffs for any band member being thirteen. Nonetheless, many people prefer Punk-O-Matic over Punk-O-Matic 2 because it's simple UI is more accessible than its more complex successor.