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AeroBeat: Concept Overview

AeroBeat is an open-source free-to-play rhythm workout platform with a deliberately narrowed v1: camera-based Boxing and Flow, shipped to the PC community first.

Older docs described AeroBeat as broadly gameplay-agnostic, hardware-agnostic, and ready to launch across many devices at once. That is no longer the official v1 product claim. The current product thesis is narrower on purpose so the team can ship a strong, coherent first experience.

High concept

Accessible free-to-play rhythm workouts through a standard camera, with community-first content on PC.

AeroBeat still keeps a modular architecture, but the v1 product promise is now specific:

  1. Business model: free-to-play app with free workouts and premium workouts
  2. Input: official gameplay support is camera tracking
  3. Gameplay: official v1 features are Boxing and Flow
  4. Content: community-authored songs, charts, sets, workouts, coaching, and environments
  5. Progression: AeroBeat-owned profile, workout points, and controlled avatar/cosmetics customization

Product pillars for this slice

Free-to-play without identity drift

AeroBeat is not just a free download. It is a free-to-play product that needs a clear long-term answer for athlete identity, progression, and workout access.

That means the architecture cannot quietly collapse into vendor-owned identity just because mod.io is the current community/distribution layer. AeroBeat needs an AeroBeat-owned account architecture as a first-class design concern, even if the full end-user account product is phased.

Accessibility first through camera play

The first launch should let athletes start with hardware they already own: a laptop or desktop plus a camera. UI navigation may still use mouse on PC and touch on mobile surfaces, but official gameplay support is camera-first.

Fitness-first choreography

Boxing and Flow are the retained gameplay pillars because they align with the current workout thesis: readable full-body movement, cardio, rhythm, and progression without requiring a controller ecosystem.

Community-first release order

The release priority is:

  1. PC community first
  2. mobile second
  3. VR third

That order should shape planning language throughout the docs. Mobile and VR remain meaningful future targets, but they are not current parity promises.

Free + premium workout catalog

The content model now needs to support both:

  • free workouts that keep the product approachable and discoverable
  • premium workouts that follow platform-compliant purchase rules

mod.io remains the current premium UGC/community/distribution layer, but official purchases should still flow through legitimate platform/store paths. AeroBeat should describe the resulting access in AeroBeat product terms rather than letting provider-specific purchase mechanics become the public product vocabulary.

Modular architecture, scoped promises

AeroBeat still benefits from modular content, input, and feature boundaries. The key change is marketing and product truthfulness: future-compatible architecture does not mean every feature, device, or platform is official v1 scope.

Explicitly out of current gameplay scope

  • Dance as a gameplay feature
  • Step as a gameplay feature
  • official non-camera gameplay input support
  • package-local gameplay asset swapping as a core workout-package concept

Still valid but future-facing

  • JoyCon, gamepad, keyboard, touch, mouse, and XR input providers
  • VR-focused presentation and shells
  • broader platform packaging after the PC-first community release

Content direction

Workout packages should focus on the durable authored content that matters most for this slice:

  • songs
  • charts
  • sets
  • workouts
  • coaching
  • environments

Older package-asset customization examples are being retired. Future customization docs should point toward controlled avatar and cosmetics unlocks via workout points rather than teaching freeform package-local gameplay asset swaps as the main product path.