When the original trailer for Dropchord was released, people responded with a resounding “huh?” Now that the game has been officially shown at PAX East, we finally know what all these blinking lights mean.

The Chord in Dropchord is not a musical chord but a geometric one. That’s the line that is crossing the circle that makes up the play field. The game is controlled by using two fingers pointing at the screen lining up with the circumference of the circle. As the game progresses, score orbs appear inside the circle and you pick them up by swiping the chord across them. However, at the same time damage bolts will also show up on the screen and if the chord swipes across them you use life. The point of the game, obviously, is to score the most orbs while avoiding the most damage.

This isn’t all you’ll have to do in Dropchord, however. Certain stages give you access to new abilities, like the “spin” which spins the chord around the circle when you flick one of your fingers. More often than not, these abilities will have to be used in conjunction with normal chord moving gameplay. For example, a series of score orbs can be situated around the circle while a cluster of damage symbols appear in the middle. By moving the chord to one side of the circle and shortening it before spinning, you’ll manage to pick up all the orbs and avoid all the bolts.

The game is still in a very early build and more abilities and game elements are still yet to be determined. Dropchord will cost “about five dollars’ along with the leap motion controller which costs eighty dollars. Thus far the game has only been announced for PC.

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