Music video game

Not to be confused withVideo game musicorMusic (video game).

Amusic video game,also commonly known as amusic game,is avideo gamewhere thegameplayis meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with amusicalscore or individualsongs.Music video games may take a variety of forms and are often grouped withpuzzle gamesdue to their common use of "rhythmically generated puzzles".

Open sourcemusic video gameStepMania

Music video games are distinct from purelyaudio games(e.g. the 1997Sega SaturnreleaseReal Sound: Kaze no Regret) in that they feature a visual feedback, to lead the player through the game's soundtrack, although eidetic music games can fall under both categories.

Overview

Music video games are games where there is typically some type of interactivity of the gameplay with the game's music. This may be where the music is generated in response to the player's actions, or where the player reacts to the beats and notes of the music.As the genre has gained popularity and expanded, music video games have demonstrated the ability to support a range of different styles of gameplay, making the genre itself rather diffuse. A game such asRayman Legendsfeatures levels that are based onendless runnersbut where the player scores better by matching their actions to the musical cues, which could make this a music video game.

Instead, it is easier to consider the sub-genres of music video games based on how the player interacts with the music in the game, of which there are four main types as described by the concepts of "matching, making, mixing, and metonymy" as described by Michael Austin, the director of the School of Music atLouisiana Tech University.These ideas correlate to the subgenres as described below. Music games may feature multiple modes; for example,Frequencyis primarily a scored rhythm matching game but also includes a music mixing gameplay feature for players to make their own mixes of the available songs.

Rhythm-matching games

Main article:Rhythm game

Frets on Fire,an open-sourceGuitar Heroclone,is an example of a rhythm-matching game.

Rhythm-matching games or simply rhythm games require the player to respond in some fashion in time to music as it is played and shown via the game, all generally to emphasize therhythmof the song being played. This may be by performing specific actions on a controller with precision timing as the note is played. Players are generally scored by not only hitting the right control but how precisely they hit it in time with the music. To improve in such games, players often begin to learn the required actions to memory as to be able to anticipate difficult sections or areas where high scoring is possible.

The wide variety of possible player input has created a range of rhythm games, fromDance Dance Revolutionwhere players input moves on adance mat,Donkey Kongain which players beat on aconga drum-like controller, and theGuitar Heroseries where players simulate thefingeringandstrummingon a guitar-shaped controller. This concept also extends to singing games likeKaraoke Revolution,with players scored for how well they match thepitchof the vocal track.

Rhythm games are the most dominant form of the music game genre.The electronic gameSimonis considered the earliest example of a rhythm game,while early games that defined the rhythm-matching aspects includeDance Aerobics(1987) andPaRappa the Rapper(1996). More recent titles include theGuitar Hero(2005) andRock Band(2007) series,Beat Saber(2019), andFriday Night Funkin’.

Hybrid rhythm games

A further class of rhythm games is hybrid rhythm games or music reactive games. In comparison to the forementioned rhythm games where the rhythm matching is the primary focus and the player's action helps to generate the music that they hear, reactive games let the background music guide the player action, leaving the rhythm gameplay elements secondary to the main gameplay form.Often in these hybrid rhythm games, the player plays the game as they normally would but can use the in-game music to time actions often to better their score, thus affecting theinteractionbetween the player and the in-game dynamics as goal of the game.InRez,for example, the game takes the form of a simplerail shooter;however, by integrating sound effects created by the actions of the player (as he completes the normal tasks of rail-shooting) with the soundtrack as a whole, the game is intended to permit the player's direct interaction with the soundtrack and to encourage the creation of asynaesthetic experience.Other similar games includePteranodon,Rhyme Rider Kerorican,oriS – internal section.A further class of these games allow for users to provide music that is then processed dynamically by the game to create challenges for that song, so that players are not dependent on the game's developer to extend the game's library of songs. Such games includeVib-Ribbon,Audiosurf,orDance Factory.

Music-making games

Music-making freeform music games are those in which the creation of music takes predominance over gameplay and as such these games are often more similar to non-gamemusic synthesizerssuch as theTenori-on.Players are given the ability to create their own music from a variety of sounds, instruments or voices, typically with no goal or objective. Free form music games occupy a position somewhere between generative hybrid music games and non-game utilities dependent upon the degree to which their gameplay relies upon a driving underlying plotline. This form of music game is closely analogous tosandboxgames in the realm of non-musical games and the term "sandbox" has been used to describe this form of gameplay.Examples of such games includeSimTunesor the music composition tool inMario Paint.

Music-mixing games

Music-mixing games are those in which players take premade sounds, music, or other audio tracks and interact with them in the game to create new works. These games are similarly sandbox in nature a music-making games, though by creation of certain combination of sounds, the player may be awarded points or unlock additional features. Such games includeIncrediboxandFuser.

Music-themed games

The fourth subgenre of music games are those that are related to themetonymyof music, where the game may feature narration about the creation of music but not feature gameplay related to music. For example,Michael Jackson's Moonwalkerwould be a considered a music-themed game as it is based on the musical works ofMichael Jackson,but as abeat'em up,has none of the typical mechanics associated with the other subgenres of music games.One of the first examples of this type of subgenre, and of music games in general, is the 1983 arcade gameJourney,named afterband of the same name,which featured some of the group's music and digitized versions of the band members.

Music games for live performance

Players performing at aPAX eventwhile playingRock Band 2

Some music video games, regardless of their fundamental gameplay, may offer modes to allow players to use the game for creating live performances, typically using freeform or non-scoring modes with multiple local players. Games likeGuitar HeroandSingstaroffer such modes that also give the player the opportunity for physical presence as part of their performance for others.

See also

• Video game music
• List of music video games

External links

Media related toMusic video gamesat Wikimedia Commons