Rhythm Game

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Synonyms: Music game
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Rhythm games[1] are a type of video game, in which as the name suggests, makes beats (or notes) of songs highly prominent in their gameplay over other elements, as well as visual and aural cues. Their prominence in fandom had only grown in popularity since the early 2000s, which led to several fans making their own fan charts and remixes, either for play for certain rhythm games or showcasing their musical creativity.

Rhythm games as a genre in of themselves are as diverse and broad as far as its naming goes, with the core mechanics being of eye-hand coordination, accuracy and the ability to follow through either the beat, melody, or both at the same time. In fandom, rhythm games are genrally widely-accepted for the tendency to break through conventional norms, in terms of gameplay, aural-visual presentation, and story, with some fans going far as to incorporate story and gameplay elements together in often novel, unexpected ways. As a result, the genre has slowly cemented itself as a medium for storytelling and fan interpretation of series canons in recent years.

One of the most well-known examples is the DanceDanceRevolution and DrumMania series of arcade games, with Friday Night Funkin' and osu! being as equally on its level; vivid/statis is another recent example of a rhythm game which also has a visual novel sidestory to it, leading to a small yet blooming fan following as of this day.

Origins of the term

Originally, the term "rhythm game" itself, coined by early experiments and online discussion starting from the early 1970s, was as unclear and refined as developers and fans alike argued on what actually constitutes a rhythm game, but most agree on its most basic connotation being "a game where one has to follow the "rhythm" of something". Naturally, in Japan, since the proliferation of the likes of Parappa the Rapper, DanceDanceRevolution and BeatMania in Japan, the term itself became tacked on to games where the premise revolves around following to the music through timed button/pad/accessory inputs. Today, it's now condensed to "games where music and gameplay go hand in hand", regardless of input scheme and mechanics/gimmicks.

Fannish Perspectives on Rhythm Games

Similar to shoot-em'-ups, or platformers, fans within and outside of the rhythm game community consider the genre as largely belonging to "masochists"[2] - people who tend to beat the hardest levels/chart of particular titles, and then construct even more harder charts and gimmicks - but also the most diverse and abstract, as it allows for the most amount of self-xpression in terms of gameplay, aural-visual presentation, and atmosphere. According to a video by filmotter on rhythm games and their percieved brilliance:

"(...) Rhythm games, especially indie ones, are all about subversion. The experimentation is the trope. That, and the incredible soundtracks, of course."

— filmotter, "Are Rhythm Games Genius? | Video Essay on Rhythm Game History, Realism vs Fun, Sayonara Wild Hearts" (2022, Youtube)


On the topic of the real vs. abstract in player immersion, certain people have noted as such:

(2) Realism does not always make for immersion, and immersion is not always made with realism. Rhythm Games can be immersive the same way that music can be immersive

— MellyMellouange, Youtube comment on the same aforementioned video (2023)

Sub-genres

  • VSRG - "vertically-scrolling rhythm game"; i.e. notes fall either downward or upward in lanes
  • HSRG - "horizontally-scrolling rhythm game"; same as the above, but on a left/right trajectory
  • Tap-like - notes gradually well up from the playfield, and must be tapped or held
  • Dodge - no notes; instead, the environment is the playfield, and elements of it must be dodged in time with the playing song's beats

Notable Examples

Fannish Examples

  • UKSRT - a series of fannish rhythm game tournaments centering around fanmade song charts. (2012-2019)

Links

  1. ^ Wikipedia article about Rhythm Games and their breadth and width, beyond fandom circles.
  2. ^ Terrifying Rhythm Games. owlsroots.xyz. (Published October 12, 2022; accessed September 23, 2023)
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