We’re long past the days of Guitar Hero,Rock Band, and their plastic instruments.
But those games have fallen out of favour, be it for cost, environmental reasons, or fashion.
Its latest edition, Rocksmith+, released back in September and promises to teach technique with over 5,000 songs.
Perhaps after all that, you might consider writing your own.
Since those Guitar Hero days, though, music games have moved on.
Now developers have branched out from simply mimicking an instrument to infusing games from different genres with music.
Are these the future of music video games?
I say rhythm games, but viral sensation Trombone Champ is more of an anti-rhythm game.
That, though, is intentional: it’s all in the name of comedy.
And then you could actually hear how off you were.
The trombone proved to be the perfect instrument to match that image with both its slide and sound.
“I don’t know if it’s the shape, the name, the sounds it makes.
Some things are just inherently funnier than others or naturally funnier.
And I think the trombone is up there.”
Still, Vecchitto leaned into comedy with the game’s difficulty.
“The worse you do, the funnier it is.
So that frees up the game in a few ways.
“I don’t expect the player to do well, or even want the player to do well.
And that actually makes it more enjoyable.
People really enjoy the William Tell Overture in the game.
But Vecchitto didn’t expect the game, and its comedy, to resonate so well with players.
Vecchitto described the reaction from players as “overwhelming”.
“We were blown away,” he said, with clear enthusiasm.
“We did not expect this at all.
I knew the concept was funny.
I knew it was memeable…
But I didn’t really think that would actually lead to the game itself becoming popular.”
Beyond rhythm games, some developers are injecting musical elements into existing genres.
Perhaps the most successful of these this year wasMetal: Hellsinger.
“And I decided to fire on the beat because it felt like it was rewarding.
“And a lot of rhythm games are especially good at getting you into a flow state.
That proved a challenge when game design often slots in audio at the end.
So we had to figure that stuff out.”
That also made the game’s difficulty hard to balance.
But most of all it was to create synergy between the music and the gameplay.
You would have just been playing along a static track,” said Goldfarb.
Those artists lend the game authenticity, which extends to its overall aesthetic too.
Said Goldfarb: “We went our way.
I think we really tried to make a tribute to the genre.”
Some music games are less interested in having the player perform and more into music as a narrative gadget.
But more than that, the songs have been released and the virtual band is real.
It’s not just a game, but an introduction.
It took four and a half years, but the game is serving a different purpose.”
That said, the game design process started with story first.
“They’re not singing about what they’re seeing and doing.
It’s just meant to fit tonally and emotionally.
So why create a video game as an EP instead of a standalone music release?
For Dief it was important to tell the story behind making a record, to show vulnerability.
“The goal of this thing was to be human sized.
And to be like, ‘look, this is hard’.
They don’t win at the end, they don’t make any money with that EP.
They just release it.”
All the developers I spoke to have an interest in music.
And so many musicians think video games are the future of creativity.
So they’re always shouting at each other about how excited they are about each other.
So it’s fun to be in both spaces.”
The next step for Dief, therefore, is for the band to play live.
“We are still here.
The music isn’t a marketing ploy.
We told the story and we also have a band so we’re gonna keep doing that.”
