NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Rhythm video game

A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, rhythm action game, or rhythm game, is a type of video game where the gameplay is oriented almost entirely around the player's ability to follow a musical beat and stay with the rhythm of the game's soundtrack. Since the game play for this type of game is largely aural rather than visual, this type of game is similar to audio games. However, music games generally require a visual component as well. This article is about computer and video games. ... Music is an art, entertainment, or other human activity that involves organized and audible sounds and silence. ... See also the beat disambiguation page. ... // Rhythm (Greek ÏÏ…Î¸Î¼ÏŒÏ‚ = tempo) is the variation of the duration of sounds or other events over time. ... Soundtrack refers to the recorded sound accompanying a visual medium such as a motion picture, television show, or video game. ... An audio game is a game played on an electronic device. ...

In a music video game, the player must press specific buttons, or activate controls on a specialized game controller, in time with the game's music. The control scheme is usually fairly simplistic, and the moves required are usually pre-determined rather than randomized. More recently, music games such as Rez (2002) have attempted to move away from the traditional "Simon says" approach, attempting to give the player more freedom in the sounds they create. A game controller is an input device used to control a video game. ... Music is an art, entertainment, or other human activity that involves organized and audible sounds and silence. ... The boxart used for Rezs Japanese and European releases. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Simon Says is a game for three or more players (most often children). ...

In an offshoot of the serious games initiative, a hybrid music video game is emerging where the goal of the game itself is the resulting concert music from the interaction between performer and live projected video game. While strong support for the convergence of live music and video games is evident with the success of the Video Games Live concert series, this type of game-score augments traditional western music notation with the dramatic elements of animation, interactivity, graphic elements and aleatoric principals (Anigraphical Music). The concept of incorporating Game Theory and music is not new and can be traced back to the Musikalisches Würfelspiel. Serious games (SGs) are a type of video and computer games, similar to that of educational games, but primarily focused on an audience outside of primary or secondary education. ... Video Games Live Video Games Live is a concert tour featuring music from a variety of video games, combined with video, light, lasers, and special effects. ... Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that studies strategic situations where players choose different actions in an attempt to maximize their returns. ... The Musikalisches WÃ¼rfelspiel was a system for randomly generating music (long before computer systems) which was invented by Mozart. ...

Major developers

NanaOn-Sha

A Japanese video game company now known as NanaOn-Sha is credited with the creation of what is generally considered to be the first modern rhythm game, PaRappa the Rapper (1996). The gameplay generally involves repeating the rhythms of raps from another character (one per level), by pressing any of eight buttons on the game controller. The button sequences are displayed on a timeline the top of the screen. The press of a button plays a corresponding sample of PaRappa's voice, regardless of whether the timing of the press or the selection of the button is correct (PaRappa can sometimes be heard to say "oops!" if no sample is associated with the button at that moment). NanaOn-Sha is a Japanese video game company which created what is widely credited as the first modern rhythm game, PaRappa the Rapper. ... NanaOn-Sha is a Japanese video game company which created what is widely credited as the first modern rhythm game, PaRappa the Rapper. ... PaRappa the Rapper (Japanese: ãƒ‘ãƒ©ãƒƒãƒ‘ãƒ©ãƒƒãƒ‘ãƒ¼, 1996) is a rhythm video game for the Sony PlayStation created by Masaya Matsuuras NanaOn-Sha company. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Hip hop music is a style of popular music. ...

The game is scored for sequence and timing, and adhering exactly to the given timeline results in a passing grade. However, unlike many other music games, the player may obtain an even higher score and access a special "COOL" mode of play by "freestyling" (though the algorithm by which this is scored is often nebulous and the results virtually unpredictable). Freestyle or Latin Freestyle, also called Latin Hip Hop in its early years, is a form of electronic music that is heavily influenced by Hispanic and African-American culture. ... Flowcharts are often used to represent algorithms. ...

The game's success resulted in the spinoff UmJammer Lammy (1999), which is based on guitar samples, and eventually a proper sequel (2002). NanaOn-Sha also produced another novel music game, Vib-Ribbon (1999), but released the game only in Japan and Europe. UmJammer Lammy is a spin-off of the rhythm video game PaRappa the Rapper, released on the Sony PlayStation. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... PaRappa the Rapper 2 is a PlayStation 2 rhythm video game, sequel to the groundbreaking PaRappa the Rapper. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... An in-game screenshot Vib-Ribbon is a game for Sony PlayStation. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of Earth; the term continent here referring to a cultural and political distinction, rather than a physiographic one, thus leading to various perspectives about Europes precise borders. ...

BEMANI (née Konami g.m.d)

An extremely popular series of games published by Konami in Japan that make up a significant proportion of the genre, and are known as the "BEMANI series", after the company's music games division. The series is named, in a common Japanese syllabic abbreviation, after its flagship game, beatmania (1997), in which a player uses a set of buttons and a controller in the form of a DJ's turntable. The series also includes several games based on controllers shaped like musical instruments, such as GuitarFreaks (1998) and DrumMania (1999). The French word nÃ©e (feminine) or nÃ© (masculine) (or the English word nee) is still commonly used in some newspapers when mentioning the maiden name of a woman in engagement or wedding announcements. ... Bemani (ãƒ“ãƒ¼ãƒžãƒ‹, biimani) is Konamis music video game division. ... Konami Corporation (ã‚³ãƒŠãƒŸ) TYO: 9766 (NYSE: KNM) (SGX: K20) is a leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling computer and video games. ... Bemani (ãƒ“ãƒ¼ãƒžãƒ‹, biimani) is Konamis music video game division. ... beatmania IIDX controls beatmania (ãƒ“ãƒ¼ãƒˆãƒžãƒ‹ã‚¢) is a rhythm video game developed and distributed by Japanese game developer Konami and first released in 1997. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... DJ or dj may stand for Disc jockey, dinner jacket The DeadJournal website, or Djibouti. ... Edison cylinder phonograph ca. ... GuitarFreaks (alternately GUITARFREAKS, abbreviated GF) is a 1998 arcade game created by Konami that is part of the Bemani series. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... DrumMania (alternately drummania, abbreviated DM) is a video game created by Konami as part of the Bemani series. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Only a limited selection of the BEMANI games have been released outside of Asia, the most notable definitely being Dance Dance Revolution (1998) (also known as Dancing Stage in European release), in which players, in time with an on-screen sequence, step on or otherwise activate panels on a large (about 1 meter square) floor controller which in home versions somewhat resembles the Nintendo Power Pad accessory. The overwhelming success of DDR and its sequels has spawned numerous re-creations of the game or its mechanics, both commercial (Pump It Up, EZ2Dancer) and free (including StepMania, which is also FOSS, and Dance With Intensity, which is not), making it possibly the most duplicated music game in existence. World map showing the location of Asia. ... The main gameplay screen of Dance Dance Revolution. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Dancing Stage MegaMiX cover image Dancing Stage is a series of music video games developed and published by Konami. ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of Earth; the term continent here referring to a cultural and political distinction, rather than a physiographic one, thus leading to various perspectives about Europes precise borders. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... Nintendo Company, Limited (Japanese: ä»»å¤©å ‚, ãƒ‹ãƒ³ãƒ†ãƒ³ãƒ‰ãƒ¼ NintendÅ; NASDAQ: NTDOY.pk, TYO: 7974 ) is a multinational corporation founded on November 6,[citation needed] 1889 in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards, for use in a Japanese playing card game of the same name. ... The Power Pad is a floor mat game controller released in the United States for the Nintendo Entertainment System. ... Pump It Up is a rhythm video game developed by Andamiro, a Korean coin-operated games producer. ... EZ2Dancer is arcade rhythm video game made by the Korean company Amuseworld. ... StepMania is a free, open source rhythm video game for Windows, Mac, and Linux created by Chris Danford. ... FOSS is an acronym for free and open source software that is most often used in English-speaking military software communities. ... Dance With Intensity (DWI) is a computer game for the PC that simulates the Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) music video game series. ...

The BEMANI series can be credited with several trends in music games. One is the use of novel, specialized game controllers, in both arcade and home versions (which Konami has also pioneered in non-music games such as Police 911). Another is a basis on a sizeable catalog of short mixes and covers of existing songs as well as songs produced in-house for the game. Most or all games in the series have (often multiple) sequels in which the mechanics of the game vary little from the original and the main change is the selection of songs.

Harmonix

An American game company called Harmonix makes primarily music games, and is famous for the game FreQuency (2001) and its sequel Amplitude (2003), both of which feature edits of existing songs (as well as original selections) and a gameplay similar to that of beatmania. Harmonix is a game developer for the PlayStation 2. ... Harmonix is a game developer for the PlayStation 2. ... Sine waves of various frequencies; the lower waves have higher frequencies than those above. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The PlayStation 2 game Amplitude was developed by Harmonix and is the sequel to the game Frequency. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Harmonix also produced Karaoke Revolution (2003) (published by Konami as a BEMANI game), in which a player sings along to background music and on-screen lyrics (in the style of karaoke) into a microphone and scored on correct pitch. (Three years after apparently the first such game (PlaySingMusic/SoittoPeli) was published for PC in Finland (2000) and presented in LA (iWireless World conference, April 2-4, 2001 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.) by Elmorex Ltd.) Karaoke Revolution, and its sequels Karaoke Revolution Volume 2, Karaoke Revolution Volume 3, Karaoke Revolution Party, and CMT Presents: Karaoke Revolution Country are Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox video games developed by Harmonix and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Karaoke machine Karaoke (Japanese: ã‚«ãƒ©ã‚ªã‚±, from ç©º kara, empty or void, and ã‚ªãƒ¼ã‚±ã‚¹ãƒˆãƒ© Åkesutora, orchestra) is a form of entertainment in which an amateur singer or singers sing along with recorded music on microphone. ...

A new (as of November 2005) game by Harmonix called Guitar Hero is extremely similar to Konami's GuitarFreaks, making use of a nearly identical guitar-shaped (but only slightly guitar-like) controller with more neck buttons. Ongoing events â€¢ Abramoff-Reed gambling scandal â€¢ Al Jazeera bombing memo â€¢ Avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak â€¢ Black sites scandal â€¢ Conservative leadership race (UK) â€¢ Fuel prices â€¢ Irans nuclear program â€¢ Jilin chemical plant explosions â€¢ Kashmir earthquake â€¢ Malawi food crisis â€¢ Malaysian prisoner abuse scandal â€¢ New Delhi bombings investigation â€¢ Niger food crisis â€¢ North Indian cyclone... Guitar Hero is a music video game for the PlayStation 2. ... GuitarFreaks (alternately GUITARFREAKS, abbreviated GF) is a 1998 arcade game created by Konami that is part of the Bemani series. ...

The company was one of the first developers to make use of the EyeToy camera accessory for the PlayStation 2. The EyeToy is a colour digital camera device for the PlayStation 2 similar to a webcam. ... PS2 redirects here. ...

United Game Artists/Q Entertainment

Before it was absorbed by Sonic Team in 2003, SEGA's United Game Artists division, led by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, created several music games. In the month following the dissolution of UGA, Mizuguchi left SEGA along with several of his co-workers to form an independent game studio, Q Entertainment, which continues producing music-based games, along with a handful of other titles. SEGA AM9 was a computer and video game second-party developer for SEGA. In 2000 AM9 became United Games Artists or (UGA). ... Company Logo Q Entertainment (also known simply as Q?) is a video game developer. ... Sonic Team is a computer and video game developer established in 1988 as Sega AM8. ... Sega Corporation ) is an international video game software and hardware developing company, and a former home computer and console manufacturer. ... Tetsuya Mizuguchi Tetsuya Mizuguchi (born on 1965 in Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan) is a video game designer and founder of the video game developer firm, Q Entertainment. ...

The first two titles produced by UGA were the Dreamcast game Space Channel 5 and its sequel (both were later re-released for the PlayStation 2). In the game, the player controls Ulala, a swingin' reporter for the titular broadcast network, Space Channel 5. Ulala defeats her enemies (which include aliens, robots, and nefarious humans) by mesmerizing them with her dancing and/or singing, then incapacitating them with her raygun. The control scheme follows a "simon says" format, with players repeating sequences of button presses in time with the ever-present music. Sega Dreamcast The Sega Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト; code-named Katana during development) was Segas last video game console. ... Space Channel 5 is a console game, which was first released in Japan for the Sega Dreamcast on December 16, 1999. ... PS2 redirects here. ... Rayguns are a type of directed-energy weapon. ...

The last title made by UGA before it was dissolved was Rez, a unique rail shooter for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. In Rez, the player flies through a psychedelic, abstract landscape while a Techno or Breakbeat track plays. Whenever the player locks on to an enemy, shoots, or uses a special ability, there is a both a musical and a visual effect which occurs in time with the playing track. The controller's vibrating motors also pulse in time with the beat. The sensory experiences offered by the game (visual, auditory, and tactile) are all intensely coordinated, and the unique play experience earned Rez many excellent reviews, although sales were lackluster. The boxart used for Rezs Japanese and European releases. ... A rail shooter or on-rails shooter is a specific form of game play in an action-based video game. ... Sega Dreamcast The Sega Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト; code-named Katana during development) was Segas last video game console. ... PS2 redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Breakbeat (sometimes breakbeats or breaks) is a term used to describe a collection of sub-genres of electronic music, usually characterized by the use of a non-straighted 4/4 drum pattern (as opposed to the steady beat of house or trance). ...

After Mizuguchi left SEGA to form Q Entertainment, his new company produced two titles for new portable systems, Lumines for the PlayStation Portable and Meteos for the Nintendo DS. Meteos includes a largely orchestral soundtrack, but the gameplay does not center on music or rhythm, so it is outside the scope of this article. Lumines is a video game created by game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi. ... The PlayStation Portable (most commonly abbreviated PSP) is a handheld game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... Meteos (Japanese: ãƒ¡ãƒ†ã‚ªã‚¹ (Meteosu)) is an action puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS portable gaming system. ... The Nintendo DS (sometimes abbreviated NDS or DS also as iQue DS in China) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo, released in 2004. ...

Lumines is a puzzle game in which the goal is to arrange like-colored falling blocks into squares which will then disappear. Like Rez, each stage in the game has a unique musical and visual theme. Unlike, for example, Tetris, blocks which are cleared do not disappear immediately. Instead, a bar called the timeline sweeps across the screen in time with the music and clears away the properly arranged blocks, producing a musical effect in sync with the background music each time this happens. Tetris is widely known as the most popular computer puzzle game of all time [citation needed]. It was invented by Alexey Pazhitnov (last name transliterated Pajitnov by The Tetris Company [1]) in 1985, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow...

Finally, Q Entertainment is currently working on producing a new PSP title called Every Extend Extra. It is as an action game with shooter like elements. The game will feature rhythm-oriented gameplay, music, and psychedelic graphics, much like Rez. Every Extend Extra (or E3 for short) is a newly announced action shooting game by Q Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). ...

iNiS

iNiS is video game developer most commonly known for their cult video games Gitaroo Man for the PlayStation 2 and Ouendan for the Nintendo DS, these games are rhythm games designed by Keiichi Yano. While the company has been around for many years, none of their previous games have matched the recent success and support they've received with Ouendan, this game has caused many gamers and new followers alike to go back to their previous rhythm game Gitaroo Man. Published by Koei in 2002 throughout North America, the game quickly became a cult video game and as a result was also extremely hard to find, fortunately Koei saw this new found demand for the game and more copies were shipped. In fact, not only did Koei ship more copies of the game, they also had iNiS port the game to Sony's handheld gaming device the PSP as Gitaroo Man Lives!. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Cult computer and video games is a notion similar to cult films. ... Gitaroo Man is a video game for the Sony PlayStation 2, published by Koei. ... PS2 redirects here. ... Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (æŠ¼å¿ï¼æˆ¦ãˆï¼å¿œæ´å›£ Go! Fight! Cheer Squad), often informally referred to as Ouendan, is a Japanese rhythm video game for the Nintendo DS. The player controls a troupe of motivational cheerleaders by providing them rhythm through the Nintendo DSs touch screen. ... The Nintendo DS (sometimes abbreviated NDS or DS also as iQue DS in China) is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo, released in 2004. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... PSP can refer to: PlayStation Portable, from Sony Paint Shop Pro Pacifist Socialist Party Palm Springs International Airport (IATA Airport Code) Paralytic shellfish poisoning Payment Service Provider Pennsylvania State Police Philadelphia Songwriters Project Personal Software Process Phi Sigma Pi PolÃcia de SeguranÃ§a PÃºblica Polysaccharide Peptide Postal System... Gitaroo Man is a video game for the Sony PlayStation 2, published by Koei. ...

iNiS's new found success with these rhythm games has just begun as Nintendo, who was the publisher of Ouendan in Japan, has also recognized this rapidly growing fanbase and has the developer working on an all new Nintendo DS game to be released this year. Entitled Elite Beat Agents, the game is essentially Ouendan adapted for North American audiences since the game has too many cultural references to be released here unchanged. To work around this Nintendo has decided to work with iNiS again to make an all new game exclusively for North Americans to enjoy. The game uses exact same engine and gameplay featured in Ouendan as well as the same style and humor, but with all new music and scenarios that cater to the North American audience many are regarding this game as a spiritual sequel. Nintendo Company, Limited (Japanese: ä»»å¤©å ‚, ãƒ‹ãƒ³ãƒ†ãƒ³ãƒ‰ãƒ¼ NintendÅ; NASDAQ: NTDOY.pk, TYO: 7974 ) is a multinational corporation founded on November 6,[citation needed] 1889 in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards, for use in a Japanese playing card game of the same name. ... Elite Beat Agents is a Nintendo DS rhythm game developed by iNiS. Elite Beat Agents is a sequel to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, created for an American audience. ...

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