It's all about rhythm

I've been a big fan of music games for years now and rarely pass over a new offering no matter how expensive or unwieldy the necessary peripherals might be. Just this morning I downloaded Phase for the iPod hoping to further appreciate my newly culled iTunes library. Fun little game and I thought it would pass the time until Harmonix decides to release Rock Band in Australia (which is going to be so cool).

The most common question I hear after I've subjected someone to gush vomit of my latest rhythm game du jour is "Why bother spending so much time with a music game when you can just learn an instrument?". Personally I think this is really missing the point of playing music games in the first place as I find it to be a completely different experience (in a good way) to plucking on my six string.

Playing "real" music in my opinion, for better or worse, just feels more cerebral. Composition, dynamics, emotion are all driven off decisions that you make as the musician and while thoroughly gratifying can be emotionally and mentally draining in long sessions. Rhythm games on the other hand are a more passive experience by comparison which usually involves entering a receptive state of mind where the "notes" just wash over you as you react unconsciously by pressing the appropriate buttons or stepping on the marked foot pads. Anyone that's felt an uncontrollable urge to physically respond to music (I've been known to gyrate embarrassingly on occasion) whether it be tapping a foot or head banging will hopefully catch a glimpse of my elusive point when I suggest that Rhythm games offer a structured framework within which the player can "safely" participate. Wildly strumming an air-guitar with (paradoxically) a physical guitar.

To force one last awkward analogy on the subject, I'd liken playing a musical instrument is like driving a car on a race track while a music game would be sitting on a roller coaster. You get to go really fast in either case and have heaps of fun but the fear of dying horribly in a crash should hopefully be minimised when you're on a track.

Anyway, the trigger for this introspective mood of mine was stumbling over this game called Guitar Rising which is currently under development. It's the closest thing to a music game with real music instruments that I've seen... well ignoring Keyboard Mania and Drum Mania. So it's the first music game I've seen for real instruments that I can actually play then. Excitement all round!