A music video game, also commonly known as a music game or rhythm game, is a 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 player must focus on the game's sound, this type of game is similar to audio games. However, music games generally require a visual component as well.
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.
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.
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