The question of “What did that play like?” is equally perplexing. From that task has emerged the woeful overuse of “this sounds like that” music writing, which depends more on encyclopedic research rather than playful, creative wordplay.ĭeciphering games for a public audience requires a similar sleight of hand. That means that the job of the critic or writer, at least before the age of the MP3, was to relay information to the reader about what something simply sounded like. There are no sounds in nature like a saxophone or a guitar. Music, like games, leans on metaphor to make its value known. The term “music games” has always been confusing in that it highlights a particular aspect of games that should always be important (even if game designers often don’t bring the musician into the development process until the late stages). We don’t have the term “visual games,” although we do use “boardgames,” as that signifies a physical component to the play. As far back as I can remember, all videogames featured music some have simply used them to differing effect. The term “music game” always struck me as a bit odd. But for those analysts that declared music games an economic nonstarter, the use of sound as a springboard for novel gameplay experiences is still as green as ever. The crazed hoarding of plastic guitars and add-on packs from desperate boomer rock acts has faded and we’re supposed to move on from Rock Band and DJ Hero to the greener pastures of sequels like Halo 4.

Rhythm heaven rocker girl