PaRappa the Rapper designer Masaya Matsuura has been called the father of music games. Thing is, he doesnât believe there are music games.
âStrictly speaking I do not believe that âMusic Gamesâ as a genre really exists yet,â Matsuura recently told Kotaku. âWe just have âRhythm Games.'â
This isnât the first time Matsuura has said this, but itâs worth bringing up again, due to the broad brush strokes that rhythm games are painted with. Matsuura, a musician himself, is acutely aware of the difference between music and rhythm.
Before Matsuura made classic titles like PaRappa and Vib-Ribbon, he was a recording artist with Sony, releasing numerous albums and playing stadiums.
Matsuuraâs music, such as âAngel Nightâ, was used for anime and TV dramas.
Currently, Matsuura and his studio NanaOn-Sha are finishing up Kinect title Haunt for Xbox Live. Itâs set in a haunted house, and, while not a straight up rhythm game, it does have rhythm elements.
https://lastchance.cc/do-you-know-whose-voice-haunts-this-game-5840553%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
When asked hypothetically what type of game heâd like to make, Matsuura replied that he be keen to do âsomething that features extremely accurate musical performance animation.â
âAs an example, if we could zoom in and see lifelike fingerwork in an animated pianist, the opportunities afforded to uncover and develop new methods of playing beyond the capabilities of humans would be a crucial step in musical evolution,â said Matsuura. âThe ability of âgamesâ to allow us to take part in such advances is crucial.â
And itâs crucial to have creators like Matsuura make those advances happen.
(Top photo: Brian Ashcraft | Kotaku)
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