The Gamer's Quarter

[Alc]

After some recommendations for games where the player is literally and properly involved in making music or rhythm. Examples: Rez, Electroplankton, ?
Not examples: DDR, Vib Ribbon, uh, Quake.

I'm trying to keep away from typical music game "follow this string of commands in the right rhythm" style of games, so although Parappa may not make noises unless you press buttons, it's not really what I'm after. The alternatives are uncommon.

Also any "games" like Baby Universe, where you play around with waveforms or similar.

[SuperWes]

I remember reading a review for one of the old Fifas in an old Gamefan where the writer talked pretty much exclusively about the sound effects made when navigating the menus. He was all about how music could be made by just pressing down up or left and right.

I can't remember what he rated the game itself, but apparently the review itself was interesting enough for me to remember today. Odd!

-Wes
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[helicopterp]

My main squeeze Meteos fits in here pretty well, too. On most of the planets, little musical themes take the place of and/or augment the blast-off sound effects. The Suburbion noises are particularly awesome.

And I think so does Lumines, but I haven't actually played it.
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Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

[friedchicken]

[Nana Komatsu]

You say not including DDR, but the other bemani games IIDX and Pop'n Music both involve playing the song through hitting the keys. When you press a button on the controller, it plays a sample from the song, and the only way to truly "hear" the full song is to play the song perfectly.

[Harveyjames]

Coloris!

[JasonMoses]

I really really really wanted to like Technic Beat. Unfortunately the game is fucking awkward and unsatisfying despite the good presentation and music. Kind of a shame.

[OtakupunkX]

[ApM]

I think it'd be wrong to discount Parappa + Um Jammer Lammy. They give you serious freedom in how you can perform the music. You can't score highly without freestyling. Parappa 2's versus mode makes this work particularly well. You can't possibly claim that that's less musically interactive than Rez, which merely delays sound effects so that they occur on the beat.

Low-hanging fruit: SimTunes.

Also, maybe Tunin' Glue? I never figured out the little Mac demo, though.

[Alc]

I'm not discounting them as games,* I'm just trying to find out about other titles that don't follow the same "repeat after me" gameplay, be it volleys of commands like Parappa or a constant stream like the various bemani games.

* actually I find Parappa and Um Jammer Lammy both really random and therefore quite frustrating. They don't feel fair - I press the right buttons at the right time and they tell me I'm rappin awful or whatever, and at other times I blatantly mess up and I get given a raise. I really wanted to like them, too, stylistically they're really interesting and the music is weird enough to keep my attention. I've stuck hours into them now though, and I still don't understand their process, so I don't know what to think, really.

Anyway I just checked out a demo of SimTunes and it's pretty special, so thanks for that.

[dessgeega]

coloris.

also otocky.
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[Harveyjames]

Also Soundvoyager.

Actually, most of the games in the Bit Generations series feature some kind of sound interaction. Human League times the music to your ping-ponging. Even Dotstream lets you make beats out of the menus when you're selecting a race.