“Thumper” — Praise be to the rhythm gamer

A tribute through the new game to the twisting fingers and sprained wrists of dedicated music game fans

The rhythm game genre is one of neon lights, gentle electronic music backgrounds, and dozens of ways to skin a cat — or, really, tear apart a work of music. There are the shining mini-screens behind the Jubeat machines and the worn pads of your local Dance Dance Revolution, or the confused, semi-random blocks sprawled in front of your Audiosurf ship. The Japanese “idol” game has used the format for over a decade, culminating lately in the Love Live phenomenon. Undeniably, there’s an aesthetic to it.

On the other hand, I just had all of that ripped from me in my five hours of playing Thumper since its release — and I couldn’t be happier. It brings me into thoughts of rhythm game fans that I’m close to.

This highly-anticipated game calls itself “rhythm violence.” It’s undeniably aggressive, from its psychedelic dreamscape to the industrial electricity that’s somehow formed beats of percussion, orchestrated by someone from a noise rock band. While other games let beats slip by, certain objects within the game literally tear at your beetle avatar, shredding its silver coating first, then shattering it apart. If we’re being honest, “violence” is too simple of a word for the world and game Drool has created.

It’s definitely also an action game. It feels like every space ship arcade game and browser game I’ve ever laid my hands on, with a frantic need to stay alive and not let the world consume my vessel and chew me out.

Certainly, though, playing through as far as I could (I finished Level 5 at this point), it’s a rhythm game at heart. It can’t be anything else.

While I’m not the authority on rhythm games, I’ve been a low-key fan for many years — nothing like the rhythm game community that many of my friends belong to (and that I claimed a mid-tier stake in with a single game and crew a while ago). But as someone who has played many of these games, and who has seen so many players and enthusiasts work to be the best in their hobby, it’s hard to not see that at the core of Thumper’s gameplay.

At the core of the rhythm game is the “chart” or “map” — that is, the “routine” given to you that you need to perform, because that’s at the heart of this. What that means is Thumper, like any good rhythm game, gives you a set routine you need to follow in some shape or form. It’s usually consistent from game to game.

With the exception of some specific portions, Thumper gives a lot of leeway in how players can execute its charts. It’s an unintentional level system, integrated into the essential parts of the gameplay. Technically, if you’re having trouble and just want to get past the level, you can actually hold the space bar down for a large portion of the game without any punishment. It allows a mild level of accessibility, though that’s not saying much past Level 4.

As for what’s left that’s unnecessary, then, there are so many jumps and squares that a player can miss without consequence — but the game frowns upon that. What’s wonderful about Thumper is that it’s so responsive, and it clearly gets upset when the player is lazy. When the player misses a square before spikes, instead of melodic tinkling, there are sharp smacks, like hitting the stand instead of the xylophone itself. The game itself seems to power down a bit upon missing a combo, even the slightest, for any reason.

Which is another point to observe: the game makes the player the instrument. Some games have already adopted something like this concept, such as “DJ simulator” Beatmania and the Guitar Hero types of music game, where the music vanishes without player input. But in this case, it’s the player’s presence in the world that makes the rhythms possible.

Now, normally, the rhythm game is a process which the player relies on the music to help understand what rhythm will happen, and the rhythm input by the player complements the music. But a good rhythm game doesn’t just make the player adapt to rhythms. In a way, the mechanics become the rhythm. There are patterns to follow, beats to land.

In Thumper, in which the player’s input creates the sound not wholly but in significant parts, that process intensifies on the player’s end. When a player refuses to take every last move, they are left craving the wholeness of the sound that could be. That’s what makes this one of the most intense, innovative rhythm games out there — because the player is essential to the atmosphere. (And if that’s not enough, mute your screen and play a bit, and listen to how your keyboard or controller sound like its own drum kit. You’ll want more of that.)

The rhythm gamer knows this hunger for wholeness all too well, though in a more numerical and mechanical way. Much like “speed runners” and arcade cabinet masters, they aim for nearly-inhuman understanding of these games and their charts. There are tools, sites, and homemade or manufactured solutions for helping these gamers reach perfection. They spend days, weeks, months, years, and endless streams of money to improve their score, practice, and get their name out there. Even if it never culminates in a tournament, the glory is there, in a SSS score, in their username becoming #1 online, or even in meeting others that praise them or maybe help them become better all the time.

In the case of Thumper, the challenge for perfection through the interactions of environment and sound is a fresh battleground for the hungry hands of the rhythm game player. It’s not merely because it’s a rhythm game, which begs for the highest score from raw human skill; it’s because Thumper encompasses the itches that drive these players to practice their trade .The blue rings aren’t all necessary, but a rhythm game player will be damned if they can’t get them to keep the streak driving. It’s not only a question of score; it’s a matter of making the game whole again by completing every millimeter of its chart. The precision is the art, and Thumper rewards it by turning it into an audio-visual spectacular.

Thus, Thumper is the game that rhythm game fans don’t realize they need until they’re deep into it. It rewards the mechanical skill that they have been honing for years, while tickling the need for rhythmic perfection in their gameplay. It’s the perfect ode to the rhythm gamer’s relentless dedication to a perfect clear.

So it’s only fitting that there are leaderboards for each level already. Much like other rhythm games, I assume it rewards staying alive, hitting every last note, and the timing. Maybe soon I’ll start seeing familiar usernames up top — if their owners step off the DDR pad for more than an hour.