We're asked that question often and there's not a simple answer. It depends on what one means by "music game." The label efficiently conveys some elements of our game, but it's potentially misleading and limiting too. Fortunately Dan Soldberg has skillfully navigated the increasingly complex waters of music-related gaming in an article over at Kill Screen. Of course we're not the only developer exploring this space and this is a nice survey of some of the latest developments. It also brings some focus and clarity to how we talk about the aesthetics of "music games." Ultimately, that's far more important than genre labels or snappy marketing taglines.
The article includes a couple of quotes from us on Thumper.
Update! Dan has posted the full text of all the developer interviews on his blog. It's interesting to read how these inspiring and adventurousdevelopers approach the same questions. We're psyched to be featured alongside them.