MTV Music Generator (1999)

Developer: Jester Interactive
Publisher: Codemasters
Platforms: PlayStation
Genres: Music, Puzzle, Simulator

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A laid-back, playful sandbox where you tinker with riffs and instruments to piece together your own songs.

creativeexperimentalcasualrelaxedopen-endedtinkeringlightheartedaccessible

About

There are music-mixing computer programs that cost thousands of dollars, but none of them are this fun. You chose your rhythm tracks, bass lines, guitar riffs, and triangle hits in this complete music-making experience. You can make rock, pop, hip-hop, techno, or jazz songs, and each will be vastly different from the others. There are more than 1,500 riffs and 3,000 instrument sounds to choose from, and you can even write your own parts instead of using the pre-programmed melodies. Just about everything you can think of can be manipulated here, right down to the volume of the floor toms, the amount of reverb applied to each instrument, and the song's tempo. The next step is to create a music video for your masterpiece, and you'll have plenty of 3D clips at your disposal in so doing. Once you have your complete package, you can save everything to a memory card and access any part of it (from an instrument sound or keyboard riff to the entire song) later. All in all, it's about the most creative use of a video game console imaginable.

Screenshots

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More by Jester Interactive

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.