From Dragon’s Lair to Rock Band: The Evolution of a Game Mechanic

It’s interesting to see how many games evolve from a common mechanic, yet have drastic differences. Let’s consider what’s currently known as the “Rhythm” genre. Guitar Hero and Rock Band are the reigning champs. I describe this game mechanic as “Linear Digital Timing,” or LDT for short. It has these rules:
-The player’s actions are tied to a fixed linear medium (like a video clip or a music sample).
-The player uses digital input ( e.g. tapping a button on or off, or pushing a joystick from center to right).
-When prompted, the player must do the specified input in a specific window of time.
Example: in Guitar Hero, you react to a linear song (like “Roxanne”), where you need to strum a note (where the digital fret button and strum switch must be “on”) at the exact time the note passes the strum window. Do it correctly, and a note plays. Miss, and you are penalized.
But Guitar Hero and Rock Band were far from the first to do this. Remember Dragon’s Lair?
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