The Rise of Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Rhythm Gaming

You're driving home from a grueling eight-hour shift. For many, the day is over as soon as they clock out, but your work is just getting started. Then, the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army blares through your car's modest stock speakers, that familiar bassline encircling you for 15 magical seconds. The music takes you away as you roll up to a stoplight and step into the shoes of Jack White, strumming along with the earworm of a melody. The world slows to a stop around you. For one fleeting moment, you're a rock star.

With your foot on the gas pedal, you hit the expressway and envision what you're going to do with your 30 minutes of free time tonight. You'll load up Guitar Hero or Rock Band and live out those fleeting dreams of hitting it big. Those games are the last bastion of a genre that has, unfortunately, all but died out over the past decade. But in their heyday, they were some of the biggest, most exciting titles to happen to the industry, as well as the intersection of gaming and music in general.