I, like our reviewer Fran, love the new Child of Eden game. It is a visual and audio feast. The music is some of the best Trance I’ve heard in a while, and with its bit.trip-esque player influence upon the music, it's like being a DJ without having to know music theory. I think Child of Eden is so innovative that it has the ability to change the music-gaming section of the industry.

Personally, I’m fed up with products like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and DJ Hero that’ve been the quintessential party games for the last few years. I enjoyed these games when they first debuted: the ability to press a few buttons and hear your favorite songs come out as if you had that talent to shred on guitar (or turntable, or whatever) was exhilarating. But like any game, Guitar Hero and Rock Band needed punishment for missed notes and sloppy rhythms — these came in the forms of the virtual crowd booing at you and your instrument making harsh squeaks and cracks and obnoxiously breaking the flow of the music. As the years went on, every good and bad rock song or group would be ported to either of these games, with intelligent features like the ability to transcribe whatever music you wanted into playable form being incorporated much later than they should have.

These games would lead to parties where everyone trades off on the varying instruments. (I'm sure you’ve all been to one; I know I have.) But these games came with clunky, space-consuming peripherals, and the music didn't lend itself to providing the overall party atmosphere where people can dance, they’re not all sitting around a TV, and it’s clear the beats they’re grooving to are being orchestrated by some kid off to the side, much like a real DJ. Child of Eden is a stepping stone to a new music-gaming reality.

This reality is one where the game provides the visualizers, smoke machines, light effects, and, of course, the music. You may be thinking to yourself that all these devices would just be a new form of annoying peripherals, and that I’m contradicting myself. However, these are all things people want when they throw outlandish parties, and these "peripherals" would be placed all over the house, not localized to one area taking up an entire room. As in Child of Eden, the music would be provided by someone moving their hands around to complete simple game objectives without the use of any other device. As the music pumps out of the speakers, the smoke machines, lasers, and visualizers would accentuate the music when appropriate. In the end, the experience would be like controlling an entire mini rave in your home, as big as you are willing to make it.

Another aspect of Child of Eden that leads me to believe this sort of reality is possible is that instead of the music being rock, it’s techno Trance. Now, I'm not saying you can't dance to rock music, but it is much easier to dance with a partner to techno music. Also the techno scene has erupted in the past few years, giving way to Dub-Step, Trance, Mash-Ups, and a bunch of other sub-genres. In Child of Eden, the Trance music is always bumping along, and it rises, falls, and climaxes as you do better. Since Child of Eden is still a game, though, there must be punishment for mistakes.

Here’s what I want to see happen  — and it may sound like the most passive game in the world, but bear with me! Make a music game where there’s no punishment for missing anything: the more you interact with it and the more things you hit with your lasers, as in Child of Eden, the better the music gets and the more the living people around you dance. If someone walks away, there’s always some simple beat constantly going or a self-regulating mix of sounds that repeat themselves based on what that person had just done. A game that allows another person to just walk in whenever they want and change the mix, add to it, or start fresh. Where people can interact simultaneously to create the beats, making the music that much more intense with the dual engagement. Don't just put up a virtual DJ table: keep Child of Eden’s rail-shooter aspect and all the potential musical add-ons flying by you. Create an experience that makes it easy to be a techno god like Daft Punk, without the punishment for poor reaction times.

Does any of this appeal to you? If so, what parts? If someone made this sort of game, would you throw a party using it? Speak up in the comment section below!