Gameplay

The Basics

Nearly all music games are based on the principle of notes floating up or down the screen; as the notes reach targets, the player presses a button corresponding to the target and is judged based on his timing - each note is then graded on the level of accuracy achieved, with the highest levels adding to a combo count that continues as long as successive note grades are at or above the combo level.

A life bar measures whether or not your performance is sufficent to pass the song and continue play. At the end of the song, you recieve a score and overall grade.

In StepMania's default game type (similar to Dance Dance Revolution), four types of arrows, left, down, up, and right, are used. Players use a "dance pad" with a panel for each arrow that is stepped on.

Each song has a difficulty level, and most official songs contain multiple difficulties for different levels of play.