I love music, all sorts of music. I used to play many different instruments and sincerely appreciate the skill it takes to play an instrument with skill as well as the skill required to compose and spontaneously create music. For some reason the video game marketers decided that we needed a way of imitating all the things about music that I love. First there was Guitar Hero and now EA is releasing Rock Band. The guitarist for Sleater-Kinney (a band I know only by reputation) has taken on the challenge of comparing Rock Band to what it's like to be in a real band. It's an interesting article that makes some good points for the music aficionados amongst us. (Note: there is one instance of crude language). It's worth a read.
And, really, if you are going to play the game with a group of friends for more than a night, shouldn't you just form a real band? There is something sad about the thought of four teenagers getting Rock Band for Christmas and spending all of their after-school time pretending to know how to play.
4 comments:
Good article. I haven't seen Rock Band other than in the box at the store, but I have enjoyed Guitar Hero.
I know it is holier-than-thou, but I have to say this is the same thought I have each time I see someone playing guitar hero.
I guess my argument for these games is that the same argument could be made about sports games. Why play Madden 2008 on your XBox 360 when you could go and throw around a ball with a friend or two? Most of what I play are sports games and I get a lot of enjoyment out of them. So I don't think there is anything wrong with people wanting to play something like Guitar Hero or Rock Star.
I agree with crchair...If we judge a game's value based on rather you can do the real-life equivalent or not, it seems that you have to dismiss video games in general. Of course, this reviewer admits at the outset that he is not a gamer, which makes it debatable how much enjoyment he would get out of it anyway. And as for why a group wouldn't start a 'real' band, well there are a lot more costs and it's a totally different endeavor anyway. Not to mention that many parents would consider their kids starting a 'real' band to be much more annoying than playing a game =)
Post a Comment