In my last post I commented on how addictive and fun Rock Band and Rock Band 2 was. And in the first paragraph I also commented on how pathetic it was. And in (not so) great cliffhanger methods, I teased how it was pathetic on my next post.
And here’s why it’s pathetic … because we’re playing plastic versions of real instruments. People who are so addicted to these kind of games should maybe, I don’t know, go out and buy the actual instrument? I’m kind of guilty on this although I have had experience with guitars and drums back in my youth/college years. Okay, I’m really guilty of this. But it’s amazing how much you can get into the game but then realize you’re just holding a plastic instrument that uses five buttons to play an entire song.
What’s worse is that there seems to be a bigger draw to people who can play Guitar Hero or Rock Band on expert than realizing that … there are people who can not only play it but are the ones who came up with the notes for the song. It’s just hard to put side by side. It’s really pathetic because we’re imitating being in a band by playing plastic instruments but at the same time you can’t help but get sucked into the moment at times. With Rock Band 2, I can completely see how it would be terribly addictive if you have four people playing in the same room.
I think when it first came out it was a neat thing – but now it seems like it’s pretty common to come out with these types of games, which means that it’s now it’s own genre of music-simulation. There have been tons of singing games – none come to mind because I don’t care about singing games – then of course the big two: Guitar Hero and Rock Band and then even Wii Music … which obviously doesn’t live up to the calibur of Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
The problem with the fact that it’s its own genre is that more games will come out following that suit. But the downside is that we’re tied into the current formula: Guitar has five buttons; Drums have four big buttons with a bass pedal and the voice recognition just checks to make sure you have the same pitch. Advancements in this genre would mean completely relearning the system which I think would garner a lot of criticism. What if the guitar jumped to six buttons? My wife can’t get past the four buttons, let alone six.
I’m personally intimidated by the drums in Rock Band 2 which has five buttons – well intimidated by any song on hard or expert so I can’t really imagine Guitar Hero’s five button drum set. And I think that followers of this genre are adapted to the current setup, so by completely changing it or even making a small addition like another button on the guitar may be met with leniency.
So what does this mean? These kind of games are going to remain the same and the only new advancements are going to be in the modes that the games offer – that and new songs that are going to be available. The actual mechanics of the genre that made it so fun to play will remain the same and overtime, get old. Of course, I’m sure that the publishers will have the idealogy of “Why fix it when it ain’t broken?”
And as the large database of additional songs to download continues to grow I’m sure that’ll keep the fans of this genre pretty passive.
When it does come time to reinvent the wheel for this genre, though, the fans may be so used to the old mechanics that change may not go over well and the genre will eventually phase out. Either that, or it’ll have the life-power of a MMORPG and continue to thrive as game after game comes out with essentially the same style, just different settings.
October 26, 2008 at 10:18 pm |
Although I’m not a musician, the way the notes are distributed on screen and the way you have to press them doesn’t seem to follow any logical pattern. Well, that’s what I noticed when I’ve played Guitar Hero before. Especially with songs like that ultra-hard Dragonforce track. What were the game makers thinking? I certainly didn’t feel like I was playing an instrument then that matched what I was hearing – I just felt like I was mashing buttons.
You’re right in thinking people playing plastic instruments as opposed to real ones is quite silly. I mean, the sad part is that you can excel at Guitar Hero…only to outright suck at playing a real guitar. Or vice versa. There’s not even enough of a crossover for you to transition from one to the other. Obviously the game’s appeal would be greatly lessened if the games had a real-Guitar learning curve but still — is the “skill” just in repeating the same thing over…and over…and over again or is there more to it than that? I guess music in real-life is the same way…but I like games where even if A, B & C are the same in every level – how I get to those points and what happens inbetween isn’t always the same each time I play.
I was in Wal*Mart yesterday and they had either a Rock Band or Guitar Hero World Tour demo in the Electronics Department. The sound on the TV wasn’t up loud enough to drown out the instruments (which I’m guessing is how most people play) and there was a young college guy playing a Lenny Kravitz song using the drums. My God…was that friggin’ annoying. It was as if someone was stabbing my ear at regular intervals and it… just… wouldn’t… stop. So I do think it takes a certain type of player to enjoy these games. I’m sure it makes a good party game…but what multiplayer game ISN’T fun when played in groups? I’m not even a fan of the Wii but I enjoyed playing it when I hung out with you and Meg, so what does that tell you?
I just personally feel like these music games do very little beyond what they have shown they’re good for already (make you feel like you could be a musician for up to 3-5 minutes bursts using a guitar shaped controller). Like you said, even a minor upgrade like another button or a new feature like a distortion pedal could potentially alienate most players. With such rigid design guidelines, how are the game developers going to expand on this type of game? They aren’t, unfortunately…and like The Sims, what you’re going to see is a new band/artist pack at least once a year and slightly modified sequels at about the same rate.
I think it’s just a shame Guitar Hero, The Sims and Wii Sports get all sorts of attention from everywhere (including the mainstream media) yet titles like Bioshock, Half Life, Fallout, Halo, Monster Hunter, etc. need to fight with each new version just to get publicity in the gaming world with each new release. It’s a very annoying double-standard real gamers must deal with.
October 27, 2008 at 12:57 pm |
Games like the Sims, Wii Sports and Guitar Hero get all the attention because it’s available to the casual gamer. A casual gamer won’t be able to sit down and play Bioshock or Monster Hunter in an hour where you can get a few songs or a few games finished with Rock Band or Wii Sports.
The bigger games do appeal to the hardcore gamer audience but as casual gaming is becoming more popular, games that offer this accomplishments done in a few minutes are going to get more attention rather than games that you may have to play for an hour or two to clear a level.