Zen and the Art of Guitar Hero

An anonymous reader writes "Julian Murdoch over at GamersWithJobs.com has what can only be described as a piece of liturgy, proclaiming a religious experience at his local Best Buy as he watches someone beat 'Through the Fire and the Flames' on Expert in Guitar Hero 3. 'At 6 minutes in, a small crowd has formed, perhaps 15 of us. His sravaka — his disciples — look nervously at us, absorbing the distractions, protecting him a bubble of calm. There is complete silence. Even my son is staring slackjawed, like he does in church during communion, not understanding the content of the ritual but understanding the tone and sacredness of the space.'"

Cue in Southpark jokes...

[kitzkar (980045)]

... in 3... 2... 1...

Re:Cue in Southpark jokes...

[by Anonymous Coward]

You....Are...Fags!

Re:Cue in Southpark jokes...

[Psmylie (169236)]

If a tree tells a joke in the forest and nobody hears it, is it still funny?

Probably not, but it's still a talking tree, and that's worth something.

Re:Cue in Southpark jokes...

[Fierythrasher (777913)]

So inside jokes have no value? I refer to Denis Miller's 5% joke guideline where the majority of his jokes have to hit the mass audience but several of his more esoteric references are aimed at only the 5% of the audience who knows what he's talking about. If you're in the 95% you're confused, but if you're in the 5% then it's funny as all hell.

Re:

[Rei (128717)]

So inside jokes have no value?

Well, the human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vaccuuming systems, so you ought be careful not to annoy your audience too much :) I don't think anyone smiles in hospitals. This planet has -- or rather had -- a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. They won't appreciate your humor. Thankfully, we, the Slashdot posters of Culture 19, know well the value of a good joke. Either you win and

Re:

[sumdumass (711423)]

You should know by now that nobody can ever leave anything they don't understand alone. It is the nature of the populace. We will either embrace it as magical, religious, or some other extra good thing or we will demonize it ritually and bash it without ever looking at it's finer points. I don't think you have to be told which happens more.

Re:Cue in Southpark jokes...

[StarvingSE (875139)]

Afterward, the kid couldn't take all the fame that came after this huge best buy show. He went into his basement and played Heroin Hero for weeks straight in order to deal with it.

Open-source GH clone

[TheForgotton (995762)]

I've been thinking about giving one of those Guitar Hero games a spin but I don't want to drop a crapload of money on a new console (or video card for the windows port) plus the cost of the game and controller. It turns out that there is a pygame project called Frets on Fire [sourceforge.net] that uses your computer keyboard as your axe. It's GNU gpl and cross-platform though I can only vouch for Windows myself.

The only downside is the lack of licensed songs. There looks to be a pretty good community with lots of user-crea

I've noticed something

[Nailexe (1086827)]

I've noticed something that Guitar Hero players and real guitar players have in common. Guitar Hero players think you're lazy and suck if you play on medium, real guitar players think you're lazy and suck if you don't play guitar. And unless you're damn amazing absolutely neither of them will get you laid.

Just have a guitar near you and get laid!

[StCredZero (169093)]

Oh, yeah? According to this, some guys can get laid just by having a guitar near them and never taking it out of the case!

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/pdx/105596028.html [craigslist.org]

Cyanide and Happiness Webcomic

[StCredZero (169093)]

http://www.explosm.net/comics/897/ [explosm.net]

That's nothing new...

[hal2814 (725639)]

Who remembers the crowds that used to form around the one-on-one fighting games? People cheering and booing and complaining about cheap moves and whatever made the game a blast to play. I own most of the home ports of the Capcom and SNK fighters but nothing will beat the times I played Marvel Super Heroes (the only one I was any good at) for over an hour straight on $0.50. I played person after person and then I thought everybody had gone away. I ended up beating the game and realized that everyone else was still back there watching. It was kind of a cool feeling.

Wait! Ive seen this before?

[Altus (1034)]

was he deaf, dumb, and blind?

Re:Not that exciting

[HeavensBlade23 (946140)]

You realize DDR and Guitar Hero are basically the exact same game with different interfaces right? Both games ultimately boil down to hitting a button (with your foot or with your finger) in time with the music.

Re:

[CastrTroy (595695)]

I realize that. But it's much more exciting to watch somebody with that kind of coordination with their feet, than it is to watch someone do the exact same thing with large buttons laid out on a stick. Actually using your feet, rather than your fingers, makes the game a lot more interesting.

Re:

[CastrTroy (595695)]

I get that it's fun, I get that it's challenging. What I don't get is why anybody would want to watch it be played. I think it would be fun to play. I don't think it's a fun game to watch.

Re:Not that exciting

[XxtraLarGe (551297)]

I get that it's fun, I get that it's challenging. What I don't get is why anybody would want to watch it be played. I think it would be fun to play. I don't think it's a fun game to watch.

That's the way I feel about golf...

Re:Not that exciting

[damaki (997243)]

Strangely, I do not feel the same about boxing...

Re:Not that exciting

[XxtraLarGe (551297)]

Strangely, I do not feel the same about boxing...

Yeah, boxing is probably the opposite of golf. Fun to watch, but not very fun to play...

Re:Not that exciting

[mpathetiq (726625)]

All you have to do is press the right buttons at the right time.

All the best games have simple objectives.

Re:

[CastrTroy (595695)]

It might be fun to play. I wasn't arguing that. What I was saying, was that it isn't fun to watch. Playing Simon is fun. Watching someone else play Simon is not. I don't know why somebody would be drawn to watch someone playing Guitar Hero unless it was just to pass the time while they were waiting for their turn to play.

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[Tetsujin (103070)]

I was really thinking more in terms of the "barrier to entry", like you said. Any idiots can form a garage band nowadays that will actually play a few performances before someone notifies them of how badly they suck, so why do they play Guitar Hero instead? Because "real guitars are for old people"?

On the other hand, very few people ever get to seriously take up a sport. I can understand why someone would want to pretend they made it to the NFL, whereas pretending to play guitar at some random party seems much more like being too lazy to learn to really play guitar at some random party.

Then again, being a dancer with good speaking and singing voices, I guess I may have underestimated the level of inborn talent needed to form a competent musical group.

Well, here's the thing: Nobody can do everything for real. There's just no time. People choose the things they're gonna do with their life: and once they've filled that schedule of stuff, they can't necessarily add more stuff, no matter how easy it is to learn. "Oh, learn some Assembler. It's not that hard." Sure, but if you're already busy doing a dozen other things...

Don't think of Rock Band as a substitute for starting a real band - think of it as what it is, a game. People play it and they have f

Re:

[jriding (1076733)]

I too felt that way. The strange part is watching (the game looks retarded) but playing with all that mystery of "air guitar" and being a rocker it really brings it to life... now as you watch you say wow.. red and green same time then move to blue.. that doesn't look hard at all.. its just a pattern. Then you play... realizing your fingers do not listen to your brain. and it gets a lot more exciting.. The next time you watch someone pull off some insane finger combo's you understand how hard it really is

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[k_187 (61692)]

Exactly, Guitar Hero is to Guitar Playing what kareoke is to Singing. Its not about what you're doing, its how you're doing it.

Re:

[CastrTroy (595695)]

I would equate it more to lip syncing. To be good at Karaoke, you still have to know how to sing. To be good at lip syncing, you just have to move you lips in time with the music.

Re:Not that exciting

[east coast (590680)]

All you have to do is press the right buttons at the right time.

Isn't that all any video game is really?

But we see the exceptions if we think about it and that's why there is a current trend in gaming. Namely the Wii and Guitar Hero. We're use to the game pad or WASD controls. The Wii and Guitar Hero leads us to a different style of play that is exciting to people. For Guitar Hero it's people's chance to play on a "real" guitar without the years of practice it would take to play these same songs for real.

In the case of the Wii people are all up on a different controller style too. The idea of waving one's hand and making something happen on-screen is a form of magic to most people.

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[CastrTroy (595695)]

Yes, theoretically that's all any video game is about. However, Guitar Hero lets you play the same level over and over again, memorizing the same moves. Contrast that to other games, where there is a little randomness thrown in, so you can't just press the exact same buttons you did last time in order to repeat your performance. Or contrast even further with games where you play against people, where you have to think even more, and adapt to their strategies, because they are adapting to yours, and it be

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[aicrules (819392)]

Perhaps not as exciting to watch as people playing DDR in public, but just as dorky...BOY BANDS OF THE WORLD UNITE!

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[MaWeiTao (908546)]

I saw this kid playing it at some game store and it seemed like a neat game. What really struck me, however, was all the clacking that came from the controller itself. For me it hurts immersion when the controller is making the same kinds of noises as a cheap keyboard.

Re:

[my $anity 0 (917519)]

Watching someone play DDR is definitely more fun.
Especially if said someone is a cute girl (or guy, depending on how your attractions lie).

But, then again, most games weren't meant to be watched, they were meant to be played.
Prince of Persia is an exception.

There is only 1 answer:

[Reaper9889 (602058)]

"There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself"

Johann Sebastian Bach

Re:

[eln (21727)]

Let me translate for you:

Kid who is very skilled at a game decides to play the game on the demo unit at the store. Kid does very well. A few people stop for a few seconds to watch him play, as people tend to do when others are playing the demo units, especially if they're doing well. Kid finishes playing, one or two people clap briefly, people leave.

The rest is just storytelling. The author was impressed by someone who was obviously far better at the game than he could ever be, but he was being a little

Re:Wait...

[by Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for the translation, Captain Miserable.

Re:Wait...

[zero_offset (200586)]

If by "a little melodramatic" you mean "cloyingly fawning like some kind of loser who probably needs therapy," then yes, by all means, his interpretation was a little melodramatic.

Re:Wait...

[keytoe (91531)]

A guy goes out fishing. He catches a marlin. As he is bringing it home, sharks eat it.

The rest is just storytelling. The author was clearly being melodramatic.

Re:Wait...

[east coast (590680)]

Come on people. It's a damned game.

Tell yourself that the next time that it's ESPN or ESPN2 or The NFL channel or any other number of sports channels that guys gladly pay money to see people playing a game. It's a big business.

Granted, the story is a bit gonzo but every game has it's fans that are going to make it out to be more than it is. Why not let the geeks be happy about it for a minute.

Re:

[Colin Smith (2679)]

Tell yourself that the next time that it's ESPN or ESPN2 or The NFL channel or any other number of sports channels that guys gladly pay money to see people playing a game. It's a big business.

Indeed. It's an opportunity to sell the slackjawed masses vast quantities of cheap plastic crap at truly mindbending markups.

 

The kid is probably not the Roger Federer of GH...

[Jeremy.DeGroot (878927)]

But TFA reminded me of this piece [nytimes.com].

Tennis is also a "damned game," but fans of the sport know it can be a venue for people to do amazing, humbling things. I don't play Guitar Hero, so I wouldn't appreciate the performance in the Best Buy. I expect that as a GH fan, the author had the same experience that millions of tennis fans have had watching Roger dominate the men's tour for the last half-decade. Think about the last time you were wowed at a concert, or at an art museum. Think about touring one of Europe's beautiful cathedrals. There's a reason that they build them that big, and that beautiful. The architecture, and the art all around you, helps people find God. Tennis and Guitar Hero can be art too, and can have the same effect if you know what you're seeing.

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[HuguesT (84078)]

Music is very easy, it's only a matter of hitting the right keys at the right time.

J.S. Bach

Re:Wait...

[WinterSolstice (223271)]

Shoppers are not commuters. Commuters have trains to catch. Shoppers are just killing time.

When I am trying to catch a train it wouldn't matter *who* was playing - if I miss my train and am late to work it'll matter a whole lot more.

Re:

[sayfawa (1099071)]

Stop being so mean to him. He's probably around here somewhere and he may have mod points. We should go to some less dorky forum and make fun of him there.

Re:soooo

[Psmylie (169236)]

If you take the time to get good at something, why not enjoy the benefits? It's not hurting anyone, it might drive interest in the game (good for the manufacturer and for the resailer) and if people enjoy watching, it's good for them too. As long as he doesn't develop his self-worth around how well he plays Guitar Hero, I don't see a problem with it

But it's so COOL to look jaded and cynical!

[spun (1352)]

Certain very insecure dorks need to put down anything others think is cool, in order to try to look big and important, like they've seen it all and nothing can impress them. They only end up looking cool to other insecure dorks who will then put them down behind their backs. Adults don't give a rats ass what talkers say, we care about what doers do, and insecure jaded cynical children don't usually do much of anything.

You know what's cooler than jaded cynicism? Enthusiasm. We don't want to hear how you could have done it better. Show us. We don't need you to point out that it's "been done." Do it, or don't, but don't shit on our graham crackers and call it a s'more.

Re:

[spun (1352)]

Fuck that. You are obviously intelligent. Don't give up. I've been there, most smart people have. The world is fucked up and you can't come out of it unscathed. I've considered suicide at times, my wife has, plenty of our friends have, but thinking you'd be better off not being born is bullshit. You wouldn't even have the luxury to make that choice, now would you?

How much therapy have you tried? I've been in therapy for years on and off and I'm better off than I was. Your pain and anger are there for a reas

Re:I don't get it

[nlawalker (804108)]

[[In the time it takes to get that good at GH, you could learn to play the guitar for real.]] It's really easy to say that, but I don't think it's true. I five-star songs here and there on expert (none of the insanely hard ones) and I've only been playing for a month or two. Unlike a real guitar, I don't have to spend time learning songs by playing sections over and over, I can just pick up the controller and shred. It's a lot of fun, and very satisfying.

Re:I don't get it

[ivan256 (17499)]

As somebody learning to play the guitar, let me tell you... It is much harder to learn to play a real guitar with any decency than it is to be fairly good at guitar hero. At least for me it is... You can do quite well at guitar hero after a couple tries. It can take months, or years to be any good at all at a real guitar.

But that's not the point, anyway. The reason people play guitar hero is because it's fun. It's fun like karaoke night at your local bar, and a party video game all at once.

Re:I don't get it

[cowscows (103644)]

I learned to play guitar hero reasonably competently in about an hour. After that hour, I was good enough that I could enjoy playing some of the harder songs, and pretend for just a moment that I was a rock star. That's what the game is about, and it serves its purpose very well. And if you give Rock Band a try with some friends, you'll see even more potential there.

Comparing playing GH to learning a real instrument is missing the point.

Re:I don't get it

[bobintetley (643462)]

They're two completely different things. I've played guitar for 20 years and I can play most of the tracks in Guitar Hero on a real guitar. I've also five starred every song on expert in every Guitar Hero game (with the exception of Jordan and TTFATF).

Guitar Hero is fun. It's not the same as playing a real instrument, nor will it give you the skills you need to play a real instrument. It's a blast in itself and great fun if you have friends over (or play online). When playing at expert level, most of the songs are actually way more difficult to play on Guitar Hero than they are on a real guitar (granted, to someone who can already play) because of the limited button interface, this just serves to make it even more satisfying when you pull it off.

I suggest you try it with an open mind before you knock it - you might just find you enjoy it. Just see it for what it is - an excellent piece of entertainment.

Re:I don't get it

[Beardo the Bearded (321478)]

No, you can't "get good" at an instrument in a few months. If you think you're good after that short a time, then you're just "wearing the juice" or you're a virtuoso.

I started playing my instrument in 1989. I'm now pretty good, but I'd still consider myself a "B-list" player. There are people who are far superior than me. (I play the euphonium. Technically, I play the Baritone Horn, but if I say that, people always say, "the sax?") I can still play the full range of my instrument, get higher than most other players, and I can circular breathe. I can also sing reasonably well. None of my musical talent was gained over a few months. It takes YEARS of dedicated practice to get good.

My brother started playing bass guitar at about the same time. He's been able to land a few paying gigs. He's quite talented but has spent almost all of his time in the last decade playing guitar.

Guitar Hero (like almost any other game) is an escapist fantasy game. That's all there is to it. And when you really get down to it, it's really just Simon with a really slick wrapper.

Re:

[C0rinthian (770164)]

Likewise, they wouldn't want to have any real talent :)

Work ethic is worth a hell of a lot more than talent. Just about anyone can play an instrumet or sing, or dance, or whatever. Some people have talent and start out a little more proficient than others. That head start is worthless if they don't have the work ethic to do anything with it.