I have mixed feelings about Guitar Hero: On the one hand, I can understand how it's fun. I also think it's a really good way to integrate and market music, since it's not just background music, but integral to the experience. Yet the experience.... is essentially just karaoke for guitar, an enhanced "air guitar" experience. Don't get me wrong, I actually think Air Guitaring is really neat, especially those competitions they do - If you've never seen clips of it, you should check it out.
My hesitations however, come from the fact that there are people out there who are REALLY good at it. The time spent perfecting a song on guitar hero... could have been spent playing and learning the real thing, and it just seems like such a waste. Perhaps I'm being harsh here, because it's not like anyone says "the time spent jumping in Mario could have been used to become a better high-jumper"... because it's a video game after all. Yet because the experience is so close - the finger movements, the picking, even the whammy bar - it seems like it's a relatively small jump to make (that being said, I actually play guitar and I can say with confidence that I suck at "guitar hero", so I'm not saying the two are THAT similar. I'm just saying that it's relatively similar, compared to say... jumping in Mario, and jumping in real life, where there is really nothing in common at all).
Enter "Guitar Rising". Guitar Rising is a game that is currently in development, which can be easily summed up as: Guitar Hero.. for Real Guitars. Using an electric guitar as the controller, it's essentially a rolling, colour coded guitar tablature that follows the music. The biggest challenge for the developers though, is in making this an entertaining experience, rather than a chore. Learning an instrument involves lots of mistakes, frustrations, and patience - which is why learning an instrument isn't necessarily all fun and games. But as Guitar Hero has shown, people are willing to learn difficult and repetitive motions so long as it keeps entertaining. It will be very interesting to see how this product bridges the real instrument with the entertainment that guitar hero provides!
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Bonus Section!
Here's some hilarious Guitar Hero/Rock Band accessories and variations that exist...
Air Guitar Hero - Now you can play guitar hero, but without the plastic guitars!! Get closer to the real Air Guitar experience right at home!
Rock Band Fog Machine/Strobe Light!! - What good are the screaming girls and guitars... if you don't have a fog machine and a strobe light? Well fret no more! Rock Band has an official fog machine and strobe light. Hilarity.
And Finally...
Guitar Praise, because God hates rock music - Sick of the secular and sinful nature of popular music? Want to play Guitar Hero but your mom won't let secular music into the house? Then Guitar Praise is for you! ...Even if you don't like secular music, both guitar hero and rockband support custom songs, so why is there a need for this??
If you know of any other hilarious variations or add-ons, please share!
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