Peter Suciu

Guitar Hero and Rock Band: Ticket to Living Room Oblivion
November 16, 2007

About 15 years ago I interviewed the members of the Brit Pop band The Boo Radleys when they were promoting the American release of their sophomore release “Everything’s Alright Forever.” Songwriter Martin Carr joked that he and The Boo Radleys co-founder Sice spent their teen years practicing the “important things.” This included interviews with the press, airport arrivals and autograph signings. Finally pair agreed that maybe learning to play actual instruments should be the next step to take.

And while the band may have never achieved the commercial success enjoyed by their contemporaries such as Oasis or Radiohead, The Boo Radleys did receive critical acclaim and developed a large cult fanbase. Yet if video games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band had been around back when Carr and Sice first met the pair might have never left the living room.

So this begs that question whether these latest video games, which offer instant gratification for mediocrity, might in fact be encouraging the youth to merely fake it.

A recent episode of South Park even addressed the very same theme as fourth graders Stan and Kyle, two of the main characters, buy Guitar Hero and become minor celebrities for their superior gameplay. Stan’s mother sums it up best by saying, “if they spent half the time learning a real instrument as do on that game, who knows what they could accomplish.” But when Stan’s father Randy takes out a real guitar he fails to impress the kids, earning the reply “real guitars are for old people.”

At least games such as Dance, Dance Revolution might actually help you with your moves when you hit the real dance floor, while the various singing games – Karaoke Revolution and American Idol come to mind – might even help prepare you to hit the stage. However, Guitar Hero and Rock Band remain just mere “button mashers” with very special controllers. You might feel like a guitar god, but musical talent isn’t required or taught.

Now in fairness Guitar Hero is actually a fairly innovative game, and it could broaden the musical tastes of its players. Maybe it would inspire someone to pick up an actual guitar… unless South Park’s Eric Cartman feeling that “real guitars are for old people” actually rings true with the kids.

We should also stress that Guitar Hero isn’t the first guitar-based video game, however. More than a decade ago there was a PC titled called Virtual Guitar: Welcome to West Feedback. This early CD-ROM game let you jam out with an on-screen band, where your strumming had to match the song. There were options to practice in the garage before hitting the stage while working to make it to the big time. The gameplay was limited, thanks to the choppy FMV playback, and about the only thing it taught was proper timing. It took off like a lead zeppelin, but apparently the idea of a video game based around the guitar lived on.

Guitar Hero takes the fakery a bit further. This game requires both simulated strumming and fingering, but in the latter players are merely button mashing rather than learning any actual chords. Thus the gameplay is still light years from coming close to teaching anything about real guitar play. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Already companies such as M-Audio have released full-sized, multi-octave digital keyboards along with software suites for under $200. These devices have made it possible for the home office composer to take the place of the old school garage band.

So it really wouldn’t be a stretch to develop a game around a musical instruction program where you actually learn to play a real instrument. Digital keyboards and drums would be easy enough, but even a guitar wouldn’t require a giant leap in technology. This sort of simulated musical gameplay could be the middle ground that is needed to make a successful edutainment product.

Music learning programs are typically built around old standards that appeal to no one, and more importantly lack a cheering crowd for completing a lesson. Games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band feature a variety of songs that players might actually enjoy, and most importantly treat you like a rock star when you get good. Taking this cheering to a simulation might actually encourage gamers to want to play, and it could convince them that real instruments aren’t just for old people.

Let’s hope that the idea of actually teaching music strikes a chord with game developers. Music gameplay shouldn’t mean learning to become the next Milli Vanilli.

Posted by Peter Suciu on November 16, 2007 | Comments (0)