Guitar Hero vs the Guitar

[Fenris]

I take your point that it is only a game, but surely the satisfaction gained from being able to properly play all the songs on guitar hero is more worthwhile over getting a top score for pressing buttons?

I'll say it again, some people just don't WANT to play the guiter, just because they want to play Guitar Hero and have fun doesn't mean they are quitters or lazy, in fact I think people who assume that are arogant, some people just want to press buttons and have a good time.

If I chose to play the guitar, fair enough, this means I want to play the guitar, if someone decides "No, sorry, not interested in playing instruments" and instead just wants a game they can stick on for an hour every now and then, this doesn't make their choice any less reasonable.



Saying that, the people who play Guitar Hero and make a massive deal out of being good at it I think are a bit strange, it is at the end of the day a game about pressing 5 buttons.

 

[LostPhil]

(Put your hand up if you enjoyed that first week of Barre Chords!)

*Hand firmly down* (owwww)

 

[Gustov]

What next, slate Gran Turismo/Forza for turning people away from real motorsport?

Yes, because that's a fair comparison.

 

[physichull]

I suppose, getting off Guitar Hero for a second, it is fairly similar to an arguement such as, why play Fifa09 and PES when you could buy a football, find a park and have a kick around with your mates. Which would be the most rewarding?

 

[RoachycaL]

Ive been playing Guitar Hero for a year and 2 months now, and can pretty much 5 star every song in most of the games on the expert difficulty.

Guitar hero is a game, I play it because its a game and its fun to play. I can pull off crazy solo's that would take me years of practice playing a real guitar and play full songs which again would take months and months of practice to play.

a lot of people play guitar hero for the competitiveness, me included.

I think some people need to step down off their high horses!

 

[Fenris]

GH should be offered as a separate activity to playing a real instrument rather than an alternative as a lot of people seem to place it.

Oh come on that is like saying only people in the army should be alowed to play Call of Duty, it's a damn game, stop acting so self important and arrogant.

 

[antijoke]

What a bunch of highly strung people guitar players are.

It's a game, I play it because it's entertainment you can pick up and play and have a laugh on.

 

[LostPhil]

Yes, because that's a fair comparison.

Ha, would you find football games an acceptable comparison?

ie, get off your backside and go do some training? No? Well lets blame the game for unwillingness to do an actual sport... Oh wait...

 

[DreadNiK]

Ha, would you find football games an acceptable comparison?

ie, get off your backside and go do some training? No? Well lets blame the game for unwillingness to do an actual sport... Oh wait...

while I see the point of all the comparisons to other 'simulation' games, most of them involve something substantially different effortwise and costwise to do the real activity as opposed to the computer simulation, whereas guitar hero does not.

 

[LostPhil]

while I see the point of all the comparisons to other 'simulation' games, most of them involve something substantially different effortwise and costwise to do the real activity as opposed to the computer simulation, whereas guitar hero does not.

Really? Do you actually believe it's less effort to go and join a football club for practice for two hours a week then spending 1/2 hour a day practicing the guitar?

I'd say it's about the same besides the aversion to going outside.

EDIT: Besides, it's a throw away comment at the end of a post someone questioned. I really didn't mean it THAT seriously.

 

[Gustov]

Ha, would you find football games an acceptable comparison?

ie, get off your backside and go do some training? No? Well lets blame the game for unwillingness to do an actual sport... Oh wait...

This thread had potential, the debate being, is guitar hero getting more or less people to pick up the guitar?

If you want to talk about excessive gaming its all been done before.

Gaming in moderation = WIN

Gaming excessively = Sort your life out.

 

[J.T]

This is just a rehash of the old argument that went on for many years (and still does in some places) about books and Television....

Why can't people be left alone to do one or the other or if you so inclined...both.

Just for the record, I play GH/RB and think they are great but really wish I could play Guitar, just don't have the time to dedicate to it where as I do have the 10-20-30 minutes every other night to play GH/RB.

 

[Fenris]

while I see the point of all the comparisons to other 'simulation' games, most of them involve something substantially different effortwise and costwise to do the real activity as opposed to the computer simulation, whereas guitar hero does not.

So all sports games should only be alowed for people who play that sport?


I mean think about it, tennis, football, rugby, cricket, american football, athletics and so on, I am pretty sure playing a game of tennis with a mate requires considerably less effort than learning to play the guitar to the extent of playing guitar hero after lets say, a day?

 

[MonkeyNews]

Guitar Hero is a way to 'pretend' to be a guitarist, just like playing Gran Turismo is a way to 'pretend' to be a racing driver, its fun to play at but a big step away from the real thing.

 

[LostPhil]

This thread had potential, the debate being, is guitar hero getting more or less people to pick up the guitar?

If you want to talk about excessive gaming its all been done before.

Gaming in moderation = WIN

Gaming excessively = Sort your life out.

You missed the rest of the post you quoted then?

 

[V4NT0M]

It's the point he's trying to make though, it's annoying that the attitude of 'this is too hard to bother learning' is so rife. I think kids are getting lazier and lazier, people should be encouraged to challenge themselves and extend their abilities, not always take the easy route out.

GH should be offered as a separate activity to playing a real instrument rather than an alternative as a lot of people seem to place it.

Again though the problem is that there is no actual evidence of this, people throughout the ages have tried to learn a musical instrument, people throughout the ages have given up and a lot of people have not tried to learn a musical instrument at all.

To somehow suggest based on no data whatsoever that the percentages of people that try, give up or don't try have changed is quite frankly ludicrous. What has most likely happened here is that he or someone he knows has been trying to get an offspring to learn an instrument and they preferred to play GH. GH just gives people more choice in what to do instead of playing a musical instrument.

The other problem is how much do people actually play GH, I would bet my shoes that those that play it excessively are game players rather than musicians. The kind of people that play GH a lot are not the kind of people that learn a musical instrument anyway GH does not change that fact in itself, if anything the whole game industry would be to blame not just GH.

Consider this: I have guitar hero and have beaten GH 2 & 3 on normal and spent maybe 10 - 15 hours total playing them. Do Bill Wyman and those that agree think that this has affected my interest in playing the guitar more than the hundreds of hours I have spent playing Halo 3?

Sure some people play it more than me and there are people that play nothing else, but to single out GH as a game that is turning people away from learning an instrument, just because it has controllers that resemble instruments rather than targeting games that really take people's interest and time like WoW.

It's all a bit alarmist and "knee jerk" for me.

 

[DreadNiK]

Really? Do you actually believe it's less effort to go and join a football club for practice for two hours a week then spending 1/2 hour a day practicing the guitar?

I'd say it's about the same besides the aversion to going outside.

EDIT: Besides, it's a throw away comment at the end of a post someone questioned. I really didn't mean it THAT seriously.

I think you missed my point - playing a football computer game is a very different activity, both physically and mentally, from playing football irl. Same with driving games, shooting games, etc

So all sports games should only be alowed for people who play that sport?

I said that where?

I mean think about it, tennis, football, rugby, cricket, american football, athletics and so on, I am pretty sure playing a game of tennis with a mate requires considerably less effort than learning to play the guitar to the extent of playing guitar hero after lets say, a day?

????

 

[iv-tecman]

I don't know.. its like a simulation of playing in a rock band.. Video Games allow this...

I mean, we play Racing games, shooting games, war games etc... Its just a way to do something that we can't do for real..

Anyhow, Racing games have been used by racing drivers to learn tracks, and simulations are used all the time for training....

A 15 year old lad I know plays GH or Rock band all the time, and now he's asked me to lend him a real guitar and I've done so....

He'll find it harder for sure, but instead of say COD4 Modern Warfare where he'd need to join the army and NEVER see combat like in that game, and frankly not a good idea, at least with GH or Rock Band he might actually get to play some of the tracks for real, as in the game - to a degree....

Its just a simulation of something in life we'd all like to sample, and I have no problem with it....

Its just a video game, entertainment. I don't think for one minute a person will say - sod it. I would rather play Rock Band then play a real guitar if they really were trying to learn to play and were making good progress... Ok some might quit, but then its perhaps not for them..

I play guitar, have done for years..... I've also play rock band, but I don't say, sod it... I'll play rock band... Can't anyhow. don't own a copy, or have a rock band guitar.. lol

 

[Gustov]

You missed the rest of the post you quoted then?

No.

Of course it's more productive to play football or guitar but there's nothing wrong with gaming for a bit of fun.

My point is when it turns excessive, it's the person's fault and not the games.

Hence me saying they need to 'sort it out'

Did you miss the title of this thread?

 

[Sash]

I actually find playing guitar hero helps with hand and finger dexterity, which actually helps to play the guitar.
I have been playing guitar for about 6 years now but still enjoy playing Guitar Hero/Rock Band.