urbanknight

And I thought I had too much time on my hands.


Better than Bagpipe Hero or Oboe Hero.

jesseboston81

This "Guitar Hero Effect" indicates that you're probably staring at your front wheel or slightly ahead of it for way too long. It takes more than a quick glance to get this kind of effect, so I would caution you to keep your head up in order to see any obstacles that may be in your path. With your head down and gaze focused at or near your front wheel you're much more likely to hit something unexpected.

Tulex

A bunch more https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/saishin2e.html

ScarcelyAware

Yeah, after a while I kinda figured it was something like that. Ran over a nice sized rock that nearly knocked me off my bike on this same path so I've been looking down or at a slightly lower angle than when I commute on the street.

I just thought I was dying for a while. Glad it's something bike-related.

kudude

Mostly the part where the hits match up what he is riding over. Think about it.


Then be impressed some more.

Sinn

Ahhh! Make it stop!

kniprm

Oh sh-.

Tulex

I'm should get my couch redone in that fabric, mess with my pets.

Phantoj

You must have Berkeley confused with BYU...?

kwrides

Playing guitar has nothing to do with playing Guitar Hero.

I don't get why so many musicians hate guitar hero. It's like Nascar drivers jumping on every poster who says they like Mario Cart.

KWRides: Mario Cart rules.
DaleJr.: You suck, learn how to race a real car you poser.

Doesn't make much sense does it?

Phantoj

I've only played Guitar Hero once, at Walmart, but...


Guitar Hero teaches a very simple kind of sight-reading. Mostly, it teaches timing, and having good timing is probably the most critical skill to sounding good on a musical instrument. I don't think GH is anti-guitar, and I could see how practicing GH could improve one's guitar playing.

The reason serious musicians hate it is because it gives the player the enjoyable sensations of rocking out with a band without the years of practice required to do it in real life.

urbanknight

As a music teacher, I both love and hate Guitar Hero. I love it because it gets students interested in music and (my favorite) gets them interested in playing the rock songs of our days - when I ask them what songs to look for, I get requests for Bob Marley, Metallica, Green Day, KISS, etc. The downside is they think an instrument will be as easy as pushing a few buttons. They don't get it that how you strum makes a difference, that there are more than 5 frets, that you actually have to tighten your abs to blow a high note, or adjust your jaw pressure to blow a low note, or adjust your finger to keep than darned viola in tune. All in all, though, I would love to see a Band Hero (with winds) or Orchestra Hero come out.

dmb2786

It's a boring video game. What's the incentive to learn a song in expert mode? It makes the same sound. It blows my mind to see how people will put so much time in to that game.

Not likely.

Fixed.
The sensation is incomparable

Cycho

+1

Now if that energy and talent can be channeled into something productive, we may actually survive as a society.

Phantoj

You should have been around in the 80's. The video games sucked, and we still wasted untold hours trying to take the Beachhead or make it through all three screens in Jungle Hunt...

urbanknight

Yes, it teaches a basic sight reading skill. However, good timing is useless without technique. Who cares if you're on time or not if you can't even hit the note? As for GH improving actual guitar playing,

urbanknight

Not only that, but you couldn't save your progress in a video game. Once you started Mario Bros. you didn't dare turn that system off, and you hated leaving it on pause because you were afraid it would be frozen when you got back!

kwrides

Simple - What's the incentive to get better at ANY game? Because you want to have the high score and be better than your friends.

I spent hours and hours playing Space Invaders and Asteroids. What was my incentive to get better? Being better than my friends.

BTW - I was also a musician at that time. What was my incentive to get better? To be better than my friends

kgabike

This reminds me of the post here a couple of days ago about how newbies on $10,000 bikes rubs some people the wrong way. The sentiment is not much different. Some people think you need to earn it (in a metaphysical sense), and others don't care if you just buy it.

Cycho

I played GH once with a friend and for a few days my wrist hurt and it messed with my muscle memory for playing real guitar. I played Rock Band, but I avoid the guitar. Bass and drum are OK, but it's nothing close to jamming with a real band.

Ai52487963

That movie scared the living hell out of me when I was 7

joe_5700

Crazy talk....learning to play instruments well takes YEARS. Games like these are perfect for the instant gratification culture we unfortunately live in.

I played a certain Foo Fighters song on Rock Band at a local Game Stop. I can play the song for real hit for hit on real drums. Playing the song on "expert" is not even close to the real thing. Still though, those games are just games with an easy learning curve with some good songs.

saratoga

OMG! Crap everything takes a minute to come back into focus now.

mamu

If you stare at one almond, they all stop.

I've gotten that optical illusion thing spectating a marathon. Watch the runners for a while then look over their heads across the street and the landscape seems to be moving as well.

sd_mike

Nope. It was a Star Trek reference. You know, in honor of Comic-Con being in town this week.