It's been five (almost six!) years since the revolutionary video game hit Guitar Hero arrived in American stores. In just that short time there have been 5 main sequels and several spin-offs, including those that highlight mainly the music catalogue of a particular band (like Metallica or Van Halen). Add in the competing Rock Band series (founded by Harmonix, the original creators of Guitar Hero), and you've got more rock music rhythm games in the past 5 years than you can count on your fingers and toes. All the bustle about these highly successful games has lead some children and adults alike to listen to music they may have never listened to before, or to attempt to play real instruments.
Before this point, the game controllers didn't allow for realistic crossover from the video game to real life. Many debates in internet forums have started over which is harder, real guitar or the Guitar Hero video game? Most arguments seem to be biased or inconclusive, and while these recent video games didn't teach how to play real instruments in their entirety, the basic concepts and coordination were beginning to set in for avid players. Once Rock Band hit the shelves in 2007, not only were Guitar and Bass supported, but vocals and drumming as well. Now that both Guitar Hero and Rock Band support multiple "fake instruments," the past few years have allowed game companies to hear feedback from professionals and fans on how they can better improve the gaming experience. Many players who have begun to conquer the highest "expert" level of difficulty were searching for something harder and more realistic.
Just this past week (Oct 2010), Rock Band released it's third main title (following spin-off titles for bands The Beatles and Green Day, respectively). In this game, they have are striving to make the music experience more realistic to close the gap between what is considered video gaming, and what is considered playing a real instrument. Harmonix has decided to include a "Pro" mode to the game to make the gaming more like a real instrument if gamers want the extra challenge. Those who wish to play the game in the traditional manner may still do so as well.
In an interview (read
here) with Ultimate-Guitar.com, Harmonix developers talked about the induction of the "Pro" mode. They heard from music teachers that many students they were receiving became interested in playing instruments through Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Many drum teachers, in fact, told them that the coordination and technique of some new players was great, which is remarkable for anyone who has never actually played a real drum kit! Harmonix was seeing that their game was starting to pave the way for people to learn real instruments.
To take the game a step further, the "Pro" mode for drums requires players to hit the correct cymbals or tom drums to pass a song. In any other mode they must just be sure to hit the proper color corresponding with the chart on screen, regardless of whether it is a cymbal or tom drum.
The most daring introduction, however, has been the introduction of new, more complicated instruments. A keyboard/keytar instrument (pictured above) has been added for Rock Band 3. If a player chooses to play on "Pro" mode with the keyboard, they will be learning the real notes (with sharps and flats included) for the right hand section of the piano part. This should be able to translate over to a real piano or keyboard.
The most compelling of the new instruments seems to be the new, 150 button "Pro Guitar" (also pictured above), that gives a more realistic approach to gaming with the guitar. They now have more than five frets to choose from, and six strings to strum. This can be used with both Guitar and Bass in Rock Band 3, and will prove to be a much larger challenge for those who have no trouble for even the daunting "Expert" charts in former games. Following later is a real-sized Squier guitar (above) that is a Rock Band video game guitar and a ready-to-play electric guitar, all in one.
Is this a good move on Harmonix's part, or are they making things too complicated? Should video games stay separate from the real world, or are these games going to further enrich the gaming population, making our society more music literate? In such a short time, so much has developed in the way of these music/rhythm game genres. How much further can they develop, and will there be a point where the gap between fantasy and reality is completely bridged?
(Original news report by engadget)
~K. Rodgers
I knew that teenagers are reliant on the Internet, and I also knew some kids formed an addiction to the Internet. I had no idea the crazy addiction problem for teens in China. It is also shocking to me that they have bootcamps that were created to specifically to ween teens off their addiction. But even more shocking is the addict who was beaten to death at one of these camps. It is worth noting that 90% of the children attending these "schools" do not know they are attending because of their obsession with the Internet. The specific school was Beiteng in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan province. The teen was Chen Shi, only 16 years old. It is obvious that their Internet addiction problem is serious, but I could never imagine a bootcamp for this in the U.S. When these teens are shipped off for semesters, their own parents are unable to be in contact with them. All this is the name of too much Internet? There needs to be alternative ways to combat Internet addiction. The ideas of programs getting teens active, outside, and social is great, however beating a child because they did not run is clearly not the best route here. I think the problem is that Internet addiction is somewhat new and we haven't quite figured out how to treat and prevent it. 
