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Steady Aim
Being a hardcore gamer across all platforms myself, it's sometimes hard for me to deal with fanboyism and bias in articles. Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony all have their strong points. For the time being, however, Microsoft just has more of them, and it's all thanks to its loyal fanbase.So why not acknowledge that fanbase? That's what Steady Aim is all about. It's what bothers you, what angers you, what satisfies you and well, anything that has the capability to evoke emotion; those are the things I want to address. They won't be my qualms (though, believe me, our qualms are shared), they will be yours. Afterall, it's time to give the people what they want!
Column Day: Monday
Column Article
Are Music Games getting old?
by Alex Yusupov May 28th 2008 10:33 PM CDT9 Comments
The Guitar Hero (and more recently, Rock Band) games have come a long way since their introduction several years ago. From the clunky, colorful and wired guitars of yore came new, sleek wireless ones. Thanks to the innovations of Rock Band, we also got a feel for what it was like to sing (albeit badly) and drum (noisily) like rock-stars. And boy was it fun.However, the formula gets old somewhat quickly. It’s always fun to do a few songs when you’re bored, but it’s the same playlists over and over, and a good 70% of the songs on those playlists you either don’t know, loathe, or a solid mix of the two. And that’s fine, because grinding out some notes was still fun, especially with some friends.
And yet, these games have only skimmed the surface of the pool of potential when it comes to their innovations, for example. For one, why can’t we have some other instruments in our band? Why not a keyboard? What if I want a drum set with two base pedals? Or why not have two guitarists for songs like “Rock You Like A Hurricane?” Rock Band had no problem selling all its peripherals, so adding more wouldn’t water down the experience at all. In fact, a five-member band is very common, and more often than not, I find myself yearning for some fifth instrument to be available because there would be a fifth guy playing with us today.
Whatever, that’s really a very minor issue, so let’s move on to a more recurring, and more prevalent one. I want my own goddamn playlists, and not the steaming pile of garbage offered to me by Red Octane and Harmonix. What if I want to play another song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Disturbed? They don’t care, because they want you to spend precious money on more retarded music from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace! Rejoice!
And it’s not even that difficult to let people have their own playlists. How awesome would it be to be able to chart your own music and then share it with friends? Who can create the most accurate depiction of what is being played on this kickass new song, and who can actually play it? That right there is the kind of interaction I want. Let gamers bring in their own music from their computers and let them chart it. If there are multiple instruments, let them chart all of it. In a local band? Awesome, chart your music and upload it for the whole world to play!
Granted, perhaps there would be technical limitations, but are people working on getting around those? I doubt it. Remember, custom playlists mean no more making money from people buying downloadable content for a hefty price.
Thankfully, we can hold our breathe a little while longer with the new features coming out with Guitar Hero 4, and perhaps Rock Band 2. Creating your own songs seems like crazy good fun, and will definitely satisfy our cravings for innovation for at least another year. After that? Let’s hope a year is enough time to develop a way to chart our own music.
