Jesse vs. Guitar Hero, or How to ostrasize your friends for thier hobbies.
As many of you that still read this dwindling journal of mine know that a few days ago I posted a link to a VGcats comic that poked fun at Guitar Hero, and surprisingly this has sparked some kind of hot internet debate. The usual content of this journal has never sparked such a response so I'm going to expand upon my thoughts concerning this issue.
Firstly, why I hate Guitar Hero.
To say that I HATE Guitar Hero is a bit extreme. The term hate implies that I care a great deal about the game and have very strong, anti-guitar hero sentiments. This is not true. I think the game is silly, impractical, and a waste of time, but that's it. I don't ring my hands in contempt for the software or its goofy looking controller for hours on end while I plot the downfall of the social group that enjoys the game. I simple dismiss it as being stupid.
And why do I think it's stupid? Primarily it is because it is a rhythm game at its core, and I'm not a fan of the rhythm genre. Yes, I was a fan of Dance Dance Revolution for a while but that was because I hadn't played a game with my feet since the days of Track and Field for the NES and once the novelty wore off I was right back to playing games involving machine guns and explosions. The genre of rhythm games I feel is very boring. You try to hit the right colored button or arrow at the right time, over and over again, until you can perfect one song or sequence and then move on to other songs or sequences of higher difficulty. Repetitive, yes, but then a lot of video games are, so I can't really fault Guitar Hero for that, but I feel that the repeated act in a game should be something worth having to do over and over again, like karate kicking a guy off a building or uppercutting someone into a ceiling of spikes. You know, something cool, not trying to reach from the green note to the orange one.
Which sort of brings me to the core of my dislike for the game. It's Simon. Remember that old game from when we were kids? The one were you had to hit the right colored buttons in the right order and they corresponded with a sound. That's what I feel this game is, just a really sophisticated one, which is probably where the charm for the game comes from. By mimicking actual performers and people of talent, you too feel as though you could in some minute way rock out if push came to shove... but only on medium songs. I don't know if that is from really good marketing or a natural byproduct from the game itself, but it is very annoying and somewhat disheartening to watch your friends triumph over "playing" an extremely dumbed down, and simplified version of a half-way decent rock song. It's like people who play Magic the Gathering or Yuh-gi-oh getting really excited over a big win and trying to explain to us what it meant that you pulled a Glacial Orb and a Grindstone in your first hand of cards.
And really, that is where all this resentment lies. Not really in the game, which I could have looked at once and never seen again in my life and not given a damn, but in the fanatical devotion players of the game have. By no accounts do I claim that the game isn't fun, I simply can't. There are millions of people out there buying the game, playing, and enjoying it. These are undisputable facts, but so is the example of Magic and Yuh-Gi-Oh I mentioned. Millions of people "waste" their time, money, and efforts on these silly card games and most of us look down on them as if they were idiots. Like they are dumb for enjoying something that was designed to be enjoyed.
I used the example of Furries to my friend Vedo the other day as a group of people that enjoy something "normal" people all think is retarded. Those of us unfortunate few who know what exactly Furry life entails no doubt think less of this individuals, but why? Sex is something most everyone enjoys to some degree or another, so why would dressing a particular way inhibit that enjoyment? It definitely "spices things up", and that seems to be what all married couples talk about these days on daytime TV. But we all still think of these people as weirdoes and degenerates, and really unless they are breaking laws they have every right to do what it is that they do.
So how does this tie back into Guitar Hero? It's very simple. That sort of resentment we all feel towards people with dumb hobbies is the same thing I feel towards my friends' love for this game. I don't hate the game, and I don't hate my friends, it's just simply a case of me liking oranges and them liking apples. There is nothing wrong with a game that makes you feel, even for a second, like an actual musician. Just try to keep your enthusiasm in check. Like a D&D player in a sporting goods store.
Hugs and Kisses,
Jess
PS: Double Dragon 2: The Revenge for the NES was the best game ever, simply for the fact that you not able to, but encouraged to karate kick men off of buildings.
Firstly, why I hate Guitar Hero.
To say that I HATE Guitar Hero is a bit extreme. The term hate implies that I care a great deal about the game and have very strong, anti-guitar hero sentiments. This is not true. I think the game is silly, impractical, and a waste of time, but that's it. I don't ring my hands in contempt for the software or its goofy looking controller for hours on end while I plot the downfall of the social group that enjoys the game. I simple dismiss it as being stupid.
And why do I think it's stupid? Primarily it is because it is a rhythm game at its core, and I'm not a fan of the rhythm genre. Yes, I was a fan of Dance Dance Revolution for a while but that was because I hadn't played a game with my feet since the days of Track and Field for the NES and once the novelty wore off I was right back to playing games involving machine guns and explosions. The genre of rhythm games I feel is very boring. You try to hit the right colored button or arrow at the right time, over and over again, until you can perfect one song or sequence and then move on to other songs or sequences of higher difficulty. Repetitive, yes, but then a lot of video games are, so I can't really fault Guitar Hero for that, but I feel that the repeated act in a game should be something worth having to do over and over again, like karate kicking a guy off a building or uppercutting someone into a ceiling of spikes. You know, something cool, not trying to reach from the green note to the orange one.
Which sort of brings me to the core of my dislike for the game. It's Simon. Remember that old game from when we were kids? The one were you had to hit the right colored buttons in the right order and they corresponded with a sound. That's what I feel this game is, just a really sophisticated one, which is probably where the charm for the game comes from. By mimicking actual performers and people of talent, you too feel as though you could in some minute way rock out if push came to shove... but only on medium songs. I don't know if that is from really good marketing or a natural byproduct from the game itself, but it is very annoying and somewhat disheartening to watch your friends triumph over "playing" an extremely dumbed down, and simplified version of a half-way decent rock song. It's like people who play Magic the Gathering or Yuh-gi-oh getting really excited over a big win and trying to explain to us what it meant that you pulled a Glacial Orb and a Grindstone in your first hand of cards.
And really, that is where all this resentment lies. Not really in the game, which I could have looked at once and never seen again in my life and not given a damn, but in the fanatical devotion players of the game have. By no accounts do I claim that the game isn't fun, I simply can't. There are millions of people out there buying the game, playing, and enjoying it. These are undisputable facts, but so is the example of Magic and Yuh-Gi-Oh I mentioned. Millions of people "waste" their time, money, and efforts on these silly card games and most of us look down on them as if they were idiots. Like they are dumb for enjoying something that was designed to be enjoyed.
I used the example of Furries to my friend Vedo the other day as a group of people that enjoy something "normal" people all think is retarded. Those of us unfortunate few who know what exactly Furry life entails no doubt think less of this individuals, but why? Sex is something most everyone enjoys to some degree or another, so why would dressing a particular way inhibit that enjoyment? It definitely "spices things up", and that seems to be what all married couples talk about these days on daytime TV. But we all still think of these people as weirdoes and degenerates, and really unless they are breaking laws they have every right to do what it is that they do.
So how does this tie back into Guitar Hero? It's very simple. That sort of resentment we all feel towards people with dumb hobbies is the same thing I feel towards my friends' love for this game. I don't hate the game, and I don't hate my friends, it's just simply a case of me liking oranges and them liking apples. There is nothing wrong with a game that makes you feel, even for a second, like an actual musician. Just try to keep your enthusiasm in check. Like a D&D player in a sporting goods store.
Hugs and Kisses,
Jess
PS: Double Dragon 2: The Revenge for the NES was the best game ever, simply for the fact that you not able to, but encouraged to karate kick men off of buildings.