Theatre of the Mime
I was reading a review for the new music-oriented game for Nintendo Wii: www.slate.com/id/2204766/
I am not really a video game player. I'm a "gamer" in what I consider the traditional sense... I enjoy tactile games (board games, card games, dice, etc.) and roleplaying games (real ones, not the digital variety where most NPCs have a limited script of one or two sentences). I've even enjoyed a little MMO action... though I found that it was only really fun when I knew the people I was playing with, and most fun when we were all in the same room.
I certainly understand the video game subculture, however. I am no less a devotee of the escapist philosophy than those who spend hours planted in front of their console or computer games... I simply don't enjoy exclusive pursuits overly much. For me, quality entertainment requires a social component. I know... weird. Roulette and K-Baby and Allydhian and Taluun are just as happy to spend all their spare time in precisely such endeavors, and probably would if they didn't have to deal with me.
That being said, I find the popularity of games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band - even Dance Dance Revolution - kinda fascinating. The games themselves are simply a challenge of coordination, pushing buttons in a sequence presented in continually more difficult arrangements... but the fact that the rhythm of these challenges is associated with familiar musical performances, and that the controllers themselves are fashioned in the shapes of musical instruments, invokes an component of the experience that engages the player's imagination, at least in the small segment of their mind that fantasizes about being a rock guitarist...
Which I am.
I don't really have an interest in playing these games. But I was sitting around thinking this morning about what I would enjoy in an interactive utility. It might even be out there... the technology certainly is, but the demand may not be very high. I'd like a backup band.
There are utilities that will play pre-programmed background tracks in a variety of styles, and others that will allow you to program them yourself... but I'd like something that seems a little more organic. Virtual reality is making leaps and bounds, and I'm reminded of science-fiction movies like Total Recall, where Sharon Stone had a holographic utility that helped her perfect her tennis swing. I want a back-up band, one that can move through changes and take cues and elaborate in little ways that make the experience more rewarding. A VR-style setup with glasses would be cool... but even players on the computer screen could be fun.
Of course, I can record my own background tracks with the equipment I have now, but that's a lot of work. I want something more casual, and I want instant gratification. Of course. I'm part of the instant gratification generation. Why else would I sit here and talk about myself?
*grins*
I am not really a video game player. I'm a "gamer" in what I consider the traditional sense... I enjoy tactile games (board games, card games, dice, etc.) and roleplaying games (real ones, not the digital variety where most NPCs have a limited script of one or two sentences). I've even enjoyed a little MMO action... though I found that it was only really fun when I knew the people I was playing with, and most fun when we were all in the same room.
I certainly understand the video game subculture, however. I am no less a devotee of the escapist philosophy than those who spend hours planted in front of their console or computer games... I simply don't enjoy exclusive pursuits overly much. For me, quality entertainment requires a social component. I know... weird. Roulette and K-Baby and Allydhian and Taluun are just as happy to spend all their spare time in precisely such endeavors, and probably would if they didn't have to deal with me.
That being said, I find the popularity of games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band - even Dance Dance Revolution - kinda fascinating. The games themselves are simply a challenge of coordination, pushing buttons in a sequence presented in continually more difficult arrangements... but the fact that the rhythm of these challenges is associated with familiar musical performances, and that the controllers themselves are fashioned in the shapes of musical instruments, invokes an component of the experience that engages the player's imagination, at least in the small segment of their mind that fantasizes about being a rock guitarist...
Which I am.
I don't really have an interest in playing these games. But I was sitting around thinking this morning about what I would enjoy in an interactive utility. It might even be out there... the technology certainly is, but the demand may not be very high. I'd like a backup band.
There are utilities that will play pre-programmed background tracks in a variety of styles, and others that will allow you to program them yourself... but I'd like something that seems a little more organic. Virtual reality is making leaps and bounds, and I'm reminded of science-fiction movies like Total Recall, where Sharon Stone had a holographic utility that helped her perfect her tennis swing. I want a back-up band, one that can move through changes and take cues and elaborate in little ways that make the experience more rewarding. A VR-style setup with glasses would be cool... but even players on the computer screen could be fun.
Of course, I can record my own background tracks with the equipment I have now, but that's a lot of work. I want something more casual, and I want instant gratification. Of course. I'm part of the instant gratification generation. Why else would I sit here and talk about myself?
*grins*