Anyone else think this guy is crazy?

[MrPopo]

So yes, in your mind you have fun through being challenged. But not everyone feels the same way as you.

Again. People are cheating themselves. Musicianship is a very beautiful skill that takes time develop. You need to get out of the mindset of, "I've spent a week with this and suck. I give up". Take time to understand the theory, and it will come to you.
When I first started drumming, I would play daily until my fingers bled. It got to a point where I could only play four days a week because, my sores needed time to heal. Since then my skin has hardened, and I've developed a better technique, so that doesn't happen anymore...but it took time.

So yah. Don't cheat yourself. Put down the guitar hero/rockband, and pick up a real instrument

Like I said, I have a lot of respect for anyone who gets good at an instrument, as it takes real dedication. But even if I got good at the guitar that doesn't mean I'll have fun playing it. When I was in Junior High my parents had me take up the clarinet. By the standards of the band I was very good at it. But I didn't enjoy it. This is what I'm arguing. You are not cheating yourself by playing Rock Band.

[RemyC]

You are telling people to practice an instrument so much their fingers bleed instead of just playing a video game

No. I said, I did.

Playing Guitar Hero is just wasting time playing a game. Playing an instrument is a real skill. Nobody is playing Guitar Hero to the exclusion of a real guitar

Anybody that plays guitar hero is playing it to the exclusion of a real guitar. By picking up the guitar hero controller, as opposed to a real guitar, you are excluding the real guitar. Why would you waste time cheaply emulating a guitar, when you can spend the time honing real skills?

What about games that aren't any challenge? Animal Crossing comes to mind

I don't acknowledge the likes of Animal Crossing, or the Sims as games. I call them, "reality wasters".

The fact that i don't like playing the majority of my games on hard mode, even after beating normal dozens of times, suggest to me that the extra challenge isn't always enjoyable.

Challenge is relative to your skills. So even if you do suck at a game, when its on easy...It is still a challenge. If after clearing the game on easy mode, and finding it too easy, would you not increase it to a higher difficulty level?

even if I got good at the guitar that doesn't mean I'll have fun playing it.

If you were good at the guitar, but didn't enjoy playing it...how could you find rock band/guitar hero fun?

[dlmvii]

Anybody that plays guitar hero is playing it to the exclusion of a real guitar. By picking up the guitar hero controller, as opposed to a real guitar, you are excluding the real guitar. Why would you waste time cheaply emulating a guitar, when you can spend the time honing real skills?

Do you really think that every person that plays Guitar Hero would be playing a real guitar had the game never came out?

[MrPopo]

even if I got good at the guitar that doesn't mean I'll have fun playing it.

If you were good at the guitar, but didn't enjoy playing it...how could you find rock band/guitar hero fun?

Maybe I like playing with a bunch of my friends who can't play real instruments. Maybe I like playing in bands online. Maybe I just like having that virtual crowd. What I'm arguing is that the Rock Band guitar is not analogous to a real guitar, and that they can both be equally fun, while you keep taking the position that a real guitar is automatically more fun than Rock Band. Is it just that you're annoyed by all the people picking up Rock Band instead of a real guitar? How is the fact that people have fun with Rock Band ruin your own enjoyment of the guitar? I'll take an example from my own life. I dislike console FPS's. I feel that the prevelance of console FPS's has caused the number and quality of PC FPS's to drop. Is there a similar thing happening for guitar players?

[RemyC]

What I'm arguing is that the Rock Band guitar is not analogous to a real guitar

Could you explain how they aren't?
You strum a pattern, and press your fingers on what is supposed to be the chords. How is this not like a real guitar, but dumbed down?
I can't wrap my head around the enjoyment of playing with 5 plastic buttons, and strumming(nothing) to a song. If you do find that fun...How could you not find playing a real instrument immensely more fun? Are people insecure about how much they really suck at making music, so they like to hide behind a joke of a veil?

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I think i'm the only one that agree's with Remy on this thread...

[MrPopo]

Could you explain how they aren't?
You strum a pattern, and press your fingers on what is supposed to be the chords. How is this not like a real guitar, but dumbed down?

If we're going to go like that, then DDR is analogous to dancing. You move your feet in time to the music. How is that not like real dancing, but dumbed down?

Me, personally, I'm not insecure about my total lack of creative skill. I just don't see any point behind my picking up a guitar. If I picked up one and started to learn it, I'd have to memorize and build the muscle memory for all the chord patterns. So now I can play any note on command. So what am I going to do with it? Sit in my room and randomly strum, or play along with my Zeppelin MP3s? It would end up being something I can mess around with. But it's a lot of work to get to the point of being able to mess around with well.

On the other hand, I have Rock Band, where I can instantly be "playing" a ton of great songs. And I can invite my buddies over and we all have fun together. I don't want to have to convince my friends to get good at an instrument to all have fun playing some Rush together.

I'll ask again. There are people who are enjoying a "dumbed down" version of one of your hobbies. How is this affecting your ability to enjoy your hobby?

[vash23n]

What I'm arguing is that the Rock Band guitar is not analogous to a real guitar

Could you explain how they aren't?
You strum a pattern, and press your fingers on what is supposed to be the chords. How is this not like a real guitar, but dumbed down?
I can't wrap my head around the enjoyment of playing with 5 plastic buttons, and strumming(nothing) to a song. If you do find that fun...How could you not find playing a real instrument immensely more fun? Are people insecure about how much they really suck at making music, so they like to hide behind a joke of a veil?

I can't believe this argument is still going on. Mr. Popo is right, just because you play guitar hero doesn't mean you can't play a real instrument. I, and it seems a lot of people here are the same way, play guitar. I am very good at it and I enjoy it and guess what... I still don't mind playing guitar hero. Do I turn to guitar hero because I don't feel like playing a real guitar? No and it is a stupid argument to say that I do. I play hockey and I enjoy playing hockey video games, I am sure there are soldiers who like to play FPS, I bet there are race car drivers who like to play racing games, maybe there is even a little Italian Plumber somewhere in NYC who likes playing Super Mario Bros. To say that playing a video game version of a real life hobby is a waste of time and that people who play them just don't feel like doing whatever hobby that may be in real life is silly. If that argument was valid it could be extended to video gaming as a whole. If it is not worth playing video games because it is a waste of time and you should be out doing the real thing, then no one who played video games would ever be in the right and it wouldn't be worth debating. I don't care about the argument that playing a FPS requires one to master the controls and so it is somehow exempt from your argument. Mastering a real weapon and firing it and striking a target is very complex in itself. So someone who masters a FPS cannot be expected to be a top notch sniper just as someone who masters guitar hero (which also has a specific way of controlling the game whether it is easier than a FPS or not) can't be expected to be a top notch guitar player. I don't think anyone would argue differently. If they do, have them pick up a guitar and see what they can do.

Also, to say that someone who doesn't enjoy playing the guitar in real life shouldn't like playing guitar hero is ludicrous. I don't like killing people or any living thing in real life, but I sure as hell love blowing some motherhumpers away in Timesplitters 2.

This whole argument comes down to tastes. Remy does not like rhythm games and prefers FPS. The only difference I see here is that everyone else seems to be arguing that people should play whatever they want as long as it is fun for them and that making judgments about that person's real-life personality is unfair. Remy, you unfortunately have your own tastes and it seems that anyone who doesn't agree with them is automatically wrong. I have a feeling this argument could go on indefinitely.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

This thread has saturated beyond repair. Would a mod mind locking it or something?

[vash23n]

This thread has saturated beyond repair. Would a mod mind locking it or something?

I semi agree