tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post45903912344115514..comments2024-03-28T07:16:05.720-07:00Comments on Experience Points: A Day in the LifeJorge Alborhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04857765716032886965noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post-86366236107371489292010-01-27T21:05:58.084-08:002010-01-27T21:05:58.084-08:00@Justin
That's good to hear that he saw it as...@Justin<br /><br />That's good to hear that he saw it as a performance. Too often, I've heard the "just play a real instrument" argument thrown around when it always seemed like the point was to create a more karaoke-themed experience.<br /><br />@Gerard<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by!<br /><br />I also think that the Beatles: Rock Band has more inter-generational appeal than something like Call of Duty, which I think helps more people take part in reshaping the myth.<br /><br />It also has taught me that I probably shouldn't make any more "Ringo sux" jokes in light of my drumming ineptitude. ;-)Scott Justerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11775296635863850847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post-10661720639003798332010-01-26T17:51:01.432-08:002010-01-26T17:51:01.432-08:00"The Beatles: Rock Band allows us to escape o..."The Beatles: Rock Band allows us to escape our reality and take part in the re-telling of these legends."<br /><br />I liked this part of the article the most as it touches on the possibility of games growing as a means by which our culture retells it's own legends and how we construct different parts of our global history. We have seen other accounts in videogames such as the interpretations of warfare seen in both fps and strategy genres but I think that Beatles Rock Band provides the first deliberate attempt to do so. Here the ludic elements serve the mythology of the Beatles as much as the genre of game that Beatles: Rock Band fits into.Gerard Delaneyhttp://www.binary-swan.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post-56616597230918278662010-01-25T23:51:27.290-08:002010-01-25T23:51:27.290-08:00I once played Beatles: RB with a professional jazz...I once played Beatles: RB with a professional jazz musician and a few other of my amateur musician friends. The person in question has had experience with Guitar Hero, and enjoys it purely for its demand in skill and dexterity. He once said that "Well, Expert's easy. It's just like playing piano." Intially he was skeptical of slaughtering his beloved Beatles songs with a form of Guitar Hero gameplay, for he both loves the Beatles and hates video games. Regardless, he played the Beatles on the hardest difficulty for all songs and also sung without any hesitation or lack of enthusiasm. <br /><br />Whilst he approached GH as a skill-tester of sorts, he most definitely saw Beatles: RB as a musical performance in itself. And as you've probably noticed, Beatles: RB encourages far more performer participation rather than the concentrated fervour that GH often requires, perhaps just a result of the nostalgia Beatles invokes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post-51350564360671251412010-01-25T21:09:59.788-08:002010-01-25T21:09:59.788-08:00Hi Justin
Thanks for stopping by. Have you ever ...Hi Justin<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by. Have you ever played the game with any of the musically inclined folks you spoke of? I'm not much of a musician, but I've heard people who actually know music say complementary things about Beatles:RB in particular. <br /><br />I guess if you want to get really meta, you could still call Rock Band a "live performance," as there are actual public skills on display. Of course, in my case, I use the term "skills" quite loosely. ;-)<br /><br />Hi Tesh,<br /><br />You're right, it does seem weird to make that argument. Basically, I would argue that the game is so strict that you are given two basic choices: escapism or disengagement. The game is forcibly escapist, and if the player both desires and accepts the fact that this is basically a Beatles role playing game, they will have a good time. However, I can see this being very frustrating, because if you try to stray from the path, you run into obstacles almost immediately. Essentially, the game's tendency towards escapism is powerful, but tenuous.<br /><br />I'm glad you brought up the nostalgia angle, as I'm going to write something in that vein later this week. In short: this game is especially great for people who love the the mythic Beatles. There is a big difference between what we see, what we choose to remember, and what actually happened.Scott Justerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11775296635863850847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post-57993361884514221982010-01-25T10:25:30.749-08:002010-01-25T10:25:30.749-08:00So, is the escapism enhanced by the stricter game ...So, is the escapism enhanced by the stricter game mechanics? Also, how much of the escape is nostalgia? In other words, can those be principles extended to other games, or do they just work on the back of the Beatles IP?<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I like it, too; it's the only Rock Band game I'll play. I've never been a huge fan of the Beatles, though (I was born in '76), they are merely OK in my musical book. As such, I have fun with the game, especially with Ringo's songs (I'm only competent with the drums), but it's not as much of an escape for me as for others. I get more out of a Kingdom Hearts game, for example, because it resonates better with me.Teshhttp://tishtoshtesh.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3967694277763110629.post-21857302686095797092010-01-24T18:05:51.660-08:002010-01-24T18:05:51.660-08:00You raise a great point in your article. I have a ...You raise a great point in your article. I have a lot of musically experienced friends and family of differing levels of skill, and they all find something within Beatles: RB that they do not experience in other music games such as Guitar Hero, or rhythm titles like Elite Beat Agents or Rhythm Heaven (for obvious reasons concerning the latter). Often musicians complain that 'these plastic guitar games' are devoid of any of the real musical experience found in live practice or performance. However, TB:RB does indeed serve as an accurate form of escapism, evoking an emotional level which musicians would normally feel themselves. It is because of this that I keep coming back to this game.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com