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That's actually quite a cool idea. It would also explain things like cos-play/RPG's. I'll have to ponder on that one. | |
It took them that long to figure out kids like to believe they are something more than...just kids? | |
That's the best bit of the article, right there. | |
This article was pretty good to read. It made a pretty good point in the end too. (An obvious one, in the very least.) "I got the POW-UHH! ... Hmm, did I just write that? Wow. | |
That still doesn't explain why Guitar Hero now has like, more than 14 games in the space of 5 years, and why everyone is buying them. I call it The Activision Effect. Milk the Sequels for Cash. Everyone says they're sick of them. Everyone buys them. And Kick out ANY games that don't have the potential to pull sequels and spinoffs out of their ass. It's Science! | |
it'll be proven again if they try to make a prototype sequel. | |
What an utterly redundant study. We all know that the illusion of being a rock star is the core of the fun of these games already (although there is of course much more to it than just that). Also, the guy who did the study sounds like he has nothing but contempt for music games. | |
That's ridiculous. Playing music from an actual instrument doesn't involve that much more in the way of mental or phsyical skill; the only differences are that you don't get visual cues for rhythm. You still play each note sequentially as it comes up on the music sheet. | |
That and we get rewarded with delicious, delicious music when we do it right. | |
"a certain murky part of our brain" <= Yeah, that sounds about right for 'science' as far as psychologists are concerned. But seriously, this was said and phrased way better waaaaaay back in his Guitar Hero 3 review Yathzee! | |
That assessment could be made for almost any game. When I kill opposing forces, I am a soldier a la CoD. When I don't, I die. Therefore, I am a soldier. -or- When I pull off the right attack, I am Cloud Strife. When I don't, I die. Therefore, I am Cloud Strife. It's how the whole manipulating-an-alternate-reality thing works. No one plays a game to feel depressed and berated. | |
I don't love it. ... Hey, I just realized! I defy psychological classification! Right? | |
Yep. The real power that comes from playing a real instrument, is when you actually write your own music. | |
That doesn't explain why I hate the game, though. | |
If you want to feel powerful change to dark knight class. | |
I am Keith Richards? Cool. That's like the equivalent of a human cockroach, being that he is immortal. | |
Intersting read. Sir Marcus just discovered why Guitar Hero is fun. But seriously, it's a game. And thereby, it's suppose to be fun. No matter if it's silly, stupid, childish or what-so-ever. Well, we can all walk away and sleep a little more wise tonight, I guess. | |
Your post numbers are at 1337=leet I dunno why they bothered putting effort into this since there are people who do, and don't like the Guitar Hero series just like any other game genre. | |
I think scientists just used this as an excuse to play guitar hero at work. | |
"When I push the button, I hear Keith Richards," Marcus explained. "When I fail to push the button (or press the wrong button, or press it late), I don't hear Keith Richards. Therefore, I am Keith Richards!" Sounds like the line at the end of a macabre sci-fi movie like "therefore, I am Keith Richards!" | |
I think most people would figure out something to that effect if they sit down and think about it, but major props to the guy for breaking it down so candidly.
No. Just...no. Even if that statement wasn't completely wrong it'd still miss the point of the article. | |
This. | |
Didn't we already know this, except with a simpler explaination? It's an instant gratification system; push the right button, you get the music. Short burst of effort, instant reward. | |
I'm guessing you don't play an instrument, but as a musician let me tell you playing a real instrument takes an immense amount of mental and physical skill in comparison to guitar hero. people can pick up a guitar hero guitar and play it on easy the first time they try. try an pick up a cello and see if you can just play it. people spend their entire lives perfecting there craft as a musician. people play guitar hero for a couple of months and can beat it on the hardest setting. | |
He's still pissy at the massive vertical difficulty curve in GH3. His meteoric rise to fake plastic stardom was shattered by Neversoft's shithouse noteplacement, so he dedicated his life to destroying the fake plastic genre. Here's an idea. Get in on this. I know, it's going to sound really silly, but hear me out. People play Rock Band and Guitar Hero because they're fun. *GASP!* | |
Oh, they will. And it will be AWESOME! | |
Why stop at Guitar Hero and Rock Band? Surely that theory could apply to the majority of games? | |
Agreed. Makes me want to stand up and shout "I AM MCLOVIN!" or "I AM SPARTACUS!" or "I AM BEOWULF!" or "I. AM. CANADIAN!" but I don't want to disrupt my roommates while they're watching True Blood. | |
I'm trying and failing to envision a universe where I would want to imagine I was Keith Richards. Anyhow, I don't love Guitar Hero as I actually play a real musical instrument and therefore don't need to pretend to in a videogame.
I haven't quite finished it yet - is there something about the ending that would necessarily preclude a sequel, or was that a dig at the quality or something? | |
sure to impress the ladies? lol | |
And I can explain why people think the games are bad. Because people think not being different is bad (in terms of gaming) Its the same thing, but different songs. And its not like you have to buy the instruments more than once.
Can you play it online though? Or with ANY friend, even those who dont know how to play a real instrument? | |
are you sure science explained this? are you sure a scientist didn't just post random BS in a blog? | |
It took them this long to figure this out? Science=fail | |
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Science Explains Why We Love Guitar Hero
Ever wonder why games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are so wildly popular? New York University professor of psychology Gary Marcus says it's because they give us a feeling of power.
In some ways, Marcus wrote on his blog at Psychology Today, Rock Band and Guitar Hero "seem like the stupidest games on Earth," and with the way he describes them it's not hard to see why. "Colored discs scroll down a TV screen, and eager participants mash colored buttons in time with what they see," he wrote. "You press a red button when you see a red disc, a blue button when you see a blue disc, and hold your fire when you see nothing. Rinse, lather, and repeat; that's about all there is to it."
He acknowledges the runaway popularity of the two franchises, which have grossed over $3 billion between them. But why? "What," he asked, "is the appeal of a game that demands so little of the human mind?" It's not the music, which can be had cheaper and with less work by simply buying a few CDs or hitting iTunes. Nor are we learning anything about making real music or music theory; we're just pushing buttons like a hamster who wants a treat. So what's the appeal?
"It's a lust for power," Marcus said. "Not of the sort that allows one to rule the world, but the sort that allows one to control one's own world."
Simply put, people are happier when they're in control of a situation, but according to Marcus the human mind has a tricky time determining when we actually have that control. Guitar Hero succeeds because it's able to create a "potent illusion of temporal contingency" - we know we're not actually playing the music but when we do well in the game by pressing the right button at the right time to make the right sound come out, a certain murky part of our brain is tricked into thinking we are and we get a small, artificially-induced but very real taste of what it's like to be standing on stage, strutting our stuff.
"When I push the button, I hear Keith Richards," Marcus explained. "When I fail to push the button (or press the wrong button, or press it late), I don't hear Keith Richards. Therefore, I am Keith Richards!"
So is all that just a fancy-pants way of saying we like the games because they make us feel like awesome rock stars? Maybe. But the next time you're talking about Rock Band and you slip in a line about "inferring causality from temporal contingency," a move that's sure to impress the ladies, you can thank science - and me.
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