Video games and the dynamics of the music industry
- Bands -
By Clarence Yu
Contributor
I have to admit before going on that I am not a gamer. I know absolutely nothing about PlayStations, PSP’s, Xbox’s, and other gaming brands and consoles that are out there.
The last time I seriously played a game was when Atari, Apple II, Commodore, Space Invaders and Pac Man ruled the gaming universe. I checked out of the gaming world once the games became too complicated for my simple tastes. I am a guitarist as well, and will admit that I have tried the past Guitar Hero games in the hopes of blowing away the punks who know nothing about “real” guitar playing. News flash for me: I couldn’t even complete a game in mid-song.
Generally speaking, here is how the game works: by using a guitar-shaped controller, you play along to rock songs by pressing the correct colored button on the neck at the right time; the notes that correspond to the correct buttons to push are displayed on the screen as the game is under way, and if you play well, the virtual crowd cheers you on, but if you hit miss notes and you get booed offstage. By progressing through levels of difficulty of the game, players are able to “unlock” new songs.
Similar guitar based games can be found at your neighborhood game arcades, Time Zone and Power Station being the most prominent in Manila, though these are generic in nature.
