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Trigames.NET Podcast Ep. 104 - Gumball de Slunk

• 28Aug 09

  The Rock Band Music Creator, 143 is up, and mail in for 144

  Yeah, I was late again--but I did upload episode 143. Check your RSS feeds or the site. Speaking of which, if your iTunes, Zune or RSS aren't picking it up properly, please let us know. Something went wrong with 142's entry, and neither Al nor I could figure out what it was.

  At some point during this past episode--or maybe it was 142? I'm not sure--I mentioned Rock Band's option for creating music, about which I heard while listening to the Giant Bombcast a few weeks ago. The news post on Kotaku now fleshes it out in more detail. Having used Activision's studio from Guitar Hero World Tour, I'm pleased to see that Harmonix's option is fully loaded.

  However, I'm not sold that I'll use this tool much either. The problem--and it's not so much a problem as it is just the nature of the music-making beast--is how many pieces there are to the puzzle. While Guitar Hero's studio turned out some pretty heinous tunes, at least you could kind of just use your guitar controller to jam something out that was...hopefully...pleasing to the ear and then load it. Here, you're paying a hefty sum for tracking software, transfer software and an XNA Creator's Club membership. You have to come in with some musical knowledge or else the tracking software is going to appear to you like an Excel sheet on steroids; Harmonix is both fully aware of, and publicizing, this barrier to entry, which is a good thing since at least we know what to expect going in. It's just a downer that we still don't have a true "user-friendly" option for making your own music in a rhythm game (wouldn't it be great for you to be able to upload your own band's songs for at least your friends to play?). But then again, someone--either Ryan or Jeff, I can't remember--said all those weeks ago on the Bombcast that most people still wouldn't spend the necessary time and effort to track a song, because no matter how simple you make it, it's still a complex process.

  Random: I haven't been playing games too much. I'm enjoying my opportunity working from my hometown for once this week by going out and catching up with friends who I never get to see on the weekdays, as well as working on a bunch of side projects. Most significantly though, I've been watching The Wire, which I purchased a few months ago and just now have finally gotten around to watching. It's a fantastic series. It's not for everyone, but it's simply made so well that I think everyone should give it a shot.

  If you have a question or comment you'd like read on the next episode of the podcast, as always, hit us up at mailbag AT trigames DOT net or via this form right here. (Be sure to select the MAILBAG radio button before submitting.)
  

  • Posted Aug 28, 2009 6:26 am PT
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• 20Aug 09

  Musicology and Plastic Guitars

  My sister once asked me if she thought I played Guitar Hero better than I did the cello. I thought this was pretty amusing at the time; this was at the height of my Guitar Heroics, when my friends Al, Megu, Maurice and Sneezy would throw the little plastic fisher-price guitars behind their heads with me as we competed, playing through riffs on Expert without skipping a beat (until my arms tired out and I had to descend to earth once again). This was when Al and I were fresh off of participating in a forum-based impromptu league set up by another friend of mine, where we strived not only for that five-star ranking on each and every song but also attempted to close in on perfection: hitting every single note without over-strumming (i.e. strumming when there was no note to be played). This was when "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" was just around the corner, and I'd be soon mastering Living Colour's "Cult of Personality" and its newly-recorded (and deviously insane) solo without needing to use Star Power as a crutch to avoid failing out.

  For reference, I played the cello for 13 years seriously and two more off and on. Though I was notoriously undisciplined, preferring to play by ear and without practicing technique as much as I should have, I'll go out on a limb and say that my playing was good enough to be pleasing to the human ear, if not the canine ear. I never quite reached the heights I would have needed to in order to play something like Dvorak's cello concerto in B minor, but hey, come on. It's the friggin' Dvorak we're talking about, and I was merely decent; I wasn't a prodigy.

  To entertain myself, I took these two separate worlds and attempted to answer my sister's question. 15 years of playing cello, 75% by ear and 25% by discipline, versus hitting five buttons in rapid succession and odd combinations in order to rack up a high score at a videogame that just happened to be based on playing music--but didn't involve actually playing music. What was I better at? If I reached the conclusion that I was indeed better at Guitar Hero than I was at playing cello (the former of which I have spent--to date--four years playing as a form entertainment), would this be a "sad" thing? That all the time and effort (ahem) put into refining skills at creating music were trumped by a few leisurely years spent learning how to mimic the solo to a heavy metal song that was compressed to five buttons?

  In truth, this is a question that can't really be answered properly--at least, not with regards to the context in which people ask it. Usually they make the understandable mistake of intending the question to be a musical one, implying or thinking that the musical skills required to be proficient at Guitar Hero are the same or similar to those required for a real instrument. This mistake, sadly, is at the root of why music games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band have been scoffed at (sometimes lightly, sometimes scornfully) by some in the music community. A few months ago, when asked if he'd like to contribute his songs to Guitar Hero, the artist formerly known as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (now currently known as Prince, in case you forgot) politely declined, stating his desire that children learn to play the "real thing."

  I don't particularly have an issue with Prince wanting children to really learn how to play music. Done correctly, encouraging kids--hell, anyone-- to play music can result in joy for the would-be musicians, as well as those around them. Playing music is simply fun, and there's a fantastic sense of achievement and satisfaction when you finally master a piece or write a song of your own (...and all of you narcissists would have something else to brag about, another reason to look in the mirror, or whatever).

  What perturbs me slightly, though, is the inappropriate correlation between this segment of interactive entertainment and "the real thing." There certainly is a link between playing music games and playing music itself, but again, I feel that most people get the context wrong. Specifically: "Practicing Guitar Hero is going to stop you or your child from practicing a real musical instrument." Listen--let's look at Guitar Hero, Rock Band and other music games for what they are: videogames. A form of entertainment. A pastime. A leisurely activity. Theoretically, you could be arguing that you'd rather your kids learn how to play their instrument than playing videogames. From there, you could theoretically argue that you'd rather your kids learn how to play their instrument than watching television or movies; going to the mall with their friends; listening to music on the radio (now isn't that interesting?). Sure, I will concede to the view that mastering a song in Guitar Hero provides the instant gratification of "playing" a piece of music that can't be achieved from practicing a passage or a set of riffs, for hours on end (unless you're a virtuoso). However, most forms of leisurely, mainstream entertainment are designed to provide instant gratification.

  Does this mean that Prince is entirely "wrong" to say what he did? Not necessarily. I'm not saying that he should amend his statement and lambaste all videogames instead of just Guitar Hero. In the grand scheme of things, though, I do think that music games don't warrant being singled out from any other form of entertainment. As with all entertainment, they should simply be a part of anyone's checklist on what to balance in one's life. For youths, do your chores; do your homework; study and practice what you're supposed to practice; reward yourself, have fun and enjoy life. For adults, do your job; run your errands; take care of the people in your life; reward yourself, have fun and enjoy life. Just like anything else we do for fun, something like Guitar Hero is a perfectly acceptable pastime for those who know how to balance their lives, and more importantly, understand the difference between playing music games and playing real music.

  For all of us "grown-ups" (though I'm really 12 years old inside), let's put it this way: If someone came up to me and said, "You know, the time you spent playing Guitar Hero could have been spent revitalizing your cello-playing ability," my response would be, "Had I the desire to spend time revitalizing my cello-playing ability, I would have simply done so. Guitar Hero has nothing to do with it." The sad truth of the matter is that I played Guitar Hero--or read books, or played basketball, or did whatever else I did these past few years--over playing the cello simply because I didn't feel like playing the cello at those particular times. (Note: Kids, you're out of luck; when you asked your parents for that guitar and to spend money on lessons for you, you'd better damn well feel like playing it.)

  Let's flip the script and look at this situation from another angle. For all of the negative things people can "learn" or become "desensitized to" thanks to videogames--or movies, or music, or books (are you listening, politicians?)--there are plenty of positive influences that can be gleaned from them. (The key for parents, of course, is knowing how to teach their kids right from wrong, and fantasy from reality, at the outset. I know--duh, right? You'd think.)

  I serve only as anecdotal evidence, but I like to think that I'm a passable example. Until around 2005, I almost exclusively listened to hip hop and c|assical music. December of 2005 is when I brought home the original Guitar Hero. From there, my music library slowly increased to include music--both good and bad--from any number of rock genres. I entered, and am still in, an experimental phase with finding new music that I can appreciate. Why did Guitar Hero, Rock Band and their sequels spark this interest? If you think about it, I was being exposed to music I never really cared for before, contextualized in an environment that I did care for: videogames. The effect is not entirely different from what you'd get when, say, watching a biopic about a musician (e.g. "Ray" or "Walk The Line" might make you curious enough to check out the work of Ray Charles or Johnny Cash), but because these music games (a) were all music all the time, and (2) exposed me to some compressed, faux inkling of the technique required to play these songs, it was easier for me to appreciate the music contained in those games.

  So, sure, playing music games got me to appreciate and enjoy "new" music. I'll tell you something else though: My desire to start practicing the cello again has increased noticeably. That's right. After saying that people shouldn't negatively correlate playing Guitar Hero and playing a real musical instrument, I'm turning on my heel and am now suggesting that playing Guitar Hero and its ilk were responsible for me wanting to play my real instrument again. The reason is simple. I want to be able to answer my sister's question, however apples-to-oranges the correlation between the two activities may be, by saying, "No--I believe I can play the cello far better than I can this guitar game." When seeing insane streams of colored notes on the screen and actually being able to play them, it reminded me ever so slightly of the breathtaking sensation I got from playing a run or crazy-ass chord passages using thumb position and other techniques on my cello. It was fun to score points in a videogame through the sheer speed of my fingers--but I wanted to play for real.

  This is where the most important distinction between playing a music game, and playing real music, comes in. In a music game, you're not playing music; you're simply activating it. The music is pre-recorded and comes from cover bands or licensed master tracks. It's already in the game. At its core, all the game is doing is waiting for you to press the right buttons, and strum at the right time; with all that done, the notes will play. It'll be as in tune as it ever could be given the recording. The body--the feel--of the note will be exactly what it was when the original was recorded. You are not really making any music, and that's okay, because all you really need to do in order to get the most out of Guitar Hero is to have a good time. That's why you don't, and shouldn't, have to worry about bow or picking techniques or playing the notes at the right dynamics. You can fantasize about being a rock star with ease, just like how a fan of the football sim "Madden 10" can fantasize about being Randy Moss. Playing a music game, and most videogames for that matter, is about the fantasy and the entertainment.

  Playing a musical instrument is about discipline, technique and perseverance. You do have to worry about when your foot hits the pedal as you practice Chopin. You do have to make sure that your bow hand is appropriately light or heavy, and you sure as hell have to be cognizant of where your finger hits to make sure you're in tune if you're a string player. You can fantasize all you want, but the results of your playing are your own, and they're real. When the cat screeches and scratches at your foot; when the dog yelps and scampers away; when your sister comes into your room and laughs at you because you hit the harmonic the wrong way, it's your own fault. If you aren't willing--and will never be willing--to handle the reality of the dedication required to play a musical instrument, you're simply not going to partake in it--whether or not Guitar Hero ever existed.

  So, to Prince I say this: There are young'uns who dutifully practice their instruments; who dip into Guitar Hero or Rock Band just for a bit when they need a 15-minute break; who would enjoy rocking out to your music with their plastic instruments. Accept the check and give them a taste of the fantasy of being you. You won't do a disservice to their talents by giving them some entertainment. And for the people who'd be inclined to play Guitar Hero over a real guitar, they were probably never going to pick up a guitar anyway. At the very least, by exposing your music to them through their pastime, maybe they'll buy more of your albums.

  I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this, even though it's kind of becoming an "age-old" discussion. I just never had the time to verbalize my sentiments in text until last afternoon. I'll try to read the comments you leave on my next podcast, but for more guaranteed results, hit up mailbag AT trigames DOT net and leave us your thoughts.

  • Posted Aug 20, 2009 9:19 pm PT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 14Aug 09

  142 up, Skipping 143, Days of Ruin

  Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is quickly growing on me, but first thing's first... For some reason, according to @Edubuccaneer, the RSS feed is poop. If anyone's experiencing problems please let me know what they are. Al and I combed through the feed and couldn't find anything wrong with it! Sad face. In any case, you know where you can directly download Episode 142, but just in case you don't: http://trigames.net/articles.php?content_id=843. Please leave a comment if you're having issues with the RSS feed though and if there's any information you can provide, that'd be great...

  Also, for the first time ever, Al will be participating in the infamous 24 Marathons which have disrupted podcasts in the past, so 143 will be on hold! Sorry guys, but the call of BBQ and Jack Bauer are just too much to resist.

  Now, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. It's not that I ever disliked the game; it's simply that I was a little disappointed in the lack of changes. I ended up being wrong, of course, about the CO powers though: I initially thought that they simply weren't present, but I finally reached a mission in which I was able to use a CO power. The power I used was far less game-changing than those in the past, and I don't know whether it's simply due to the CO I used or because that's how the game is now balanced, but from Ryan Davis' review, it seems to be the latter. I suppose it's better for the sake of game balance, but I always got a kick out of being able to get out of a REALLY tight spot by unleashing the fury of a Dual Strike.
  

  Nevertheless, the subtle changes and unit additions (and subtractions, though I've not yet determined what's missing since I'm not even halfway through the game) do make for a noticeably different experience when you dig deep. I like the new anti-tank unit quite a bit. It's a ranged attacker, so it can't move-then-attack, but its range also covers the space immediately in front of it so it can still counter-attack when approached by a tank. (Hence, anti-tank. Dur?) The Flare unit is a godsend for those who hate Fog of War, though it's a little useless on maps without FOW; it CAN attack, but it's not entirely powerful. There are great additions in the Carrier-Seaplane combo, where a Carrier can roam the seas and then produce a seaplane that is very useful against sea and ground units. I can't remember whether or not it's weak against its fellow air units, but it's expensive (it costs money to build the carrier and THEN build the seaplane) so I can't imagine that it's supremely vulnerable to anything. So while at first I was a little bummed, now there seems to be much more of an expanded roster than when the NeoTank was the ONLY new unit, way back in the GBA days.

  I like the ranking system (whenever a unit destroys another, it goes up in rank which increases its potency), as it forces me to take more care of my units. I also like the area-of-effect that a CO-occupied unit has. Similar to a hero unit in many RTS's, a unit that's carrying a CO buffs units around it. That unit is also the one that executes a CO power, though, so if you wanted to use that unit to bulldoze a hole through enemies, you'll have to consider postponing usage of the CO power or wasting an active turn with that unit. It's a nice balance, and I guess that's mostly what this game is: more and more balance.

  I've started skipping the dialogue and story though. There's just too much ham-fisting and unnecessary reading. At least it's not super zippy chipper sugar rush...

  ...but is fake emo really worse?
  

  • Posted Aug 14, 2009 5:55 am PT
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