Post on 09-Apr-2018
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
1/19
PLAY THEGAME:MUSICVIDEOGAMES
Lucio SpazianteUniversity of Bologna - Italy
Department of Communication
FarGameConferenceBologna
May 28-29,2010
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
2/19
RhythmGames
Guitar Hero ActivisionRock Band
MTV Games /Electronic Arts
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
3/19
Wide dissemination
and commercialsuccess (mostly inUSA)
Development of
communities of fans-followers-players andforums
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
4/19
MusicalGames?
Actually based onsimple rhythmicsensorimotor
coordination.Paradoxically theycan be played eventaking the TVvolume to zero.
> See Tap TapRevenge (iPhoneapp.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym1gAHU2H8g
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
5/19
Why do youplay?
Music Gamespromise of allowing
players to step onto thestage and intothe shoes ofGreen Day
Sharing the experience
of playing with them
Simulating theexperience of playing
Kurt Cobain, Nirvana
Guitar Hero 5http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbIBdok11Bw
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
6/19
How to Play
There are controllers (guitar,bass, drums)
Graphic interface shows a
Virtual Reality where musiciansare represented by avatars .
The player becomes one ofthem performing a sequenceof actions on the controller (ex.the guitar neck), pushingbuttons withhis hands in time.
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
7/19
> Play
Score: player wins byperforming therequired actionswithout errors, with
different levels ofdifficulty.
During the gameplaying, there areaffirmative (applauses)
and negative(boos)feedbacks, also basedon stage performimngskills (moving the guitaras a rockstar).
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
8/19
Simon
DanceDanceRevolution
some timeago
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
9/19
Into themusic
Beyond sensorimotor skills,the game is proposed forinclusion in a musicalperformative world, in a
world of identity andlistening experience.
Playmeans: to listen and
listen again, to decomposeparts of a song, to discovernever heard repertoires.
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
10/19
Game titles(bands)
TheBeatlesRock Band
Green DayRock Band
GuitarHero VanHalen
GuitarHeroMetallica
GuitarHeroAerosmith
+ single tunesto download
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
11/19
Experiences ofshared playing
Single player or Internet multiplayer
On YouTube there are many playerswhich capture and share theirperformance.
People (and game firms) organizeevents and live contests.
There are many shows ofmusic-
videogame bands playing, in localkaraoke bars too.
Such bands have their own name,look and style, as a real band.
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
12/19
Player?
Game-Player is not a Music-Player, almost in atraditional meaning.
He or she performs nothingbut a part already written,without any possibility ofchange, except for mistakes.
You cannot create orcompose music.
Probably you are not able to,and this is not a problem.
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
13/19
Gamesand
Media
Music Videogames show,condensed, many of current
media trends.Convergence: not onlytechnological but betweenthe universes of discourse.
Fiction/Reality simulation:these are continuouslyexceeded thresholds.
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
14/19
Realitydegrees
Song recording
Graphic animation
of band musicians.Playerperformance
Possible shared
collectivelyperformance, withscore displayvision.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foFF-J63v1o
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
15/19
Aesthetics ofimitation
Lets pretend were.
To pretend to be, to act as if,to repeat as, are all logicsunderlying the game.
They are also related to thekaraoke but also to TV talentshows.
For instance, in XFactorbeginnerssing others tunes, in front of anaudience.
Bymeans of imitating they becomecelebrities
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
16/19
Amateur-Identityaesthetics
The stakes in XFactor: the raceand the challenge.
Ordinary people succeed to
match the idols.In music videogames everyoneshould become a performer asmuch as an established artist.
Videogame bands performancesactually are a mixture ofmimicry,theatricality and game skills, butthey look like a real concert.
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
17/19
To play aninstrument?
To play agame? Duality: the playerpretends to play,knowing well that heis not really playing.
Though aware ofnon-reality of thesituation, he or sheplays the samebecause he enjoyspretending to besomeone else.
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
18/19
Questions:
Its better to play gamesor playmusicalinstruments? Probablyits a false question
Musical videogames areonly pushing buttons?
Games, Media and Musicpromise new theoreticalpaths
8/8/2019 Play the Game Music Video Games
19/19
References
Dominic Arsenault, (2008), Guitar Hero: -Not likeplaying guitar at all-?, Loading.
Chad Criswell, (2009), Can Video Games BeEducational?, Teaching Music; Apr; 16, 6;
Research Library, pg. 24*Kiri Miller, (2009), Schizophonic Performance:Guitar Hero, RockBand, and Virtual Virtuosity,Journal of the Society for American Music,Volume 3, Number 4, pp. 395429.
Henry Adam Svec, (2008),Becoming MachinicVirtuosos: Guitar Hero, Rez, and MultitudinousAesthetics, Loading.
http://www.cinetecadibologna.it/fargame2010