Rockband

I have to say that the hype around Rockband is true, it actually is really good.

Why is it really good?

Because unlike any other games I have played my parents actually want to play it. And when it is getting late at night, it's not them who are saying we should stop. It is usually them saying, "Just one more song..."

What I am really interested in finding out is if there is a chance that this could be the game that really gets people like my parents into video games. I am not really convinced because when I play Rockband, I never have an urge to pick up other games. It seems to now exist in a seperate space than other games. I feel almost no link between Rockband and Halo, even though they can both be cooperative games.

One other thing that Rockband has made evident to me is just how proficient I am at looking at videogame screens. I can play guitar on expert difficulty while still scanning the screen to see how everybody else is playing and what needs to be done. I end up orchestrating the band to get through the more difficult levels.

A second thing that Rockband has made evident is how playing video games has become a game in itself. To win video games I seem to have developed various techniques that let me get through any difficulty that I come up against. The only way I really noticed that these were habits I had formed was by playing with my parents who do not have these habits. Within minutes of playing I will have figured out most of the possibilities of what I can do and how I can use that knowledge in levels that seem impossible.


Kyler