play the game music video games

Upload: saveriopanzuti

Post on 09-Apr-2018

226 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 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