jamescuarterodotcom

photo by kristin k. phil & shafik get down to business.

carrie brownstein tries out rock band:

It turns out that the more you know about music, the less qualified you are to sell Rock Band. I get that now. Rock Band isn’t about music or about being in a band, it’s about pretending. But instead of pretending alone, as you might in karaoke or Guitar Hero, you pretend with other people. Rock Band is Guitar Hero for people with more than one friend. It’s a theater group set to music, and just as nerdy.

it’s a surprisingly lengthy and hands-on article, and ultimately brownstein echoes a sentiment that i agree with (including a hilarious slight against ruby tuesday). i enjoy casual/social gaming to an extent, think guitar hero, singstar & karaoke games are great and understand the appeal of the “pretend” aspect of rock band. however, in this very specific case it just doesn’t interest me, specifically in regards to work vs. virtual reward.

of course, the nerds at kotaku have to have their say. i know snark is the underbelly, the photo negative, and even the currency of nerd sites; without it their awesomeness would not exist. but between kotaku comments and fark forums, i’m so sick of it. anyone who uses FAIL in a real sentence should DIAF or be fired from life. i know, the irony of that last statement isn’t lost on me either.