[PeopleLikeFrank]

For all you noodlers out there.

They're distributing the PC version as well - good on them.

[iEvan]

Although it isn't a game I'd likely purchase, I know how popular this game has been and quite pleased to see a Mac version is available. More signs of great Mac gaming ahead. Kudos Aspyr!

[teflon]

its actually going to be a hybrid release... which means the mac version will be stocked everywhere.
saves on marketing, cost of seperate releases etc. etc. which is brilliant news

[BenRoethig]

I don't think anyone saw this coming.

[the Battle Cat]

Fortunately this is close enough to a flight simulator with special yoke controls that I can comfortably place this guitar simulator into the simulators forum. So, hold onto your groupies because this is moving to the Simulators sub-forum!

[Smoke_Tetsu]

BenRoethig, on September 11th 2007, 12:15 PM, said:

I don't think anyone saw this coming.

I know I didn't.

[placy]

There's a playable game in there somewhere??? Is this some instrumental version of that PS2 dance game?

[DaveyJJ]

BenRoethig, on September 11th 2007, 02:15 PM, said:

I don't think anyone saw this coming.

I wish I hadn't. Sigh.

[AussieMacGamer]

the Battle Cat, on September 12th 2007, 05:51 AM, said:

Fortunately this is close enough to a flight simulator with special yoke controls that I can comfortably place this guitar simulator into the simulators forum. So, hold onto your groupies because this is moving to the Simulators sub-forum!

unfortunatly gary, if you'd actually played the game you would know that its not a simulator at all. GarageBand does that with its midi functionality. Guitar Hero is simply an arcade game. all you do is strum, and press buttons.

[Tesseract]

AussieMacGamer, on September 13th 2007, 05:16 PM, said:

Guitar Hero is simply an arcade game. all you do is strum, and press buttons.

How is that different to other simulators, where all you do is press buttons to, say, fly a plane?

[Eric5h5]

It's a little hard to classify, but if I were looking for discussion of this game, I wouldn't think to look in "simulators". I'd probably look in the "puzzle/board/arcade/card" forum first. Which, BTW, should probably be renamed to "casual games", and then use puzzle etc. as examples.

--Eric

[AussieMacGamer]

Tesseract, on September 13th 2007, 05:31 PM, said:

How is that different to other simulators, where all you do is press buttons to, say, fly a plane?

Or an FPS? where all you do is press buttons and it Kills people.

[teflon]

yeah, but thats tantamount to saying that if you can fly a plane in XPlane, then you can fly a plane in real life.

its artificially simplified, but id agree with simulator were it not for the fact that those crazy crazy japanese people have guitar based arcade machines.

[JustinFic]

I'm actually really excited about this. Has there been any word/speculation on the guitar compatibility with 360 (and vice versa?) The possibility of hackers figuring out how to create their own song files is very cool too.

teflon, on September 13th 2007, 11:33 AM, said:

but id agree with simulator were it not for the fact that those crazy crazy japanese people have guitar based arcade machines.

True, Konami's rhythm-based Bemani empire is rooted in the arcades, but I look at that as "simulation games played in an arcade" and I look at "Arcade" as a genre being quick, quartermunching action games like Space Invaders or Robotron. If Bemani had never existed in the arcades these games would be clear cut simulation.

[teflon]

no word yet, but i cant imagine it being the hugest of stretches.
theres already that driver to get the X360 guitar working as a controller...

[the Battle Cat]

AussieMacGamer said:

unfortunatly gary, if you'd actually played the game you would know that its not a simulator at all. GarageBand does that with its midi functionality. Guitar Hero is simply an arcade game. all you do is strum, and press buttons.

Concerning Garage Band, I believe you are thinking of a "synthesizer" not a "simulator". Guitar Hero is a computer model of playing a guitar in a band, it doesn't synthesize any music.

JustinFic, on September 13th 2007, 01:53 PM, said:

teflon, on September 13th 2007, 11:33 AM, said:

its artificially simplified, but id agree with simulator were it not for the fact that those crazy crazy japanese people have guitar based arcade machines.

True, Konami's rhythm-based Bemani empire is rooted in the arcades, but I look at that as "simulation games played in an arcade" and I look at "Arcade" as a genre being quick, quartermunching action games like Space Invaders or Robotron. If Bemani had never existed in the arcades these games would be clear cut simulation.

Yep, lots of FPS in arcades too, but still please you guys don't lawyer my words about having a controller, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that because there is more to it than that. You could argue that all games are simulations of one thing or another. Fic has nailed the quintessential feel of arcade games. "Casual Games" is too general for a sub-forum. Guitar Hero simulates playing a guitar much like X-Plane simulates flying an airplane, or Sim City simulates growing a city. I'm not going to bend on this one, nor am I going to make a music sub-forum for it unless it becomes it's own genre. It's no insult to the game, it's a great game, it just doesn't have a solid genre within which to place it, but it does have a reasonable fit in Simulators.

As you can plainly see, the Fic has my back... and most of his friends are Vulcans. We are the final boss, and we cheat.

[AussieMacGamer]

but we have H4XING SKILLS!

[Matt Diamond]

Sorry, gotta disagree. I don't think Guitar Hero is a simulator any more than DDR is a dance simulator. These are rhythm games that happen to be set to and guided by music. Arcade makes the most sense to me as a category.

Looking at it another way: if it was a guitar simulator the computer would be modelling the guitar, perhaps to the point of calculating the physical effects of plucking the strings, and there would be emergent behavior from the interactions of the model. The player would probably have the option to play any combination of strings they wanted, with a lot of leeway over how each string was plucked. They might get scored for musicality but it wouldn't be a simple timing question, "was the one correct button pressed at the correct time."

[Eric5h5]

The controller isn't even really a guitar. The fact that they're making sure you can play the game without the controller should tell you something...i.e., in no way is this a simulator any more than playing air guitar is a simulator, but I sense that the great kitty overlord is getting testy, so I'll be quiet now. Maybe. (I've seen this played in real life...AMG is right you know. Hey, it happens sometimes!)

--Eric

[the Battle Cat]

the Battle Cat, on September 13th 2007, 05:54 PM, said:

Guitar Hero is a computer model of playing a guitar in a band, it doesn't synthesize any music.

Quoting myself. I did not intend to imply that pressing one of five buttons on a plastic guitar was simulating the intricate workings of an actual guitar, of which I have two. It stays in the Mac Simulators forum.