Science Explains Why We Love Guitar Hero

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Science Explains Why We Love Guitar Hero


Ever wonder why games like Guitar Hero [http://www.rockband.com] are so wildly popular? New York University professor of psychology Gary Marcus says it's because they give us a feeling of power.

In some ways, Marcus wrote on his blog at Psychology Today [http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/kluge/200909/what-makes-people-want-play-rock-band-and-guitar-hero-0], Rock Band and Guitar Hero "seem like the stupidest games on Earth," and with the way he describes them it's not hard to see why. "Colored discs scroll down a TV screen, and eager participants mash colored buttons in time with what they see," he wrote. "You press a red button when you see a red disc, a blue button when you see a blue disc, and hold your fire when you see nothing. Rinse, lather, and repeat; that's about all there is to it."

He acknowledges the runaway popularity of the two franchises, which have grossed over $3 billion between them. But why? "What," he asked, "is the appeal of a game that demands so little of the human mind?" It's not the music, which can be had cheaper and with less work by simply buying a few CDs or hitting iTunes. Nor are we learning anything about making real music or music theory; we're just pushing buttons like a hamster who wants a treat. So what's the appeal?

"It's a lust for power," Marcus said. "Not of the sort that allows one to rule the world, but the sort that allows one to control one's own world."

Simply put, people are happier when they're in control of a situation, but according to Marcus the human mind has a tricky time determining when we actually have that control. Guitar Hero succeeds because it's able to create a "potent illusion of temporal contingency" - we know we're not actually playing the music but when we do well in the game by pressing the right button at the right time to make the right sound come out, a certain murky part of our brain is tricked into thinking we are and we get a small, artificially-induced but very real taste of what it's like to be standing on stage, strutting our stuff.

"When I push the button, I hear Keith Richards," Marcus explained. "When I fail to push the button (or press the wrong button, or press it late), I don't hear Keith Richards. Therefore, I am Keith Richards!"

So is all that just a fancy-pants way of saying we like the games because they make us feel like awesome rock stars? Maybe. But the next time you're talking about Rock Band and you slip in a line about "inferring causality from temporal contingency," a move that's sure to impress the ladies, you can thank science - and me.


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APPCRASH

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Mar 30, 2009
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It took them that long to figure out kids like to believe they are something more than...just kids?
 

Megacherv

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Malygris said:
"When I push the button, I hear Keith Richards," Marcus explained. "When I fail to push the button (or press the wrong button, or press it late), I don't hear Keith Richards. Therefore, I am Keith Richards!"
That's the best bit of the article, right there.
 

SillyNilly

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Sep 17, 2009
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This article was pretty good to read. It made a pretty good point in the end too. (An obvious one, in the very least.)

"I got the POW-UHH!
*shreds on guitar* "VRRRRNG! Vmm, Vmm." *Drums proceed to smash* "BOOM thp thp BOOM!"

...

Hmm, did I just write that? Wow.
 

Sixties Spidey

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Jan 24, 2008
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That still doesn't explain why Guitar Hero now has like, more than 14 games in the space of 5 years, and why everyone is buying them.

I call it The Activision Effect. Milk the Sequels for Cash. Everyone says they're sick of them. Everyone buys them. And Kick out ANY games that don't have the potential to pull sequels and spinoffs out of their ass.

It's Science!
 

twcblaze

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Jun 18, 2009
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buy teh haloz said:
That still doesn't explain why Guitar Hero now has like, more than 14 games in the space of 5 years, and why everyone is buying them.

I call it The Activision Effect. Milk the Sequels for Cash. Everyone says they're sick of them. Everyone buys them. And Kick out ANY games that don't have the potential to pull sequels and spinoffs out of their ass.

It's Science!
it'll be proven again if they try to make a prototype sequel.
 

Zamn

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Apr 18, 2009
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What an utterly redundant study. We all know that the illusion of being a rock star is the core of the fun of these games already (although there is of course much more to it than just that).

Also, the guy who did the study sounds like he has nothing but contempt for music games.
 

Rensa

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Nov 4, 2008
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That's ridiculous. Playing music from an actual instrument doesn't involve that much more in the way of mental or phsyical skill; the only differences are that you don't get visual cues for rhythm. You still play each note sequentially as it comes up on the music sheet.
 

Hazy

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Jun 29, 2008
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Malygris said:
New York University professor of psychology Gary Marcus says it's because they give us a feeling of power.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who thought this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFXG59dDj9c] upon reading that ;)


Anywho, I'm glad that science has discovered Harmonix's intentions from the get-go: Make us feel awesome.
 

Taawus

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Oct 21, 2008
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That and we get rewarded with delicious, delicious music when we do it right.
Sounds familiar...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_conditioning
 

Kenjitsuka

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Sep 10, 2009
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"a certain murky part of our brain" <= Yeah, that sounds about right for 'science' as far as psychologists are concerned.

But seriously, this was said and phrased way better waaaaaay back in his Guitar Hero 3 review Yathzee!
And even better in "Yathzee goes to GDC" at 02:00 minutes in.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/26-Yahtzee-Goes-to-GDC
 

Low Key

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May 7, 2009
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That assessment could be made for almost any game.

When I kill opposing forces, I am a soldier a la CoD. When I don't, I die. Therefore, I am a soldier.

-or-

When I pull off the right attack, I am Cloud Strife. When I don't, I die. Therefore, I am Cloud Strife.

It's how the whole manipulating-an-alternate-reality thing works. No one plays a game to feel depressed and berated.
 

FloodOne

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Rensa said:
That's ridiculous. Playing music from an actual instrument doesn't involve that much more in the way of mental or phsyical skill; the only differences are that you don't get visual cues for rhythm. You still play each note sequentially as it comes up on the music sheet.
Yep. The real power that comes from playing a real instrument, is when you actually write your own music.
 

Aedes

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Sep 11, 2009
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Intersting read.

Sir Marcus just discovered why Guitar Hero is fun. But seriously, it's a game. And thereby, it's suppose to be fun. No matter if it's silly, stupid, childish or what-so-ever.
Trying to discover why people like it it's just... eeeeh, you know? Doesn't sound like a scientist to me but more like a developer who will use his new findings to create a new 3 billion worth franchise.

Well, we can all walk away and sleep a little more wise tonight, I guess.
 

Snotnarok

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Nov 17, 2008
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APPCRASH said:
It took them that long to figure out kids like to believe they are something more than...just kids?
Your post numbers are at 1337=leet

I dunno why they bothered putting effort into this since there are people who do, and don't like the Guitar Hero series just like any other game genre.