Getting there! At GDC 2006, the Harmonix guys gave a short demonstration at the Experimental Gameplay Workshop about the stuff they weren’t able to fit into Guitar Hero. Namely, a cool system for wanking off and jamming with the guitar controller that was empowering and expressive. Tall order, obviously. So I think that systems like this are getting much much closer. It would be really, really cool to play some kind of more precise strumming game on Wii. It looks like this is fairly complicated and that this gentleman has practiced quite a bit to get this modicum of proficiency, but it looks very compelling nonetheless. What would really make this sing (p. i.) is a bit more sophisticated gesture recognition. A full chord strum versus a single pluck versus a pinch harmonic and so on. And then, of course, you’d have to build some crazy interpreter like the Harmonix guys to get the thing to feel fun for people who don’t spend hours learning it. But hey, getting there.

Or, you know, you could have a band where someone played Wiimotes instead of a real guitar. Hmmm a Wiimote shaped guitar case and a roadie to charge my battrez for me? Hmmm…

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