Where I'm coming from blog.

[hmxsean]

http://www.rockband.com/rockers_blog_entry/hmxsean/384297?redir=1

[KampfVerein]

Starting the slow, movie clap.

[willpwn4f0od]

cool =D

*post*

[AeroZeppelinSevenfold]

My comment from the blog:

I played guitar before jumping on the rhythm game wagon, and I thought that Guitar Hero was just some stupid game.

then I played it at a mall, and wow, I was hooked. It ws very fun from a musicians standpoint, (even though I sucked at the time) and I later bought all the others.

Then I found out you guys were making Rock Band, and I was very exicted. Now I'm playing the game quite often, and me and my friends/family have a blast with it.

I can't wait for Rock Band 2. You guys can't let me down when it comes to games. (unlike some other developers)

You've also got me to play the drums. A very fun instrument to play. the game has also helped me with my guitar playing, by helping me hear the subtle but amazing guitar licks and rhythms.

Thanks for everything guys. You've got something here. we all know it.

and I want more HMX bands as DLC. Pretty please? :D

[kiggidykev]

Great read. Nice reminder that the folks at Harmonix are so into their work that Sean would take the time to write up something about getting from there to here.

Also, your trick worked! I got a REAL guitar!

[cromartie90000]

My comment from the blog:

I played guitar before jumping on the rhythm game wagon, and I thought that Guitar Hero was just some stupid game.

then I played it at a mall, and wow, I was hooked. It ws very fun from a musicians standpoint, (even though I sucked at the time) and I later bought all the others.

Then I found out you guys were making Rock Band, and I was very exicted. Now I'm playing the game quite often, and me and my friends/family have a blast with it.

I can't wait for Rock Band 2. You guys can't let me down when it comes to games. (unlike some other developers)

You've also got me to play the drums. A very fun instrument to play. the game has also helped me with my guitar playing, by helping me hear the subtle but amazing guitar licks and rhythms.

Thanks for everything guys. You've got something here. we all know it.

and I want more HMX bands as DLC. Pretty please? :D

Same with me, I saw Guitar Hero on G4 and I thought "what a ****ty idea for a video game." One day one of my best friends comes over to visit (from out of town) and he tells me "dude have you played guitar hero?! I love it, I've already mastered it!" I promptly went out and bought Guitar Hero and fell in LOVE with it.

When I heard GH3 was NOT going to be a HMX game I was heart broken... Until I read in a magazine about a revolutionary new game coming out in the fall. ROCK BAND. I was ecstatic. I headed out to the nearest game stop and reserved it.

Also, I went out and bought a guitar after being taunted so many times by the loading screen that reads "real guitars are pretty cheap, maybe it's time to invest."

[schmeankman]

Starting the slow, movie clap.

*Joins in*


...............

[AeroZeppelinSevenfold]

Same with me, I saw Guitar Hero on G4 and I thought "what a ****ty idea for a video game." One day one of my best friends comes over to visit (from out of town) and he tells me "dude have you played guitar hero?! I love it, I've already mastered it!" I promptly went out and bought Guitar Hero and fell in LOVE with it.

When I heard GH3 was NOT going to be a HMX game I was heart broken... Until I read in a magazine about a revolutionary new game coming out in the fall. ROCK BAND. I was ecstatic. I headed out to the nearest game stop and reserved it.

Also, I went out and bought a guitar after being taunted so many times by the loading screen that reads "real guitars are pretty cheap, maybe it's time to invest."
how'd you do? are you still playing?

[cromartie90000]

how'd you do? are you still playing?

I bought an electric and the cord that goes from the amp to the guitar stopped working recently, so I lost interest for the moment. lol.

However, people keep telling me to learn on an acoustic first. My birthday is in Sept. so I'm thinking I'll go out and get myself an acoustic. There are places around here that give lessons, so I'm thinking about signing up.

I REALLY do want to learn how to play. Every time I play Young Man Blues, Complete Control, or Gimme Three Steps, or even ThunderKiss '65 (going back to GH1) I want to learn to play even more.

[Happyknife]

been playing guitar since I was 15. I am now 38. Been in a few bands in college, wrote a 10 song demo album with some friends, and then got married, career oriented and became a father. First song I ever learned how to play was Holy Diver by Dio (chords only of course...no Vivian Campbell solo by me then :) )

when I heard about GH back in 2002(ish), it was only on PS2, so I gave it no cred and thought the guitars looked wicked lame next to my black 'Dave Murray'ish Fender Strat...they even looked lame next to my old grandpa guitar (acoustic for the dethklokly-challenged) Well I played Holy Diver on GH one day and gave it a shot, and was blown away. My first thought was 'why dont they make drums and vocals too' Well a few years later, HMX made it a reality and here we are.

I appreciate HMX and can tell they care about their product. I can also tell that they are fans of real music and not just ClearCHannel drivel. They may get a too eclectic for me once in a blue moon (the choice of squeeze song in RB2 made me frown and pumping the new GnR schlock was a bit shillish as well) but you gotta give them a lot of credit for some of the deep cuts they have pulled out of their arse.

I also thought The Who were a bit out of line with their condescending attitude at the concert and they have been pretty cantankerous in just about every public appearance/interview I have seen them this trip to the States, so I wouldn't take any of that to heart. Scoreboard. Your company had The Who play at your private party. Win.

[RockBandRocker]

Well said Sean, but I feel that your words are going to fall on (a majority of) deaf ears.

You guys created a monster with the original GH games, and you have also created a monster in Rock Band. Well, one of those monsters got kidnapped, got brainwashed and is now working for the other guys.

For the nerds out there: Rock Band is the auto-bots, while GH has become the decepticons. Titans!


Sean, I love how your post, indirectly, responded to all the "Rock Band will win" & "Rock Band pwned GH" type threads that have been created in the past week.

I think that a lot of us fans of Rock Band know that you guys have a passion for what you do. I think though that when we try to point that out to the other guys, we get labeled as "fanboys".

I think that, in time, your passion for the game will become clearer to more people, and someday we will all get along.

Rock On! \m/ :)

[AeroZeppelinSevenfold]

I bought an electric and the cord that goes from the amp to the guitar stopped working recently, so I lost interest for the moment. lol.

However, people keep telling me to learn on an acoustic first. My birthday is in Sept. so I'm thinking I'll go out and get myself an acoustic. There are places around here that give lessons, so I'm thinking about signing up.

I REALLY do want to learn how to play. Every time I play Young Man Blues, Complete Control, or Gimme Three Steps, or even ThunderKiss '65 (going back to GH1) I want to learn to play even more.
yeah. thats pretty cool. you should learn on an acoustic first. it hurts to play because of the think strings, which then make the electric easier when you start on it.

trust me. you'll do so much better if you start with an acoustic.

I've been playing for 3 years now, and I can play a lot of Van Halen by ear, and some people say i'm better than them, but I don't think so. :D

and at RockBandRocker, how can we have peace in a world like ours? :)

[themadspin]

As I posted on the blog, I was a music exile for years before Rock Band.

After bailing on my jazz performance degree at UNT back in 1999, I had no idea what to do and pretty much stopped even listening to music for over a year.

Sure, I had the ubiquitous guitar stashed against my wall and my trombone is still tucked away with my flute in a closet upstairs, but I hadn't really challenged myself musically. They were all basically set dressings and relics.

Then came Rock Band drums and I became infatuated with the notion of learning to actually play drums. My girlfriend decided that if I'm still interested in drums in December I'll get an electric kit for Christmas.

I'd never have bothered trying drums if not for Rock Band, so for all the complaints that it's better to pick up a real instrument, I'd never have wanted to without the game. Even the cheapest electric kits wouldn't have drawn me in the way Rock Band did and would have cost more to begin with.

[Cassiuss]

I started playing during GH2, the setlist was pretty amazing and I was completely hooked, couldn't stop playing freebird over and over. I invited some friends over for a party, unrelated to a game party however the Ps2 got turned on and the party just sort of revolved around guitar Hero. Other friends came over and they played it, they got hooked and while I was playing on hard those newbs were playing on easy and I was destroying them.

That's no longer the case, those people now own rockband and whoop my butt.

I bought GH3 for the wii and played that until RB came out in which I purchased a PS3 with it, Ive never looked back. I have never in the 29 years(I'm 34)of my gaming life have I loved and appreciated a game so much. I even bought new zildjian 5B dipped Drum sticks. (Pretty awesome grips.)

I might even invest in an actual kit in the future!

My family and I do Rockband nights and its supposed to be a once a week thing but it usually does get played daily or a few times a week. I play in a "rockband" band now with some friends once a week and it keeps me feeling young and brings me back to when I used to hang in a friends garage rocking out to Metallicas Garage days in my teens.

Thanks to all of you at HMX, awesome job!

p.s. The whole timed exclusivity with microsoft kinda burns my a$$ but meh I can't wait for Christmas now!!!

[Apples]

Nothing in this blog I didn't already know.

You guys are awesome. You put all your passion and energy into being awesome.

Yes, there are convenient financial benefits, but that's just a side effect of the ultimate goal.... doing good, changing people's lives, and committing to what you're passionate about.




The fan appreciate project will bear that out next week. Some of the stories will really get to you. I know, because I read them all.

Stories like:

"I didn't get into drugs because I got into music instead"

"I found commonality with an estranged family member/sibling"

"I found a new passion in life with a real musical instrument"

"We discovered a new family bonding experience"

"I stopped driving home drunk because I stayed in playing Rock Band" (scary, but true quote)

"It saved/improved my relationship with my girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse"



Anyone who says its totally about the money is missing the point. You can be a financial juggernaut without being a cold, heartless bastard of a faceless corporation. You can be successful and achieve higher goals than money.

[AeroZeppelinSevenfold]

Nothing in this blog I didn't already know.

You guys are awesome. You put all your passion and energy into being awesome.

Yes, there are convenient financial benefits, but that's just a side effect of the ultimate goal.... doing good, changing people's lives, and committing to what you're passionate about.




The fan appreciate project will bear that out next week. Some of the stories will really get to you. I know, because I read them all.

Stories like:

"I didn't get into drugs because I got into music instead"

"I found commonality with an estranged family member/sibling"

"I found a new passion in life with a real musical instrument"

"We discovered a new family bonding experience"

"I stopped driving home drunk because I stayed in playing Rock Band" (scary, but true quote)

"It saved/improved my relationship with my girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse"



Anyone who says its totally about the money is missing the point. You can be a financial juggernaut without being a cold, heartless bastard of a faceless corporation. You can be successful and achieve higher goals than money.
nice post Apples. I think HMX may be crying out a few tears when they read all of the things you put on the giant awesome cake!

Thanks for everything you guys! I've never been so into a game, and I looked at other forums for other games, and there devs barely talk at all.

you guys talk, get to know us, figure out what we want, and then try your best to put them in the game.

just a few things you guys have done that we requested, and is absoulutly amazing.

1. You are making our DLC and (most) of our disc songs compatible with the next game, which also proves that rock band is a platform.

2. Before Rock Band 1 came out, you asked us how much DLC should be, we said we wanted it low, like 1-2 dollars, and you did your best to make it cost $2.

3. YOU GOT AC/DC!!!!!

also, Bass Tour, online tour, ability to switch instruments, etc.

you listen to your community so well, and I thank you for that.

I'm gonna shut up now.

edit: I really like the stories people are making in this thread. they are very interesting.

NOW i'm gonna shut up.

[cromartie90000]

yeah. thats pretty cool. you should learn on an acoustic first. it hurts to play because of the think strings, which then make the electric easier when you start on it.

trust me. you'll do so much better if you start with an acoustic.

I've been playing for 3 years now, and I can play a lot of Van Halen by ear, and some people say i'm better than them, but I don't think so. :D

and at RockBandRocker, how can we have peace in a world like ours? :)

I used to have an acoustic, and I had a lot of fun with it. Until I broke it. It was VERY rough on the fingers, but that's a small sacrifice if you really want to ROCK.

Through Rock Band I've met 3 other AWESOME people (though truthfully i met the first one playing GH3, then we defected to Rock Band when it was released and later we met the other two.) And we all play regularly, daily. We're great friends now and we help each other out. Our drummer's kit broke, so I had mine shipped to him, our singer's mic gave out so I shipped mine to her! lol. I know if my guitar controller ever breaks they'll have my back.

My RB disc stopped working (every single time I tried to play it, it gave me the "unable to read disc error.") I went to buy one only to receive a text shortly after saying "hey we put our money together and are buying you a new disc!" I'm like "WOW THAT'S AWESOME! But I already got one lol."

We are SO excited about the online world tour feature.

[Rod_Stixx]

Part of what makes the game great is the passion the gang at HMX has for music. It's what makes the game so enjoyable for us. If you guys were just banging out a game, it would be a very different game.

I play guitar and piano and never really got into the first two GH games. I just figured I could play on my acoustic instead. When Rock Band was coming out, something just told me that this was going to be an awful lot of fun - not just for me, but for my gf, daughter and for groups of people. Sure enough, it's just as great as advertised. Nobody's gathering around to sing next to me banging out something on the acoustic or cranking a tune out on my amp. Plug in Rock Band though, and there's always people who want to play along. It's just fun! As I'm the only one who can drum much, I play them fairly often and might just add a kit to my collection of real instruments at some point.

Hell, Rock Band was what finally made me take the 360 plunge. We hadn't touched our old Xbox in a while, so we just kept pushing off the next console.

Great little story from a recent family gathering on vacation...
10 of us descended to a condo on the beach for a family gathering from all different points on the compass. My gf, daughter and I were the only gamers. None of the others knew much about RB or GH aside from news snippets. When we broke out Rock Band and started playing, everybody was totally transfixed by the game. They just thought it was a hell of a lot of fun. Three generations playing the game together. My Dad is a huge Stones fan, and loved jamming to Gimme Shelter. When he showed some pics of the gathering to some people back home, they instantly recognized Rock Band and got into a big conversation about it. So basically, my Dad is loving the instant cred he's getting from other people for having played Rock Band. I know they're all excited about us bringing the game and console down to them for the next visit.

[AeroZeppelinSevenfold]

I used to have an acoustic, and I had a lot of fun with it. Until I broke it. It was VERY rough on the fingers, but that's a small sacrifice if you really want to ROCK.

Through Rock Band I've met 3 other AWESOME people (though truthfully i met the first one playing GH3, then we defected to Rock Band when it was released and later we met the other two.) And we all play regularly, daily. We're great friends now and we help each other out. Our drummer's kit broke, so I had mine shipped to him, our singer's mic gave out so I shipped mine to her! lol. I know if my guitar controller ever breaks they'll have my back.

My RB disc stopped working (every single time I tried to play it, it gave me the "unable to read disc error.") I went to buy one only to receive a text shortly after saying "hey we put our money together and are buying you a new disc!" I'm like "WOW THAT'S AWESOME! But I already got one lol."

We are SO excited about the online world tour feature.
wow your buddies have your back. my disc keeps getting unreadable too, but I figure I'll just wiat until Rock Band 2 instead of getting a new disc. its just annoying to have to open up the tray everytime your disc doesn't want to work.

and to rod_stixx, sounds like a good story man. Rock Band is a great way to bring the family together. also, you should really invest in the drums. they are a hell of a lot of fun.

and if you ever feel like jamming out to the songs on Rock Band with your real guitar, put the game in practice mode, and then just wail away on your real guitar. it feels much better than jamming along to the CD/tape/record/other music playing device.

the guitar in the song would be gone, so you aren't overlapped.its very fun, and helps with practice.

keep on Rocking both of you.

Good job HMX!

[RockBandRocker]

and at RockBandRocker, how can we have peace in a world like ours? :)

Depending on your religion:

1) Jesus comes back and destroys Antichrist with the power of God.
2) Shiva destroys the world.
3) Peace is attainable now, through your state of mind.

:)

I know the competition is supposed to be "good", but in times like these, competition is the worst thing out there.

My original post was really more of a thank you to Sean for addressing all of the similar threads in the past week. I know my post count went up from posting in support of Harmonix. :)

I have tried to stay neutral, but in the end, Rock Band is the better game for me. The first GH games were fun. Like many, I thought the 3rd would be a fun game. However, that wasn't the case. FOR ME it was a terrible experience and a waste.

I enjoyed Rock Band a lot more. It didn't feel like "a game" like GH3 did.

So, I've been enjoying Rock Band for close to 8 months now. In that time, I decided lighten up on the Neversoft guys. After all, GH3 was their first try, maybe GH: Aerosmith would be better. I rented it, played it, and was let down. I had hoped for it to be better, but it really wasn't.

Harmonix knows how to make these "games" not feel like "games". The Neversoft guys make the "game" feel like a "game".

So for those of us who want to have a fun time, Rock Band is the way to go. Unfortunately, there are a group who just want to game, and for them GH has become the franchise for them.

Putting these two groups together almost always erupts in a fight (like 360 players vs. PS3 players vs. Wii players). It sucks though because instead of talking about consoles, we talk about franchises.

Who knows, maybe Neversoft, given time, can make a decent GH game. I , like many here, doubt it, but you never know.

I'm just thankful that Harmonix is invested in their community. I mean, I've never been able to talk and comment with game developers before. I like being able to make jokes about Sean, Johnlok, Hellion, etc. I'm also glad that they have a "Mod Squad" that is also vocal (Apples, and...uh...).

I'm glad that we can come to these forums and read these types of blogs. I think the Harmonix guys (and gals) are the only developers who actually post their thoughts and address fan questions, and for that I say thank you to you all.


(I apologize for writing the internet version of Thomas Payne's "Common Sense", but I felt that I had to say a lot) :)

[AeroZeppelinSevenfold]

Depending on your religion:

1) Jesus comes back and destroys Antichrist with the power of God.
2) Shiva destroys the world.
3) Peace is attainable now, through your state of mind.

:)

I know the competition is supposed to be "good", but in times like these, competition is the worst thing out there.

My original post was really more of a thank you to Sean for addressing all of the similar threads in the past week. I know my post count went up from posting in support of Harmonix. :)

I have tried to stay neutral, but in the end, Rock Band is the better game for me. The first GH games were fun. Like many, I thought the 3rd would be a fun game. However, that wasn't the case. FOR ME it was a terrible experience and a waste.

I enjoyed Rock Band a lot more. It didn't feel like "a game" like GH3 did.

So, I've been enjoying Rock Band for close to 8 months now. In that time, I decided lighten up on the Neversoft guys. After all, GH3 was their first try, maybe GH: Aerosmith would be better. I rented it, played it, and was let down. I had hoped for it to be better, but it really wasn't.

Harmonix knows how to make these "games" not feel like "games". The Neversoft guys make the "game" feel like a "game".

So for those of us who want to have a fun time, Rock Band is the way to go. Unfortunately, there are a group who just want to game, and for them GH has become the franchise for them.

Putting these two groups together almost always erupts in a fight (like 360 players vs. PS3 players vs. Wii players). It sucks though because instead of talking about consoles, we talk about franchises.

Who knows, maybe Neversoft, given time, can make a decent GH game. I , like many here, doubt it, but you never know.

I'm just thankful that Harmonix is invested in their community. I mean, I've never been able to talk and comment with game developers before. I like being able to make jokes about Sean, Johnlok, Hellion, etc. I'm also glad that they have a "Mod Squad" that is also vocal (Apples, and...uh...).

I'm glad that we can come to these forums and read these types of blogs. I think the Harmonix guys (and gals) are the only developers who actually post their thoughts and address fan questions, and for that I say thank you to you all.


(I apologize for writing the internet version of Thomas Payne's "Common Sense", but I felt that I had to say a lot) :)
wow. someone who knows about history! :D

but really, I agree with just about everything you said. (axclude the religion part, I would rather not talk about it here) GH feels like a video game, where you just add up score and what not, Rock Band makes me feel like I'm playing music. I'm a musician. I know what playing music feels like. :)

I just hate how the GH fanboys blindly hate Rock Band and love GH just because of the brand name. of course, rock Band has its fair share of people that do this, but GH has far more.

lets try not to derail a devs thread. Lets take this elsewhere. :)

[RockBandRocker]

but really, I agree with just about everything you said. (axclude the religion part, I would rather not talk about it here) GH feels like a video game, where you just add up score and what not, Rock Band makes me feel like I'm playing music. I'm a musician. I know what playing music feels like. :)

I just hate how the GH fanboys blindly hate Rock Band and love GH just because of the brand name. of course, rock Band has its fair share of people that do this, but GH has far more.



Well, you asked me about peace, so I had to address that. I don't want to get into theology either. :)

I felt like I had to give a longer response than my intitial one. I don't even dare venture to comment on the blog. It thought that since Sean left this open, this would be the better place to comment and have him read it.

I didn't mean to de-rail the thread. I just wanted to give Sean some credit for commenting on this issue. I was amazed at the sheer number of RB vs. GH threads that were allowed to flourish this week. I tried to take the attention away from these topics, making forums about RB1 songs being shown in RB2, etc., but the "war" threads trumped those.

Hopefully now that E3 is over and all the relevent news is out there, things can quiet down a bit and we can continue on with business as usual. :)

[Rokkstar]

Awesome entry I liked it

[akauDOUBLEu2349]

Well said Sean, but I feel that your words are going to fall on (a majority of) deaf ears.

You guys created a monster with the original GH games, and you have also created a monster in Rock Band. Well, one of those monsters got kidnapped, got brainwashed and is now working for the other guys.

For the nerds out there: Rock Band is the auto-bots, while GH has become the decepticons. Titans!


Sean, I love how your post, indirectly, responded to all the "Rock Band will win" & "Rock Band pwned GH" type threads that have been created in the past week.

I think that a lot of us fans of Rock Band know that you guys have a passion for what you do. I think though that when we try to point that out to the other guys, we get labeled as "fanboys".

I think that, in time, your passion for the game will become clearer to more people, and someday we will all get along.

Rock On! \m/ :)

Amen(don't mean to be religious, sorry), I always get called a fanboy by my friends because I tell them new stuff in Rock Band 2 when they scream to the hills that GH4 is going to be soo much better even though they haven't even seen stuff on it or Rock Band 2 except reading the GH4 article in GI and nothing on Rock Band 2. I tell them because I'm happy for the new features and songs and want to share the experience with them but they say I'm trying to say that Rock Band is better than Guitar Hero, when I'm not.

[jeccaneko]

To tell you the truth, I didn't know HMX existed until sometime after GH1 came out. I first played GH1 when Best Buy was demoing it. I saw a guy standing there jamming along to Iron Man on a plastic guitar and it looked fun. I tried when he ended the song and walked away. At that point in time, I'd never even touched a guitar, much less a controller shaped like a guitar. Needless to say, I sucked. But deep down I've always had this guitar playing interest. I just never felt like I could hack REAL guitar.

I bought GH1 and loved it. I ended up pre-ordering GH2 and loved that too. Then later on, HMX announces they're working on a game called Rock Band where you could play guitar, bass, drums, and sing. I was stoked...

...but then I realized that it wouldn't work well for me. I didn't have a 360 or PS3. I knew I'd want DLC and such.

I forgot about Rock Band for a while. In that time, I bought a real acoustic guitar. She's a real beauty and fun, albeit a challenge since I'm an adult and this is my first instrument, to play. I'm not a tab person. I learned to read sheet music too, which was part of the reason learning guitar was so hard.

Then in February I remembered Rock Band. I can't really remember how I did. But I was getting a decent sized tax return, so I bought an Xbox 360 and Rock Band Special Edition. I've spent more hours on this game since then than, well, any other game in a long time, if ever. I've been gaming for about 20 years now, so that's really saying something.

Unlike you, Sean, I don't particularly enjoy my job. In fact, the only thing that keeps me from throwing in the towel (other than the fact that I need to eat) is that I need to stick around a little longer to try to reach a major goal of mine. One that should be panning out by this time next year. I will not say what it is right now so I don't jinx it.

But the point I'm making here is Rock Band and my guitar and music feel like the only things that keep me from getting too depressed in the short term. I'm very much of a short term thinking person. I can make goals, but working towards those goals doesn't necessarily make me happy, especially if working to get there is hard and I don't like what I need to do. Rock Band and music give me sense of accomplishment, and the sheer happiness of playing music. And that means a lot.

So, since I didn't get to add to the community project (sorry Apples, if you like this - I couldn't think of anything good to say at the time and Sean's post suddenly inspired me), this is my way of saying thank you HMX. :)

[dman7529]

Thank you for sharing this Sean. It is really awesome to see someone passionate about what they do, and not just doing something for the money. You and the rest of Harmonix keep up the great work!

[DarkEternal37]

Great blog post. My story's really similar to everyone elses.

I heard about the game, read up on it and thought that it was a cool idea but probably not for me. Just didn't seem like the type of game I'd get into, you know?

Well, every Friday night is poker night for my friends and I. I headed over to my friend's house where we were playing that night and a couple people ended up running like a half-hour late. The three guys that were there before me were in his living room playing GH1. Now this was probably like 3 or 4 months after the game had released.

I walked in and I said that I had heard of the game but I'd never played it. They then mandated that I play, not that I was going to argue. Picked the first song I recognized (More than a Feeling. Of course I remember it :P). I played on easy and was TERRIBLE. I couldn't get through the song. They laughed but I didn't care cause I had fun; Way more than I thought I would.

Flash forward a couple months to the summer. Two of my college buddies were visiting me and we were kinda bored. I was trying to think of something to do and I thought of Guitar Hero. I asked if either of them had ever played and like me they had heard of it, but never tried it. We went right out to the mall and bought the bundle.

We passed the one guitar around for hours. Even after the weekend was over, I was so hooked I'd get home from work and play for hours. By the time I got back to school in the fall I could play everything on Hard and a few on Expert.

Well, one of my friends had bought the bundle as well and we were finally able to play against each other, and that was a whole new awesome experience for me. I played in between classes, after classes, pretty much any time I could. Never forsaking my work, but it was way too addicting, in a good way.

Of course I picked up GH2 right around when it came out and I had Rock Band pre-ordered pretty much from the moment I could. I was playing expert when I picked up GH2 (still took me like a year to beat Jordan though D:). I even took third place in a GH2 competition which was one of the most fun things I've ever had the chance to do.

Basically, thanks for giving me something to do that while others may view as waste of time, I consider to be self-fulfilling. I love to compete and push myself to be better and you guys have given me something that I could never have imagined enjoying so much with my friends.

Also, you get us yelled at when we're playing loudly after quiet hours but we don't care :D. That's why we bought an apartment this year instead!

[BYC]

Heh, I never had an interest in playing Guitar Hero. I also avoided all the previous Konami music games like DDR, Beatmania, Guitar Freaks, etc.. The reason was simple, they looked silly. Playing with plastic instruments I can get, but it just looked bad. Fast forward to Rock Band. As soon as I heard about Rock Band, I was intrigued. The 'Highway Star' promo looked cool, and now I can rock out with friends in a fake band? Embarrassing oneself is okay. Embarrassing a group of friends is AWESOME. Guitar for the sake of it bores me, same with vocals (I can do it with karaoke ) and drums. But together, that's something fun. Games like this with new technology and the internet = win.

As with many things in the world, single player = okay. Multiplayer = awesome.

[frizzy_bj]

Great blog, Sean.

I made a little comment in response to it.;)

Thanks for sharing.

[pksage]

Wow, coincidence.

Music and gaming are the dual focuses of almost everything I do outside of school and work. And what's so bad about that? Music is, in my opinion, the best form of creative expression; as much as I enjoy reading, a good piece of music has a lot more "replayability" than a good book. Gaming, of course, is m-m-m-m-my generation's preferred form of entertainment, an immersive experience paralleled by no other, and it's only going to get more interesting with each passing year.

I've wanted to work in the music gaming industry since about 2001-2002 - when I was 13 years old. The instant that DWI and Stepmania gave DDR players the option to create their own songs, I was all over it. I developed a great passion for music gaming, one that hasn't died down in 6 years of hardcore Bemani and Harmonix playing. And the desire to work professionally with music games hasn't gone anywhere either.

It's been hard, as a college student, watching Harmonix hire these huge numbers of people. Music gaming is what I want to do, and to me, Harmonix is music gaming right now. But I can't abandon my half-complete technology degree, as I'm sure Harmonix (and every other company) would rather see me have the degree when coming in. My biggest fear? That when 2010 rolls around, Harmonix won't be hiring.

But as painful as it is to sit here and not be able to be part of the industry, music gaming is music gaming, and I know I'll be able to make an impression whether I'm able to work at Harmonix or not. While they're my first choice, their greatest work (as Sean said) isn't a specific game, but is nothing less than the establishment of the entire rhythm genre to the American market. My dream is to keep this genre new and exciting, innovating what we've already seen into fresh and exciting ideas for the generation after mine. I'd like to do this with Harmonix, but who knows? I'm sure the market will be thirsty for competition even in 2010.

Oh, man, this post is cheesy, isn't it.

Anyway, I'm attending the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco this year. Passing out some resumes, shaking some hands, making some friends, and hopefully securing some internships. The first step of a few thousand - but hey, a first step nonetheless. Thanks, Sean, for your story; it gives me so much more confidence that I can keep going with mine.

[grumpypariah]

sorry if this had been discussed previously, but reading that blog i have to ask.......

what did Harmonix work on for EPCOT?

i'm a Disney fan. long story, not so much the movies, but more of the company, their management, their culture, etc. i did an economics paper on Disney years back, and that's what got me hooked.

anyway.........dying to know.

thanks.

[Smidget]

my comment from the blog:

I am a drummer and a dancer (this IS going somewhere that relates the two, I swear, lol) and the reason I do these two things on a video game platform is because of the people who make up the companies behind them. The arcade dance game Pump It Up has been a huge part of my life for years now. I’ve made more friends around the world than I can even begin to think of because of it and had more amazing experiences around the world than is probably fair for someone at my stage in life. But the reason I’ve stuck with it is because the people behind the game have a passion for it. They are musicians, dancers, and lovers of music/rhythm games. I’ve traveled to their offices across the globe and geeked out over a new stepchart being made for the next mix or new music that is perfect for a freestyle routine; I’ve enjoyed nights of bottomless soju (Korean alcohol beverage) with them, karaoke craziness, and so many other amazing times…all because of the passion we share. If I had met these people and wasn’t able to share with others about their passion for the game they make, I wouldn’t be playing it. It’s the same with RockBand for me personally. A big part of the reason I enjoy the game so much is because of you all, HMX. I’m really glad that I’ve been a part of this community since the start because I’ve been able to see what influences you all to take your projects in the direction they eventually go. And those influences always trace back to your passion for music and spreading the musical experience to as many people as possible. Might I still play RockBand if I couldn’t say that about you all? Perhaps but I surely wouldn’t support the company like I do and spread the word in conversations that pop up about music games. With RockBand I can enjoy my passion for drumming to the extent that I do because I know that the minds of the people behind it are making it for the same passion that I have, to share music and the experiences one can have through playing it - just as I enjoy my passion for dancing through Pump It Up, because of the people behind it wanting to share that experience with others.

[Goatman...]

This only confirms what I what I already knew. If you guys weren't making the games, you would be playing them. It is why there isn't really a choice for me. I said as much in another thread. GH has become about slick marketing deals and the love of the sale.

Dude! What happened? It used to be about the music. Oh wait, at HMX is still is about the music.

[R4di4ti0n]

Oh sean...i dont know whats worse...how awesomely cool you are, or how irrisestably sexy you are.

Hetero-male attraction FTW.

Seriously. I love what you guys do, and im pumped about everything you are doing. Keep it up.

[darknessmoon]

I will say to you, and the rest of the HMX staff, only 3 words, which happen to be the most beautiful, and the scariest (at the same time)words you can ever hear:

I LOVE YOU! :o

[TheTogfather]

Well said Sean! I've been as hooked on music gaming as anyone from the first moment I played GH1. It's definitely an exciting time for the genre and I hope everyone involved keeps turning up the awesome. I know you guys are doing your part and it really seems like everyone else wants to play for real too. Personally I know what that means for me....pure win.

I'll always be a Harmonix fanboy though...it's the culture more than the games themselves, although the culture's impact on those games is readily apparent and practically narcotic to me.