Why do you play Rock Band?

[Fa1thlessmayhem]

Hi Everyone,

I am doing a research paper for my College Comprehensive writing class and we had to pick a community to write about. I choose Rock Band 3 to write my paper on and I am hoping that there will be a few of you out there willing to help me out and answer a few questions.

I have been playing Rock Band since it's beginning and if you would like to find me and play my gamer tag is Fa1th.

These are the questions that I have prepared for the community, I would appreciate it if you could answer them honestly.

When did you first start playing Rock Band?

Are you an active member on the community forums?

What was it that lured you to Rock band in the first place?

Why did you decide to learn a plastic instrument instead of a real instrument?

Do you play any of the pro instrument?

Do you play any real instruments?

Have you considered learning a real instrument based off of your experiences with Rock Band?

Have you ever played the game at a bar or someplace hosting a Rock Band game night?

Do you have specific people that you play with all the time, or do you play with random people most of the time?

Thank you to everyone willing to help, I really appreciate it!!

[LiveHomeVideo]

1) I first started playing Rock Band in 2009 or 2010.
2) Yes.
3) I played a demo of Rock Band 2 in Wal-Mart and loved playing "Chop Suey!" by System of a Down. So I liked the mix of music and video games.
4) Because it was cheaper, and I liked video games more than music at the time.
5) I cannot afford any Pro Instruments.
6) I have three guitars that were lent to me from family. Two acoustic and one electric.
7) Yes.
8) A local church hosts video game nights twice a year. I brought my Xbox 360 and Rock Band gear one time.
9) When not playing solo, I play with either randoms online or friends who invite me.

[Pitch-Black]

Hope this helps: 1. I actually don' t remember the date, but it was a couple months after TB:RB was released. 2. Semi-sorta. 3. My girlfriend forced it on me. I' glad she did. 4. Because I already knew how to play multiple instruments. Plastic was a new challenge. 5. Pro drums, harmonies. 6. See 4. 7. No. Also see 4. 8. No. 9. Specific friends. I play solo most of the time, though.

[Alternity]

1: When RB1 was released for Wii.
2: Yes.
3: The ability to play 4 instruments on the same game.
4: I did not decide that, I still play real instruments. I decided to learn the plastic thing for fun, then later, for the competition on the leaderboards.
5: Yes I do, Keyboard and Bass.
6: Yes I do, Keyboard, trumpet, and I've tried/played on alot of wind instruments.
7: I might go for guitar, I will use this game to learn the chords.
8: I played live on TV, on the MusiquePlus channel, in Montréal, QC. This was streamed online, and it was a competition to find out who could play the longest. I lasted 30 hours on basic guitar.
9: My friend list is full. If I can play with those people I will, if not I will either play solo, or play with randoms. Playing with randoms results in endless tries to find people with compatible DLCs, though.

[SheSaidSheSaid]

When did you first start playing Rock Band? I got the game for myself in April 2010, so not nearly as long as everyone else here who's playing rhythm games since the dawn of time. I played RB2 and Beatles RB at a friend's house a few times prior to it.

Are you an active member on the community forums? 'Washed Up' is the highest post-related title you can get

What was it that lured you to Rock band in the first place? It's fun. I like music, I like video games. That's really about it.

Why did you decide to learn a plastic instrument instead of a real instrument? Well hey there loaded question. I tried like hell to learn real guitar. It was a freaking grind and it was no fun whatsoever. Compared to getting to feel like a rockstar, it's an easy choice.

Do you play any of the pro instrument? Sure do. I've dabbled with Pro Bass and Pro Keys. I have zero interest in playing a real instrument outside the game, though, for the above reasons.

Do you play any real instruments? Not really. I don't have much musical ability. I played trombone in the high school band, but I was never very good.

Have you considered learning a real instrument based off of your experiences with Rock Band? Hell no.

Have you ever played the game at a bar or someplace hosting a Rock Band game night? Nope.

Do you have specific people that you play with all the time, or do you play with random people most of the time? Neither. Most of my play is solo. I've got about 20 or 30 people on my friends' list that I sometimes jam with, but it's always just based off "Hey, you wanna play?" messages. I don't schedule anything. And I sure don't play with randoms.

;

[Iceman71421]

When did you first start playing Rock Band?

When it was released.

Are you an active member on the community forums?

Semi. I read most of the threads but just started posting every once in a while.

What was it that lured you to Rock band in the first place?

The songs and entertainment.

Why did you decide to learn a plastic instrument instead of a real instrument?

It was easier to jam out with friends on RB when we got the chance than to try to start a band.

Do you play any of the pro instrument?

Yes, pro keys and pro drums (until my cymbals broke)

Do you play any real instruments?

Yes, drums and bass

Have you considered learning a real instrument based off of your experiences with Rock Band?

Yes

Have you ever played the game at a bar or someplace hosting a Rock Band game night?

Yes both

Do you have specific people that you play with all the time, or do you play with random people most of the time?

Yes to both depending on who is online.

[jimmychou]

I would love to help.

When did you first start playing Rock Band?

When a friend of mine brought RB1 on PS2, I was amazed by the drums so I went out and brought a copy for myself. Been a semi-loyal fan every since. (I say semi-loyal because i still brought GH games, but my heart was always with RB)

Are you an active member on the community forums?

I try to be. I usually comment on DLC prediction threads. I loved the "what's your favorite song from each game?" type of forum topics, but I guess they are a little trite now so no one does them anymore.

What was it that lured you to Rock band in the first place?

The drums and the bass.

Why did you decide to learn a plastic instrument instead of a real instrument?

I never had any interest in learning a real instrument. RB was just a game to me.

Do you play any of the pro instrument?

No.

Do you play any real instruments?

Bass.

Have you considered learning a real instrument based off of your experiences with Rock Band?

Yes. RB was the reason why I picked up a bass guitar.

Have you ever played the game at a bar or someplace hosting a Rock Band game night?

No, I don't think I would have the guts to. I've seen myself play on video and I look like an idiot haha.

Do you have specific people that you play with all the time, or do you play with random people most of the time?

I usually play with randoms, or with my friends on the PS network.

[horsepastriesa]

When did you first start playing Rock Band?
I first played it in 2007, first bought it in 2010
Are you an active member on the community forums?
Yes, though I feel you should get rid of this question since it has a certain bias, given it's asked on the community forums
What was it that lured you to Rock band in the first place?
I played a lot of DDR in my day and I just really enjoy games that combine music and interactivity
Why did you decide to learn a plastic instrument instead of a real instrument?
I play both. In fact, I'm comfortable on many real instruments
Do you play any of the pro instrument?
Keys
Do you play any real instruments?
Guitar, bass, piano, sax, ukulele, recorder, harmonica, and any derivations of any of those
Have you considered learning a real instrument based off of your experiences with Rock Band?
I'm considering buying a drum kit, though I don't have enough money at the moment for one
Have you ever played the game at a bar or someplace hosting a Rock Band game night?
No wait...I'm underage
Do you have specific people that you play with all the time, or do you play with random people most of the time?
I usually play solo, but when I play multiplayer it's with random people

[atalkingfish]

When did you first start playing Rock Band?
2008

Are you an active member on the community forums?
For the most part, yes.

What was it that lured you to Rock band in the first place?
I played Guitar Hero, and then Rock Band seemed better, it played better, was more consistent, looked better, and so I chose it over Guitar Hero.

Why did you decide to learn a plastic instrument instead of a real instrument?
I do play real instruments. I played the piano, classically, for many years before picking up Rock Band. I also played (to an extent) the drums. I prefer playing plastic instruments for the sake of the game. I don't usually play pro because I pursue playing or recording real instruments when I'm in that sort of mood. Rock Band has dramatically increased my ability to play drums.

Do you play any of the pro instrument?
I can play pro keys, more or less, but choose to, for the most part, play the real piano, away from the game.

Do you play any real instruments?
Why would you ask this question when the answer "no" was assumed two questions ago. Yes. Piano, Drums, and to a lesser extent, bass.

Have you considered learning a real instrument based off of your experiences with Rock Band?
Are you kidding me? These questions are terribly inconsistent. I started learning the guitar and bass after Rock Band, but I'm not sure if it was because of Rock Band. My drumming got a lot better because of Rock Band.

Have you ever played the game at a bar or someplace hosting a Rock Band game night?
My friends would have regular Rock Band parties, and that was fun. Not at a bar, though, I don't drink.

Do you have specific people that you play with all the time, or do you play with random people most of the time?
I played with a few friends most of the time. I played with my friend Jade a lot. So, about 90% of the time I was playing, it was with these friends. Then one of them moved away. And one of them stopped talking to me. And the other had an incredibly busy personal life. So the idea of even playing Rock Band depressed me entirely. It was awful. One of my only solaces from life taken away along with nearly all of my social life. I contemplated suicide. Really, I did. I didn't want to kill myself, but I really really wished I could kill myself, you know? Like.. periods of times where I would hope that a car would come and kill me so it wouldn't be suicide, but I wouldn't have to be alive anymore. It was awful. After a while, I ended up getting Minecraft to play online with one of my friends who moved away. It was nice to have someone to talk to, even if it was only over the internet. I, of course, needed a gold membership (I play on XBox), so I decided one day to start playing with people online. I got some of my old XBox friends, plus some friends through the Band Wanted forum and reddit's /r/rockband subreddit, and I started playing with people. I was alone in my room, and people rarely used headsets, but for that period of time, I could relive the joy of unison overdrive, score-chasing, and shooting for gold stars. It was great. It rejuvenated me. I decided to go reach out to some of my lesser friends (that is, people I knew, but didn't hang out with regularly). We started hanging out more and more and, wouldn't you know it, we even started playing Rock Band! So now I play with new friends and randoms and XBox friends. It's great.

[anthonyewesley]

Hmm, I've been reading these forums for nearly 2 years now, and finally a question that makes me want to register so I can reply :-)

Apololgies - this is a long post...

I'm a long time computer software developer and game player (47 yo now), been into computer and gaming since the late 70's.I kind of heard about the whole guitar hero thing a few years ago but it didn't look like my kind of thing. I wasn't interested at all in the plastic imitation guitars etc, it looked like something that was aimed at kids around the early teens.

And then, in December 2010, my niece and her kids brought their copy of GH (can't remember what version) and Wii, and plastic guitars, *and toy drum kit* over for christmas and showed me what I was missing :-) The key to it all was the drum kit, I had never seen it advertised, and I had always wanted to be a drummer, but never got the chance, never even picked up a pair of sticks before - not interested in other instruments at all. It took about 30 seconds of playing on the toy drum kit for me to be totally hooked :-)

So then I went looking on the net to see what I should get for myself, and discovered RB3 had just been released and ... here's the miracle... would interface to *a real e-drum kit*. I was in heaven. Bought a Roland kit (started with a cheap td-4, now I have a combo td-9 and td-4), pro adapter, a wii (questionable choice now, but in 2010 it looked like the easiest option).

I didn't buy the toy drum kit for myself, but I did buy a copy of RB3 complete with pro keyboard and toy drum kit for my niece and her kids as a thank-you a few months ago :-)

My wife likes to play keyboard, so we have both pro instruments set up in one room of the house, her yamaha keyboard and my drum kit.

So now I'm completely addicted, play maybe 2 to 3 hours a day on the drums (and have been since I got it all working in Jan 2011). Just reached a major goal a few days ago of 200 gold stars, and play about 300 songs out of the 600-ish on expert, almost everything else is high 90-s on hard. My goals are simple:

1. have Fun
2. Improve (even just a little) each day.

The "Have Fun" goal is the secret for me - I would never have gone out for traditional drumming lessons, for various reasons. But this is honestly the most fun I've ever had on a computer. It beats 10+ years of Counter-Strike and Diablo hands down :-)

I read lots on the net about technique etc, subscribed to a couple of online mags. I read the forums here regularly, in the beginning to get info about hardware and DLC.

I've hosted two RB3 game days at my place, friends with kids have brought them around to have a play on the plastic guitars that we have in the cupboard (I think they're GH guitars but they work with RB3 for the kids), and I've converted a couple of them to drummers after letting them have a play on my td9/4 kit :-)

And the parents have a blast as well - some of them can play real instruments, guitar, keyboard and one sax. Thankfully I live way out in the country where we can make lots of noise and not annoy the neighbors :-)

I haven't (yet) played online, maybe one day, but that doesn't really interest me.

I'll probably never pay in a band or gig anywhere, again, that doesn't interest me, and honestly it's probably a bit late for me to want to try something like that, but I'm having an absolute blast. I'd consider myself a competent drummer now, not bad at all for someone who had never played a couple of years ago.

My only hope is that HMX keeps supporting RB3. I've invested a lot of time and $$. I'd buy RBB in an instant if it was available for my wii, just to get the songs into RB3.

regards, Anthony