Cutline Speaks

Turn on your brainstation

posted by The Cutline Team on March 3, 2008

Video game players and designers have long combated the notion that playing video games is nothing more than unproductive, idle entertainment. Yet as a young technophile, I remember spending many enjoyable hours in computer class taking typing lessons from Mavis Beacon, honing my arithmetic skills with the Number Muncher, and traveling west with pioneers on the Oregon Trail. These games gave me knowledge and skills I have retained to this day, and more importantly, they were fun to play. Educational games have always had to compete with mainstream titles for the attention of gamers, and though I may have developed good hand-eye coordination by playing Super Mario Bros, flying turtles, warp zones and hammer brothers didn't teach me a whole lot about the real world.

Game designers are still focused on creating virtual activities that both kids and adults can consider time spent productively, and many of them have hit the mainstream themselves. With a series of simple exercises, Nintendo Wii's Big Brain Academy tests players' memory, mathematical skills and their ability to visualize and concentrate. Then there's Guitar Hero...make no mistake, performances such as this one also take lots of concentration and practice, which have led many to question Guitar Hero's long term value. Sure, it's a fun game, but imagine what a player could do with the hours they spent perfecting "Psychobilly Freakout!" Enter Guitar Rising, a game that has capitalized on the popularity of Guitar Hero by using a similar scrolling interface and an actual guitar to teach good technique. Of course, here at Cutline, we've been developing our own skills as a Rock Band, so if you stop by, feel free to make a request.

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