http://xkcd.com/359/

First, this did not read like a comment from someone who is going crazy, but in fact made a lot of sense. So, good job there, and good luck with the house. :-)

Second, I guess I should qualify my assessment of Carrie’s review. I hope I didn’t paint her as a villain, but I imagine some gamers have done so. Her review is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the most uninformed or overly critical take on the game out there. But in some ways, that’s part of why it seemed appropriate to me: Even someone who kind of enjoyed the game and sees some good in it still carries the basic prejudice that gaming is “sad,” for “after-school” time, and “fake.” Probably, as your note about the indie rock scene indicates, her viewpoint has as much or more to do with her feeling that rock truly is heroic and worthwhile as it has to do with her take on games.

I think that there are both positive and negative assessments about Rock Band itself present in her review, and we could choose to focus on either of those. Her last word, though, gives the game credit not on its own merits, but for potentially driving people to another pursuit. She still labels the game “fake” even after playing it with her friends. She doesn’t understand that playing pretend with your friends isn’t “fake” even if the music you make together is. I don’t think she’s dumb or a bad person or anything like that, but—like you said—she just doesn’t grok video games. The proscription against pretending with your friends is so deeply embedded in our culture that even someone who has enjoyed it herself—no enemy to gamers, just your average indie rock star—still feels the need to measure it against other activities. Her take on games, and not the image of kids playing after school, is what I find sad.

There’s also a generational element. Older generations are always critical of the way younger people behave (only because it’s so different). When you combine a young form of entertainment with the standard generation gap, you’ll get a system that doesn’t quite know whether to embrace the thing or push it aside.

While I get what you’re getting at with these comments, I’m wondering if Carrie’s review is really the best example you want to throw out there. Reading that article, I don’t see someone who is criticizing video games. I see someone who doesn’t really grok video games, and freely admits this, giving her opinion of the game. Take out that one section that you quoted and it is a pretty good example of non-gamers enjoying video games.

As for that one comment that you quoted, it is probably worth while to remember that we are talking about a woman who came out of the Olympia, WA indie scene. A scene that is notorious for its talent optional approach to music. And where being bored is as good a reason to start a band as any other.

Finally, in response to your comment about Rock Band and Guitar Hero inspiring people to start making music on their own, I’ll quote Carrie’s last paragraph,

“These days, it might be easier to exalt the fake than to try to make sense of the genuine. But maybe by pretending to be in a band, there will be those who’ll find the nerve to go beyond the game, and to take the brave leaps required to create something real.”

Bottom line, when I started reading this, I was all ready to be pissed for Carrie dismissing video games as pointless. After reading it, I’m left wondering why people are annoyed with her.

It’s true, though. I feel a little depressed that kids are out beating up virtual hookers instead of the real thing.

These kids today…