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Hacks Allowing Disabled Gamers To Play Guitar Hero
angrymilkman writes "Here are two interesting new approaches where researchers modified the popular Guitar Hero game so it can be played by gamers with disabilities. Air Guitar Hero modifies the Guitar Hero controller so someone without limbs can play it by using electrodes attached to the user's residual arm. Blind Hero is a mod for Frets on Fire that uses a haptic glove that can turn visual feedback into haptic feedback, allowing blind gamers to play Guitar Hero songs."
There have been a variety of Guitar Hero hacks in the past, including a custom drum pad for playing the guitar part, using the plastic guitar as a real instrument, and rocking out with your bike, but it's nice to see some more serious modifications showing up.
What about people like me, with no brains, you insensitive clod!
guitar hero, is it Free and open source software or does the brain get wired to non-free software? As far as I can see it is proprietary and no free alternative exists.
Do you think that could be dangerous to the mental health of them? It does not feel good... Why would you want to run software connected to your brain where you cannot look at the source?
I, for one, welcome our new deaf, dumb, blind and quadriplegic Rock overlords!
Last time I checked, the EULA on the loading screen explicitly states that you are only licensed to use the software with an official Guitar Hero controller.
I really like cool hacks like this, but I wonder how long it will be before someone starts to enforce it..?
Then the government can screw veterans and the disabled more easily, because they'd be the same group of people!
I ponder if the haptic glove would help dyspraxic people like me play Guitar Hero. My hand-eye co-ordination leaves something to be desired; thusly Guitar Hero is impossible for me to play.
What if there's any other such devices to replace dual-stick console controlers. Things like the 360 or Playstation 2 & 3 controler cause no end of problems to me (movement being one stick, looking being the other, but since they're the same motor action I often mix them up).
Anyone else out there stuck with the same problems?
It really seems super-impractical, but I'm sure certain people will enjoy it if that's their only option. Check it out
I'm still waiting for the Nintendo Power Glove interface to the game
The pool of talentless do-nothing "hehe look at me I can pound on a piece of plastic" dim wits is being expanded. Repeat after me: Guitar Hero is for Morons. You wanna see what Guitar Hero should have been? Check out synthesiagame.com --- a game for real musicians. But then, it would be impossible for GH to be marketed to the legions of zero talent fat slobs playing video games for 10 hours a day if the "guitars" required anything close to musical skill.
you closed source turd!
lol, the captcha was 'rectify'...
... a video game for blind people?
Though an audio game might be pretty cool - something like wearing headphones while playing Battlezone with really loud tanks.
Or maybe an audio only version of Leisure Suit Larry. Giggety.
__ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
"That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean guitar..." as Pinball Wizard plays in Guitar Hero.
__ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
Why are these people playing Guitar Hero? I thought they were supposed to be good at pinball.
This guy's the limit!
"The design of the guitar makes it very hard to press the fifth button with the thumb. We cannot attach more than one pager to each finger, leaving us no options than only to use four buttons and having to ignore the dots on the fifth fret, this means you cannot play songs on the hard level." Uh... how hard could it be to interpret your thumb (or any other area of the body) as a 5th fret note? It doesn't mean you have to actually press it with your thumb, just stretch your little finger or slide your palm up. Geez.
The original guitar hero controller has 5 buttons which the player activates using only four fingers. The design of the guitar makes it very hard to press the fifth button with the thumb. We cannot attach more than one pager to each finger, leaving us no options than only to use four buttons and having to ignore the dots on the fifth fret, this means you cannot play songs on the hard level.
I think that's almost insulting, or at least shortsighted. Just because a signal is sent to the fingers doesn't mean that you HAVE to use that finger. You could have a double pulse on the pinky or buzz the ring finger and the pinky to signal the 5th button.
Cool idea though, I'd like to try it without the visual cues.
more hype for "Bike Hero", the viral marketing ad...
http://kotaku.com/5095091/yes-bike-hero-was-viral-marketing?gh
Confirmed fake clip, indeed. Why would a bike not turn left and right when the handlebars are turned, for one? Also, if the guy on the bike is playing a guitar hero mod, then the section where he's turning his head right to look at his own reflection in a storefront is highly suspicious. It just screams of "hey look, I'm really really riding a bike and not just playing make-believe!"
So people can now pretend to play a fake guitar?
I know I should be snarky, but this is strangely appealing to me.
Electric Bass players. Is there anything we can do to help them play?
I have no problem with this article, really, but I had thought that the military prosthesis tech was trickling down to commercial grade devices. Its a little disappointing to think that even though a prosthetic arm with individual fingers is available and in use, if a civilian loses an arm in an accident, they'll never see it, except if they visit someone in a VA hospital... (The article mentions that the target audience is veterans because commercial devices only open/close the hand).
I have no problem with giving a best attempt to restore quality of life for those who almost lost it all serving their country, but I'm just wondering how long the average joe will have to wait to get his hand on this tech.
Is it sad that I am more likely to recognize you and your posts by your sig than your name or UID?
s/Disabled/Differently Abled/g
as;ka;slk d;lewqd[-p3=02 r3099w3ew2 \=-0l;aksxm';'awledp323pri5hytou342sdc'm9
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
That's pretty cool. I also like the fact that 3rd party developers are making better controllers like the ION Audio Drum Rocker Rock Band 2 Drum Set which I believe is made by Alesis. The beauty part of it is that you can add the Alesis DM5 drum module and make it a real electronic drum set rather than just a video game controller.
I know this is a lil off topic, but...
Does anyone have a suggestion for those who have one of the two? I would play one of the Guitar hero games from time to time in the past, but it recently just got too painful to continue playing the game more than a few minutes (read, maybe 3 minutes of playing) in. Fingers would burn, tops of hands would feel tingly and numb, all sorts of interesting stuff. Figured I would ask, couldn't hurt...
"Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx
The right that the publisher has that I do not is 'copyright' [...] But here, when I use THE SOFTWARE I don't create a copy at all, I run direct from the disc
Copyright: You don't run from the disc; you run from RAM. Statute (Title 17, United States Code, section 117, and foreign counterparts) grants you the right to make this copy into RAM, but if you download any DLC, you may waive your rights under this statute (per the bnetd case).
Patent: Konami, the developer of Beatmania, owns patents on music games where each key is associated to a parallel track for note marks. Konami has recently sued the publishers of Guitar Hero and Rock Band to enforce these patents. U.S. patents include the exclusive rights to make, use, offer for sale, or sell the product. For consumer products, some of these exclusive rights are exhausted at the first sale, but again, DLC agreements might waive this exhaustion.
Slashdot comments are not legal advice. If you plan to go into business, talk to a lawyer first.
I wish that a band in europe or asia would do some cover songs for FoF and make them sound decent and sell the packs. I'd pay $5.00 via paypal to a guy doing "shock the monkey" but with a very thick asian accent.
But would you pay someone to do Shock the Monkey and Win $20?
This is only an interesting question raised during developing Blind Hero here at the University of Nevada, Reno. From the data we collected, we found blind users have better performance using haptic glove playing Guitar Hero. It was fun experience for sighted people playing Guitar Hero by staring at a black computer screen and purely relying on the sense of touch from the vibrating glove. This made us wonder do blind people truely have better sense of touch than us? More details can be found at this year's ACM SIGACCESS publication .
Last christmas, my (younger) brother introduced me to guitarhero (3). he had hooked his PC up to our parents TV, while we were home for christmas. We started cooping, me on "keyboard" while he was using the Xbox controller that ships with the PC version.
:P). Try GH, if you havent, and be warned that lower levels can be difficult because you fret a lot less than what's "present".
A couple of days later, i headed out and picked up my own copy - and we had loads of fun co-op'ing. One of the great aspects of cooperative play in GH3 is the level adjustments; I could have fun at easy, while he was kicking ass on Hard.
I used to try to play the piano; took lessons as a kid and in my early teenage years. Poor coordination, difficult times with notes and the computer and friends probably killed it for me. Ill still dig out the synthesizer from time to time or play a few tunes on my parents piano, when i visit them, but I've yet to spend enough time on it.
Sure, GH isnt playing music; but its interacting with it and i can tell that having progressed to expert, hand-hand and hand-eye coordination does improve, even for a past-30-year-old, like myself. Ive also found that ones ear gets more tuned to aspects of songs now, that you've focused on certain instruments.
I'm still waiting for keyboard hero to come around, but ill be returning to GH3 from time to time.
I prefer a modded GH to frets-atm; and I'm well aware that the GH3 PC port is a botch-job (especially when you attempt to play it on an older machine) - but using a mod, you can import new content and keep it alive.
If you find yourself "air-guitarin'" led zep. or Guns'n Roses, why not put something tangible in your hand; even if it resembles something from FischerPrice (Lewd comments commence
P.s. The trouble with GH is you usually want to play it when you're drunk. Good luck with that.
- Mad, ingenous - they've both left you puzzled -
That's really cool. Did you have to get special permission from the control makers/game makers to do this research? I think one of the previous comments said that the controller could only be used with official games according to the license.
Until they make an "Accordion Hero" I'm not interested.
Just think about it, newbies can try their hand at an 48 bass and more experienced players can rock out and a 120-Bass one :)
Ya I really agree with you. Thanks for your post.
Jack roberts
Fast Social Bookmarking Company
why hten on gods green or soon to be warmer green earth would i want to pretend to be a musician
ya lets grow up to sue your friends and neighbors
YA
good game indeed
FAIL
So I can play Dragonforce on Expert. Seriously, do I need to be on meth to play this? Someone link up my brain to the game, please! *grin*
Having played both, Rock Band is a lot closer to the real notes and feels a lot more natural than GH.
That said, it ain't perfect. Most noticeably different is In Bloom.
Seems logical, that people would develop strengths in one or more of the other senses in response to losing one of the others. (subconsciously, I'd guess)
IANADR (I am not a disability researcher)
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
yeah, you are right. It does seem logical, since they are using other senses so much more often.
I have two adopted South Korean cousins, both given up because of hand deformities- they have missing wrist and finger bones so neither have more than 6 fingers total. They're 14 and 11, and easily play and pass on Hard.
They don't need no hacks, they're just that hardcore.