MrMikeL

MrMikeL

28p

14 comments posted · 0 followers · following 2

15 years ago @ The Wiire - The Wiire Podcast 109 · 0 replies · +1 points

hey im all for talking about great achievements. and what phelps has done is just that. But canadian media, and just citizens in general(in my experience) making little mention of the great things our athletes have managed to pull off. its disappointing. Im not saying dont talk about phelps, or only talk about canadians. but looking at things from a canadian perspective, its disheartening to see great accomplishments so quickly brushed to the side

15 years ago @ The Wiire - The Wiire Podcast 109 · 2 replies · +5 points

gymnastics and water sports. and shooting apparently. weightlifting... they put alot of money, time and effort into these games.

15 years ago @ The Wiire - The Wiire Podcast 109 · 0 replies · +1 points

Indeed, its disappointing to see see our guys lose by what.. 1cm in the shotput. we place just out of ranking pretty regularly. And yes, our hockey medal. cant wait..

and ++ to darkforces

15 years ago @ The Wiire - The Wiire Podcast 109 · 17 replies · +2 points

SCOTT!!!!! thank you man. I've been pretty peeved that people have been complaining about us not winning any medals (hey we're at 9 now. this week is our week) but we've broken dozens of national records and personal bests, yet so few people see that. We increased some funding to our athletes a few years back(we really dont give them much, especially compared to many other countries) , so we are starting to see those benefits, but by the London olympics, we'll be significantly better. But yea, like you said, winter sports tend to be where we shine. perhaps Vancouver will be better.

15 years ago @ The Wiire - Red Steel 2 in the Works · 1 reply · +1 points

well, nintendo did give ubi a hand with the original red steel. It would be strange, but not unthinkable to say nintendo gave them a heads up. Or, equally as likely, ubi having heard the motionplus announcement, decided they must incorporate it. simple as that. it may have been in development for many months. and itll likely be in development for many more, so they have time to include it. One would assume theyre serious about making this a good game. They rebooted development part way through, if they didnt care, they wouldnt have done that to begin with. fingers crossed they pull it off.

15 years ago @ The Wiire - The Wiire Podcast 106 · 0 replies · +1 points

I didnt say it couldnt be used. I flat out said it could have the same kind of modifications im talking about with wii music and it STILL wouldnt be as effective. GH is meant to punish you, there would need to be areal overhaul there. But even still, im talking about using the game to help kids discover instruments and music in general. GH/rockband would be drums vocals bass guitar. thats it. thats a very narrow selection.

and yes, if i had the chance to explore more instruments, I would have picked something different. I wouldnt have picked drums, seeing as they intimidated me at that age, like i said, wii music wouldnt be as intimidating. also, I was going to say, given the chance, I would have picked trumpet. seeing other kids play it interested me, but it was too late at that point. I had no exposure any variety of instruments, wii music gives you that opportunity, GH wouldnt. even if they added other instruments it would so not be intuitive to play sax on a drum kit. at least the pantomime in wii music gives you something a little closer.

and honestly, that last bit just ruined it for me. as a musician you should realize that some people dont find guitar fun to play. you may not find horns fun, I certainly do, and seriously wish i could play. music being so subjective, you cant make blanket statements like: "because they are boring to play in comparison to the drum set, guitar and instruments that require more motion to play." that just holds no water as an argument.

are you really saying anyone who plays guitar finds it fun, and will from then on in find stuff like horns and clarinet to be much less fun?

edit: the barrier to entry with GH is huge. wii music does a good job at removing that barrier, and it has to do with the core of how the game works.

15 years ago @ The Wiire - The Wiire Podcast 106 · 3 replies · +2 points

Theres more co-ordination involved in GH, but its far too difficult even at that age. and as harshy pointed out, rated T. And like I said, an educational version would be tailored to do just what you said it should do. help with timing and coordination. For actually teaching a student how to play an instrument. well, give them an instrument. but I for one didnt start with instruments in school till around grade 5. I got stuck with the clarinet, which I hated. but If i had the chance to play around with something like wii music and find out how awesome drums can be, i may have actually gotten into playing instruments. My grade 5 music teacher had his drum kit set up, but it intimidated me like nothing else. a video game certainly wouldnt have.

I do think GH and games in general provide great advantages to kids. increased 3d spacial relation, hand eye coordination, improved peripheral vision, helps train with multitasking. all important skills in life. But for something tailored for music discovery (which would probably be the best term for this) wii music would fit the bill.

15 years ago @ The Wiire - The Wiire Podcast 106 · 4 replies · +2 points

well, first of all, youre right. as it stands, wii music probably wouldnt be so apt as an educational tool. though with appropriate modifications (ie school version.) it can certainly be used, not necessarily to teach music, but to get kids interested in music and to perhaps see what theyre most interested in so that when they do go on to actual instruments, they have an idea of what they would want. the kids im thinking of wouldnt be taught actual sheet music or play actual instruments at this stage, so that shouldn't be the goal one has in mind.
but if the game were designed to actually teach kids the concepts of tempo and such intuitively as opposed to technically I think it would be much more effective than GH or rockband. they are challenge based game (read: difficult, and exclusive) and dont actually teach you anything either. though arguably they could be modified too. they still have a barrier to entry innate in the game, and wont have the benefit of introducing kids to other types of instruments

"You're not reading sheet music, nor are you actually jamming out. You're just moving to songs (be it your fingers, arm, etc.) that somebody else wrote and played for you; almost as educational as pressing "play" on a tape recorder."

that is guitar hero. its not real guitar. its not even close. its like having a handful of frets and one string. you have to have a concept of rhythm and timing, much like wii music. wii music is simply less complicated, which would be a good thing for the age of the targeted users (in this educational scenario)

15 years ago @ The Wiire - The Wiire Podcast 106 · 0 replies · +2 points

one that is much more "game" oriented and fun is professor layton. brain teasers, language and math puzzles, logic puzzles. its a nice mix and its a complete point and click adventure game. I highly suggest it.

15 years ago @ The Wiire - The Wiire Podcast 106 · 8 replies · +2 points

I for one am a big proponent of using technology kids understand and enjoy to teach them. The few good teachers ive had over the years were the ones who knew how to relate to kids and teach them on their terms. Contrary to what some people think, kids do want to learn, they just dont want to be force fed stuff simply to regurgitate it then forget it. If games can be used effectively to help teach our kids and keep them engaged, im all for it.
Of course it should never be meant to replace traditional education. An involved teacher is always more effective than a machine. But the right kind of machines can make learning feel like less of a chore and make kids more inclined to actively pursue their studies.
As was mentioned DDR is rather popular in schools and is a great way for kids to get some exercise while having fun. Perhaps an educational version of wii music designed more specifically towards sorting out what kids take a liking to and where they seem to be most proficient.

=D im glad you guys went a little political.