en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/77741 Comments by MrMikeL http://thewiire.com/news/1460/1/the_wiire_podcast_109#IDComment4571993 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 Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:45:06 +0000 http://thewiire.com/news/1460/1/the_wiire_podcast_109#IDComment4571993 http://thewiire.com/news/1460/1/the_wiire_podcast_109#IDComment4545983 gymnastics and water sports. and shooting apparently. weightlifting... they put alot of money, time and effort into these games. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:46:59 +0000 http://thewiire.com/news/1460/1/the_wiire_podcast_109#IDComment4545983 http://thewiire.com/news/1460/1/the_wiire_podcast_109#IDComment4545933 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 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:45:15 +0000 http://thewiire.com/news/1460/1/the_wiire_podcast_109#IDComment4545933 http://thewiire.com/news/1460/1/the_wiire_podcast_109#IDComment4545273 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. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:01:09 +0000 http://thewiire.com/news/1460/1/the_wiire_podcast_109#IDComment4545273 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1452/1/red_steel_2_in_the_works#IDComment3410173 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. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:14:39 +0000 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1452/1/red_steel_2_in_the_works#IDComment3410173 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1444/1/the_wiire_podcast_106#IDComment3348223 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. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:04:24 +0000 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1444/1/the_wiire_podcast_106#IDComment3348223 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1444/1/the_wiire_podcast_106#IDComment3336203 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. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:35:09 +0000 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1444/1/the_wiire_podcast_106#IDComment3336203 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1444/1/the_wiire_podcast_106#IDComment3308873 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) Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:42:36 +0000 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1444/1/the_wiire_podcast_106#IDComment3308873 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1444/1/the_wiire_podcast_106#IDComment3289873 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. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:38:33 +0000 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1444/1/the_wiire_podcast_106#IDComment3289873 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1444/1/the_wiire_podcast_106#IDComment3289693 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. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:19:15 +0000 http://www.thewiire.com/news/1444/1/the_wiire_podcast_106#IDComment3289693 http://thewiire.com/news/1427/1/nintendo_announces_wii_motionplus#IDComment3107351 "Yes, let's gimp our remote and release the extra functionality later to strike our consumers wallets for massive damage". why does it have to be this? as I pointed out before(on the boards at least), it would have increased the cost of the wiimote from the getgo. Something that seems to have been an issue with a certain amount of consumers. moreover, with increased precision comes increased amounts of data. Ive read a handful of developer interviews that have pointed out the massive amount of data that is provided from the wiimote. effectively using it can be difficult. and right when the wii came out overwhelming devs who even today dont always understand the wiimote was a good call. Not only in terms of tech, but in terms of concept and implementation. now with a higher comfort level, they expand the available tech. (granted adoption of the motionplus could very well be an issue) Now, they offer devs the ability to create better games with more precise controls now that theyre (ideally) more comfortable with the tech. and the consumers have the option of paying to upgrade their experience or not should they be satisfied with the amount of precision as it is. Business decision does not equal screwing the consumer. sometimes its just the right move. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:23:47 +0000 http://thewiire.com/news/1427/1/nintendo_announces_wii_motionplus#IDComment3107351 http://thewiire.com/news/1427/1/nintendo_announces_wii_motionplus#IDComment3103321 You're right. if they do charge for it, they cant possibly mandate it, because there is no assurance anyone will pay to upgrade. this strikes me more as the n64 expansion pack. Adds the ability for the consumer to upgrade if they like, and the devs can program for it. but all games never required it. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:21:53 +0000 http://thewiire.com/news/1427/1/nintendo_announces_wii_motionplus#IDComment3103321 http://thewiire.com/news/1427/1/nintendo_announces_wii_motionplus#IDComment3088721 indeed. whether its good or bad is up for debate, but if its as accurate as they seem to be claiming, it could open the wii up for a bunch of non game training tools. But right before the presser too youre right. My money is on punch out wii, (provided its actually there.) I wonder if functionality will be patched into older games? or if theyll just let it be for new releases. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:35:38 +0000 http://thewiire.com/news/1427/1/nintendo_announces_wii_motionplus#IDComment3088721 http://thewiire.com/news/1427/1/nintendo_announces_wii_motionplus#IDComment3088571 Im intrigued.... As is being discussed in the forums, I hope this doesnt end up making things too complicated. 1:1 motions brings up a bunch of issues, realism to the point where people cant actually play anymore. Imagine a 1:1 sword fighting game... I doubt many of us know how to actually sword fight. It would be mindless flailing .. or at the very least ridiculously unskilled. Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:28:07 +0000 http://thewiire.com/news/1427/1/nintendo_announces_wii_motionplus#IDComment3088571