Rock Band and Rising to Challenges

A while back I attended a birthday party. One of the activities going on in that party was a game of Rock Band. I spectated, one thing lead to another, and I ended up with a guitar. I have not extensively played Rock Band or Guitar Hero or anything like that. I get the concept and know the controls, but I've never really gotten into any of it. I figured hey, it would be good for a bit of fun.

I was instructed to play Bass on Easy or Medium. Since I was among a rowdy bunch on a birthday night, I knew it had to be Medium. After all, people were showing off on the drums so I figured I'd help feed into that sense of bravado.

For the uninitiated, most guitar games work by having you flick a switch with one hand while holding down one or more colored buttons with your other hand. You can press the colored buttons all you want as long as you have the right one pressed and you strum as prompted by the game.

When I first got up there, I had my fingers on each button and figured my hand-eye coordination was good enough to use all four digits when necessary. It worked out just fine at first, but as the song got faster and more complicated, a sense of panic set in. I found myself abandoning use of my pinkie because I was the most confident in my middle three.

This lent itself to some problems. With four buttons and three fingers, I was okay until the game called for the button I was not covering. I had to quickly adjust my grip to cover the three buttons that included the one I wasn't before. As a result, I kept on bumping from one end to the other, covering either the first three buttons or the last three. I did well enough, coming out with 90% or over, but I still desired more out of my performance. This shifting didn't feel right.

People, I have noticed, have varying reactions to challenge. On one end, people can lock up or self-sabotage in the face of challenge. This way, they take all the unknown out of a situation and ensure failure. All pressure is off and the person in question can just coast into the inevitable.

On the other end, a person may see a challenge and shed their inhibitions. Not ALL inhibitions, just the ones related to completing said challenge. When that happens, the person focuses not on the results of attempting the challenge but rather the actual process of making that attempt. And if all you're thinking about is what you have to do, you won't be hung up on any what-ifs since that would thinking too far forward.

In my case, the first few songs gave me enough practice to develop muscle memory. Said muscle memory was like a fun new tool for me to use in my quest for Rock Band stardom. I wanted to use and improve on this muscle memory so I could keep getting those warm feelings of intuitive play. The actual play became more important to me than whatever results I came away with. And wouldn't you know it, my performance improved anyway.

Once I was comfortable with the Rock Band flow, I was able to bring my pinkie back into the game. I now had full coverage of all the buttons. I no longer had to choke up and down on the guitar and remember where my fingers were now positioned. I could just press down and be done with it. I finally felt like I was doing it right. I had fun, even when I tried a few on Hard mode and utterly tanked.

It felt really good to challenge myself, rise to that challenge, and come off more skilled and confident because of doing so. This rings true to everyone. We have all been challenged by games and overcome them by wanting it enough. We learn what we're up against, we understand what we have at our disposal, and we really apply ourselves to combine our capability and our knowledge to come out on top.

Now how great would it be if we could call on that determination and give such an effort for other things in life? I'm talking about the job seeker, the promotion-earner, the would-be romantic, the test-taker, prospective parent. You might think it isn't the same since video games are programmed for success to be a viable outcome. Well, I'm here to say that real life isn't that much different. Succeeding outside of a video game similarly requires you to assess what you can do and to be honest about the challenge you face. Understanding what you're up against and seeing yourself rise to face it is a universal concept, not just for gaming.

That said, I now leave it all on you. The next time you see a challenge in your way, putting on your game face just give you the drive and motivation to see it through.