Have you been looking for a far less efficient, but suitably awesome way to control your games? Let's say a guitar so you could jam out while performing a fatality? Yale School of Music graduates David Hindman and Evan Drummond have come up with a way to play Mortal Kombat III with a classical electric guitar. It's art. Called Modal Kombat, the artistic experiment "lies at the intersection between music, visual arts, and digital media that results in the defining of a new genre of audio-visual performance: the public guitar-controlled video game battle." Uhhhh...GUITARISTS FIGHTING EACH OTHER!!!
From the videos of the events that they hold it looks like the controls are cool, but not very functional. Of course they probably aren't supposed to be. The scheme seems to be designed more as a show or art piece than anything else. They play some Pong and Super Mario Kart as well, but again it seems less like actual controls and more like artistic experiment. It's a cool concept whether it works really well or not and they're doing live shows. If you'd like to check them out then you should head here and make sure you live in New York, California or Toronto.
Matthew Razak is Destructoid's Associate editor and co-founder of film site Flixist. He began as community member "cowzilla" and was since sequestered to write brainy features material. He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife.
Likes
Games! Movies! Hats!
Meet the rest of the team
This is nothing, there was a kid in japan who posted a video of himself playing as Cervantes in Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast with the damn Fishing Controller. He just kept casting, and casting...
@Modern Robot: I was just thinking of that myself, although replaced with Crazy Taxi where you had to keep reeling to drive forwards, at least that's what I saw from an old Channel 4 late night show.
SISSIES....TELL US...AND WHAT IS IT YOU HAVE DONE EDUCATIONALLY/CREATIVELY TO EQUAL THOSE WHO BURST FORTH AND DO...A GREAT SHRILLING SCREECH TO ALL THE DOERS IN THE WORLD. CONTINUE BEING ENERGETIC AND BOLD; EXPOSE YOUR GREATNESS
Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?
Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!
Contest:
2:00 AM on 10.05.2009
| 
MODAL KOMBAT @ SOUTHWESTERN ACADEMY
FRIDAY. OCT 2, 2009
San Marino, CA
-Private Event-
I figure I'll be alone on this, but . . . double meh.
My mind is boggled by the possibilities if this were perfected. Dude the old game designer wannabe in me right is rearing his head again big time.
Also, thanks for posting a video I could watch.
Only it was one guy, a guitar hero controller, and Devil May Cry 3.