How Does Guitar Hero Work?

Game Setup

When players start up the Guitar Hero video game, which is now available on a variety of gaming consoles, they must first configure the game's options. Guitar Hero contains both single-player and multi-player modes, which can be selected from the main menu. Once players have chosen a mode, they select the animated character that they wish to represent them during the game. Players will then be taken to the stage selection, where they can choose which venue they want to put their character in. Finally, players select which song they want to play along with and what level of difficulty they wish to play at.

Guitar Controller

Guitar Hero uses a customized controller, which is shaped like a small guitar and has five color buttons that represent frets and one bar that players use to strum notes. During regular game play, players see five moving lines on the screen that represent the colored frets on the controllers. The game sends notes down these lines according to the rhythm of the selected song, and the challenge for the player is to strum the correct note at the right time. In order to play a note, players hold down the fret showed on the screen and then strum the main bar when the note passes the bottom of the screen.

Object of the Game

Guitar Hero players receive points for every note that they correctly strum. Players receive extra points for putting together long streaks of consecutive correct notes. If a player makes too many mistakes in a row, the current song ends and the player must try to play it again. Otherwise the song continues until the end, at which time the game adds up the player's points, displays the performance statistics and gives the player a grade. By beating certain songs and difficulty levels, players can unlock hidden songs, venues and characters.