'Guitar Hero' whiz aiming higher

'Guitar Hero' whiz aiming higher

by Pineview Style | Published on August 20th, 2008, 1:44 pm | Life

I really can't think of anything else clever to say other than "wow." So there is this kid, and his parents are so on board with his "career" track that they have let him drop out of school to devote his life to "Guitar Hero" (ie video games).

This is not a competitive environment, so the score hardly matters. But his attitude about it underscores some Peebles family truisms: Blake is so dedicated to gaming that his parents let him quit school so he can better concentrate on it.

They pay for home tutors instead. Mom and Dad do this, even though there are very few people in this country who make their living playing competitive video games.

Sure, it could be a lucrative hobby, but unless you have a trust fund, is this really a good long term "career" choice?

Blake so far has won about $1,000 in prizes in the months since he began competing in "Guitar Hero."

And

But Terry Lindle, aka Terry15, knows how tough it can be to make it. Lindle, 23, lives in Illinois and has been a competitive gamer for about eight years. He won the national championship for "Halo 2" in 2005 and traveled to England earlier this year to compete in a world championship for the game "F.E.A.R."

Lindle came in sixth and won $4,500. He estimates that he has earned about $25,000 in his years of gaming.

In the end, i just can't get past the fact that his folks let him drop out of school for this. I know that they say he's happier and that he's getting better grades with his tutor. But who really is happy in High School? I was bored out of my mind. But I made it though and my folks made sure of that.

However; with stories like this, it's no wonder that some say that we as a nation are becoming less competitive in the global market place. :roll:

Here's the link for everyone's reading pleasure!

http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1155589.html

That's the definition of insanity. How ridiculous. Where can he take that 'skill'?? Most real guitar players are rubbish on those things, and most video games have a half life of 2 years or less.

I will certainly regret this: I read down the article and saw he was being "home schooled" and went to a Christian academy beforehand. Suddenly I have a huge plate glass window opened into why the correct and logical decision was tossed out the door so quickly.

I wouldn't argue with a child his age doing competitive gaming as any other child might participate in a hobby or sport. I mean, who wouldn't want 52 Chik-Fil-A combos? :roll:

I might be supportive of this family's decision if I felt that there was some kind of good coming from it, and moreso if it was based on REAL talent.

Well, off I go to train for the classroom Olympics. I'm preparing for amateur pencil fighting and paper-football kicking. :mrgreen:

EDIT added after original post
I wasted my 700th post on this kid??? muddaphuckagawddammitalltohell!!!! :evil:

Hey, if he's making money.... go for it.

Liv wrote:Hey, if he's making money.... go for it.

A year of gaming = a few grand/yr. School and a good college= 200k a year. Yeah, let him go for it. We need more fry cooks.

I went to college.... and ummmm..... I didn't amount to much...

College is not necessary an indicator of life success....

If he can travel the world, and make money in the short and now.... good for him... he can always go back to school.

Serendipitous wrote:I wouldn't argue with a child his age doing competitive gaming as any other child might participate in a hobby or sport. I mean, who wouldn't want 52 Chik-Fil-A combos?

I might be supportive of this family's decision if I felt that there was some kind of good coming from it, and moreso if it was based on REAL talent.

Well, off I go to train for the classroom Olympics. I'm preparing for amateur pencil fighting and paper-football kicking.

EDIT added after original post
I wasted my 700th post on this kid??? muddaphuckagawddammitalltohell!!!!

Hopefully everyone will come out and support me at the paper-rock-scissors tournament! I've worked so hard and alienated all my friends in my quest to seek out global domination in this event!! :roll:

Pineview Style wrote:
Serendipitous wrote:I wouldn't argue with a child his age doing competitive gaming as any other child might participate in a hobby or sport. I mean, who wouldn't want 52 Chik-Fil-A combos?

I might be supportive of this family's decision if I felt that there was some kind of good coming from it, and moreso if it was based on REAL talent.

Well, off I go to train for the classroom Olympics. I'm preparing for amateur pencil fighting and paper-football kicking.

EDIT added after original post
I wasted my 700th post on this kid??? muddaphuckagawddammitalltohell!!!!

Hopefully everyone will come out and support me at the paper-rock-scissors tournament! I've worked so hard and alienated all my friends in my quest to seek out global domination in this event!!

I wish I had the stamina for rock-paper-scissors!!!

Thought you were doing Tic Tac Toe? August 21st, 2008, 2:20 pm Reply with quote

Thought you were doing Tic Tac Toe?

Need SOMEONE to represent G'boring in tic-tac-toe and also in notebook paper origami.

For the origami, you need to know how to make the fortune teller and a cup and also be able to show 3 different note-folding techniques for passing notes in studyhall. Really grueling training process with all those paper cuts!

Pineview Style wrote:I really can't think of anything else clever to say other than "wow." So there is this kid, and his parents are so on board with his "career" track that they have let him drop out of school to devote his life to "Guitar Hero" (ie video games).

Yep... folks will never stop wanting to pay to see how far hand-eye coordination can be driven. Carnegie Hall is just around the corner... :roll:

Guitar Hero for Christians. August 29th, 2008, 10:04 am Reply with quote

Guitar Hero for Christians.

Come now. He's not 'dropping out', he's being home schooled by a private tutor and seems to be doing well academically. He can get as good an education that way as at the Christian Academy. Our kids were home schooled and you can cover the curriculum in about half the time.