David Hindmanhas created a new way to play videogames. They use their (real) guitars to control the fighters fromMortal KombatandMario Kartas if the guitars were actual buttoned controllers.Modal Kombat(the mod ofMortal Kombat), is controlled by different pitches, volumes and their sequences that tell the fighter what to do:
The result,Modal Kombat, is a modern-day “dueling banjos”. It has raised the bar for performers, composers, interface designers, and competitive gamers.Modal Kombatdelivers an engaging combination of music, choreography and good old-fashioned fantasy street fighting.
I’m not too keen on how a guitar actually works, but David had very informative interview withUrbanGuitara couple years back giving a detailed explanation on how the guitar controls the fighters. David talks about some of his other experiments such as playingRampageusing a keyboard and trumpet (among other instruments). The interview also goes into what could happen in the future such as a band playing together to play a game ofGoldenEyeorDoom.
If this has perked your interest, David and his partner, Evan Drummond, play lives shows in the New York area. Thenext show is February third. Until then, check outModalKombat’s Web siteformore detailsand hit the jump for another video calledGuitarkart.
Now if they only would play the actual songs from the games to control the characters …
