Tag Archives: connected

20-Year-Old Guitar Hero: How a Plastic Axe Connected Generations Through Rock

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IIt’s been two decades since the launch of Guitar Hero in North America, empowering everyday gamers to step into the shoes of rock stars. Not in a literal sense, of course, but good luck convincing the individual who rocked out to Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living room crowd.

Created by Harmonix and published by RedOctane, Guitar Hero drew inspiration from Konami’s GuitarFreaks and introduced a guitar-shaped controller that allowed players to hit colored notes scrolling down the screen in sync with popular tracks. Each riff or sequence aligned with a specific note, delivering the sensation of an authentic live performance.

Before collaborating with RedOctane, Harmonix had already explored rhythm gaming with the PlayStation 2 titles Frequency and Amplitude. The partnership, which later saw RedOctane acquired by Activision in 2006, paved the way for an unexpected multibillion-dollar franchise that introduced classic bands like Cheap Trick, Kansas, and Lynyrd Skynyrd to millions of younger players and left a significant mark on many featured artists.

The new strumming… a line of players wielding plastic guitars. Photo: Johannes Eisel/AFP/Getty Images

Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, reminisces about the early financial hurdles related to licensing the songs, even though the initial titles mainly featured cover versions. He shared how his negotiating strength evolved as the game skyrocketed in popularity.

“The revenue was so substantial that we eventually rerecorded all the music,” he notes. “Even securing just publishing rights proved nearly impossible. You couldn’t approach a band like The Who. RedOctane was practically broke and uncertain of success. However, once Guitar Hero exploded, causing record sales and radio play to soar, everyone wanted in.”

“What’s remarkable is the number of parents who’ve reached out to thank us for introducing their kids to the music they cherish. It has truly become generational.”

Northern Irish blues rock band Answer made their debut in the 2008 Game Guitar Hero World Tour with “Never Too Late.” Guitarist Paul Mahon observes how the series revived classic rock. “‘Guitar Hero’ drew a younger crowd. What was once dismissed as ‘old-fashioned music’ became cool again as teens discovered it through the game. It restored legitimacy to the genre, shedding the ‘dad rock’ label. It revived interest in our music.”

At the time of their North American tour supporting AC/DC in 2008, The Answer had yet to release their debut album in the U.S. Therefore, it served as a crucial platform for the band. “Their crew was playing ‘Never Too Late’ on the tour bus, and some recognized us from ‘Guitar Hero,'” shares Mahon.

Spin-off titles like Guitar Hero: Aerosmith highlighted individual bands. Photo: ArcadeImages/Alamy

Major rock legends quickly seized upon the series’ success, with Aerosmith, Metallica, and Van Halen featured in dedicated spin-offs that spotlighted their catalogs and rock ‘n’ roll legacies. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith reportedly earned the band more revenue than any of their traditional studio albums, with over 500,000 copies sold in its first week, leading to a 40% boost in sales of Aerosmith’s music during an already turbulent time in the music industry.

The series still generates enthusiasm among its fans. Earlier this year, the streamer CarnyJared achieved an impressive milestone by playing DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames (a notorious power metal track popularized by Guitar Hero) in Clone Hero, a free game mimicking its gameplay with extensive customization. This track poses significant challenges even at Expert mode, let alone playing at double speed without faltering on nearly 4,000 notes. Carney Jared claims it took him nine months of practice.

Infamously challenging…DragonForce guitarist Herman Lee. Photo: Gary Miller/Filmmagic

It’s no small task, but when do you transition to playing a real guitar? “It doesn’t really matter; you can’t play that song within nine months!” DragonForce guitarist Herman Lee contends that the gaming world and reality are entirely distinct. “There’s zero possibility. Guitar Hero is an entertaining fantasy.” Just because you play Call of Duty doesn’t mean you need to pick up a real firearm and join the military.”

DragonForce had already enjoyed a successful tour before “Through the Fire and Flames” featured in “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,” which Lee believes propelled the band into the limelight. “I recall getting a call from our record label saying the album was flying off the shelves,” he shares. “The next time we hit the road, it was a whole new level. We played the Mayhem Festival right before headliners Slipknot and Disturbed.”

In fact, the exposure from Guitar Hero was so significant that it nearly overshadowed the rest of the band’s work. Last year, the song appeared in the trailer for Despicable Me 4. “I used to think differently, but I’ve come to terms with it,” Lee reflects. “Even if just one person hears a DragonForce song, it’s fantastic. Everyone has their own musical journey, and we’re thrilled to be part of theirs.”

Whether relating to cars, fashion, or gaming, top-tier marketing goes beyond making a sale; it ignites desire. Did Guitar Hero successfully tap into that? “Precisely what we aimed for,” Dornbrook states. “The excitement of being a rock star performing on stage. From day one, Alex [Rigopulos] and Eran [Egozy], co-founders of Harmonix, believed in the intrinsic human longing to create music and sought to leverage technology to facilitate it.”

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Most Guitar Hero titles were launched in just five years, from 2005 to 2010. This brief period also saw the release of DJ Hero, a spin-off featuring a turntable controller, and Band Hero, which hit the market just one week apart in 2009. Dornbrook noted, “Activision is notorious for exhausting franchises and tends to oversaturate.” Since then, apart from a brief revival with Guitar Hero Live in 2015, interest from publishers in plastic instruments has diminished.

Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival keep the energy alive, with new developments from the original publisher on the horizon. A new studio named RedOctane Games has “entered production on its first rhythm-based title,” with original co-founders Kai and Charles Huang serving as special advisors. Is the world prepared for another title infused with the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“We envisioned these games evolving like Madden, with annual updates,” Dornbrook continues. “I remain optimistic because there’s an incredible wealth of new music that could sustain it indefinitely. There’s no reason it couldn’t thrive for future generations.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

How “Native English” Scattered Spider Groups Are Connected to M&S Attacks

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One significant distinction between certain members of the dispersed spider hacking community and their ransomware counterparts is their accent.

The scattered spiders are connected to the cyberattacks on the British retailer Marks & Spencer. Unlike typical ransomware attackers, the individuals involved seem to be native English speakers, rather than hailing from Russia or former Soviet nations.

This linguistic advantage supports one of their techniques, which Russian hackers may find difficult to emulate. They can infiltrate systems by calling company desks and impersonating employees or by contacting employees while posing as someone from their company desk.

“Being a native English speaker can foster immediate trust. Even internal staff and IT teams may let their guard down slightly due to perceived familiarity,”

Last November, the U.S. Department of Justice shed light on some suspected spider members by charging five individuals for targeting an unidentified American firm through a phishing text message.

The DOJ alleged that the accused sent fraudulent texts to employees, tricking them into divulging sensitive information, including company logins. This breach resulted in the theft of sensitive data, including intellectual property, and significant sums of cryptocurrency from digital wallets.

All the accused were in their 20s at the time of the allegations, with four of them aged between 20 and 25, and Tyler Buchanan, 23, from Scotland, who was extradited from Spain to the U.S. last week. He is set to appear in court in Los Angeles on May 12th.

The U.S. Cybersecurity Agency detailed the scattered spider IT desk strategy in an advisory released in 2023.

Notable ransomware victims of scattered spider attacks include casino operators MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, which were targeted in 2023. Following the attacks, the West Midlands police arrested a 17-year-old in Walsall last year. They have been contacted for further updates on this incident.

The scattered spider was identified as responsible for the M&S breach by BleepingComputer, a high-tech news platform. The report indicated that the attackers employed malicious software known as Dragonforce to compromise parts of the retailer’s IT network.

These incidents are categorized as ransomware attacks because the attackers typically demand substantial payments in cryptocurrency to restore access to compromised systems. Leveraging ransomware from other gangs is a common occurrence, known as the model of ransomware-as-a-service.

Analysts from cybersecurity firm Recorded Future remarked that “scattered spiders” is more of an “umbrella term” rather than a specific group of financially motivated cybercriminals. They noted it stemmed from “The Com” rather than “monolithic entities,” and is engaged in various criminal activities, including sextortion, cyberstalking, and payment card fraud.


“We operate within a channel and affiliate marketing framework, primarily on platforms like Discord and Telegram, mostly in exclusive invitation-only channels and groups,” stated the analyst.

Ciaran Martin, former head of the UK’s National Cybersecurity Centre, remarked that scattered spiders are “unusual” given their non-Russian origins.

“The vast majority of ransomware groups originate from Russia. [Scattered Spider] seems to have utilized Russian code for this attack with Dragonforce, but notably, they appear to be based here and in the U.S., which may facilitate their arrest.” Martin, now a professor at Brabatnik Government School at Oxford University, added:

Martin further emphasized that the youthful infamy of scattered spiders should not diminish the threat they pose. “They are indeed a rare but quietly menacing group,” he noted.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Plastic chemicals have been connected to numerous deaths globally

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New scientist. Our website and magazine feature science news and long reads by expert journalists covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment.

Plastic food packaging can expose people to chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA)

Shutterstock/Trong Nguyen

Hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of heart disease cases worldwide may be linked to chemicals found in common plastic products, and stricter regulations on such toxins are needed. This suggests that there may be potential benefits to public health.

Maureen Cropper researchers from the University of Maryland investigated the effects of oxidation on three chemicals primarily used in plastics: bisphenol A (BPA), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The public health impact of exposure was assessed. BPA and DEHP are used in plastic food packaging, and PBDE is a flame retardant used in some household products such as furniture and electronics.

Based on more than 1,700 studies published to date, the researchers estimated how much people in 38 countries, representing about a third of the world’s population, are exposed to these three chemicals. Three of these countries, the United States, Canada, and South Korea, also have public databases that monitor levels of these chemicals in urine and blood samples, providing more accurate data.

Researchers calculated the health effects caused by these chemicals by combining them with medical records and toxicology reports. Researchers found that in 2015, approximately 5.4 million coronary artery diseases and 346,000 strokes were linked to BPA exposure, and approximately 164,000 deaths among people aged 55 to 64 were caused by DEHP. I discovered that it could be.

Thanks to you rules Since their enactment in the 2000s, the prevalence of these chemicals has decreased in many countries, including the United States, Canada, and Europe. Researchers estimate that approximately 515,000 deaths could have been avoided if exposure to BPA and DEHP in the United States had remained at post-regulation levels since 2003. This highlights the importance for governments and manufacturers to limit the use of hazardous chemicals in plastic products before they reach consumers. says Cropper.

However, it is important to remember that these results are only approximations. “Frankly, I think one of the real limitations is the lack of exposure data on these substances,” Cropper said. This means that estimates may be less accurate for some countries than for others. “It would be a good idea for more countries to actually monitor it.” [exposures to] Examining these and other substances will improve our understanding of their public health burden, she says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Feeling Connected: Understanding my Empathy towards Inanimate Objects in Games

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I had to let go of Pacific Drive, the unconventional fiction-inspired driving survival game I recommended last week. It’s not because it’s bad, not because it’s great, but because I invested over 20 hours of my time and now I’m short on it.

Furthermore, if I’m completely honest, it caught me off guard. In this game, you drive a beat-up old car and venture deeper into long-abandoned exclusion zones, exploring the anomalies you encounter. These anomalies range from pillars that suddenly emerge from the ground to menacing hurricanes that alter roads, all of which are thrilling, unique, and eerie.

However, what deterred me were the tourists. Occasionally, I’d spot a mannequin-like figure frozen in a menacing pose, seemingly harmless. But, when I looked away, I noticed it would sometimes change position or get closer to me. Uh-uh. No, thank you. That’s a hard pass right there.

Every review I read about Pacific Drive emphasizes how attached the reviewer becomes to their rickety old car, their sole companion on this enigmatic journey. They gradually repair and enhance the car with better parts and Ghostbusters-like gadgets to navigate the challenges of the outside world.

“I’m behind the wheel with a massive floodlight mounted on the side of the car for night missions, a contraption that (somehow) synthesizes fuel from the mysterious zone’s atmosphere, and an actual lifesaver. I also have a gadget that occasionally heals me,” PC gamer Christopher Livingston shares. “Most importantly, I possess a force field that I can activate to thwart that pesky hovering freak from grabbing parts of my car and scampering off. It’s like playing a tug-of-war game with my car. And here’s an actual quote from me the first time I saw a darn monster bouncing harmlessly off my shimmering energy shield: Hahaha! Take that! I adore this darn car.”


Kratos and his trusty ax in God of War: Ragnarok. Photo: Sony

I too felt this bond. The car was a sanctuary on Pacific Drive, but it also required attention, diligently tending to every scratch after each run and meticulously applying duct tape and Magic Repair resin to mend the wounds. It felt like it had a soul. Over time, quirks develop in your car, like the windshield wipers always going off when you open the car door, or the horn blaring at the wrong times. To rectify this, you must deduce the root of the problem through a simple engineering puzzle, or you can let it be. You get accustomed to the quirky horn.

I often experience this anthropomorphism of inanimate objects in games, particularly when it comes to vehicles. In Halo, I’d always try to stick with the same warthog throughout the levels, even when it was wildly impractical, driving it through alien bases teeming with zombie-like beings. It was my Warthog. Portal capitalizes on this notion when the malevolent AI GLaDOS bestows upon you the Weighted Companion Cube. I was compelled to carry it faithfully until it was incinerated as part of the game.

I also developed a fondness for specific weapons and outlandish armor in games like Monster Hunter to the point where I hesitated to part with them, even when superior alternatives were available. I distinctly recall forming a profound bond with Kratos’ axe in God of War and how it always returned to my grasp with a satisfying thud after being hurled. I would get exceedingly anxious, fearing I had forgotten to recall it and inadvertently abandoned it amidst the ruins. (Logically impossible, but the concern persisted nonetheless.)

This type of attachment is distinct from the emotional connection to video game characters, who, like all fictional characters, are typically crafted to evoke our sentiments. It’s more akin to the affection one might hold for their favorite mug or childhood bicycle. I presumed this idiosyncrasy was unique to me until I delved into other individuals’ encounters with Pacific Drive, only to discover that others, too, have cultivated a peculiar fixation with virtual cars. It’s both reassuring and engrossing to hear about.

Evidently, humans have been forging emotional connections with game elements since antiquity, so perhaps it’s not as eccentric as it initially appears.

Source: www.theguardian.com