I'm getting better at Guitar Hero...

Just a few months ago it seemed like I was stuck on Medium. Somehow my brain couldn't process the whole 4 fingers - 5 buttons thing in a favorable manner. But then, suddenly, it clicked. I think it happened during MAGFest 6, when I accidentally started up Message In A Bottle on Hard instead of Medium. I didn't do too well, but I passed. I got some tips on breaking into Hard from the guy who sat down after me, which basically amounted to "learn where to have your hand for each part of the song and when to shift it". That's the nice thing about MAGFest. Anywhere else, I would have just gotten "OMFG UR A NOOB GTFO", but at MAGFest, those with the knowledge are happy to pass it on and completely non-patronizing while doing so.

Another barrier to getting better at the game was that for quite a while, I depended on other people to be able to play it, i.e. I didn't own a copy myself. I mean, I have that crappy PC clone called Frets on Fire with the GH 1, 2, 80's, and 3 tracks imported (via the internet, yay torrents), but it's almost completely different from Guitar Hero while still trying to imitate it.

I think what finally made me get the art of hand shifting was actually by not playing the game. Instead, I unplugged the USB keyboard I had been using for Frets on Fire and started just making up stuff to whatever was playing on my playlist, making sure to use 5 buttons while doing so. After doing that a bunch, I noticed I could handle 5 buttons a lot more easily in Frets on Fire.

Just recently, I got my hands on a copy of Guitar Hero 3, and I've played the hell out of it. Just about everything is unlocked and purchased. All that really needs to be done is the monotony of playing Easy/Medium in co-op, getting 5 stars on everything. In single player career, I've completed Easy and Medium, I'm at 39/42 on Hard, and at 23/42 on Expert.

Also, just today (well, by the timestamp, yesterday), I reached another landmark by achieving my first full combo on a difficulty other than Easy. I FC'd My Name Is Jonas on Hard. I bet I could do it on Expert too if the acoustic bits decide to be nice to me, as they're the only real semblance of difficulty in the entire song.

In other words: Go me.