Conductor Hero? Conductor...cunductor.. rev.. er..

[SoulinEther]

So I was driving home from school today when Jenova Returns started playing... and I consequently started conducting it with my right hand while doing 70 on the freeway.

I am a poor young man. I have no hope of ever becoming the conductor of a grand (or not-so-grand) symphony orchestra.... but I want to interactively conduct music with a faux orchestra - something that gives me feedback on how well I'm keeping time, for my motions/emphasis, for my attention to specific parts of the orchestra, etc. Simultaneously driving 70 miles per hour in traffic is not necessary, but I imagine this kind of game would be more realistic than, say, Guitar Hero. But it can be completely in the name of fun.

Is there a sort of game for the Wii (or any console/pc) that allows you to conduct an on-screen orchestra, paying attention to some of the details, if not others, I've mentioned above, perhaps using the Wiimote or some similar baton/wand?

And if not... I'll pay you $5 bucks if you make one (I'm looking at you, shameless Mr.Wingless!)

edit: ok maybe a little more than $5. Can't be throwing stones in a glass house.

[The Pezman]

Have you not heard of this or do you not count it? If you haven't heard of it, yes, there's conducting in it.

[Moseph]

Not a game, but still an interesting use of the Wiimote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J5F_R-RRLc

[IsolinearMoogle]

Wii Music is the only game I'm aware of that has a conducting aspect; it's a mini-game called "Music Maestro" I believe. As a professional conductor myself, I found Music Maestro to be quite frustrating, if only because it changes tempo without your direction or even your foreknowledge, and you have to keep up. Conducting recorded music is a huge pain in the you-know-what.

I will add my $5 to the pot. Maybe some day we will be able to commission such a game. Until then, we can only dream.

[Moseph]

I wonder ... would a conducting game work better with a pen/tablet instead of a Wiimote? The physical conducting motion wouldn't be as realistic, but drawn conducting patterns would be more precise, and possibly easier for a computer to interpret. DS game, maybe?

[Platinum Azure]

I wonder ... would a conducting game work better with a pen/tablet instead of a Wiimote? The physical conducting motion wouldn't be as realistic, but drawn conducting patterns would be more precise, and possibly easier for a computer to interpret. DS game, maybe?

Nah... I bet it could be done on the Wii. The Wiimote has an accelerometer in it... hitting an ictus would naturally require a comparatively large acceleration (against the direction of motion, to stop or change the direction of movement). If you build the tempo etc. around the frequency of these ictuses, then everything else should follow. Of course, it'd be a little harder if you're conducting a legato piece, where the ictus isn't hit quite as hard (or even at one particular point), but that concept should be a good start, and in the hands of a creative programmer could yet achieve some decent results.

[Platinum Azure]

Wii Music is the only game I'm aware of that has a conducting aspect; it's a mini-game called "Music Maestro" I believe. As a professional conductor myself, I found Music Maestro to be quite frustrating, if only because it changes tempo without your direction or even your foreknowledge, and you have to keep up. Conducting recorded music is a huge pain in the you-know-what.

I will add my $5 to the pot. Maybe some day we will be able to commission such a game. Until then, we can only dream.

I should look into that... maybe that will give me (or a real programmer, lol) an idea of how it could work on the Wii.

[SoulinEther]

I've seen Wii Music's "conducting" - not a big fan.

This type of thing needs a complete game dedicated to this concept only... with proper analysis of hand gestures beyond some u-shaped rocking back and forth.

That youtube video of that one guy was pretty cool... but not far enough...!