Charles Lang is an English teacher at Technical High School by day. By night, he dons a liberty-spike Mohawk, gothic garb and rocks out to screaming fans — in the virtual world of "Guitar Hero III."
"It's a little bit like I get to unleash and put forth my imaginary life as a rock star," said Lang, who also is the adviser for the school's gaming club.
In real life, Lang doesn't play guitar. The only instrument he has played is trombone — in high school.
A year ago, he picked up a "Guitar Hero" plastic guitar and was quickly jamming like a rock star in "Guitar Hero II." It was around the same time he started the school's gaming club.
He bought "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" when it came out Oct. 28 and said he has already blown through most of that game, too.
"It's challenging yet relaxing," Lang said.
Rockin' out
During the weekly gaming club meeting on Nov. 14, about 40 students gathered in Technical High School's Learning Resource Center. There were stations where students competed in "Mortal Kombat" and other action games, and then there was "Guitar Hero III."
"You can get so many people playing 'Guitar Hero,' " said 18-year-old Ty Erickson.
There is no prerequisite for playing guitar in "Guitar Hero," and no lessons are required.
"People that haven't played instruments or video games can pick up on it right away," said Will Imholte, a local gamer and student at Tech High School. "And it gives you that feeling of letting your hair down and jamming out."
Cory Grabuski said he plays some guitar, but it doesn't really give him an advantage to playing the game. The only benefit is in regard to tempo and coordination.
Adoring fans
"Guitar Hero III" is the hot new game on the market that has instigated virtual rock-offs locally and around the world.
Game play involves pressing the colored buttons on the guitar's neck while strumming to match on-screen instructions. It's kind of like a rock-star version of the game "Simon" from the 1980s, only more complex and with better music.
The songs are originals and covers of classic and new songs by legendary artists such as Guns 'N Roses, Weezer, Living Colour, Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.
"They do so much work to create the same sound," Grabuski said, whose main game personas are Lars or Axl Steele.
Jam sessions
Grabuski likes to play "Guitar Hero" alone and have the stage all to himself, but the game often turns into major jam sessions.
In St. Cloud, "Guitar Hero" competitions have been taking place at the Rox regularly and also have popped up at Bear Creek Tavern, area universities and other establishments. The next "Guitar Hero" competition at the Rox is scheduled for Wednesday.
Lang said "Guitar Hero" is a nice change in role-playing games from the likes of "Halo" because it is suitable for most ages. "Guitar Hero III" is rated "Teen."
The bandwagon
Although "Guitar Hero III" doesn't veer much from its original format, some of the new features include an extended playlist, wireless guitars, new guitar battle model and the ability to download songs, themes and picture packs.
In its first week of sales, "Guitar Hero III" raked in $115 million, which is modest in comparison to the release of the video game "Halo 3" earlier in October that netted $170 million.
Even real guitar companies are jumping on the virtual-rock-star bandwagon.
Gibson and Kramer guitar makers have models of "Guitar Hero" peripherals on the market — Les Paul and Striker models respectively. Gibson's peripherals feature interchangeable faceplates.
Fender is marketing a Stratocaster peripheral for the "Rock Band" video game, which was released Tuesday.
'Rock Band'
Similar to "Guitar Hero," "Rock Band" allows gamers to escape their everyday lives to become rock stars in a virtual world. Only this time, you can keep the beat on drums, sing and play guitar or bass.
Erickson has his copy of the game and peripherals reserved and said he's looking forward to playing it with friends — without having to leave his home. "Rock Band" features online game-play.
"You don't have to drive to a friend's house to hook up," Erickson said.
Each instrument — guitars, drums and microphone — is represented in real life by peripherals that resemble the real instruments. The guitar and drums operate similar to the color-matching sequence of "Guitar Hero" and the microphone registers the pitch of the singer.
The "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero" peripherals aren't interchangeable and starting your own band with "Rock Band" isn't cheap. The package price for the game, guitar, drums and microphone is $169.
"It bugs me, especially when (the makers of) 'Rock Band' said this summer that they were going to make them compatible," Erickson said.
Despite the lack of interactivity between the two formats, Erickson is ready to jam.