Students hone guitar skills with game

Tom Padgett just started playing the guitar a year ago, but already he can play difficult songs such as "Cowboys from Hell" almost perfectly using his specialized instrument. Padgett's guitar is smaller than other guitars. Instead of strings, he strums a bar, and instead of chords he holds down buttons. Between his rock star moves and fast fingers, Padgett could be easily mistaken for a musical prodigy, but he's just one of the millions of players of "Guitar Hero," a popular video game that simulates the rock 'n' roll experience. "When I first played it, I couldn't stop for like three hours and then afterwards I was like, 'I must possess this,'" the senior in the College of Liberal Arts said. Though he was terrible at first, Padgett said he got better by playing the game several hours a day for months on end.

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