Presenting highlights from Edge's community-written blogs, with discussion on button layouts, why games should ape TV and how to learn an instrument using Guitar Hero.

Gavin.Stuart takes on the issue of controller configuration, following on from Jason_Seip's argument last week, arguing that rather than customisation, standardisation is the logical solution. While joypad triggers are for the most part standard inputs for firing and aiming, other common commands vary between games. A single set of controls shared between all games would help players quickly adapt to new titles, allowing developers to focus on the core gameplay. The main stumbling block would seem to be agreeing which configuration should be the standard - if it could ever be possible to have a standard that's flexible enough to take account of all the different feature sets games sport...

Some malign music games for stopping players from picking up real instruments, but Savagehenry explores how Guitar Hero can be used as a model to help players make just that leap. He argues that due to being able to see your progression means learning Guitar Hero is much more fun than the traditional way of learning a guitar, and thinks the same technology could be used to help people learn to play instruments for real. With Rock Band offering the Ion Drum Rocker, which functions as an electronic drum kit, perhaps the technology is already there, and it just needs the right software.

David Valjalo thinks that television offers a great opportunity for some game translations, if only developers paid closer attention to the source material. Shows like The Wire definitely seem like a good template to attempt the Not Fun games that Edge columnist Randy Smith recently discussed, and have the advantage of brand recognition, opening the door to large audiences.

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