Harmonix
In the early hours of March 5, a surprising announcement, 4 years in-the-making, has thrilled fans of the music game genre who have been otherwise nearly abandoned for half a decade. Harmonix, the brilliant minds who started it all with the smash hit “Guitar Hero” before later developing the beloved “Rock Band™” series, have brushed the dust off the latter and declared that an all new title will be launching later this year with “Rock Band 4!”
Harmonix has been busy maintaining previous “Rock Band” titles almost constantly since the launch of “Rock Band 3” while also trying their hand at a few other games, such as “Fantasia: Music Evolved” and the very popular “Dance Central” series for Kinect. After releasing what appeared to be the final DLC for “Rock Band” in April 2013, it was left virtually untouched, until the surprise release of new tracks in January this year. Surveys were also sent to many fans about their interest in future “Rock Band” titles. Still, hopes were anything but high. That’s why it was so surprising that today’s announcement included plans for a 2015 launch on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Mad Catz is developing and manufacturing new peripherals to be sold in two different bundles:
- Band-in-a-Box Bundle: “Rock Band 4” game, wireless Fender™ Stratocaster™ guitar controller, wireless drum kit controller, and a microphone
- Guitar Bundle: “Rock Band 4” game and a wireless Fender Stratocaster guitar controller
They are currently working on gaining backwards compatibility for older instruments as well, however nothing is set in stone. Sadly, Keyboardists will have to find a solo act elsewhere as those have been axed in this sequel. Those with massive music libraries have nothing to fear though. Every single one of the roughly 2000 tracks released since 2007 will be able to transfer into the new game seamlessly and completely free, assuming it was previously purchased. Hundreds of additional tracks are expected to be added, come release day, along with regular updates post launch.
Darren Richardson, President and CEO of Mad Catz, is confident in the upcoming relaunch:
“We are very excited to bring the band back together, and re-team with Harmonix to deliver the next installment of the legendary Rock Band franchise to a new generation of consoles. Harmonix understands music gaming better than anyone, and we are confident that the unrivalled music selection and next generation features will prove incredibly enticing to passionate gamers and music fans alike.”
Details on “Rock Band 4” are sparse, but more information should be coming at E3. “We’re doubling down on the energy and excitement of playing music live with your friends,” says Harmonix Chief Executive Officer Steve Janiak. “Focusing on the core experience that our fans have told us they love allows us to evolve established gameplay in meaningful ways that we can’t wait to share with everyone later this year.” However, in an interview, project manager Daniel Sussman struggled to contain his excitement and dropped a few hints:
“There is a certain dynamic [playing in a real band] that you feel that’s magical when you are playing with people who are in tune with what you’re doing and are paying attention to you and are reacting to you in cool ways. It’s one of the best things about playing music with people, and it’s an element of our band sim that I think is lacking. When you watch people play the game, you kind of have four people staring at their little track, completely oblivious to everything that’s going on around them until you get to the results screen and you go, ‘OK, I got this percentage.’ There are some dynamics in that moment that I think are entertaining, but what could we do from a game-design standpoint to allow you to pick your head up above the fray and reward you for paying attention for what other people in your band are doing. That ended up being a pretty rich trove of great ideas, a lot of which we prototyped, and some of which we’re building. It had an immediate impact on the multiplayer game. It made it instantly more fun and more social, which is what we’re all about. There are some huge wins there that we’re excited to show at E3.”
Sussman also went on to say that Harmonix was looking into giving players the ability to express themselves within the game. “One of the other elements of playing music that is viscerally satisfying is the idea that music is this performative art, and as you play a song, whether you wrote it or not, you are given the opportunity to express yourself and put your thumbprint on this piece of music.” He admits this will be tough within the realm of a game, but mentioned there were also prototypes in place for this as well. This could mean an expansion on the “Rock Band Network” similar to what the “Guitar Hero” series has done. It also could be a system rewarding musically-talented players for improvising within a song, although that would be somewhat subjective and very tricky to implement. Everything at this point, is purely speculation, but there’s no doubt whatever Harmonix comes up with, it won’t be a dissappointment.
The vocal systems are also being overhauled, along with the entire game engine. Everything is getting an upgrade, but it won’t be just a simple visual improvement either. The game is somewhat of a hybrid between a true sequel, an HD port, and a series reboot all at the same time. While clearly not a port of “Rock Band 3,” it’s still worth noting that this is its successor on grounds of innovation and evolution but is going back to the roots of “Rock Band [1]” (with the elimination of the Keyboard) and wants to double-down on the main four, since those are the instruments most people have. Overall, Harmonix just wants to deliver the ultimate concert-like experience and Sussman thinks the time-off they took has truly allowed them to do so.
“We have a lot more firepower at our disposal that we’re taking advantage of, and it’s more than an up-rez of the experience. We’re really going deep into the dramatic dynamics that you get at a live concert. The color palette, the atmosphere – I’m really into the atmosphere, like the smoke and the way the light cuts through it and all of that sort of stuff. The relationship to the audience and the venue in general, I think we’re going to knock out of the park.