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AtomGuitar Hero Q and A session
The Massachusetts based game studio, Harmonix, is no stranger to the music genre. They started out with the techno based Frequency and Amplitude. Both were critically acclaimed titles, even though they didn’t reach the masses. Then they moved on to creating the Karaoke Revolution series along with Konami. Karaoke Revolution managed to garner a sizeable fanbase, but it still hasn’t reached mainstream status. Harmonix’s next rhythm game aims to rock the gaming world like a hurricane. Guitar Hero lets players live out their rock star fantasies and jam with a realistic guitar controller. Instead of commenting on the game on our own, we went straight to Red Octane who’s publishing the game for answers.
Siliconera: How much was the game (if at all) inspired by Konami’s Guitar Freaks?
John - As all of us are fans of the genre, we’ve of course played some of Guitar Freaks and have seen what they’ve done to bring guitar to a music game. I wouldn’t say that the game was inspired by Guitar Freaks at all. I would say that the game was inspired by Rock music and everything that fits within the genre. From the ground up this is the approach that’s been applied to this game. In terms of music games, we all feel that there’s no more appropriate genre of music for America than Rock. For Rock music, there’s no more appropriate instrument to utilize than the electric guitar.
Interface wise Guitar Hero looks like a lot like previous Harmonix titles Frequency and Amplitude with the notes moving towards the screen. Did previous Harmonix games inspire any part of Guitar Hero?
Daniel – We really tried to take Guitar Hero in a new direction, both artistically and design-wise. Where in both Frequency and Amplitude you had to play all of the tracks, having just the guitar track really opened up a host of cool design ideas. The main difference is the addition of characters and venues. We’ve really pulled away from the abstract nature of our earlier titles and built a world the puts the player on a stage performing in front of hundreds (or thousands!) of screaming fans.
Also, the guitar peripheral is such a huge part of Guitar Hero. It really lends itself well to our beat-matching gameplay and draws the player into the game world. Much like Frequency and Amplitude, when you’re playing Guitar Hero, you feel like you’re actually playing the songs.
Artistically, Guitar Hero is inspired by a lot of our own personal experiences. From the rock posters in the front end, to the venue design, we were able to draw from real-world experience to legitimize the aesthetic feel of Guitar Hero. So many people on the development team are, or have been, in bands. Everyone on the team really bought into the art design early on, which really helped us draw a nice cohesive look together. I’m genuinely thrilled with the way Guitar Hero looks.
Do you think that Guitar Hero recreates the experience of being a rock star in the privacy of your living room?
John - Yes, totally! This was the goal from the beginning. Much of the feedback that we get from real guitarists that have played it is that the illusion of actual playing is there. Many of the Harmonix guys are musicians and have one time or another toured or played professionally.
In Guitar Hero there is a career mode that’s similar to Tony Hawk’s Underground. Instead of starting off as a local boarder, you’re a garage band moving up to superstar status. Can you explain how this works?
Daniel – The framework fiction that holds Guitar Hero together is not a total “rags to riches” story. The idea is that you (the guitar player) are a total badass rock star on whatever stage you happen to be performing on.. So sure, while you start off rockin’ a basement party, we try to convey the basement party as potentially the biggest party on the block. You then move on through bigger venues, earning greater paychecks (which you can spend on new guitars, bonus songs, and other cool stuff), and increasing the scope of your rock-stardom. People should understand that you don’t need to be rocking Madison Square Garden in order to be a rock star. Rock stars can exist on any level.
Are there any plans for a mode where players can make their own song or at the very least freestyle?
John – The goal of Guitar Hero was to immerse the user into real rock songs. Our experiments into song creation and freestyle didn’t prove to work well or be very fun
Music games don’t have to rely on “good” graphics for a sale, but what is Harmonix planning for people watching the screen waiting for their turn?
John – Yes in many ways most genre of games do not need the present level of graphics to be good but of course we want our games to look totally awesome. The player typically concentrates so much on the fret board that there is very little attention paid to the rest. Other people watching usually get more than a kick out of the other characters, venues and crowd. Harmonix has got the art of “real-time performance feedback” down! Each venue has tons of nuances to appreciate! When you
Did your favorite song make it into the game? If not what’s your favorite track in the game?
John - different guys have different favorites but in the song selection process, getting playable “FUN” songs was the top priority. When you play with the songs something special happens, you begin to understand the song as a guitarist and very quickly gain new appreciation to songs from another perspective. That being said, a few of my favorites are You’ve got another thing Comin, Thunderkiss 65 and Ziggy Stardust.
Daniel – I have to say that getting Pantera’s “Cowboy’s From Hell” into the game was a priority for me. Also, as it cheesy as it sounds, Boston’s “More Than a Feeling” may possibly be my favorite song in the game. There were a few surprises as well: songs like “Higher Ground” (The Chili Pepper’s cover) and Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out,” didn’t strike me as heroic guitar songs at first listen, but then when I got in and started listening to the intricacies of the guitar parts, it opened up a whole new appreciation for those songs. At the end of the day, I’m really happy with our soundtrack. I play the game and I feel like our songs were written specifically for Guitar Hero.
What’s the final controller like?
John – The final controller is totally awesome. We’ve done our best to make the best controller that’s affordable. The Guitar Hero SG controller even has the blessing from Gibson for its signature SG shape. It screams of ROCK and has tons of features to get you immersed into the music. The five fret buttons gets your hand moving up and down the neck of, the strum bar activates with either an up and down motion and the whammy bar works to bend the notes on the sustains. There’s also a tilt sensor built into the guitar to activate what we call Star Power!
While many music games focus on techno-pop, Guitar Hero takes a different route – rock music. Do you think that Guitar Hero will win over the Dance Dance Revolution audience who’s into j-pop and Dancemania CDs or do you think Guitar Hero is really for a whole other audience?
Corey – For many gamers, what they are looking for is a game that has really great gameplay and has an experience that is unlike any other. Guitar Hero totally has that. Many folks in the office which were not fans of rock music have been totally converted just because they have a level of appreciation that was never there before. Rock fans will begin to understand these songs in totally new ways also.
One cool stunt that was pulled off for Guitar Hero was the “Be a Guitar Hero Competition”. If you haven’t heard about it bands were given a chance to have one of their songs featured in the game. It was a unique opportunity for gamers and local rock stars to get national exposure. How many people entered and how did the contest turn out?
Corey – The contest was a great success in that it was really hard to choose a winner. We’ve not announced the winner and all of the details yet but it’s coming soon. You’re really going to love the song that we’ve chosen.
We know the Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s “Higher Ground” and “Spanish Castle Magic” from the legendary Jimi Hendrix are in the game. Are there any more songs you can reveal to us?
John - Here’s the list of songs that we’ve released for publication with the bands that made them famous.
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers- Higher Ground
2. Boston- More than a Feeling
3. Megadeth- Symphony of Destruction
4. The Donnas- Take it Off
5. Jimi Hendrix- Spanish Castle Magic
6. ZZ Top- Sharp Dressed Man
7. Black Sabbath- Iron Man
8. White Zombie- Thunderkiss 65
9. Queens of the Stone Age- No One Knows
10. David Bowie- Ziggy Stardust
11. The Ramones- I Wanna Be Sedated
12. Franz Ferdinand- Take Me Out
13. Deep Purple- Smoke on the Water
14. Cream- Crossroads
15. Sum 41- Fat Lip
Thanks to John, Corey and Daniel for taking the time to answer our questions. Guitar Hero is scheduled for a release later this year and we’ll keep you posted with more details.
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