With a new Rock Band game out this Friday, the staff at Everybody Plays are already starting to get excited. And with Rock Band 3 launching across 360, DS, and Wii, with the home console versions even offering you the opportunity to play using a keyboard, or even a proper, stringed guitar, we're more excited than we can put into words.
That's why we sent our last batch of questions over to Rock Band developer Harmonix's Manager of Communications, Project Manager for the Rock Band network, international Rock Star, man of many talents and all round good egg, John Drake, to tide us over in the run up to the launch. Which, we think we may have mentioned, is this Friday.
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As a series, Rock Band has always been popular with people of all ages, and all generations, with a large female following. It's one of few games that seems to have bridged the divide between normal player, and the more "hardcore". Are there any secrets to its success?
I think that the primary reason that Rock Band reaches so many people is that, deep down, we all love music. It doesn't matter if you're hardcore, casual, male, female, young, old, or a fanboy of any console, music speaks to everyone. And I know that the designers of Rock Band 3 kept this in mind as they were in production. It's why you see the addition of Rock Band Pro for music enthusiasts and hardcore gamers looking for a challenge, Party Shuffle and All-Instruments mode for folks who love Rock Band's party aspect and drop-in/drop-out and no-fail modes for the casual player! Plus we have 83 songs that we think appeal to everybody!Beyond that, I think the coolest thing about Rock Band is that it lets you take the stage. Your character, that you can customize to be your rock fantasy, is the star of the show. No matter what you want out of a game, Rock Band 3 has something for you
Who's the oldest Rock Band player?
I've played with people of all ages - as young as five and as old as 80, but I'm not sure who the "oldest Rock Band player" would be. I'd certainly like to hear from any of our older fans! Our new in-game character creator lets you be as old or as young as you feel!
Start a band. Rock the world.
With the ability to form a band together, Rock Band's also a game that's proved popular with families - are there any special features in Rock Band 3 that families may want to know about?
Our new Song Filtering system isn't just a good way to manage the thousands of songs you can download into your Rock Band library, it can also be used to sort by Family Friendly songs, taking those slightly less kid-friendly songs and hiding them until your non-kid play sessions.
Beyond that, we have the aforementioned ability to play in "All Instruments Mode" with up to 7 people jamming together! And No Fail mode! And great mini-movies starring your characters (Vignettes) that really draw you into the game. It's really fun.
And for families looking to have a "Rock Band" night, our new "Road Challenges" allow you set out on a mini-tour (usually between 1-3 hours) with your band and actually "beat Rock Band" in an evening! It's a new way to get out there and engage with the game!
As with other Rock band games, the soundtrack for Rock Band 3 seems to provide a good mix of the old and new, for people of all ages - but there are a few strange inclusions on there. Namely, Amy Winehouse?
Picking the setlist for a Rock Band disc is always a hectic process here at Harmonix! I'm pretty amazed at how wide ranging the tracks on the disc ended up being. And yes, Amy Winehouse's Rehab is on the disc and it's AWESOME. While it might sound outside the realm of "ROCK", when we busted it out at a party the other week, it turned into a massive singalong, so it definitely has its place as a party track (and a fun keyboard song). We're lucky to have a great variety of tracks, old and new, pop, rock, metal and everything else, on the disc!
By far the most exciting inclusion for us this year is Pro Mode. Seeing as we suck at playing the guitar normally, we're hoping this will be a great way for us to learn to play properly - starting out on easy pro mode, before moving up, slowly, to expert. Has Pro Mode been designed to work like a guitar teacher?
Rock Band Pro is perfect for a player like you - someone who has an interest in guitar but hasn't quite gotten over that initial challenge in the past. Learning through the fun of gameplay gives you a way to get engaged with music in a deeper way than ever before. And though anyone can jump in on easy, you can move up slowly through medium, hard and expert for most of the songs. The best way to do this is to work within the Pro Instrument trainers that are built into the game. These will take you through the basics of learning each of the instruments and get you up to speed on scales, chords and riffs! They'll even let you break down the songs in the game and learn them section by section. Rock Band 3 doesn't set out to replace guitar teachers - the game is a great introduction to an instrument and we hope it gets you excited to delve deeper. But nothing can replace one on one instruction if you want to get serious about learning an instrument, especially with techniques and musical theory. If nothing else though, RB Pro should turn you into a pretty mean campfire guitarist!
How accurate are the expert tabs for Pro Mode across all instruments?
They're accurate to the note! Our audio team dedicated themselves to transcribing these parts for Pro Guitar, Pro Drums, Pro Bass, Pro Keys and harmony vocals! While we do have to do some compressing of the notes (down to a 17-fret guitar if you're playing our Mustang controller, down to a 2 octave keyboard on pro-keys and to just 4 drums and 3 cymbals on drums) the notes are pitch accurate and, to the best of our abilities, the exact performance recorded.
Pro Mode - the stuff of nightmares for most, but the thing that'll hopefully finally teach us how to play the guitar.
Out of all the pro mode instruments, it's the stringed Fender that's the most interesting for us - will these be available in the UK, and if they are, do you have any idea of the pricing?
Though we haven't announced the date or pricing of the Stratocaster yet, I know that Fender is planning on bringing it to territories outside the US. Stay tuned to RockBand.com for more info!
Will pro mode be available on the Wii?
Yup! Pro Mode for all instruments will find its way over to the Wii!
Are there any differences between the Wii and 360 versions?
There are always subtle differences between platforms (they are different devices, after all) but the development team on Rock Band 3 has made the games almost identical across all 3 platforms. Wii users can look forward to all the cool features that other console rockers can!
Rock Band 3 also marks the series' first proper instalment on the DS - what can we expect of the gameplay on the handheld?
Rock Band 3 on the Nintendo DS is an awesome extension of the core Rock Band platform. Fans can look forward to the kind of plate-spinning gameplay they saw in Rock Band Unplugged on the PSP, as well as the ability to play cooperatively and competitively with others rocking on their DS's. The game looks and sounds great too! If you're a fan of DS games, Rock Band 3 is definitely one you should pick up!
Are there any plans for a Rock Band game on the 3DS?
We're focused on Rock Band 3 (and our other fall title, Dance Central for Kinect!) right now and we haven't announced what we're working on next. Stay tuned!
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With an amazing set of features, Rock Band 3 is out this Friday, for a variety of RRPs, with a variety of instruments. Check your local retailer for more information.
