Gadgets and Video Games

Eleven days ago, Harmonix delivered on a concept many of us had fantasized about since the very first time we ever played Rock Band : It democratized the track-making process. For the first time in the franchise’s history, any schmo off the street with a bit of MIDI engineering experience and a song in their heart could put that song on the Rock Band Store for the world to see (and hopefully purchase). At GDC , Harmonix senior sound designer Caleb Epps and Rock Band Network producer Matthew Nordhouse sat down to speak about the challenges that came with opening up the game to user-generated content, and how its dedicated community has organically evolved the song-sharing process.

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GDC: Harmonix on the ups and downs of creating the Rock Band Network

[ Image credit: Jaymiek ] In the latest issue of Edge Magazine , Harmonix head Alex Rigopulos and Neversoft project director Brian Bright both speak out regarding the current state of rhythm-music gaming. As you might imagine, neither developer thinks that the genre is flatlining. In fact, Rigopulos even believes that “future music games will exceed the sales success of the last generation.” Surprisingly, though, while each heads up their own approach to the genre, the two seem to be in near-direct agreement on the next step for their franchises

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Rhythm game devs: genre hasn’t peaked, user-generated content is key

Dream Theater, a heavy metal band best known for creating songs that are impossible to play in Rock Band — and, based on the image above, for serving as the artistic inspiration for Metalocalypse ’s Dethklok — has chosen to lend its potent rock powers to the soundtrack of God of War III . This announcement was made by Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who mentioned on the band’s blog , “we will then enter the studio right after New Year’s to write and record a brand new instrumental track for inclusion on the upcoming Gods [ sic ] Of War 3 soundtrack.” Between the inclusion of this track and the exclusive Trivium song (which was announced late last month ), we appreciate the metallic infusion Sony’s trying to introduce to the title. However, if it doesn’t culminate in an unlockable electric guitar weapon, then you can expect us to be stricken with grief for a few months after the game’s release. [Via VG247 ] Dream Theater adding even more metal to God of War III soundtrack originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

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Dream Theater adding even more metal to God of War III soundtrack

Yeah, that whole airport scene is pretty upsetting. You know what’s even worse, though, as far as the corruption of the human spirit is concerned? Modern Warfare 2 ’s online multiplayer. The cycle breaks down like this: You play against hateful people who call you brave new swear words as they wipe the floor with you, which in turn makes you more hateful — repeat ad nauseam.

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Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is becoming its own worst enemy

Tags: a-single-game, esrb, live, Media, Microsoft, microsoft-points, purchases, Rock, same, taiwan

Tags: a-and-the, achievements, albion-after, chapter, diary, free, india, item, marketplace, Microsoft, microsoft-points, music-downloads, Rock, same

Tags: a-multipack-and, a-single-game, a-special-version, band-com-there, esrb, Media, Microsoft, microsoft-points, purchases, Rock, rock-band, song

We’ve heard about the Rock Band Network’s near-boundless technical capabilities. We’ve seen the technology in action at Harmonix HQ. What we haven’t seen is a popular musical artist adapting one of his songs through Reaper, Ember and the Rock Band Network peer-review process for our enjoyment

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PAX 2009: JoCo adapts ‘The Future Soon’ at Rock Band Network panel

Even if you’re not willing to spend 20-40 hours creating an original Rock Band song , the upcoming addition of the Rock Band Network to Rock Band 2 will prove to be a worthwhile experience for all fans of the franchise. A new patch will add the Rock Band Network Store to Rock Band 2 this November, and will grant PS3 and Xbox 360 owners access to a whole new catalog of music that goes well beyond the scope of official Rock Band Weekly releases. To prepare for what could be an overwhelming amount of new content, the new store will offer an even more comprehensive sorting method

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Rock Band Network Store to offer free song demos

Within seconds, it’s clear that Rock Band Network isn’t for amateurs. The tools being offered by Harmonix are fully-featured, professional programs that are meant for artists serious about getting their content into Rock Band and, yes, making money. With Harmonix admitting that first-time users will take 20-40 hours to finish a single song “all the way,” it’s clear that this isn’t meant for the average gamers that have a bit of spare time on their hands. There are four main steps in getting a song onto the upcoming Rock Band Network Store. The most important (and most time-consuming) part of the process is creating the note tracks.

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Impressions: Rock Band Network (Creation)