I wrote and posted this awhile ago on the Harmonix boards, thought I would put it here and see what happens.
With Harmonix confirming that there will be no Rock Band release this year, I have taken it as my gaming duty to set the stage for what I want in next installment. I do think that not releasing is a solid idea; Activisions? strategy of a Guitar Hero every month makes the concept stale without any real improvements in each title. The market is not in desperate need of rhythm games at the moment, what it does need is a more personal and defined experience for what already has been delivered.
Upload current band: This is a must for RB3; I am not in the mood for starting a whole new band again. Allow players to upload their current band from RB2, the concept of an upstart band is done; we have invested countless hours and deserve to treated like an established band.
Stage Design: I am very impressed with the style and variety of the stages, but I am a rock star and I want things my way. Member locations, back drops, lighting, I want to lay it all out the way I have envisioned in my head. Something similar to Tony Hawks create-a-park or Sims 2 house design would be optimal.
Improved World Tour: I want to feel like am actually on tour, no more jumping from continent to continent. A map layout of your location and you set a tour path, for instance you start in L.A then set Phoenix next, then Salt Lake then Denver. You play a handful of songs at each stop then get a Tour Total at the end, the more stops you make the more fans and money you earn. Your van can make a 2 city tour, your bus a 10 city, your plane a 20 city. Of course your plane is more expensive to operate than your bus, so if you do poorly you might not make any real money. The addition of a Band Bank would make for some interesting times, each member allots a certain percentage into the bank, and it would pay for said transportation and crew members. You hire a sound guy, he costs $5,000, however this leads to him doing something in return, he allows for a few missed notes per song without detracting from your multiplier. Or a lighting tech that increases the amount of overdrive you earn, a driver that increases the distance the van can go; all have their costs and benefits. Fans should also be more diverse, you play all your shows in Europe you have no fans in America, when you do tour there it takes longer to acquire fans and money. FanBase will net you more money when you play their cities and will be determined by how frequently you play and the variety of songs that are played. This leads into another change, song selection. When you play a city you will not be forced to play any song, you can assemble the set list from any songs you currently have, however each city will have a certain like and dislike to song genres. So if you play metal in San Francisco you earn no fans and little money, you play grunge in Seattle you earn fans and money. The FanBase is a fickle one though, over time you lose fans, but there will always be a dedicated group to go back to.
More interaction on-line: You have friends in other bands, why should you tour alone? Get with another band and go on tour, they have crew you don?t and vice versa; you all get the benefits and split the cost of touring. Tour with a band with a million plus fans and you earn double the fans and money, take a band that is a start up on tour and your band gets a fanbase in their starting city. How about you and five other bands get together and play a festival somewhere, tons of money and dedicated Fanbase in that city and earn fans in the surrounding cities.
A few other changes would be nice, but you can read my RB2 review for those. Overall it needs to be a new experience; RB2 could have been an update not a whole new game. That needs to change for RB3, I want it to be immersive, sell me on the idea that I am a Rock God.
With Harmonix confirming that there will be no Rock Band release this year, I have taken it as my gaming duty to set the stage for what I want in next installment. I do think that not releasing is a solid idea; Activisions? strategy of a Guitar Hero every month makes the concept stale without any real improvements in each title. The market is not in desperate need of rhythm games at the moment, what it does need is a more personal and defined experience for what already has been delivered.
Upload current band: This is a must for RB3; I am not in the mood for starting a whole new band again. Allow players to upload their current band from RB2, the concept of an upstart band is done; we have invested countless hours and deserve to treated like an established band.
Stage Design: I am very impressed with the style and variety of the stages, but I am a rock star and I want things my way. Member locations, back drops, lighting, I want to lay it all out the way I have envisioned in my head. Something similar to Tony Hawks create-a-park or Sims 2 house design would be optimal.
Improved World Tour: I want to feel like am actually on tour, no more jumping from continent to continent. A map layout of your location and you set a tour path, for instance you start in L.A then set Phoenix next, then Salt Lake then Denver. You play a handful of songs at each stop then get a Tour Total at the end, the more stops you make the more fans and money you earn. Your van can make a 2 city tour, your bus a 10 city, your plane a 20 city. Of course your plane is more expensive to operate than your bus, so if you do poorly you might not make any real money. The addition of a Band Bank would make for some interesting times, each member allots a certain percentage into the bank, and it would pay for said transportation and crew members. You hire a sound guy, he costs $5,000, however this leads to him doing something in return, he allows for a few missed notes per song without detracting from your multiplier. Or a lighting tech that increases the amount of overdrive you earn, a driver that increases the distance the van can go; all have their costs and benefits. Fans should also be more diverse, you play all your shows in Europe you have no fans in America, when you do tour there it takes longer to acquire fans and money. FanBase will net you more money when you play their cities and will be determined by how frequently you play and the variety of songs that are played. This leads into another change, song selection. When you play a city you will not be forced to play any song, you can assemble the set list from any songs you currently have, however each city will have a certain like and dislike to song genres. So if you play metal in San Francisco you earn no fans and little money, you play grunge in Seattle you earn fans and money. The FanBase is a fickle one though, over time you lose fans, but there will always be a dedicated group to go back to.
More interaction on-line: You have friends in other bands, why should you tour alone? Get with another band and go on tour, they have crew you don?t and vice versa; you all get the benefits and split the cost of touring. Tour with a band with a million plus fans and you earn double the fans and money, take a band that is a start up on tour and your band gets a fanbase in their starting city. How about you and five other bands get together and play a festival somewhere, tons of money and dedicated Fanbase in that city and earn fans in the surrounding cities.
A few other changes would be nice, but you can read my RB2 review for those. Overall it needs to be a new experience; RB2 could have been an update not a whole new game. That needs to change for RB3, I want it to be immersive, sell me on the idea that I am a Rock God.
