[Xfire] Chatteox: Hello, everyone! We are very pleased to welcome everyone to the HARMONIX Live Chat!  Please welcome our special guests from Harmonix, Sean, Naoko, and DanT, who will now introduce themselves and start taking your questions!

[HMX] DanT: Hi, I'm DanT, and I'm a senior designer at Harmonix, as well as a design guy working on Rock Band!

[HMX] Sean: Hi everyone!  I am Sean and I do Community Development for Harmonix.  

[HMX] Naoko: Hi! I'm Naoko, I'm an Associate Producer on Rock Band.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: OmegaZEROCustom: My question is a two-part question. First, in regards to Rock Band online play, is it co-op, competitive, or both? Second, if it's co-op, since the game requires very accurate timing, how has latency been addressed?

Answer: We have multiple types of competitive and co-operative modes, and we've been having loads of fun testing them out. For co-op, we've got a really clever system for pretty much eliminating percieved latency in music games, which is an evolved version of what we've used in previous games. It's pretty much indistinguishable from local play most of the time :)

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: The Andy: What are some of your favorite artists?  How does this impact which songs you pick for the game?

Answer: I actually am a big fan of good music in pretty much every genre (but mostly 60's soul and rock).  Songs are picked for the game generally based on a mixture of playability and how cool it makes you feel.  We also try to show a bunch of different types of music so no one feels left out.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: Riobux: How much will the Downloadable Songs in Rock Band cost?

Answer: We haven't set the final price yet but we are still trying to get impressions from gamers about what they think on our Rock Band forums.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: ｷﾀ━━━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━━━ !!!!: Hey Harmonix, first off I love your games. Will PS3 and Xbox 360 be able to play online with each other? I know that I myself have a PS3 but my friends have 360s. Anyway around this?

Answer: Unfortunately, Microsoft and Sony have pretty stringent rules for all of this stuff. If those guys get together for a group hug, then we'd be all for it :)

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: beckrokk: Do you consider Rock Band a spiritual successor to Frequency and Amplitude? If so, why do you think the formula works now when it wasn't such a phenomena before?

Answer: Yes and no. Our goals haven't changed, as far as the experience we want to bring to the player. We hope that people who love FreQ and Amp will love Rock Band, even though the music will be totally different (as you could have guessed from the title..) OMG - there are so many questions.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: ▓▒Юη▒▓ ςułdα™: Has there been a conclusion to how much the bundle will cost?

Answer: Nope, we haven't announced anything on this yet. Everything you've heard so far is just speculation.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: SOS-Jolt: How did Harmonix begin? What/where was your foundation?

Answer: Harmonix was founded in 1995.  Strangely enough it wasn't started as a video game company but as a company that was looking into introducing interactive ways of getting people to feel what it was like to make music.  The decision to move to video games came after the success of PaRappa the Rapper proved that maybe games could be a good conduit for what we were trying to do in the world.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: SexyJames: Who is the best at Guitar Hero and Rock Band out of yourselves?

Answer: I can almost play Tom Sawyer on Expert on drums. The other HMX people can one-up me if they want :)

 

[HMX] Ryan: Heya everyone. I made it! I am online...no train delays can stop me!

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: BFM_Knight †┌╦╤─ iPwn™: How high do you expect  people's voice to get in Rock Band? WE're not all Bruce Dickinson you know.

Answer: You don't have to sing in the same octave. You can jump down one octave if you really don't want to do it. There will be a few songs that will test your pipes in the game and the most fun you'll ever have is trying to get up there. Your neighbors won't be happy, but whatever :)

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: [Dante] Cloud <FTW>: what do you guys look for when you hire new programmers...i am going to be in that field and love the "ideals" of your company, so u look for "audiophiles" or are you more geared towards the programming side

Answer: We actually look for programmers with mad skills, some music ability and generally a well-rounded nature.  We like people who are social and don't hide themselves behind a wall of Red Bull cans. 

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: shrouded: Can you tell us about the challenges of designing the drumset?  Were there any prototypes with more pads, or a left pedal?  How difficult was it designing something that will do everything you want, but still stand in a living room or on a coffee table?

Answer: The hardest part was satisfying all of the stuff we wanted - we're a company of musicians, including a sizeable chunk of drummers. I think we spent at least half a year making sure that the pedal felt almost exactly like a real drum pedal, and not just some switch. We also had a bunch of non-negotiable things that we had to get in, like using real drumsticks. I could go on forever, but the basic summary is that from day 1 we wanted this to be as close to an electronic kit as possible, with as few compromises as possible.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: xtrack: How many people can play Rock Band on the same console at the same time ?

Answer: Four players - guitar, bass, drums and vocals

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: [unclan] Squigly: How into it do you guys get when playing? Anyone break guitars or jump off desks? ;)

Answer: We are in "bands" at hmx where we get together and play the game each week. Guys in my band bounce off the walls and do scissor kicks all the time

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: How much are you going to appeal to the more pro players? There are certainly a few heavy solos one can have, but will they just be restricted to the open solo areas? As well, how much will the difficulty range?

Answer: The difficulty range is pretty massive - the barrier of entry is insanely low for non-gamers, whereas some of the final songs are completely insane and I still can't pass them.

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: SexyJames: Who is the best at Guitar Hero and Rock Band out of yourselves?

Answer: The answer to that would be me. I am the best ever. No one can beat me. Ryan will disagree, but he's lying.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: Dreadeth: Won't it be hard to hear the diffreces in the songs with all the instruments playing?

Answer: You'd think that!  The interesting thing about it is once you are going you sort of get into a groove and you can pick out your part really nicely without flooding everyone else.  Then you start to hear the band as a whole.  It's a delicate balance but it works really nicely.

 

[HMX] Ryan: There will also be tons of songs as weeks go on, some just inherently harder than others

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: ElFireRasta: What feature of Rock Band are you the most proud of?

Answer: For me, it's the character creator and the Band World Tour, but I'm slightly biased since they are my babies. We haven't announced a lot about the Band World Tour besides it's name and that it's a band career mode, but it's a massive leap above anything we've done here before in terms of stuff like persistence and the feeling of being in a band

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: ElFireRasta: What feature of Rock Band are you the most proud of?

Answer: Probably the general conceit of the whole thing.  It is an awesome feeling when you have the full four person band going.  But other than that the character creator is amazing.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: Slash Fury: Does Harmonix plan on expanding their music games into other fields, say, Trumpet Hero? ;)

Answer: As someone who has played trumpet, I am immediately rushing this idea to our CEO for development post-haste.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: ElFireRasta: What feature of Rock Band are you the most proud of?

Answer: There are lots. I am psyched about our peripher designs...they are solid. I also love the character creator....they usually suck, but this one doesnt :)

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: Lord Pignea: If Rock Band sells well, will you release a "Rock Band 2" or continue updating the first with downloadable musics?

Answer: I think will start thinking about that once we are done with this monster. 

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: O: are there left handed guitar controllers for rock band where the hwammy bar is the other  side?

Answer: Right now, no...but who knows. Our Strat is really well designed for lefty use. You dont move the tremolo arm, but it is pretty comfy.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: maposaurus: Will the leaderboards be changed from the 360 ones to be less abuseable by players?

Answer: It's a little hard to compare the two, since we're doing some pretty unique things with leaderboards. But yes, we have security experts here who have the sole job of making this game as unhackable as possible.

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: Dreadeth: Won't it be hard to hear the diffreces in the songs with all the instruments playing?

Answer: I don't think I understand this question completely. We are doing our best to make sure that all the music you hear sounds great. You will be able to control your audio settings... did I answer your question?!?!

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: shrouded: Do you plan on collecting any statistics over the online services (like XBox Live) to judge the popularity of the songs and genres players favor, to help give direction to future song selection and downloadable content?

Answer: We do you a step better.  We just sort of ask people.  It is a big thing for us to be straight up and communicative with our community.  We definitely listen.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question:  [TEC]r ffcsquall24: are there any plans to release a different controller for the bass? becausei read that the bass and the guitar are run off of the same controller

Answer: The guitar controller is perfectly suited for the bass, as even in real life they are super similar. If the game is a massive hit, I bet people would love to make a Fender Pbass controller (though I would vote for a Jbass)!

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: SST_Sparky*CO*: whats the frav song you guys jam to when it comes to playing?

Answer: I still can't get over Don't Fear the Reaper.  I sing that constantly.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: maposaurus: Will people online be able to do quick play with random people assuming they don't have a band, or members aren't online?

Answer: Yep, we support both quickplay and career modes

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: SST_Sparky*CO*: whats the frav song you guys jam to when it comes to playing?

Answer: I love Suffragette City. I do a little dance.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: Kage: It's well-known that Harmonix uses bands and band members as employees.  Have you guys gotten bands signed, and related to this, does Harmonix plan to start a record label

Answer: How awesome would it be to have a record label where to get "signed" you have to pass the programmers test.  Ha!

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: SST_Sparky*CO*: whats the frav song you guys jam to when it comes to playing?

Answer: It changes all the time, but right now I am seeing a million faces and rocking them all. Because I'm a cowboy, and on a steel horse I ride.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: >|Kitty|<: In Rock Band do you all attachments to play or could you play like single modes as like if you only had a mic you could play a single mode where you only sing and vica versa?

Answer: You definitely don't need all the instruments. You can just use the guitar controller you already have and play as a guitarist, or use your USB microphone that you already have and sing with a band. The most fun is with four instruments, but we realise that not everyone can buy four controllers for whatever reason.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: ElFireRasta: If you make a band online, will you have your own sort of "Band page" or area where you get hotlinked to each of the members?

Answer: We're looking into all sorts of awesomosity for the web page.  More updates to come in the future.  And, of course, we always appreciate feedback on it.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: SST_Sparky*CO*: whats the frav song you guys jam to when it comes to playing?

Answer: TOM SAWYER! God that is the best song ever...next to Made In Mexico's Farewell Myth

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: shrouded: With the explosion in popularity with the previous titles, how has your relationship with record labels and bands changed when you seek to license tracks?  Is it much easier to gain rights to use songs (and master tracks) than it was?  Have you found bands seeking you out instead of the other way around?

Answer: Yes, for sure.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: Squigly: Any plans for off-world venues? Mars anyone?

Answer: Back when we were looking at venue ideas for Rock Band, I proposed a secret underwater lair for your band to rock out in once they were crowned the best band in the world. As you did this on higher difficulties, you unlocked venues in a volcano, on mount everest, and eventually on the moon. For some reason, my awesome idea was cut because it didn't really convey the experience of what it's like to be in a rock band, and instead conveyed the experience of what it's like being in my head.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: shrouded: With the explosion in popularity with the previous titles, how has your relationship with record labels and bands changed when you seek to license tracks?  Is it much easier to gain rights to use songs (and master tracks) than it was?  Have you found bands seeking you out instead of the other way around?

Answer: Drums and Stringed instruments are really different and you can see how drums are more 1 to 1. I would love to teach millions how to play guitar, but after all...it is more drummers that the world needs. :)

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: SexyJames: What are the ultimate snacks to eat while playing Rock Band?

Answer: Tim Tams are the official designer snack for playing Rock Band with.

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question:  thepaska: I've read that once you make it to drums on expert it is almost as if you have learned the drums in real life.  Are there plans for future Harmonix games to try and teach use guitar and bass?

Answer: To clarify: the expert drums things is in no way a promise. For someone who has never played, yes, you will have picked up things about the drums that people need to learn. Our goal is not to teach everyone how to play all instruments though video games. It's to get people to enjoy that feeling that playing music brings.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: tikiwargod: will there be a single player and multiplayer campaing and will they be different?

Answer: Yep, Rock Band has both. The main distinction is that Solo Tour is about being a kick-ass solo act, getting better and better by defeating harder and harder songs, where as the Band World Tour is all about starting as a garage band and becoming the biggest band in the world, picking up money, fame, and fans along the way.

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: Lord Pignea: What is the use of the five new fret buttons of the guitar?

Answer: The five new fret buttons are for rocking out in solos with - they provide some awesome added functionality that I instantly fell in love with when we first played with it here.

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: >|Kitty|<: Hello Harmonix, As a female gamer do you think rock band will open more up to all audiences or mainly stick to the males as I have seen most females do not play guitar hero how do you think rock band will change that?

Answer: I hope that more and more girls will play. I think the vocals aspect of the game will help. What I secretly wish for is an army of girls to show up and own drums. Or simultaneous singing/playing an instrument. That would rule.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: Lord Pignea: What is the use of the five new fret buttons of the guitar?

Answer: As Dan said, there is awesome new functionality...but even if there werent, playing upe there feels so sweet.

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: SST_Sparky*CO*: for the guys who play the guitars there, if your playing on hard modes... hows your fingers? :D mine hurt while playing guitar hero on hard but its getting better lol

Answer: I never notice until the song is done, but yeah, I get really into it sometimes and I get sore. Take care of your hands!!!

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: xtrack: How many people can play Rock Band on the same console at the same time ?

Answer: Assumedly 4.  Full band.  Your living room. 

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: kryatdragon: How complex might the character creator be? Might you be able to look like diffrent famous people?

Answer: The Character Creator is pretty complex...and yes, you will most likely not look like anyone else out there as long as you put in the effort. OR, you can make a band with your friends and purposely all look the same. Viva la DEVO!

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: 7MD|Splinter: How difficult in reality will the drum parts be? There can be millions of possibilities with all the rudiments such as rolls/flams/different types of sticking. Will these be incorpated into rock band, or will it be a lot of straight forward hitting the correct drum

Answer: As always, we are trying to support as much awesomeness from the instrument at hand as possible. I think that if you are a drummer, you will be pretty damned satisfied.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: SexyJames: What are the ultimate snacks to eat while playing Rock Band?

Answer: I get someone to feed me grapes.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: [SF]Geostrike{Mrl}: How did the technology of your games evoluted this far? What do you think?

Answer: Every aspect of what we do has advanced over the years. When we made FreQ, we were so new to the platform. I think that we have a stranglehold on the next gen stuff with our engine. We have some new Lighting tech that looks so cool for stagelighting.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: [HMX] Sean: Question: SexyJames: What are the ultimate snacks to eat while playing Rock Band?

Answer: HA! like the cover of KISS LOVE GUN?

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: kaboobi: Are there any songs that nobody has beat on expert yet?

Answer: oh definitely, especially on drums.

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: SexyJames: What are the ultimate snacks to eat while playing Rock Band?

Answer: a bacon,egg and cheese sandwich on a blueberry bagel with hot sauce.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: kaboobi: Are there any songs that nobody has beat on expert yet?

Answer: Nope. After almost a decade...we are pretty good at these games.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: kaboobi: Are there any songs that nobody has beat on expert yet?

Answer: No way dude.  Our QA team is awesome.  They dream about note charts.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: TrojanX: I know there's one song out there you guys would love to get your hands on, but haven't been able to yet. What would that be?

[HMX] DanT: oh, yeah, I forgot about QA. Those guys pretty much beat any song within minutes. I weep at their skills.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: † Ữþ£][ñk †: Who where some of your most memorable Artists that came in and worked with you on this project?

Answer: No artists who worked on it, but this weekend we hung with some of the cast of Troll 2 and they were AWESOME.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: TrojanX: I know there's one song out there you guys would love to get your hands on, but haven't been able to yet. What would that be?

Answer: I would kill for ACDC's Beatin' Around the Bush or Celtic Frost's Into Crypts of Rays

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: SexyJames: How many people have worked on Rock Band altogether?

Answer: Over a hundred. There are 40 in house HMX artists alone.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: Sir Badass Killington: Are there any songs that were submitted through the website that were taken into heavy consideration?

Answer: Totally.  I've been sifting through all the submissions for a while.  It gave us a lot of great bands we hadn't heard before and a lot of stuff we were already planning on and also some straight up insanity.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: beckrokk: What are sonme indie bands you would love to include at some point into Rock Band?

Answer: Oh man, you had to ask... Electric Wizard, Kinks, Celtic Frost, Slayer, Sepultura, Gary Numan, Helios Creed, Danava, Lightning Bolt, Goatsnake, Totimoshi, Chrome, XTC, Led Zep, ACDC, Sweet, Jesus Lizard...etc...etc

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: shrouded: This will be the first title designed from the ground up for a robust online environment.  Does this shift your thought process further away from sequels, and more toward a longer release cycle based on downloadable content?

Answer: While I can't talk about future titles, we're treating Rock Band as a platform for people to experience music with. Downloadable Content is a massive part of that, as well as the community featuyres you'll be seeing on rockband.com in the next few months.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question:  Squigly: What do you find is the best way to discover new bands you like?

Answer: Word of mouth, totally.  I'm pretty suspicious when a magazine declares someone the new hot thing.  I like it when people I know clue me in to something.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: [unclan] Squigly: What do you find is the best way to discover new bands you like?

Answer: record stores, opening bands at good rock shows, aquariousrecords .com, Vice mag, Pitchfork.com, doing band family trees using Allmusic or Wikipedia

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: littlemagnet: Excluding Rock Band, what's your favorite Harmonix game?

Answer: Amplitude, totally.  Though it is kind of like picking amongst your children.  I was a huge fan of the KR series as well, even before I started here.

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: SST_Sparky*CO*: what a normal day at the HMX office like?

Answer: Well, I'm glad you asked. When I first get into the office, all the boys crowd around me and tell me how pretty I am. Then they fight over who will bring me coffee and the others rush to pull out my chair. Then I yell at all the employees for 8 hours, drink and beer and shop on amazon. Magically, the game just works itself out.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: littlemagnet: Excluding Rock Band, what's your favorite Harmonix game?

Answer: Amplitude. It is pure and simple. I love GH, but there is something magical about Amplitude for me.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: icannever4get: I had my wisdom teeth out today. Will Rock Band be dissimliar to this experience?

Answer: Man, I hope so.  And you are chatting with us now?  I could barely move from the anaesthesia.  Good for you!

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: SST_Sparky*CO*: what a normal day at the HMX office like?

Answer: Usually it involves most of us humoring hmxsean into thinking he's some kind of god. We usually get all of our work done when he's taking one of his four hour lunches or playing golf with Peter Moore.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: ElFireRasta: You seem to be aimed towards the holiday season. If you were given more time, what do you think you would focus it all on?

Answer: Even more character assets for the Character Creator :)

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: littlemagnet: Excluding Rock Band, what's your favorite Harmonix game?

Answer: Amplitude.

That's how I found out about this company. I still play this game. All the time.

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: Rhystic_One: This is a serious question: My father complained about the game because he thinks that makes playing (and working) easy. What do you think about it?

Answer: Hey can you clarify you question please? We want to answer it well.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: SST_Sparky*CO*: what a normal day at the HMX office like?

Answer: For me specifically: meeting,meeting,meeting,lunch (maybe), email, meeting,meeting,meeting,meeting.

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: !!Exile_Coyotezeye: Will you be able to practice without having to play a specific song..

Answer: You can practice singing in the shower!!!!

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: SexyJames: Do you think music games with big peripherals are here to stay? Do you expect to see these popular for quite some time?

Answer: I dont see why not. We hope to support these for a while which is cool. I am an old arcade fan, so I like having peripherals at home that make console gaming more special...like the arcade.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: SuPa: How can u guys choose when all these questions come in so fast this is INSANE!

Answer: Tell me about it. HELP COMPUTER!

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: SexyJames: Do you think music games with big peripherals are here to stay? Do you expect to see these popular for quite some time?

Answer: I think there's room for games with both big instruments and small instruments. Basically, as long as people have the shared fantasy of rocking out, games that let them do that will continue being awesome.

 

[HMX] Naoko: Question: SuPa: How can u guys choose when all these questions come in so fast this is INSANE!

Answer: This is insane.

I only know a small portion of this game very well. I'm serious. I don't even know why I'm here.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: snpr167: With all the press covering Rock Band, is it a bit overwhelming? Is this bigger than Guitar Hero?

Answer: The art department at least is getting SLAMMED with requests for images, assets, etc. Yeah, way more than with GH. Although...before GH came out, no one was paying attention to us :)

 

[HMX] Ryan: Question: snpr167: What process went into making the drums?

Answer: A small group of us huddled for weeks, looking at real drumsets, electro sets and just cool designs. then we worked out maybe 20 different designs for our set. After that we refined and refined until we go tthe best one...and then just started making and testing and improving the parts

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: snpr167: With all the press covering Rock Band, is it a bit overwhelming?

Answer: Unbelievably. Today, I saw some pictures from our E3 booth of Shigeru Miyamoto checking out Rock Band. MIYAMOTO. I am in awe at the amount of amazing press and feedback we're getting, but it makes sense when you see the game in action.

 

[HMX] Sean: Question: snpr167: With all the press covering Rock Band, is it a bit overwhelming?

Answer: It is really insane.  It used to be that we would all lose our heads whenever someone at a local paper we'd never heard about wrote an article about Amplitude, but then for this game we have a 40 minute segment on Gamespot, a bunch of time on G4 and then, like, Wall Street Journal.  Then it is amazing seeing some of the people who have become huge fans of our games, like ball players and musicians.  It really is crazy watching your office mate on tv in prime time rocking out.  Very surreal. 

 

[HMX] DanT: Question: Dreadeth: If you become to the "Best" Band online, will you be winning somthing?

Answer: Yes. You'll probably find out what when the first band reaches that point.

 

[HMX] Ryan: Hey all...gotta go now. Real Life becons.

 

Thanks everyone!

[HMX] DanT: Thanks for showing up guys, this was great fun!

[HMX] Sean: That went fast!  Thanks for showing up everyone, see you tomorrow on the forums.  :)

[HMX] Naoko: later guys! I had fun!!!!

[Xfire] Chatteox: Okay, this concludes the chat with HARMONIX! Thank You to our special guest and thanks everyone for participiating.  Now onto the prizes! If you are one of the winners PM me for instructions on how to claim your prize!

[Xfire] Chatteox:

The winners are:

 

1. shrouded

2. beckrokk

3. >|Kitty|<

 

Congratulations!

 

WINNERS:

 

PLEASE PM ME FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE.