Posts tagged Rock Band 2
The Backlog: Winter Blues edition
Jan 15th
Is it the holidays again yet? And we thought last week was a struggle; if last week was like wiping sleep from your eye, this week is how you feel before you’re fully awake in the morning. Hand me my coffee and the newspaper, please, I’m still groggy from the holiday break. As Doug and Nick see their free time chopped away by returning to the grind (but still get some gaming in!), Aaron provides some detailed impressions after finally digging into one of the holiday season’s biggest releases.
Without further ado, onto the Backlog…
The Backlog: Back to the Grind edition
Jan 8th
Well, it was fun while it lasted.
With December and its myriad holidays out of the way, everybody’s got something to keep them busy. Doug’s back to work on his master’s program, Aaron has transformed into a job-applying machine, and I’ve thankfully found a job once again. Unfortunately, that means we all have a whole lot less time to be playing games, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to turn a blind eye to our sacred obligation to Silicon Sasquatch. Don’t worry! We’ve got a couple great articles that are almost ready for publication, and we’re anticipating a full run of content next week.
In the meantime, here’s what we’ve been keeping ourselves busy with.
Silicon Sasquatch’s Honorable Mentions of 2009: Nick’s picks
Dec 31st
While our Top 10 Games of 2009 deserve attention for their overall excellence, we can’t neglect this year’s other fantastic games — titles that just missed the final cut. Be it their charm or presentation, our Honorable Mentions were simply hard to forget. We’re arrive at the final installment in our five-part series with Nick’s list of honorable mentions.
The Backlog: How to Talk to Your Child about Flavor Flav edition
Dec 11th
DJ Hero has a dedicated Flavor Flav button. Well, no; it’s technically a “sample” button that triggers a set of predetermined samples when playing a mix. But unfortunately, the default sample set is the first of two sets of Flavor Flav clips, including the infamous “Yeahhhhh boyyyyyyyeeeee!”
Experts agree that Flavor Flav can present a number of daunting questions that are difficult for a young child’s mind to process. We’re pleased to announce our upcoming parent’s guide to teaching your child the truth about Flavor Flav — and why he isn’t so scary after all.
Unfortunately, we still haven’t figured out how to just make him go away.
The Backlog: Staring Into the Abyss edition
Sep 25th
Halo 3: ODST has taken its hold on the Silicon Sasquatch staff.
Hoo boy. Time flies when you’re having fu…errr, no…more like time flies when you’ve got real life creeping in. Creeping in just like the clouds do now that it’s officially fall in the Pacific Northwest and the last gasps of summer have gone. Fall also means we’re seeing the beginning of the fall gaming season, and that means a deluge of new titles.
We’ve all been busy this week — and fortunately that’s included time for some gaming. Nick’s been busy with family commitments but has already acquired quite the backlog of games; Aaron’s been playing host for a friend, which entails plenty of rocking out; and Doug has been able to put some time into a few games while staring down the beginning of grad school.
So enough of that waffle; here’s what we’ve been playing.
The Backlog: Scribbling Sporty Beatles edition
Sep 18th
This, metaphorically, is what the release calendar looks like for the next few months
It’s been a busy week for all of us here at Silicon Sasquatch. Doug’s been camping in the cold-yet-wait-it’s-hot-again Oregon weather, and enjoying the rebirth of his broken Xbox 360; Nick’s been playing through five or so games at once while writing, writing and more writing; I’ve been composing an extremely long review of Batman: Arkham Asylum in addition to enjoying a social life and trying to forge videogame industry public relations contacts.
Oh, and that feeling creeping down the back of your spine and into your pocket to make your wallet tingle with fear? Well, that’s the start of the Great Game Goldrush of 2009 — this previous week had quite the prodigious release schedule. Among the horde of games were NHL 10, NHL2k10, WET, Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Scribblenauts, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and Need for Speed Shift.
Next week, Halo 3: ODST releases. You can discuss (your praise for or condemnation of) that fact in our comments section.
See what we’ve been up to, game-wise, after the break. Read the rest of this entry »
The Backlog: Pre-PAX lovefest
Sep 4th
The funk of 40,000 nerds awaits Nick at this year's Penny Arcade Expo. Expect the show floor to look much like this, a scene from the exhibit hall at the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo.
Here we are. The beginning of a three-day holiday weekend, the first day of the Penny Arcade Expo up in Seattle, and time for another week’s worth of gaming recounted in our Backlog. It’s been the calm ahead of the storm here, with Nick preparing for a feast of gaming at PAX, Aaron enjoying some comfort gaming, and Doug preparing to dig into some modern classics.
Rock Band Network: You say you want a revolution…
Jul 19th
Anyone who owns the rights to a song and has the master recordings in their possession can put a song up for sale in Rock Band.
Starting this year, musicians will be able to chart their own songs in Rock Band and sell them to other players. (Read Harmonix’s press release here.)
I’ll give you a second to process that.
In my opinion, this is the biggest gaming news story of the year.
There’s not much else that needs to be said, really, but I wanted to weigh in with this: With Rock Band Network, Rock Band has become the most significant gaming platform for user-generated creative content.
This glowing post might seem a little ironic, seeing as it follows my earlier (and final) pep talk I could muster for the Guitar Hero franchise. After all, GHTunes amounted to little more than a distraction with its frustrating sequencing mechanics and limited MIDI instrumentation.
What Harmonix is on the brink of creating is something as significant as Napster or iTunes were to music — and to the music industry. With tools available to anyone with a hundred bucks to cover the XNA Creators Club fee and the ability to chart notes in a MIDI application, Rock Band Network is truly an open marketplace. And thanks to the buffer of a required peer-review process before songs are greenlit, bands of all genres and sizes can stand to benefit from intimate exposure thanks to the engaging, hands-on nature of Rock Band.
With this step, Rock Band truly has come into its own as a legitimate platform – just as it aspired to be from the beginning – and not just a game with a mere six hundred downloadable songs.
Interview: Dan Teasdale and Heather Wilson of Harmonix Music Systems
May 12th
Editor’s Note: This interview was originally conducted at Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade in Portland, Ore. on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. Rock Band 2 lead designer Dan Teasdale and audio producer Heather Wilson brought Rock Band 2 to Ground Kontrol’s Rock Band Tuesdays for one of the game’s first public play sessions.
Sasquatch writer Doug Bonham conducted an in-depth interview with Teasdale and Wilson that sheds light on the creative process at Harmonix, from catering to fans to picking the perfect songs to release as weekly downloadable content. Although originally published on Doug’s blog, he’s graciously offered to repost it here. Despite taking place months ago, there’s still plenty of insight to be found from two of the people responsible for one of the top music game franchises on the market. Enjoy!
Let there be rock – RB2 fires up for the first time at Ground Kontrol. (Photo by Doug Bonham)
Rock Band 2 is almost upon us. The game’s developers, Harmonix, had a large presence on the show floor of the Penny Arcade Expo – the line to play the game was usually at least a half hour. While fans got their hands on the game for the first time at PAX, a lucky group of gamers in Portland, Ore., got a special treat when the sequel was demoed Tuesday, September 2. Ground Kontrol (511 NW Couch St., Portland, Ore.) played host during the regular Rock Band Tuesdays to Harmonix’s Dan Teasdale, lead designer of Rock Band 2, and Heather Wilson, audio producer for the company.
Teasdale and Wilson were kind enough to agree to an interview with myself, Nick Cummings, and one of the lead volunteers in running Rock Band Tuesday, John Leslie.
The Backlog, Vol. 5 – Ocean Size edition
May 8th
Well, PopCap, you’ve done it again.
I was all set to get the Backlog out the door so I could enjoy my weekend, and you had to stumble in out of the cold, like an estranged lover drawn back to rekindle a long-burning flame. All those hours we spent matching jewels, the dizzying ecstasy of our peg-filled Extreme Fevers…you’ve always been good to me, baby.
And now you show up on my doorstep with this new game, Plants Vs. Zombies — a clever and hilarious twist on a revered casual genre — and I can’t help but fall in love with you all over again.
Um. So yeah, that’s where I’ve been for the past three hours. Read on to see what the rest of the gang’s up to!