It doesn’t take a marketing analyst to figure out that rhythm/music games are on fire right now. In fact, we all recently learned that the genre is now the second most popular of all, thanks in no small part to the mammoth success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band (sorry, Wii Music). Mixing music, videogames, wannabe rock star instincts and plastic instruments has proven to be a winning formula, even in uncertain economic times.
However, all those fake instruments have jacked the cost of game bundles well above what many parents want to pay, and plenty of folks have a hard time reconciling the thought of their kids basking in all the rock star behavior. Disney, ever the shrewd peddlers of family-oriented fun, took a look at the sales figures and dearth of kid-friendly titles, and they decided to have their own go at it. The result of that decision is the upcoming Ultimate Band for Wii and DS, developed by Fall Line Studios. The game is a tween-targeted, peripheral-free music title that just may be revolutionary enough to slip by the iron grasp that Harmonix and Activision have on the market.
In a recent conference call with Fall Line studios, we had the opportunity to speak with Tim Huntsman (senior producer), Mark McArthur (development director) and Mike Thompson (art director). We got the full scoop on the tracklist, the variations in instrument control, and the overall emphasis on physicality and storytelling that they’re hoping will set it apart from the group.
The game will incorporate a few elements that are lacking in current music titles, including a robust character creation tool and a robust storyline: “Because we’re Disney, we wanted to incorporate a story, and everyone seems to respond to character creation”, explained Huntsman.
“We wanted players to have a degree of ownership over their band – ‘those are my guys, or those are my gals’” Huntsman continued. “You can have an all female band or all male band or whatever... and in all our cinematics, it’s your band – it’s what you custom created.” He also explained that the narrative itself is there for the sheer fun factor, and to incorporate some of the zany stages that the art department cooked up. “Each environment changes as you’re playing” explained Mike Thompson. “If you’re in the haunted house, that gets sucked into a vortex, we have skaters in a skate park level, the icon level – you’re on the top of the world, performing on the top of a skyscraper. There’re a lot of cool moments we wanted to support.”
The gameplay itself is pretty one of a kind as well. The instrument selection includes guitar, bass, drums, and fronting the band. That’s right, there’s no singing, but you (or your young one) can be the frontman/woman and pump up the crowd with crazy gestural antics. Also, the “regular” instruments will still have performance moves (like hand claps) incorporated right into the note charts. Reportedly, the difficulty level will also affect the control scheme – i.e. playing on hard will make for a more complex system of gestures and button presses, while easy mode will be... well, easier for anyone to jump in and play around with. Overall, the team is aiming to make a more accessible and high-energy experience than you get with the current crop of rhythm-action games.
