Friday, September 12, 2008
PAX footage on Channel 10
Microsoft's Channel 10 site has a quick RB2 interview with me at PAX if you're interested in hearing many on-message things being said.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Spore
I'm about to start my first Spore session. Feel free to friend me if you have awesome creatures!
DanT's Spore Profile
DanT's Spore Profile
(rockband.com) This week in Battle of the Bands
Well, it's my last blog before Rock Band 2 comes out. It's been a fun ride filled with information, arm wrestling and sandwiches, but I'm glad you all stuck it out.
I realised that during this whole time, I didn't talk about the biggest feature in the game - Battle of the Bands! While we have a bunch of surprises that people will experience when they play a battle for the first time, here's a quick primer:
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I’m really excited about Battle of the Bands because it feels like a real battle of the bands competition – it’s not just four people playing against four other people.
We’re going to be uploading new daily and weekly battles every day, each of which have unique setlists and gameplay conditions. One day you might be playing an Expert Guitar Battle that disables overdrive, the next day it might be a family-friendly band battle that you can’t fail out on.
You have to battle through your friends list first, then once you're the king of your friends list you can battle against everyone in the world for the crown of "best band in the world". When you play the song, you'll be matched up with your nearest competition, and a Tug of War-style meter will show up in the middle to let you know how you're doing in real time.
This is essentially asynchronous multiplayer, kind of like what Spore does with its community aspects, and we think it provides a much more accessible and rewarding band multiplayer experience.
---
So, what am I going to be posting about now that the game will be out? This week in Battle of the Bands, that's what! Every week, we'll be posting a "best of the week" guide for the battles that are coming out, so that you can prepare yourself for competition.
This week's pick for battles, Launch Week Edition!
--------------------------------------------------
Between now and the end of the launch week, we have 19 battles opening! My picks are below.
* Did you somehow luck into getting a copy of the game before it launches on the 14th, and want to celebrate? In that case, you should jump into the "Late Night Rock Band Bash" on Friday - a Star battle with Pump it Up, The Middle, and Lump, all with no fail enabled.
* On Sunday from 12am to 9am, the "Break of Dawn Battle" goes live. Compete in the first official Rock Band 2 battle to prove that you're hardcore! The cool thing about this is that every band has a battle history, so by playing this battle you're essentially getting a badge of honor in your "Battle History" list to show that you were there not just on Day 1, but at the midnight launch.
* If you need your beauty sleep, you'll also have the "Launch Day Battle" and the "Rock Band 2 Week Battle" that you can compete in during the day or week, respectively.
--------------------------------------------------
We want to make sure that the Rock Band 2 Live Team is making the battles you want to play, so definitely leave your ideas for cool battles in the comments of these posts. Some cool future battles for inspiration:
- A "Stalker" battle with "One Way Or Another" by Blondie
- A "History of Metal" battle, with one metal song from each decade
- A "Six Degrees of Separation" battle, where we connect one band to another through songs available in Rock Band.
Sparked your interest? Post your battle ideas below!
I realised that during this whole time, I didn't talk about the biggest feature in the game - Battle of the Bands! While we have a bunch of surprises that people will experience when they play a battle for the first time, here's a quick primer:
---
I’m really excited about Battle of the Bands because it feels like a real battle of the bands competition – it’s not just four people playing against four other people.
We’re going to be uploading new daily and weekly battles every day, each of which have unique setlists and gameplay conditions. One day you might be playing an Expert Guitar Battle that disables overdrive, the next day it might be a family-friendly band battle that you can’t fail out on.
You have to battle through your friends list first, then once you're the king of your friends list you can battle against everyone in the world for the crown of "best band in the world". When you play the song, you'll be matched up with your nearest competition, and a Tug of War-style meter will show up in the middle to let you know how you're doing in real time.
This is essentially asynchronous multiplayer, kind of like what Spore does with its community aspects, and we think it provides a much more accessible and rewarding band multiplayer experience.
---
So, what am I going to be posting about now that the game will be out? This week in Battle of the Bands, that's what! Every week, we'll be posting a "best of the week" guide for the battles that are coming out, so that you can prepare yourself for competition.
This week's pick for battles, Launch Week Edition!
--------------------------------------------------
Between now and the end of the launch week, we have 19 battles opening! My picks are below.
* Did you somehow luck into getting a copy of the game before it launches on the 14th, and want to celebrate? In that case, you should jump into the "Late Night Rock Band Bash" on Friday - a Star battle with Pump it Up, The Middle, and Lump, all with no fail enabled.
* On Sunday from 12am to 9am, the "Break of Dawn Battle" goes live. Compete in the first official Rock Band 2 battle to prove that you're hardcore! The cool thing about this is that every band has a battle history, so by playing this battle you're essentially getting a badge of honor in your "Battle History" list to show that you were there not just on Day 1, but at the midnight launch.
* If you need your beauty sleep, you'll also have the "Launch Day Battle" and the "Rock Band 2 Week Battle" that you can compete in during the day or week, respectively.
--------------------------------------------------
We want to make sure that the Rock Band 2 Live Team is making the battles you want to play, so definitely leave your ideas for cool battles in the comments of these posts. Some cool future battles for inspiration:
- A "Stalker" battle with "One Way Or Another" by Blondie
- A "History of Metal" battle, with one metal song from each decade
- A "Six Degrees of Separation" battle, where we connect one band to another through songs available in Rock Band.
Sparked your interest? Post your battle ideas below!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Interview with Heather and I about all things Rock Band
While Heather and I were in Portland, we stopped off at Ground Kontrol for their Tuesday night Rock Band bash - and brought a dev kit with RB2 on it for them to play on!
Before they set up, we did an interview with some of the guys there, and it's gone live today.
Read it now!.
Before they set up, we did an interview with some of the guys there, and it's gone live today.
Read it now!.
What have I done?!
An offhanded comment about hardcore sandwich eating, and less than 24 hours later we have this:
Thursday, September 4, 2008
(rockband.com) Secret Rock Band 2 feature announced!
I recently recieved a request from a Rock Band fan that I'm allowed to anwser without checking with LL Cool Drake or the Viacom Lawyer Squad:
"I hope Rock Band 2 comes with a deli fresh ham sandwich, as I could certainly go for a deli fresh ham sandwich. At the rate you guys are going with feature requests I figure it's worth a shot."
Well, while we won't be including a deli fresh ham sandwich in the Rock Band 2 Special Edition box due to the inability to create sandwiches fresh at our retail partners, I can confirm here first that Rock Band 2 will support players eating their own deli fresh ham sandwiches during all songs on the Rock Band 2 disc, as well as all of the songs available on the Rock Band Music Store and songs that have been exported from the original Rock Band disc.
---
Deli Sandwich Q&A:
Q: How will sandwiches work on "missing part" sandwiches such as open-face melts?
A: Extra care will be required in eating to make sure you don't stick your thumb into the sandwich.
Q: So, I can eat a deli sandwich on any song?
A: Technically, yes. Some songs will compliment sandwich eating (Cherry Bomb, Margaritaville), whereas other songs may provide sandwich eating challenges (March of the Pigs). It opens up new emergent eating choices, and we're proud to be pioneering this design ground with Rock Band 2!
Q: How can I trust someone that cheats in an arm wrestle?
A: I totally didn't cheat. Check out that video footage on Destructoid, my elbow is on the table the entire time I am using my crushing weight to win. I will admit, however, that I caught out good sported James Mouat with a thumb-wrestle "fast count". Point is, I'm your hookup for sandwich/rhythm gaming crossover.
Q: Will there be anything for the ScoreHero crowd vis-a-vis sandwiches?
A: I can't talk about anything right now, but I can give you a hint with three words: Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Q: This isn't innovation! TF2 did this already!
A: TF2's implementation is dramatically different to ours - for a start, theirs is a virtual sandwich which doesn't sate any hunger of the player, only that of their character. Sandwiches eaten during Rock Band 2 are as authentic as you can possibly get, and can be eaten at any time. Also, it has a W rather than a V.
---
Post your questions below, and I'll do my best to answer them.
"I hope Rock Band 2 comes with a deli fresh ham sandwich, as I could certainly go for a deli fresh ham sandwich. At the rate you guys are going with feature requests I figure it's worth a shot."
Well, while we won't be including a deli fresh ham sandwich in the Rock Band 2 Special Edition box due to the inability to create sandwiches fresh at our retail partners, I can confirm here first that Rock Band 2 will support players eating their own deli fresh ham sandwiches during all songs on the Rock Band 2 disc, as well as all of the songs available on the Rock Band Music Store and songs that have been exported from the original Rock Band disc.
---
Deli Sandwich Q&A:
Q: How will sandwiches work on "missing part" sandwiches such as open-face melts?
A: Extra care will be required in eating to make sure you don't stick your thumb into the sandwich.
Q: So, I can eat a deli sandwich on any song?
A: Technically, yes. Some songs will compliment sandwich eating (Cherry Bomb, Margaritaville), whereas other songs may provide sandwich eating challenges (March of the Pigs). It opens up new emergent eating choices, and we're proud to be pioneering this design ground with Rock Band 2!
Q: How can I trust someone that cheats in an arm wrestle?
A: I totally didn't cheat. Check out that video footage on Destructoid, my elbow is on the table the entire time I am using my crushing weight to win. I will admit, however, that I caught out good sported James Mouat with a thumb-wrestle "fast count". Point is, I'm your hookup for sandwich/rhythm gaming crossover.
Q: Will there be anything for the ScoreHero crowd vis-a-vis sandwiches?
A: I can't talk about anything right now, but I can give you a hint with three words: Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Q: This isn't innovation! TF2 did this already!
A: TF2's implementation is dramatically different to ours - for a start, theirs is a virtual sandwich which doesn't sate any hunger of the player, only that of their character. Sandwiches eaten during Rock Band 2 are as authentic as you can possibly get, and can be eaten at any time. Also, it has a W rather than a V.
---
Post your questions below, and I'll do my best to answer them.
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