Gameplay Rock Band

1 gameplay

1.1 instrument peripherals

1.1.1 guitar
1.1.2 drum kit
1.1.3 microphone
1.1.4 keyboard


1.2 game modes
1.3 customization

gameplay

the rock band games score-based music video games combine elements of 2 of harmonix previous efforts: guitar hero , karaoke revolution, allowing 4 players play on lead , bass guitar, drums, , vocals. rock band 3 expands number seven, including keyboardist , 2 harmony vocalists. players use these instruments play scrolling musical notes on-screen in time music.

rock band titles gameplay , on-screen interface use combination of elements guitar hero , karaoke revolution. rock band has 3 tracks of vertically scrolling colored music notes, 1 section each lead guitar, drums, , bass. colored notes on-screen correspond buttons on guitar , drum peripherals. lead , bass guitar, players play notes holding down colored fret buttons on guitar peripheral , pushing controller s strum bar; drums, players must strike matching colored drumhead, or step on pedal simulate playing bass drum notes. along top of screen vocals display, scrolls horizontally, similar karaoke revolution. lyrics display beneath green bars, represent pitch of individual vocal elements. when singing vocals, player must sing in relative pitch original vocals. pitch indicator displays singer s accuracy relative original pitch moving or down indicate high or low pitches, respectively. beatles: rock band introduces three-part harmonies using 3 separate microphones, feature later carried on green day: rock band , rock band 3. if part not being played, interface not appear on-screen. remainder of screen used display band s virtual characters perform in concert.

a screenshot of full band playing metallica s enter sandman in rock band: each instrument represented different interface: lead guitar (left), drums (middle), bass guitar (right), vocals (top).

during cooperative play band, players earn points towards common score, though score multipliers , overdrive (an accumulated bonus equivalent of guitar hero s star power ) tracked separately each player. bass guitar player s multiplier can reach high 6x (compared 4x multiplier other players) , achieve bass groove . overdrive collected during select portions of song playing white notes within section (guitar , bass players can use guitar controller s whammy bar extract overdrive white sustained notes). once energy meter filled halfway, players can deploy overdrive, resulting in band meter (which tracks how each player doing) changing more dramatically. allows players strategically use overdrive raise band meter , pass portions of song otherwise might have failed. overdrive can used activate score multipliers, vary based on player s note streak. in solo play, deploying overdrive doubles player s score multiplier. however, in band play, activating overdrive instead increases score multiplier of entire band two. additionally, players can deploy overdrive independently of each other (guitar hero games prior world tour require players in co-operative mode deploy star power simultaneously), collect additional overdrive while deployed , draining.

each band member can choose difficulty @ play (spanning easy, medium, hard, , expert; super easy difficulty present in lego rock band younger players). furthermore, rock band 3, players can select pro mode of instrument if have appropriate controller it; pro mode challenges guitar, bass, drums, , keyboards play controllers closer real-life instrument, note-for-note. if player not play enough , falls bottom of band meter, fail out of song , instrument muted audio mix. however, active player can activate overdrive bring failed players song, saving band member. however, band member can saved twice; after third failure, cannot brought song. failed players continuously drag band s band meter down until saved. if player not saved before band meter reaches bottom, band fails song. special portions of songs labeled unison phrases, reward band score , overdrive bonus if each player can play parts during phrase. select songs end special big rock ending, gives players chance improvise , earn points. if each player plays final notes of song following freestyle portion of big rock ending, band earns of big rock ending points. otherwise, bonus lost.

as song progresses, screen shows meter current accumulated score game, number of stars earned far based on score , progress towards next star indicated partially filled ring. players can earn 5 stars, chance of getting 5 gold stars getting high score players on expert difficulty. performance s star rating influence monetary reward , number of fans song within various game modes, or in case of rock band 3, number of fans earned , speed progress towards virtual band s career mode goals.

instrument peripherals

rock band features instrument controllers designed game. however, harmonix , other companies have attempted provide compatibility between competing instrument controllers , music games, allowing rock band playable without use of specific controllers, , reuse rock band controllers in other music games. prior rock band 3, instrument controllers made mtv games , harmonix, several third-party vendors supply alternate versions. on january 4, 2008, video game peripherals manufacturer mad catz announced had reached agreement mtv , harmonix produce peripherals rock band. agreement gives madcatz ability bundle , sell products rock band game titles. mad catz continued support series release of rock band 4 in 2015, in 2016 announced financial difficulties due weak sales of rock band 4. harmonix subsequently announced starting in 2016, precision designed products producing , supporting instrument hardware rock band 4.

guitar

the fender stratocaster controller, features 10 frets, whammy bar, , effects switch. first generation model pictured.

the guitar controller rock band, modeled after fender stratocaster, used lead guitar , bass guitar gameplay. has several features akin guitar hero s controller, features 5 colored fret buttons on neck of guitar (which correspond on-screen notes), strum bar, , whammy bar. use guitar controller, players must hold fret button corresponds scrolling colored note on-screen while simultaneously pushing strum bar. in addition, 5 smaller fret buttons located further down on neck. these buttons can used play notes in guitar solos (denoted note track turning blue) hammer-ons , pull-offs, without need strum. whammy bar can used distort sound of held notes. special effects switch can used toggle between 5 different guitar effects during solos , overdrive periods (ranging wah-wah, flange, chorus, echo, distortion, doubler, slap echo, medium echo, , long echo), however, switch removed rock band 3 edition of guitar. overdrive guitarists can deployed holding controller in vertical position or pressing select/back/- button. controller offered in both wired , wireless versions. rock band games allow players apply lefty flip setting, supporting left-handed guitar players. second version of controller, distributed rock band 2, introduced quieter fret buttons, more reliable strum bar, , optical sensor , microphone player calibrate video , audio output television/stereo system s setup.

rock band 3 introduces pro mode rock band franchise both guitar , bass players, players finger specific strings , frets instead of colored buttons in easy medium mode, while on expert mode players required play actual guitar chords , solos, note note. 2 new guitar controllers developed use in mode - both of them legitimate midi guitars. first 1 madcatz created based on bass version of fender mustang, featuring 105 buttons each representing every spot possible on neck 17 frets, , string box player strums strings, made of plastic , can step legacy 5 lane controllers. second takes authentic, actual squier stratocaster guitar fender, complete guitar strings , standard 22 frets, added string box near strumming area hit detection, , rebuilt neck have fret-sensing feature in order tell game player s fingers on fret board. there mute bar built guitar can raised or lowered; in raised position strings of guitar softly muted not ring out. mute bar allows string box detect , translate individual string hits game. in lowered position, guitar strings wont muted , therefore lets strings ring out normal guitar playing outside of rock band game. tuning specialized guitar not necessary playing rock band, game guitar functions in midi mode , guitar s sound comes sound files of actual guitar playing in songs painstakingly designed audio master stems of each song game. both of these officially made midi guitars utilize pro mode, allowing accurate fingering while playing added effect of learning how play song real on guitar, either alone or friends playing song on other instrument or controller, online. of 2 pro guitars, madcatz mustang model - 105 buttons - capable of playing legacy (5-lane) guitar or bass charts. mustang first available unit, squier becoming available in march 2011.

drum kit

the first generation rock band drum controller, featuring 4 pads , bass pedal.

the drum set rock band features 4 rubber drum pads , bass pedal. pads have colored rings around edges correspond colored notes on-screen. these pads represent snare drum (red), hi-hat/tom tom (yellow), ride cymbal/tom (blue), , crash cymbals/floor tom (green), though songs may use pads other percussion instruments. pedal represents bass drum (orange), on-screen notes represented orange horizontal lines across on-screen drum track. use drum controller, players must strike pads drum sticks , press bass pedal match scrolling notes on-screen. drummers can improvise in special freestyle drum fill sections of songs, indicated on-screen columns each note turning solid color. 4 pads commonly change functionality represent other drums, depending on requirements of song. default pad order can reversed using lefty mode option in game. legs of drum peripheral can adjust in height or detached if player wishes place on table-top. drum controller features standard controller buttons in middle of peripheral navigating in-game menus. overdrive drummers can deployed hitting crash cymbal (green note right-handed configuration) appears directly after freestyle drum fill. second version of controller, distributed rock band 2, introduced quieter, velocity sensitive drum pads, reinforced bass pedal, wireless capabilities, , compatibility separately sold cymbals. ion audio has produced premium drum kit includes cymbals , can upgraded drum brain used electronic drum kit.

pro mode drums introduced in rock band 3, requiring players equip existing drum set 3 cymbal units. game marks cymbal notes circles in contrast regular rectangular pad notes, , drum player required hit cymbals instead of pads these notes when occur. electronic drum kits used through midi connection.

microphone

the microphone standard usb microphone. players can use other usb microphones, while xbox 360 users can substitute console s headset if wish, though option use headset on microphone absent in rock band 3 , beatles: rock band. part, singers judged on how closely match relative pitch of song s vocalist. during talking parts not judge pitch, phoneme detector picks individual vowels , consonants of spoken lyrics, songs contain unclean vocals (growled or screamed vocals) judged in way. sections without vocals display circle notes, allowing microphone used tambourine , cowbell tapping or making vocal cues. overdrive singers can deployed making brief sound through microphone during sections of songs, denoted yellow artwork in background of vocals interface.

keyboard

rock band 3 wireless keyboard

a keyboard instrument introduced rock band 3. using special adapter, players can use midi-compatible electronic keyboard play such parts game. special midi-compatible 25-key keyboard manufactured mad catz , bundled sales of new game. unit shaped keytar , possible play both sitting down or standing up. unit s neck contains overdrive activation button, , touchstrip acts effects bar alter tone of instrument. keyboard unit not necessary play non-pro keyboard parts in rock band 3 compatible guitar controller can used; similarly, keyboard can used play non-pro guitar or bass parts. however, keyboard unit required pro versions of keyboard parts, , can played keyboard.

game modes

an on-the-spot group plays rock band 2 during 2008 penny arcade expo.

the primary mode of play in both games band world tour mode (renamed tour rock band 2); in first rock band, limited band of 2 or more players playing locally, rock band 2 expanded number of players, locally or online. after choosing band name , hometown city, band members can create own rock characters, band logo. once setup complete, band can begin playing concerts in small venues in hometown until unlock vans, tour buses , private jets, unlock more cities , different continents. unlocking , completing new gigs unlocks additional songs play across game modes. successful performances earn band fans (used metric of measuring band s popularity), stars (which accumulate based on success of each individual song performed), , in-game cash (which each player can spend @ rock shop ). cities , larger venues require band achieve number of fans , stars before unlocked. in process, bands can loop through cities multiple times, playing larger venues in cities have visited. in-game venues inspired real-life venues , display local art styles each of represented cities.

players complete unique sets of activities @ each venue. performances consist of single songs, multiple song sets, make own setlists, , mystery setlists. players faced decisions harmonix refers risk-versus-reward. bands need choose sized venue perform @ carefully, poor performance @ larger venue poses greater threat of band losing fans. performances, bands faced optional challenge requires band average number of stars gig in order reap rewards. bands can choose perform benefit concert (earning no in-game money gaining more fans) or sell-out (earning more in-game money losing fans). additionally, gigs, bands can compete band managers, roadies, security personnel, , sound guys, recording deal record label. endless setlist allows players experience all-day concert atmosphere, setlist requires playing entire game disc s setlist beginning end.

a group plays beatles: rock band @ pax 2009.

rock band 2 introduced 2 new modes. challenges allow band play through pre-determined setlists, arranged via difficulty, earn in-game money. these challenges include based on songs on-disc, through additional songs first rock band or downloadable content. battle of bands mode consists of limited-time online tournaments updated on daily basis. each specific battle of band challenge have number of songs , may have specific requirements or limitations; example, challenge may require vocalist, or band cannot use overdrive challenge. goal in these challenges achieve best score , may numerical score, number of stars earned, or longest streak of consecutive notes played correctly. score tracked on global leaderboards, , allow players compare performance friends , others. battle of bands challenges utilize both on-disc content , other songs players may have available.

the first rock band features more traditional career mode single player on either lead guitar, drums, or vocals, dividing on-disk songs 9 tiers arranged difficulty of song instrument. each subsequent tier unlocked after completing songs in previous tier. player earn in-game money based on performance. removed in rock band 2 improved tour mode.

quickplay mode allows 4 players play song has been unlocked. single players may play head-to-head player on same instrument either through score battles (both playing @ same time earn highest score) or tug of war (each trading off sections of song, trying outplay other). included tutorial mode , allows players learn how play each instrument, , practice mode allows players practice songs each instrument. more complete drum trainer mode added rock band 2 players learn basic drum patterns , drum fills @ various speeds.

customization

players can create , customize own in-game character, complete adjustable hair, body physique, clothing, tattoos, onstage movements, , instruments. (the playstation 2 versions , wii version of original rock band not have feature.) using cash earned within game, player may purchase items @ in-game rock shop, can customize rock star. game features art maker players can combine different clip art elements create custom face paint, tattoos, clothing designs, instrument artwork, , band logos. bands can create own logo, , in rock band 2, players can assign generated character stand in parts not presently being played.

with release of rock band 2, players able use official rock band website create physical merchandise of characters , band, including posters, t-shirts, six-inch tall figurines. official website well-received, receiving 2 webby award nominations best games-related website, , winning 2010 webby in category thebeatlesrockband.com. custom merchandise service ended on march 31, 2010.

the customization features overhauled release of rock band 3, adding additional details facial customization opposed having access game s previous small selection of preset head models, , changing method of unlocking clothing, instruments, , other accessories completion of several career goals typically score-based , range across variety of instruments (including pro mode), game play modes, , songs rb3 release, previous titles, , downloadable content. there no monetary system in rb3, players still earn fans in previous installments.