Tag Archives: harmonix

Harmonix and Hidden Path at Work on Musical FPS Game Called Chroma

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If you ever played Rock Band, you might recognize the name Harmonix. Harmonix is the company behind that game, and word is that the company is working on a new music game. But time the game is said to also be a first-person shooter.

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Harmonix is working with developers at Hidden Path, the company behind Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The musical FPS game is called Chroma, and it’s expected to be a free-to-play title built using the Unreal engine. Though chances are “free to play” includes some sort of paid upgrades.

The game promises to shape and evolve itself based on the music it plays. The landscape will change with the music and players able to move with the rhythm will get bonuses. That means players in tune with the music will be able to jump higher and run faster. It sounds very strange, but it also sounds kind of cool.

If they can pull this off it will certainly be different from any other FPS games out there. There is no word on when the game will be complete, you can sign up to participate in the Chroma closed alpha here.

[via Games on Net]

Rock Band creators team up with Disney for next-gen in ‘Fantasia: Music Evolved,’ headed to Xbox One / 360 in 2014

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The tattoo-laden, musically-inclined game developers behind Frequency, Amplitude, Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Dance Central are taking on Disney's Fantasia, this morning announcing next-gen Kinect game Fantasia: Music Evolved. Like its last game franchise, Harmonix is keeping exclusive to Microsoft game consoles with Kinect -- the game is planned for launch some time in 2014 on both Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Fantasia: Music Evolved -- which we're assuming must feature Master Chief somewhere given the naming convention and Microsoft exclusivity -- aims to turn gamers into aspiring orchestra conductors. Er ... sort of. The game is played by using both your arms to synchronously gesture in a variety of directions, with two on-screen icons indicating how to place your arms and which direction you'll be gesturing toward. Ostensibly, the game asks players to conduct various pop songs (Bruno Mars' "Locked Out of Heaven" and Queens' "Bohemian Rhapsody," among others), occasionally punctuated with a push, depth-wise, for various auditory flairs (among other things). You are the sorcerer's apprentice, conducting the heavens (as it were). Moreover, the songs get remixed as you go along, with players choosing one of four musical styles to introduce dynamically as the track continues to play in the background. If it sounds overwhelming, that's because it is.

Gallery: Fantasia: Music Evolved

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Harmonix drops the mic, Rock Band weekly DLC ending on April 2nd

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DNP Harmonix drops the mic, Rock Band weekly DLC ending April 2nd

After 275 consecutive weeks of DLC that produced over 4,000 songs, Harmonix is tuning up Rock Band for its final content release on April 2nd. As the once-prominent rock star sim walks up the Stairway to Heaven, its studio will release additional tracks and pro guitar upgrades. This final planned run of new content will include music from unnamed artists who have yet to be featured in the Rock Band series. Sure, this news is a bummer, but not all hope is lost. Harmonix clarified that this isn't the end of the Rock Band franchise as a whole, only its weekly DLC releases. So, don't go listing your plastic axe on eBay just yet, because you never know when or where Harmonix could announce a reunion tour.

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Source: Rock Band Forums

Hands-on with the first SmartGlass app, Dance Central 3’s Party Time DJ

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Smartglass functionality arrives on Xbox 360 with Dance Central 3 tomorrow, we go handson

Since getting outed just head of Microsoft's big reveal, Xbox 360's SmartGlass has been under wraps. When Xbox Live VP Marc Whitten officially introduced SmartGlass soon after at E3 2012, we learned a teensy bit more -- tablets and smartphones (Android, Windows Phone 8, and iOS, even) would get second-screen functionality via an upcoming free application -- and got some hands-on time with it. That application has yet to launch, but Dance Central 3's SmartGlass functionality is already here. Well, almost here -- the game becomes publicly available tomorrow, and the app won't launch for a few weeks still -- but we got our hands on Dance Central 3's SmartGlass companion app a bit early at a New York City review event last week.

Being the first SmartGlass application to launch has its advantages, such as setting the bar. By no means is Dance Central 3's SmartGlass application a thorough, necessary accompaniment (for a game that already requires Kinect, that's probably a good choice), but it does add some neat side fun for friends waiting in the wings to get their respective grooves on. "Party Time DJ" allows friends -- employing their iOS, Droid, or WP8 tablet/smartphone, via the Xbox SmartGlass app -- to queue up the next song in the game's neverending "Party Time" mode, or create a playlist. They can also queue downloadable tracks to the Xbox 360 (which thankfully requires approval on the 360 prior to purchase), or swap difficulty settings. Sadly, though the opportunity for real-time griefing presents itself rather clearly here, developer Harmonix chose not to allow song-swapping or difficulty changes mid-song. "Because it would kill them," Harmonix rep Nick Chester told us.

Gallery: Dance Central 3 SmartGlass app

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Hands-on with the first SmartGlass app, Dance Central 3's Party Time DJ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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