Right after Sony's unveiling of the new Guitar Hero Home space Backstage here at GDC 2009, we had a chance to talk to Activision's Carlson Choi about what we can expect to see and do in this new space.
In the video below the jump, you'll get a walk-through and some details on what gamers can expect to find in Backstage when it launches today. There's a VIP space, minigames, rankings, videos, meeting spaces and more, all set in a stage that uses art and visuals straight from the Guitar Hero games. Choi says that they're really looking to hear feedback from gamers, and they hope to turn that feedback around to evolve the space even more in the future.
In the video you'll also see a bit of me playing Backstage's new minigame, GuitarGod. As Nick said before, this is kind of like an online version of Milton Bradley's Simon. There's four on-screen buttons corresponding to the four face buttons of the PS3 controller. Just like Simon, the on-screen buttons light up and the respective musical tones play, except that instead of tones it's guitar chugs. With each round tones play, and the goal is to try to match them as difficulty increases. As it progresses, it adds another guitar chord and button, and your tonal and visual memory is tested. Spectators can log on and watch your memory and performance live on stage in Backstage.
One rep there got to round ten. I was sure I could go farther, but somehow I had a hard time going as far. I think the problem lies in the fact that each button doesn't necessarily correspond to a specific tone, like Simon. That was kind of confusing, and I was failing when relying on the music.
They expect the leaderboards for this minigame to blow up within days of launch. I can see that, as the game is simple and addictive. It's really cool that Activision has put some work into this Home space, and we look forward to seeing what they do with it in the future.
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
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9:00 AM on 03.26.2009
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To be fair Xi got me back, nice to have something interesting to do in home.