How important are the background visuals (really)?

[SeattleSauve]

People that say they would play without background visuals have obviously never played a game with BAD background visuals, or one with none at all.
GH5 had awful background visuals. They were essentially predesigned for EVERY song, so there was no variety. It was the same animation every time you played. You can't play songs at different venues. The camera angles don't change. It's literally the same. Every. Single. Time. All that changes is whatever character you pick.
As for a game with no background visuals, I remember playing Frets on Fire waaayyy back in the day when GH2 first came out. Without a background, you just totally lose that immersion in the game. It draws attention to the fact that you're not REALLY in a band, you're also not REALLY even playing the song. It just totally breaks your suspension of belief.

I played GH5, and at the time didn't notice the visuals were bad - didn't even notice the visuals were the same within each song actually... Seriously, I'll have to boot it up again just to check it out now - if there were an option to turn off the background I would definitely use it often when I'm playing for score. In those cases it doesn't matter that I'm 'really in a band', in those cases I'm really just focused on the track and everything else is a distraction... As I mentioned, in other cases I think the background adds to the experience, so that's why I say it is something that is 'somewhat important'.

You'll just have to take me at my word that I would be just fine playing this way when I'm playing for score because I'm confident I would be - Heck I only have one custom character to begin with in the game, and I wouldn't even have that character if there wasn't a goal for creating a character - otherwise I'd be playing as Moosejaw

[kingtonyx]

The visuals are also good if you are playing with a large group of people. If it was just the gems coming down the screen, no one else would want to watch.

[Doom878]

When I play instruments I'm not too concerned with them since I'm so focused on the track. Although when you play the intro to I Stand Alone by Godsmack it feels cool strumming and seeing the guitar closeup since I grew up with that song and it's not too complicated to admire.

Singing with no background would feel like karaoke too me. It's still fun but just not visually stimulating. Either way I'm in it for the music and would play with my eyes closed (if I could) because I prefer how it stimulates my ears vs my eyes.

[Pitch-Black]

You've never downloaded a song and later come to hate it? I'd have paid $2 again just to never have to play "BYOB" ever again, but thankfully I can just remove it from my game.

I understand the reasoning behind the option; it's just that I have young kids around sometimes who like to randomly push buttons (and friends who do the same when having too many drinks). It's happened more than a few times that a song or two has gone missing because that option is there. Hardly HMX's fault, I know, and far from a big deal. I'm just thankful that the RB 2 or Green Day downloads haven't been zapped by an unhappy accident. Yeah, I know they can be easily re-downloaded but I'd rather not have to. I just find the "delete" option to be unnecessary to have in-game when I can easily delete a song directly off the HDD if I dislike it enough. It's just a personal preference and opinion, though.

[skyp1e]

Although I would still play just as much, I would not enjoy the game as much without the background visuals.

I would miss them and I would want them back in.

[Obi_Wan_Kenoli]

Wow a lot of feedback on both sides of the spectrum and everywhere in between that is both constructive, positive, and devoid of petty insults and copious amounts of snarkiness.

Where am I?

Seriously though, thread turned out to have some good discussion, glad it wasn't locked.

[Blasteroids]

For the main Rock Band game, the background visuals are not that important. As long as the background does not inhibit the charts highway then it can be anything really. Sure it is nice that there is character animations and that they flow from venue to venue to make you feel more involved in the performance, but I personally play the game for the music with little time to tweak my characters.

That said, the lighting on the venues match the stage kit and really make you immersed into the game. If the visuals were removed, which then removed the stage kit then it would affect this immersion and make me want to play a whole load less.

For The Beatles:Rock Band it had to be more involved with the visuals to sell it as a unique game away from just another music game. For which HMX did a fantastic job. If the visuals were poor, then I would have been less tempted to purchase it. Infact, it is one of the reasons I love putting the disc back in and playing. The visuals are fantastic and have been specifically created for most of the songs.

[azzaman333]

I only notice them when they look glitchy.

[bs13690]

I think they are important and I am glad they are done well. The main time I notice them is when there is a long part with no instrument part for what I am playing.

Bottom line is if they were bad you would probably notice.

[TheHundredDollarHeadache]

GH5 had awful background visuals. They were essentially predesigned for EVERY song, so there was no variety. It was the same animation every time you played. You can't play songs at different venues. The camera angles don't change. It's literally the same. Every. Single. Time. All that changes is whatever character you pick.

GH's animations had their moments, especially Band Hero's.

The bolded is dead wrong. GH5 actually introduced the current GH menu system, which had you select difficulty/Hyperspeed/lefty flip, and venue, before the song selection screen. If RB3's Overshell had variable and independent Breakneck Speed as well as that venue select, it would be pretty much perfect.

You want to see awful? Power Gig makes GH and RB3 look like RB2. Look at the Powerless Giggers go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMPKquHwG-k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4DpVkXzXsg

The venues are pretty good, but that's about it. Note especially the close-up in the second video around 2:14 - the guitarist isn't even attempting to play along with the actual track.

I played GH5, and at the time didn't notice the visuals were bad - didn't even notice the visuals were the same within each song actually... Seriously, I'll have to boot it up again just to check it out now - if there were an option to turn off the background I would definitely use it often when I'm playing for score.

I think that GH5 was the GH game that introduced the Focus Mode, the modifier that blacks out the background.

Some people mention playing Frets on Fire. I don't play that game because of all the legality issues when you download the customs.