Rock Band Turns 5 Years Old! Stories From The Community

[Iceman71421]

Damn what an awesome kit

[dudemann14]

I'll start off by posting what I put into my "Rock Band story" on Rock Band World...

I've really had so many great times with Rock Band... I've played with people that work at Harmonix, been in tournaments and put on public shows of Rock Band jackassery, had many Rock Band get-togethers with friends and family, duelled against and gone for FBFCs with some of the best RB players there is, met numerous friends (a lot of whom I still am in contact with occasionally) and even someone I wanted to have a relationship with. Rock Band is really a game like no other. I know I already said this for my favorite song, but there's just been so many amazing experiences I've had with this game that it'd simply be unfair to put one on a pedestal as the best one. Hell, even any time I play a song I really enjoy or have a personal connection with, it's just such a great thing to me. With Rock Band, I connect with the music, the words, the instrumentation, with another part of myself that can't otherwise be touched, with another world altogether that can't be touched. Every time I play is a whole new amazing experience. I know this is a bit of a tangent that really isn't a "story", but I don't know where else something like this could go. I doubt anyone will ever read this, but I really do have such an appreciation for this game, it blows my mind sometimes. To have a bond with a computerized "band" and pressing down colored buttons along to the tune of a song? What? Anyway, I guess my favorite Rock Band story would have to be the on-going story of all my experiences I've had because of it. I hope that I can keep being able to play it and continue adding to the experiences for as long as possible.

...I guess it may end up getting read by somebody now after all.

It's kinda crazy to me that Rock Band is celebrating its 5 year anniversary... It seems like just yesterday that I went out and bought Rock Band 1 and fell in love with it. I know that the RBW thing I just put in above this may seem like it sums up my thoughts well enough, but I'd like to also flesh out my experiences with Rock Band like I've seen some people have done because I just have so much to say about it.

I started playing instrument-based games with Guitar Hero 2 when I was 13. I actually remember the first time I saw an ad for it... "Woman" by Wolfmother was blasting on the TV while Axel Steel was shredding on his guitar and everything was going crazy. Needless to say, this caught my attention (I was also a bit obsessed with that song at the time, so that helped a bit), so I told my parents that I wanted it for my Christmas present since my birthday had just passed (it came out on November 7th, my birthday is November 1st). I remember I was so excited to play it that I made them let me open it on Christmas Eve so I could play it sooner. I was immediately obsessed with it and spent every moment possible playing it, trying to get better at it. Initially I was awful at it... I could barely play on Easy and lingered on it for a while before moving up to Medium. I remember how I flipped out when I first beat the Easy career mode, ran through the house about how awesome I was. My parents thought I was crazy. I eventually got to Expert, which was quite the accomplishment to me. Took me forever to beat all the songs on that, but I had no issue with spending days trying to get more stars on songs and passing the final tiers. It was just so much fun to me. During this time, I also found GH1 (It was a lot more difficult to find it than I thought it would be) and bought GH:80s on its release day (went to Gamestop every day for a week straight because no one knew when it came out).

I suppose I'll fast forward to Rock Band 1's release since it IS a RB celebration after all... I first heard about RB1 right around its release, loved how it sounded and wanted it immediately. I had to wait as I did with GH2 for a couple months until my birthday though (the wait killed me). I actually bought an Xbox 360 specifically for RB, part of the reason why I had to wait. I made my parents take me straight home so I could tear open the big box of awesomeness and proceeded to play it for at least five hours a day (on school days, 10 on weekends), I was hooked. I started playing online and buying DLC after that Christmas and loved it. I still talk to some of the friends I made playing RB1 online actually. I met so many cool people through Rock Band. I actually met my online RB drummer once while on vacation and did the Endless Setlist with him, it was a blast.

Rock Band 2 came out right as I started high school. I ran home right after school ended to buy it and proceeded to play that like crazy as well. I think I played it more hours than I spent in school for a while. Around that time, I started having a lot of problems with school and in life in general. I was racially attacked daily at school by teachers and security there, family members died, lots of stuff went on, it was a rough time. But Rock Band really got me through all the hard times. Any time I was sad or mad or just hated everyone and everything, I could boot it up and forget all the crap and just immerse myself in the game and be happy. I know for a long time, playing RB was my escape from the world where I could just have a good time and enjoy the music and the experience. I'm not sure what may have happened to me if it wasn't for Rock Band. I really feel like I may not have gotten through everything had I not had it. I had mentioned in my RBW text that I met someone I wanted a relationship with through RB, that happened in this time and RB helped me get through the sadness I had of that not working out as well. I don't think I will ever play a single game as much as I played RB1 and 2 (except eventually RB3).

I went to a midnight release of RB3 (I believe it was actually for a Call of Duty game or something, but they let me pick it up anyway), I was heavily awaiting it since the day it was announced. I actually immediately went to my GameStop the day it was announced and reserved the keyboard bundle there. I still have played RB3 like crazy and love it to death. I unfortunately can't play RB3 now as much as I played the first two since I now have a daughter (who I hope will play a future RB game with me one day) and have to try to earn money to live and stuff, but I still make sure to play it at least a couple times a week and still always have a great time with it and follow the forums on a daily basis. No matter how long RB continues to release new DLC, whether that's a few months or a few years, it'll always have a special place in my heart and I'll continue to play it as long as possible. Thank you Harmonix for an amazing 5+ years of RB and your other games as well and I hope to continue giving you all the money I can for years to come. You've brought me so many amazing experiences and awesome music over the years. I know there's more I wanted to say, but I'm sure this is already more than long enough.

[KEWB]

I've been a gamer literally for as long as I can remember (my earliest memory is playing Super Mario Bros. 2 with my older brother). I've played tons of games from various genres, but none really affected me like Rock Band has. I still remember Christmas of 07 opening up that giant box and seeing my first plastic instruments (aside from the GH3 Les Paul I got for my birthday a week earlier). Even though those Rock Band 1 instruments failed often and were RMAd frequently, no other instrument opening compared to the feeling of opening that first bundle. Before playing Rock Band I listened practically exclusively to rap of all things. Rock Band introduced me to new music that I found myself loving, to the point it inspired me to start learning real guitar. With the RBN, it still introduces me to new music to this day by allowing independent artists to get some well-deserved recognition. To some, especially a lot of the other hardcore and old school gamers I come across, Rock Band is sort of glanced over, viewed as a fad, a passing trend, a casual game that's fun for parties but not for hardcore gamers. I have no problem with their opinions and realize that's probably the case for most who play it. To me though it's so much more than that. It made me more open minded to different kinds of music and inspired me to learn a new skill that will stick with me for the rest of my life. I don't know if I would call it my favorite game of all time or anything, but it definitely affected me more than any other game. I've also sunk more hours and money into this series than any other game, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

[TheSkittlerist]

Might as well add in my 5 cents on this....
Welp, I'm 14, Probably one of the younger members on here, pretty normal, and I love music thanks to Rock band.
I got guitar hero 3 maybe ~3 years ago for the Wii, and never really got too into it, let my friend who lived near me borrow it for a while. Well, near the end of may(2012) I started going to his house more and more often and I noticed him playing a lot when I came over, and he was playing on hard! This was amazing to me, seeing as how I could barely manage medium, so I started taking turns with him playing it every time I went to his house, and before I knew it, I was playin on hard.

Well, I borrowed an xBox360 guitar controller from another friend of mine, and dug out an old copy of Rock Band I got a while back (I had the drums, although I never got into them too much) and within a week or so, I beat about half the songs on expert. Well, soon I brought the guitar and drums over the my first friend's house, and he was really into the drums, so we couldn ow both play at the same time, with different interests, and I decided to just leave the drums at his house.


Soon I got pretty good (In my terms, I'm nowehere near as good as a lot of people on here) and I beat all the songs on Rock Band, and then I got Rock Band 3. The first thing I noticed was this new "Pro Mode" feature.

I planned to get this Pro Guitar as soon as possible, but about ~2 months ago, my mother died, and I took a break from that idea for a while dealing with family matters (Although, I've never been a really emotional person, as terrible as it may seem.) And well, about a month ago I finally got the Pro Guitar, and now I can play up to about a 4-starred song on medium Pro Guitar, and I'm planning to get an actual Fender and Mustang amp for christmas.

[sonicnerd23]

Here's something you fine folks might also appreciate: for this one humor website I often frequent, I wrote up a retrospective of the 5-years' worth of games put out since Rock Band's release.

[Sayburr]

Here's something you fine folks might also appreciate: for this one humor website I often frequent, I wrote up a retrospective of the 5-years' worth of games put out since Rock Band's release.

That is a great retrospective review of the series!

[Ultrace]

A little late to the party, but I'll chime in. My wife and I had enjoyed Harmonix games for a while by the time Rock Band came out. I religiously followed magazines and online info about the game, and when they announced that the tour would be heading across country, I made sure we caught them when they pulled into Portland, OR.

We grabbed two of our in-town friends and on a chilly October afternoon, we were inaugurated into the wonder that is Rock Band. I sang Dani California and was terrible, I played drums on Black Hole Sun and sucked -- but it was a blast. I came back here and made a massive double-post about my thoughts on the game, overwhelmingly positive and decrying the lengthy wait until it was actually released.

Here is a picture of me (younger, of course), warming up for recording a video at the tour. (If it looks like I'm not having fun, it's because I'm concentrating and no one told me at the time they were taking my picture.) Here's a picture of some of the HMX tour staff showing us novices how it's done -- not sure who any of them are.

At the tour, the four of us even recorded an interview that was featured on Harmonix's official "Shortcut to Stardom" series (the Portland installment.) - there's a link here and we show up around 2:11. I'm the guy who can't stop talking - which should surprise no one. You can also see some gameplay footage of us tackling Suffragete City.

Out of curiosity, any other bands from those Tour videos still around? Where is Hot Pickle now?

We knew one thing coming out of that tour: Rock Band was going to be a part of our lives for as long as it ran and now, hundreds of songs, half a dozen games and plenty of instruments later, that's still the case. I watch the DLC announcements every Friday, and we fervently pick up whatever tickles our fancy. Long live Rock Band.

Also, not strictly Rock Band-related, but every get-together I've ever had the pleasure of with Harmonix folks at PAX has been the most phenomenal experience. They are an excellent bunch of people (and really horrible human beings when you get them in a game of Cards Against Humanity), and reason enough to head to PAX if you didn't have enough.

[veng]

On my 30th birthday, my good friend brought over a copy of Rock Band. This was on November 16th, 2007 which was 4 days before it was to be released. She knew I was a Guitar Hero 1&2 nut and was sorely disappointed that GH3 would be by a different group of developers.

Being an awesome friend and a current HMXer, she brought her early copy over to my place (alongside 16 other crazy nut jobs) and we proceeded to kick major ass. She then let me keep that copy, which I fell in love with immediately.

Who knew that four months later I would be working alongside her at Harmonix itself as I dropped my career as a graphic artist to become a lowly QA-grunt?

So, Rock Band was my start into the games industry which, while it hasn't always treated me very lightly, has made my life so much more fulfilling and rewarding than I thought it could be. I have had the privilege to work alongside all these amazing folks (and, yes, that includes everyone on the Community team) and I chalk up my two years here as some of the best of my life.

Thanks for everything, guys!

[Mumrat]

I started out on Guitar Hero II and when I heard of a full band game coming out, I immediately had to preorder it so I would be the first on the block to have it. It turned out though that the Playstation 2 version was rather watered down and that just wasn't going to cut it. The next day, I sold my PS2 and the Rock Band for it and went out and purchased the 360 bundle as well as a 360. I was alone in my obsession for a little bit till I began introducing the game to new people like my boss, brother, best friends, and future wife. This is when things really took off and our Rock Band phenomenon began. Rock Band parties began once DLC built up and now have become an every two month or so tradition with 10-25 of us piling into my brothers basement, jacking the souround sound up, having some brews, and truly letting loose our inner rock stars. Now I look at my collection which is about to hit 1,000 in the next two weeks pending DLC I enjoy and know I have never loved a game as much as I love this one. I will always be a Rock Band fanatic for as long as the game is around and far beyond. Thank you Rock Band for the huge impact you have had on mine and so many others I knows lives (and thank you for always sucking my wallet dry on pay day, you damn leeches!

[nascargo19]

One time I 4 starred TTFAF.