HMXJohnlok said...
HMXJohnlok said...
E3 was great. Parts of the convention were attended a little sparsely, but spending time in the MTV/Harmonix booth, you'd have never known. We entertained a constant stream of press and visitors with hands on demos of Rock Band 2. Our floor space was almost always packed - my apologies to the other booths in the area... we were loud.
Many of us showed up on Monday, although a few hardy souls (Sean, John D, and some MTV folks) arrived in LA before the weekend to attend VH1's Rock Honors - yes, that means Sean saw The Who live twice in one week. Wtf, right? After some Monday set up, we had a late night dinner followed by some time relaxing at the hotel bar, where we met Blizzard VP of Design, Rob Pardo. Cool, eh? Yeah, I had a bit of a nerd-out, although Dan and Helen did most of the talking.
Tuesday was when the action begun. Lots of hands-on demos were held in our amazing Rock Band 2 room. There are pics and videos of it out there somewhere, which I'll add to the bottom if I have time later. We did a live Gamespot broadcast as well, and totally kicked Everlong's butt, even though I dropped a stick halfway through the song. Late Tuesday, after all of the E3 fun, was followed up by a private party at Alex's suite downtown. I got to meet a ton of the MTV folks (most of whom I knew only by name on e-mails and such). It's always great to put personalities and faces to names.
Wednesday was a day to remember. If anything else happened that day, it is inconsequential, unworthy to be discussed, since it was entirely eclipsed by the legendary The Who show at The Orpheum. The Who came to play, and they totally brought the house down. I am still trying to figure out how I managed to get a job where attending a concert of such proportion is considered "working."
I don't mean to gloat, but the show was simply astounding. Check out some of the reviews of the show (the ArsTechnica blog and Jeff Green's blog were particularly well-written... plus I used to read Jeff Green's stuff all the time back when I had a Computer Gaming World subscription). There are some pictures and videos floating around, as well as a few choice Daltrey/Townshend quotes.
Thursday wrap-up meant lots of packing, prepping for shipments, and that sort of thing. We managed to get 90-95% of the work done, so we had the rest of the evening to relax and have fun, and I even got to sleep in until 9:30 on Friday! It's a good, thing, too, since we were out late carousing with a few of the good LA folks we met.
It is really nice to be back, and I must say it is an absolute pleasure and relief to finally be able to talk about all of the features now. The setlist is incredible, and the game looks and feels incredibly polished right now. I can't wait to start unveiling the rest of this year's DLC. There are some epic weeks in your future. Be patient.
-HMXJohnlok
HMXJohnlok said...
Not to sound like a broken record, but I should emphasize once again how super busy everyone over here is right now. The gaming industry is infamous for its nearly universal "crunch" periods. However, this is a bit misconceived. While it's true that most studios build in a "crunch" period to their development cycles, it's much the same in other industries: film, business, etc. Crunch periods are not uncommon in any industry that has to pump out a product. So why is it that the game industry crunch became so infamous?
Some conjecture on my part: first, we're still a relatively new industry. Many of the first video game companies were independent start-ups. Places like Infocom, Bioware, and Harmonix were started by innovative, creative people. Notice that "business-oriented" (I should note, however, that Alex and Eran are some of the keenest businessmen I've ever met...) was not listed as an attribute. Many of the folks who started up and continue to start up gaming companies have a vision, something to say, and a product to build, but not necessarily the business-savvy to back it up - read up a little bit on the history of the guys over at Penny Arcade to see what I mean. The longevity of the companies themselves hinges on the ability to transform and adopt business and marketing strategies. Without this adaptability, gaming companies can't survive for long.
What has been interesting for me - I've been alive almost as long as the industry - is watching the various companies start, develop, merge, and even sometimes falter. The industry itself is learning how to do business, and I think that, ultimately, strong gaming companies run strong businesses. Video game companies that make it big are in an interesting position, too. The businesses looking to acquire them aren't terribly interested in changing things about the way those companies make video games. Alternately, the companies acquired aren't interested in the finer business details. They just want to do what they've always done - make great games.
Everyone grows - the companies that make games, and the games themselves. Ten years ago, a game that was a labor of love among a core group of dedicated folks is now a game that's part of a well-oiled machine. Some of my favorite games of all time were some of the buggiest and least polished. Industry standards have changed with the demands of the industry. What was once a niche hobby is now a mainstream activity. Production value has gone up, so it has become important to make efficient every step of the process.
How does crunch fit in? How is it different now than it was? I would argue that, on the whole, video game companies have matured. Crunch is a calculated step - it's no longer a desperate necessity. Video game developers are, oddly enough (I only say that because most of us grew up playing video games and avoiding work), some of the most dedicated workers of any industry. But not even they want to pull in 90+ hour weeks for the rest of their lives.
HMXJohnlok said...
***Q: Could someone please leak the secret online band leader determination criteria? I’m beginning to think it’s based on ineptitude or life-time number of band-mates kicked for no apparent reason.
A: Dan T: It's a complex formula based on the types of rockband.com posts:
Leader priority = (number of times you didn't complain about DLC announcements) - (number of death threats towards HMX employees) + (number of times hmxjohnlok cries)
Seriously though, it's a combination of factors. We'll usually merge smaller groups into bigger ones, so if two people are playing on one console and one person is playing on another console, the console with two people on it will become the leader's console. We also do some Quality of Service checks to make sure the leader is the person with the best internet connection.
Our general design theory here is that if you desperately want to be the leader, you can do this by inviting friends into your game - otherwise you have to take your chances in an area where everybody wants to be the lead.
***Q: If you could challenge anyone in the world (living or dead) to a game of Rock Band, who would it be and which instrument?
A1: JoeKelly: After authoring the Grateful Dead, easily Jerry Garcia, guitar. I'm willing to bet I'd be able to recreate his songs with more rhythmic accuracy than he could.
A2: Chris C: I’d challenge Lenin to “Run to the Hills” on Guitar.
A3: Jeff Somers: Jimi Hendrix, vocals and guitar. I'd just want to see him play. He'd mod the guitar to add 943 buttons & he'd use all of them.
***Q: Who is the best vocalist at Harmonix and what are their high scores on the Boston Pack?
A: John Veneron: That’s a good question. I have no idea. I seriously have no idea. Nope, no clue whatsoever. PS – I love Boston.
A2: John Drake: -Sigh- it’s probably Johnlok, but it’s hard to play with him singing. I mean, he gets SUCH A BIG HEAD no one else can see the screen…
***Q: Since I assume most people on staff also play the game, and probably together, I bet you have some stories to tell. What was your most memorable moment playing with/against another staff member?
A1: Chris C: Early on in the project I found myself on vocals with the lead singer for Honest Bob (Dan Schmidt) on drums. As his song “I Get By” had gone into the game the day before, we decide to give it a try. I don’t know if you know this but “I Get By” is one of the hardest songs to sing in the game, and this was one of the first times I had heard it. Jump ahead two minutes, and I’m butchering his poor song. He is both completely heartbroken at the abuse his music is taking and thinks that I’m doing it on purpose. Of course, this causes me to laugh uncontrollably. Let me tell you, never tick off a man with sticks. Now he’s shouting at me to “cut it out,” I’m laughing so hard that my singing keeps getting worse, and our guitarist is visibly edging towards the door. Mercifully we fail out before any further damage is caused, but I’m forbidden from playing that song again.
A2: JoeKelly: I'm sure the coders/artists wouldn't be happy with this, but glitches stand out in my memory of the most entertaining and memorable things. When the singer glows like a being of pure energy, or a polygon from someone's hand flies into the crowd, it's always commented on. Sometimes seeing things broken is unusually humorous.
***Q: Which member of the Harmonix staff does the most stage moves when playing? Is there any picture evidence of this?
A1: David Goodrich: 
A2: Dan T: 
***Q: Has there ever been a moment when you were online playing and were amazed at what the users have created as far as characters, band names, or that they beat a specific part of a song?
A1: Robert Butts: The banner covered with pictures of players and their in-game characters that Apples and the community sent to us was amazing. It was really great to see the various characters and logos that people had created. The time and effort that everyone had put into their creations was striking.
A2: Jeff Dishman: One time when we were testing online play for Rock Band Europe, one of the people we were playing with on the live servers had Conan O'Brien as their character. It was a spitting image of Conan (and he became the drummer of our band).
***Q: Everyone nitpicks at their own creations. What’s the one thing that bugs you the most about the game that no one else will probably ever notice?
A: Dan T: Just one thing?
In the World Tour, there are a bunch of 10 song or so "Showcase" gigs that have very generic names. Up until a couple of days before launch, these were showcase gigs for record labels that contained artists signed to those labels (for example, instead of Jukebox Hits, it was the Such and Such Record Label Showcase containing all of the bands on that label). Just as we were wrapping things up, we found out that there had been a snafu with our legal and writing teams and we had to rename them to generic names at the last minute.
It's sad, because part of the real life experience of touring with a mid-size band is playing label showcases. Nobody will ever know unless they look up the artists and see that they're all on the same label, but I see it every time I play through the World Tour.
***Q: “Alex and Eran formed Harmonix initially not to develop video games, but rather to create new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music.” – HMX Website
First, thanks for that. Second, to what extent do you think this has been realized with Rock Band? Is this the pinnacle of music gaming, or can/will you take it even further?
A: Alex Rigopulos: We definitely have not reached the pinnacle yet, not even close. As expansive as Rock Band is, there were dozens of ideas for the game that the crew at Harmonix were excited about that we simply didn't have time to pursue in the first installment. We're just getting warmed up.
***Q: Having worked on and having played this game throughout the development process, are you guys still amazed at just how awesome this game really is?
A: Dan T: Definitely. It's really rare that you'll work on something for two years and ever want to see it again, but with Rock Band we all end up playing the game in social settings very regularly and enjoy ourselves (well, except for when "Say it Ain't So" comes on, but that's also because it's the first song in the game and we've heard it thousands of times).
***Q: Are there plans for a second Grateful Dead Pack? Before the game was released it was said that there would be somewhere around 18 GD songs available for Rock Band, and one of the rumored songs that wasn’t in the released pack was “Alabama Getaway.” Are these clues to a second Dead Pack?
A: John Drake: We’re committed to delivering the rest of our promised GD tracks! We’re psyched that Rock Band has such a huge variety of music coming out in the next few months and the grateful dead is definitely a part of that plan!
---------------------------------------
Credits (in order of appearance):
Heather Wilson: Audio Producer (DLC)
Jeremy Bridge: Composer/Sound Designer
Jeff Allen: Composer/Sound Designer
Izzy Maxwell: Composer/Sound Designer
Matt Clement: Quality Assurance Lead: DLC
Dan Teasdale: Senior Designer (Lead: Rock Band 2)
Chris Canfield: Playtest Coordinator
JoeKelly: Composer/Sound Designer
Jeff Somers: Software Developer
John Veneron: Community Development (HMXJohnlok)
John Drake: Harmonix Public Relations Coordinator
David Goodrich: Media Artist
Robert Butts: Quality Assurance
Jeff Dishman: Quality Assurance
Alex Rigopulos: CEO
HMXJohnlok said...
Thanks to NoD for compiling and arranging this Q&A!
The community team has culled together a number of questions asked by Harmonix fans on the RockBand.com/forums. We were able to nail down a number of HMX employees (despite their busy schedules working on Rock Band 2!) for answers to some of those questions.
***Q: In regards to the team that makes the DLC… How many hours a week do you work? I mean it seems that sometimes you guys may forget what sunlight is based on how many songs we get.
A1: Heather Wilson: The team has a grown a lot since we started putting out weekly DLC. For the most part we work really hard to give everyone a normal week. When we are working on a project as well as DLC we have to crunch sometimes, which means a few 11 hour days and possibly a Saturday or two. Thankfully this is kept to a minimum. The main goal is to keep the team happy so that the tracks stay fun.
A2: Jeremy Bridge: Unless we have a crazy deadline, just a basic 40 hour week, we’ve got a pretty big department these days.
A3: Jeff Allen: Sound engineers hate sunlight by default. Most workweeks work out to be borderline normal, unless we’re working on an especially big project. But if we feel like keeping out of the sun, we prefer to stay at work anyways to get schnockered and discuss our favorite Rock Band note colors.
A4: Izzy Maxwell: Yes, we put a lot of work into each week's DLC, but have almost tripled the size of the audio team so most of us only have to work regular 40 hour weeks, though. For the Rock Band Disc, all the guitar and bass were authored by Devon or me. Now we have a team of 9 working on guitar and bass every day. We also moved to a nicer office where we have huge windows... which helps with the sunlight =)
***Q: Out of all the aspects of song creation for the game, including licensing, charting, in-game graphics, and character movements (among others), what part of the process is the most frustrating, and what part takes the longest?
A1: Heather: Licensing is definitely the longest part of the process. There are multiple groups that have to approve the use of each track including the band, the band’s management, and their label. The character movements are built into the system now because we are developing for an already released platform, Rock Band. So it’s a matter of the person working on the authoring deciding on the intensity of the song, or part of song, and selecting the correct animations. The most frustrating part is working on a song that is a challenge musically, then again those tracks are also the most rewarding when they’re finished because when they turn out to be fun and people tell us they like them it’s like, “wow, that was totally worth it!”
A2: Jeremy Bridge: The Grateful Dead [was a nightmare to author].
A3: Jeff Allen: Licensing is a nightmare! That’s why I’m glad to be on the drum team. Authoring the drummer animations can be painstaking but watching the little drum goblin perform them never ceases to fill me with awe and fear.
A4: Izzy Maxwell: Authoring the guitar is the most time consuming part of the process. Depending on the song (and the authorer’s musical taste) this can either be the most fun and rewarding, or difficult and frustrating experience. I, for example, stayed late working on the NIN pack, ‘cause I love those songs so much - I wanted every little thing to be perfect. There was one pack in particular (I won't mention which one, but let's just say it rhymes with Hateful Shed), that made me want to quit my job...
***Q: How about some info on how the success of DLC has changed the process? Is it mostly the same? Has licensing become easy enough where you can’t code the available songs as fast as they are licensed? When there’s a band that you’ve had success with in the past, is it pretty easy to get another song?
A1: Heather: The process of making a track has become a bit more streamlined because we are working on them so frequently. We’ve also divided up into mini-teams based on track parts. We used to have everyone work on everything but now team members can specialize. Bands will often send us more than one track when they send stems. It’s really cool to be able to choose which tracks we want to use when. In those situations we will license more than one track at the time we’re ready to use them.
A2: Jeremy Bridge: The biggest difference is that we don’t have to chase artists too much anymore. We’ve made something special and musicians want to be involved in it. We get a wider variety, bigger names, hipper names, and more masters than we know what to do with! The only other difference is the quick turnaround time on everything, but we’ve got a pretty tight audio team and killer DLC QA to make that happen.
A3: Jeff Allen: The need for constant DLC has created the need for a much bigger team. On previous titles our audio team was maybe two people. We now have entire guitar/drum/vocal teams! This also ensures fresh ideas and keeps the 2 or 3 audio peeps from strangling each other.
Major label bands that approach us with pre-prepared tracks are much more likely to get in the game, since securing masters is often a big hurdle. And yet we are also careful to not slack by publishing the same band over and over again.
A4: Izzy Maxwell: I don't know much about how DLC has affected licensing, but it does now give us the chance to do things we wouldn't do on disc, like release an entire album (which I think is very cool), or spotlight a band that isn't that big but is a favorite of ours. It also means that we're constantly working. We had to come up with a lot of new systems for finalizing songs. For the Rock Band disc we had months to play and listen to songs, deciding if we like how it was authored and mixed. Now we have about a week to mix, author, and finalize each song. A few little mistakes have slipped through, but we try to take time to examine every song each week.
***Q: Which DLC song or pack was the team most excited about?
A1: Heather: The team loves working on full albums. It’s really satisfying to be able to take a completed work and turn into something else that adds to it. Besides that different people get excited about different bands and tracks. Favorite bands or tracks are always fun to work on. I was most excited about the “Still Alive” release because it’s a fun song, we got to work with another developer, and I am huge fan of Jonathan Coulton. Not only that but getting to offer the track for free was a great way to say thank you to all of our players.
A2: Jeremy Bridge: Boston was definitively killer! Aside from how exciting it was to be able to work on such a huge band, the tracks were pristine. There were no flubbed notes, no vocal cracks, nothing but brilliant, unadulterated musicianship. Aside from that, NIN and the Pixies are at the top of my list, just because they’re two of my favorite bands and it’s always cool to hear your heroes raw.
A3: Jeff Allen: I think the full album downloads tend to excite the team the most, not only b/c of the quality of music (Priest, Cars, Pixies), but b/c with the albums we’re finally seeing the Rock Band dream coming to fruition – letting the player experience the emotional ebb and flow of an entire album as it was meant to be heard, but with the added intensity of getting right inside the music…. Yeah!
A4: Izzy Maxwell: I was most excited about the NIN pack, because they are one of my favorite bands, but I think the Boston pack songs are the best for gameplay.
***Q: What percentage of your “8 hour work day” is actually spent in the back room “QA testing” songs for release? Also, how can I get that job?
A: Matt Clement: Well, first of all, I don’t work in a back room, but more of a glorified hallway. Secondly, I’m a QA lead on DLC, which means I create test plans and make sure any issues with upcoming DLC songs are checked out and fixed. So, in the end, I spend 2-3 hours of my workday “QA testing” DLC tracks for release. Other testers, though, spend up to 6 hours on an average day testing. Note that there’s a significant difference between “testing” and “playing”. When testing DLC, we don’t pick and choose which songs to play, we test EVERY DLC track that gets released on EVERY instrument, EVERY difficulty and EVERY mode of play. That means that I often have the privilege of playing or singing the same track dozens of times. Having songs stuck in my head is merely an occupational hazard.
If you think you’re cut out for QA testing, ask yourself a few questions. Do you have excellent attention to detail? How about a good work ethic? Are you passionate about gaming and/or music? If you’ve ever managed to find bugs while playing your favorite video games, and answered yes to the above questions, QA testing might be your bag. If you’re interested in applying, head to http://www.harmonixmusic.com and click on the “Jobs” link. In the meantime, keep rocking your face off!
***Q: Compromises are always made when deciding which features to include so that the product can get out in a timely manner. Can you tell us about any features that you would have liked to have included but couldn’t? If you can’t mention such features because youw ant to revisit them and keep it secret, were there any features orc concepts that you implemented, tested, and then realized that they sucked hard? If so, can you humor us with those?
A: Dan T: Oh man, where do I start!
My "changes" wish-list after Rock Band 1 was very similar to the feedback we saw on RockBand.com (characters can play any instrument, solo & online band world tour, bands don't have a character as a leader, solutions to Metallica and GGHT showing up in random setlists), but there's also a couple of other things I'd like to try. I want to find a way to have a Bass Tour, but without having to play through 40 simple songs to get to 20-30 awesome songs. I also want to find a way to integrate DLC into the game beyond Mystery Setlists and a single venue. I think people will be excited when they’re able to see the awesome ways we implemented changes into Rock Band 2 to address some of these concerns and ideas.
In terms of Rock Band 1 features that we implemented, then cut because they sucked: for a few weeks, we used to send pitch information for singers over the network. This way, if you were singing flat, the master vocalist would also sing flat on all of the remote consoles. It was absolutely hilarious to the point of tears, which probably wasn't a good sign when you're trying to make an authentic band experience. We played with it for a few weeks to try and make it more reasonable, but in the end it was too much like comedy hour and less like an authentic band experience, so we cut it. I'd love to see it come back as a cheat.
Q: How is the decision made as to what ‘tier’ of difficulty a song should fall into? Is it based on a set of playtester’s abilities at the Harmonix offices, or is there some sort of system that you have in place that, for instance, removes certain notes or beats from a chart?
A: Chris C: While it varies a little bit each project, the on-disk setlist order is 80% difficulty tuning and 20% making a good mix tape. First all of the songs are authored up, focusing on Expert. We make a rough difficulty order from these. Then we start swapping and moving nearby songs until we have something that we'd be happy to release as a standalone album outside of the context of the game. It has to click aesthetically and spread genres between as many tiers as possible. And, of course, it has to ramp the player up to be the best darned [Guitarist, Drummer, Vocalist] they can be, without throwing difficulty walls in their way.
We then playtest this, make more changes, and playtest it again.
Generally after expert order is sorted we back-port the other difficulty levels to match. The exception to this is the first tier or two of easy. There are just some songs which reduce really well for easy but are actually quite tricky on expert. Because the first 15 minutes of the experience are the most important, easy takes priority here. When this happens, two or three songs on expert might have a few notes removed or intricate fingerings straightened to fit their first-tier status.
Vocals are a little different, in that the player's ability to sing a song is almost entirely dependent upon how well they know it. Thus for vocals we tend to front load the list with songs the player is likely to know, with memorable choruses and verses. It is very subjective, so we get our core team of Harmonix singers to do the first pass, with external playtesters taking up the slack on a second pass.
The difficulty rating for various combinations of two or more band members are derived from the solo difficulties. This uses a secret formula locked in a safe buried deep below MIT, only accessible to Harmonix founders, robotic superheroes, and the interns that actually do the work.
All of this is dependent upon extensive playtesting, of course. For a full pass, we generally get 10 playthroughs of every song in every difficulty level for every instrument. Then we make fixes, and do it again. Each full pass like this takes 400 hours or so of playtester time. The game wouldn't be anywhere near what it is now if it weren't for the people who were willing to come in and spend 4 - 6 hours playing through a campaign alone in a small room. From myself, Jon, Gordon, Matt, and Jyllian (the historical playtest team)... we salute you.
PS… DLC just goes where the authoring team thinks it should go. As it isn’t part of a progression, we don’t usually externally play test it.
HMXJohnlok said...
Whoa! I haven't posted any comments since we went to NYC. I've been super busy... first a trip to NYC, then a vacation overseas. Like I said, totally busy couple of weeks!
Barring any sorts of last minute changes or anything like that, NoD's Q&A should go up tomorrow. I'll be posting it in my blog, and in the weekly blog thread, so keep an eye out there. Should make for a light, fun read.
Any of you have sweet plans for the 4th of July? I was thinking about going home but driving+flying is too expensive, even for a man of my vast financial means (epiclulz).
So, yeah, like every other sap following the recent announcement of Diablo III by Blizzard, I just reinstalled Diablo II. That game takes me back to LAN parties, lots and lots of pop and pizza consumption (amazingly I haven't developed diabetes... yet), and ninja-looting my friends. I have a 22 paladin on USEast (if you're super smart, you just might be able to figure out who my character is on battle.net).
Oh, and Rock Band 2 was announced (finally!). Make sure to keep an eye on HMXSpraynwipe's (Dan Teasdale, lead designer for RB2) rock blog over the coming weeks+months. There will surely be some tidbits there for everyone to enjoy. The game is looking and feeling great - I can't wait for more details to get out there, and I especially can't wait for people to get their hands on it later this year.
Seeya tomorrow!
HMXJohnlok said...
Henry, Max and I are heading out to NYC this weekend. In my deepest fantasies we three will stumble and stammer our way through adventures far too big for our Cambridge sensibilities. Without knowing, we will foil the plots of New York's most sinister criminal minds.
Our true intent will be a mystery, so our "enemies" (I quote because we will never actually know they exist) will assume the worst of our secret and pedigreed allegiances. Our complete disregard for our surroundings will leave their assassins befuddled, dismayed, and will instill in them an undeserved level of respect and fear.
Each of us, in turn, will win the hearts of cold double agents, damsels fair and pure, and jaded law-enforcement officials with our ineffable good-natures and plucky humor.
After twenty-four hours of this, we'll have a wrap-up montage where we reach our destination (which, really, was just a plot device), take care of "business" and come home. We will, of course, be greeted as heroes.
It could happen.
The actual plan is to fly in after work Friday evening, hang out over night and then work a station over at the Nintendo Store. Slightly less glamorous than my fantasies, but it should still prove to be a good time.
HMXJohnlok said...
Did you wish your father a happy Father's Day? I hope so. Just a simple blog today!
Weekly album recap:
Week 1: Heart - Greatest Hits
Week 2: Huey Lewis & The Newss - "Sports"
Week 3: Tom Petty & The Hearbreakers - Greatest Hits
Week 4: Bjork - Debut
Week 5: Gorillaz - Gorillaz (this week's choice!)
I think I already have next week planned with maybe a Modest Mouse album.
What have I been listening to apart from my album-a-week?
Pixies - "Doolittle"
The Cars - "The Cars"
Black Keys "Girl is on My Mind"
The Police (always on my playlist)
Leeni (Seattle based 8-bit pop artist: leeni.us (definitely check her out. I particularly loved "Raw Footage."
What's on your playlist today?
HMXJohnlok said...
Father's Day is coming soon. If you're stingy and lazy like me, at least be sure to give him a call!
I have band practice tonight. We just started, of course, so we're mostly working on covers of songs. We're working on song 3 - Tom Petty's "Breakdown." Should be a nice, laid back song. Not too hard.
So far we've covered a Smashing Pumpkins ("Today") song and a Black Keys song ("Girl is On My Mind").
Any suggestions for cool songs that aren't too tough for a new band? :)
HMXJohnlok said...
This week's album: Bjork's "Debut"
I've never had a full album of hers, so I'm looking forward to giving it a listen.
I was thinking about sound tracks for video games earlier. The Penny Arcade episode: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness was actually the reason I started thinking about sound tracks. It is, simply put, amazing. I remember seeing a small demo of the game a while back. It was cool, but Jeff Tymoschuk's (the composer) work on the project was, by far, what impressed me the most.
I imagine that music composition for games is a thankless task. I played WoW over a period of a couple years, and I admit that I eventually turned the music off. Once I made the switch from casual to hardcore, it was not functionally feasible to have music playing all the time. There was no offense intended to the music (which I loved while I was leveling up), it's just that music can, at times, become expendable.
Not in every game, though. There were a few games that I played where I absolutely had to have the score blasting. A few examples:
Starcraft - oddly enough, the race-specific music really got my blood (BLOOD!? NOT FUNNY!!) pumping. Each had a feel that made sense for who you were playing at the time. The terran music had a bit of an industrial feel, and so on.
Baldur's Gate series (especially 2) - Michael Hoenig threw together a score that fit your zone type and encounter. Battle music, wilderness music. Music for entering the City Gates, music for your romances, et cetera. I have most of the score on a playlist somewhere. Turning the music off in this game is blasphemy.
How about you guys? Any games you absolutely need the soundtracks cranking for?
HMXJohnlok said...
Alex Navarro started today. We're calling 6/9 his birthday from now on. Remind me I said that next June. We managed to get him a desk and a computer all in the first day, so I'd say that's a win!
What's awesome about new hires is that it generally means I get to spend at least an hour during the first day playing Rock Band. I know you're thinking, "not even Rock Band is better than working on the forums," but our game is just that damn good. 4srsly. Where, other than Harmonix, can you relax and play songs mysterious and magical for an hour out of the day?
Some of you may think that we bask in the glory of all our unannounced tracks, and the truth is that we do. Sort of. On one hand, it's a cool feeling when somebody requests a song you know is in the pipeline. On the other, however, it's torturous not being able to say what's coming up. We'd love to announce tracks earlier than we do - honest! - but we've learned a couple of things along the way. One example: people get pissed off when something gets delayed or you can't deliver exactly as planned. Who'd'a thunk?
Another week, another album selection. Max seems to think I would enjoy a Pavement album. I took a good listen to a couple tracks - definitely sounds like some easy summer listening (which we need... it's hot as all balls up here in Boston right now). The vocals aren't really my thing but the music just sort of cruises, bobbing along to the pulse of the summer heat.
But maybe I'll go with something else. I've started a trend of going with some classic rock/easy 80s tracks (with Tom Petty, Huey Lewis, Heart so far), so I think it's time for an era switcharoo. I kinda want to go with another female artist to keep things balanced. Bjork, anyone? I should call my sister. She would know what to do.
HMXJohnlok said...
Much of what I'm able to recall of my childhood is couched in some sort of music (I guess, really, pop culture). I consider it a measurement of time - oh, 6th grade? That's when I was really into The Beatles.
Most of the music I remember listening to was either stuff my dad would have playing on tapes in the car or my sisters would play after school. The Cars, The Police, Yes, Blood Sweat & Tears, Huey Lewis & The News, Ace of Bass, The Offspring, They Might Be Giants, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Tom Petty, Genesis, Heart, Boston, Cheap Trick (Dream Police is one of my all-time favorite songs), Queen, Sound Garden, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Greenday, Nirvana, Styx, Steppenwolf, Deep Purple, Johnny Horton (hah!), Harry Belafonte, The Who, The Beatles, Ozzy Osbourne...
...the list goes on.
Who got you into music, and what did they get you into?
HMXJohnlok said...
After much debate and soul searching, I have decided on this week's Summer Album: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Greatest Hits. Why the greatest hits you ask? Because, well, uh, every song on that album is freaking awesome. HMXHenry brought in the CD for my enjoyment, and I'm psyched.
The forums have been abuzz with talk of Harmonix's next new project. Well, I'm here to enlighten you.
Rock Band: Barbershop
CAMBRIDGE, Mass - June 4, 2008 – Harmonix Music Systems, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), announced
Rock Band: Barbershop today, as the next evolutionary step in rhythmic-action vocal gameplay. In RB: BS, hook up four microphones to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms for four-part knock-out harmony.
Bonus features: Poetry. We have totally revamped our phoneme detection system. It's so good now that we have fully authored poetry in game! Recite Ginsberg's "Howl," E.E. Cummings' "Spring," and for the first time ever, RB: BS offers you the master-versions of the ENTIRE catalogue of Shakespeare's Sonnets! Like hell we'd give you covers of Shakespeare!
And that's not all: sing in rounds! With state-of-the-art track and HUD technology, players can now sing in rounds!
Be on the lookout for smash-round hits:
- Row, Row, Row Your Boat
- Three Blind Mice
===AND!!===
- Middle English hit: Sumer Is Icumen In (Cuckoo Song)
Rock Band is a true music platform, with over 12 million songs sold as downloadable content since its initial release. There are currently over 140 songs available for download in the Rock Band Music Store and Harmonix continues to release new music every week. Add Rock Band: Barbershop to your music collection!
Contact MTV press for more details!
HMXJohnlok said...
Wow, it's June. The weather can officially be nice 100% of the time!
Thanks for the album suggestions from last blog. I'm not sure what I'm going to go with yet. I may check out some of the iTunes shares here and see what else people are listening to. I'll probably ask Jeremy what I should listen t - he has indefatigably good taste. I'll fill you in with this week's album choice once I've selected!
hmxsean and HMXJohnD were at the MTV movie awards. The progeny of this trip: a delectable photo of the two of them playing RBWii with Wolf and Justice of American Gladiators infamy. Amazing. Wolf's wide drum-stance threatens to engulf the drum kit. Hopefully Sean will share that picture soon for everyone to enjoy.
HMXJohnlok said...
Partly inspired by HMXHenry's recent summer listening blog, I have decided to pick up some summer tunes myself.
Starting two weeks ago, I decided to buy (on iTunes) one album a week to flesh out my music collection. First I bought a Heart album. This week's selection? Huey Lewis And The News's Sports album. Easy on the ears, and each song is pretty much a hit.
Please write in with some chilled out, easy-listening summer albums! I need recommendations.
HMXJohnlok said...
Went home this weekend (coincidentally the home-town of everybody's favorite leaderboard uh, leaders, "Earth, Wind and CENTAUUURRR!!"), and the weather miraculously held up, coincidentally until I returned to Boston, where it rained cats and dogs.
The Indiana Jones movie was, as expected, a bit of a disappointment - side note: if I expected it to be a disappointment and it was, does that actually make it a disappointment? ::brain-a'splode::
As some of you are already aware, Harmonix is pretty involved in the local scene - we donate to children's hospitals and other events and causes, and we're also pretty involved with the "scene." It's not unheard of to have a venue's entire show booked with Harmonix bands. We're even involved in the Rock Band nights at Rivergods, a Cambridge watering-hole. The Boston Globe wrote a piece on our relationship with the bar, which you can check out here: Rivergods
I attended Rivergods last night for May's installment of Rock Band fun (Rivergods, for the summer months, are adding a few Saturday nights as well, so if you're local, come check it out this Saturday), and it was, as usual an absolute blast. There are regulars now who I have watched grow in Rock Band prowess. Not only have they gotten better at the game, but I have also seen their tastes expand. Where groups used to only play familiar tunes like "I Think I'm Paranoid," "Creep," and "Say It Ain't So," they are now playing Nine Inch Nails, Pixies, Boston, and even Harmonix bonus tracks (there was a resounding chorus in the pub last night when Vagiant's "Seven" played!).
Rock Band nights work, and they work especially well when the establishment is down with really making it an enjoyable experience. The HMX community team has worked with the management at a lot of different venues, and I can say that the folks at Rivergods are exceedingly generous (a tasty dinner on the house for the HMX community rep in attendance! Their food is incredible.), and flexible. They book a DJ for the nights - which happen to be Harmonix employees as often as not - to help facilitate the event as well. For instance, they take care of music in between sets, while groups are selecting songs, setting up, and they announce the band names and just keep people happy and entertained.
Rivergods pioneered Rock Band nights with us - together, we've pretty much written the book on how to make it a successful and regular event. Venues interested in setting one up should definitely follow their lead.
HMXJohnlok said...
So yesterday was actually my 1 year anniversary at Harmonix. Coincidentally, I received my official "welcome to Harmonix as a full time employee," uh, "welcoming" (gah, too many welcomes) from our CEO Alex Rigopulous - which was funny, because I've been a full time employee since February. He's a busy dude, what can I say?
I still enjoy coming to work (as opposed to the decidedly crappy retail job I kept for several years during college). I still enjoy the projects I work on, and I still enjoy the people with whom I work. That's a good sign, right? But where's the catch? Should I be waiting for the other shoe to drop on my career? I'm not a wealthy dude, but consider this: I have my own place, I have a job I love, and I work with a bunch of people I respect and enjoy.
Should I bask in my naivety while this dog and pony show lasts? Where do I go from here?
Damn. Life is good.
HMXJohnlok said...
Maybe it was Poop Dog? Maybe it was the fact that Sean Baptiste, Manager of Community Development at Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. was going to start his own. Maybe it's because the atmosphere here is so contagious?
Whatever the reason, I am in a band now (I think). We actually have a practice space at the company, which is a benefit (seriously, it's part of our benefits package) offered to full time employees. Basically you just schedule your practice space time, and bam - place to practice. There's already a host of equipment down there; drums, amps, PAs, guitars, sticks.
It's a pretty gnarly (I'm not speakin' no surfer talk, either) looking place, in need of some serious cleaning. But no big deal. It's a place to play, and play I will.
On a whim, Nate (from hardware) and I booked some time on Sunday just to see what we could do. While we were there, two other guys showed up, and conveniently enough, they played what we didn't. I'm on vocals, Nate was switching off of guitar and bass, and the other guys filled the guitar/bass and drum roles (pun).
Sean's band ain't got nothin' on this. Look out world, we can do a cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit!!"
HMXJohnlok said...
Before Poop Cat was in my life, there was Poop Dog. This is the legend of Poop Dog.
-Song Written and performed by Harmonix QA lead, Aaron Morris Price.
HMXJohnlok said...
We had the great honor, recently, to shake the oh-so-fertile tree of Apple's knowledge. As you should probably already knows, Apples is everybody's favorite RockBand.com volunteer community moderator, and this is his first exclusive interview EVER. Frankly, I can't believe we got to him first.
Here's what fell out...
Harmonix: What the hell, dude. Where's the AC/DC?
Apples: The AC, or "air conditioning," is a device usually found on the back or sides of most modern homes. In some cases, people utilize smaller window-based units. Here is a nice article on air conditioners:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/ac.htm
DC or "District of Colombia" is a small region of the country serving as the nation's capital and home to various government bodies. I have enclosed a map:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.
That should give you an idea where the AC and the DC are... though I'm not sure why you lumped together two entirely unrelated things like that. What a strange question.
HMX: So, you're great. Why?
Apples: I *am* great, thanks for noticing.
Why? It's a truly baffling scientific phenomenon. The great thinkers and philosophers of our time will be debating this question for centuries to come. I think we'll sooner figure out the meaning of life or the Colonel's Secret Recipe.
HMX: What do you do for work?
Apples: Strange question. I don't actually know. My boss doesn't actually know either. My official title is "system engineer" which is something we made up on a whim because it sounds very official. The company I work for is a startup, and it only has 8 people. Due to the lack of people, I take on various roles depending on what needs to be done. That overlaps between software design, QA, and customer support... amongst various other sordid things of questionable legality.
HMX: What's your favorite band? What do you listen to for music?
Apples: Yeah... that's a loaded question. See, I actually grew up living under a rock, in a cave, just outside a barn. The only music my parents like are marching bands, so that's about all I listened to growing up. I don't think I actually owned a tape, CD, or personal music device until I had graduated college. So when I say my musical ignorance is vast... I'm talking Pacific Ocean vast. (As an example, I had never heard of Radiohead before I saw the setlist for Rock Band)
Consequently, I like just about anything, with very few favorites or hated bands. If you put me on the spot, I'd have to say my favorite is Rush, just because they seem to get consistent play on my music player.
HMX: What do you look for in a forum member?
Apples: They need to have a pretty looking avatar, and they need to shower me with love, affection, and bribes.... especially bribes.
HMX: What are you wearing?
Apples: Uhhh... pants? Pants are good. Yeah.
HMX: Just pants? Roowrrrr...!
Apples: Yeah, I like to show off my six-pack abs and Herculean physique. It's dangerous though, I risk getting crushed/tramped to death by all of the eligible ladies I attract.
HMX: We now have a "COMMUNITY BATTLE HAT," which we use for 1v1 duels to the death. Who would win in the following duel: Earth, Wind, and CENTAUUURRRR~!!! or a pack of Swiss Cake Rolls?
Apples: Swiss Cake Rolls possess a delicious awesomeness which cannot be matched by mere mortal snack foods or even Centauuuurrrrs. Not even a contest.
HMX: Who is your favorite super hero?
Apples: Definately Magneto from the X-Men series. What? He's a villain? No, he's just misunderstood. Possibly framed by a jealous right-wing mutant conspiracy.
HMX: Some people have called you: "the best moderator to have ever lived." What's your response to this?
Apples: There are only two types of people in this world... those who know I am the best, and those who haven't figured it out yet.
HMX: If you were any variety of carnivorous plant which would you be?
I think would be a variety of Pinguicula gigantea... a plant which traps its pray like flypaper. It's an allegory for how people meet me and then never want to leave my awesomeness.
That about wrapped it up! Thanks again to Apples for taking the time to chat with us, and also for his rippling abs. Yep.
HMXJohnlok said...
I missed a day - well, technically two if you count Tuesday. I had something written up, but, of course, it got trashed.
Anyway, for my jury in music school, I did this Baroque concerto. It was a fun little thing, and I was able to practice it steadily throughout the semester. I wasn't an amazing player, or even really great (if I had been, I suppose I wouldn't have been in music school to, um, learn about music?), but one thing I had was sound. I could put this crazy clear and powerful sound through my horn.
Quick tangent: the funny thing about music school, and I'm sure this has to be the case everywhere, is that the music students crunch. It was like the flipping of a switch - December was upon us, and practice rooms that had been empty all semester were suddenly filled. I basically lived in the practice hall that semester, sometimes hanging out, sometimes practicing. It was a steady process, and all of a sudden I couldn't even score a room to practice in anymore. I didn't really have a lot of sympathy for the people freaking out about their juries.
Needless to say, I performed my solo with a pretty good deal of confidence. I was familiar with the piece, and even though there were some tricky technical sections, there weren't really any surprises for me. I went balls to the wall on my solo, and felt that I had properly nailed it. The comments from my professors afterward didn't seem to think so. You see, Baroque pieces aren't "balls to the wall." They are pretty low key. It's supposed to be pretty, embellished, structured. I just wasn't that kind of player.
They asked me if I had researched Baroque playing. I said no. They asked if I had listened to any recordings. I said no. Needless to say, I felt pretty silly. I didn't perform it badly. What I did was good, but it wasn't appropriate.
I'm trying not to sound dismissive, but really, I would prefer to play it balls to the wall. Part of the glamor of the horn is that it has all that raw potential. There are few other instruments that can naturally match its power and sheer volume. There's a reason some orchestras set up physical barriers between the horn section and the percussionists! I respect - and don't get me wrong, I agree with - what my professors had to say. But why can't we take something that sounds awesome, and explore that? I wish somebody had approached me afterward and had said, "hey, you might be interested in this instead."
I'm not trying to be lazy. I'm not just saying this because I didn't want to learn. Emulation is a great learning tool, but we should be ready to adapt as we go. My point is that we can do both: exploration in addition to study.
HMXJohnlok said...
So, I wrote up an entire (lengthy I might add) blog about performing this baroque piece. Long story short, it was all accidentally deleted, right as I finished. Hooray. I'll rewrite it after I step away from my desk for a few minutes.
HMXJohnlok said...
Part 2 - Music as a Lifestyle: A personal brain dump on the accessibility of music in our education programs and in private life.
I did a semester at music school (before I chickened out and switched to English). I originally wanted to do a double major in vocal and instrumental performance. I later found out that this is a.) a bad idea, and b.) frowned upon in music school. Eventually - or at least as I've been told - they ask you to choose which you're going to specialize in. I decided to "officially" study on my horn, since I had invested a lot more of my time practicing and taking lessons and that sort of thing. I think it was the right choice... singing is stressful. If you get sick, you're pretty much screwed, whereas on the horn, as long as you can still breathe you're pretty much fine. After all, your horn won't really ever sound "wheezy" just because you have a head cold.
My first (and only) semester in music school was spent in the following way:
-Two 2 credit theory classes. If I'm remembering correctly, one focused on basic composition and the other had more to do with ear training. They were sort of companion courses, and I took them with the same professor. I remember we focused a lot on constructing and resolving chords (according to Bach's method), and that it was really, really boring - for me, that is (a lot of Bach's stuff is contrapuntal, meaning, that he often creates two or more independent melodies that - and I believe that's referred to as polyphonic - when played together, form a harmonious phrase, song, whatever).
(warning: I am about to butcher my explanation of basic chorale composition... to the music nerds out there, I am deeply sorry)
We spent a lot of our time composing short Bach-esque melodies. The way you will do this is to compose a four-voice harmony. Your first line (or voice) will be your root (the root is the note that is the top and bottom of the range you've chosen. If you write a melody in the key of "C Major," your root will be "C.") The second line will be a melody that's written, maybe a third or a fifth above the root, and will move along with your root melody, and it will sound pretty and all that. This will be an "E" in your chord, and the third line will be the fifth: a "G," and the fourth voice will double the root, at the top of the octave with a "C."
These lines move around and establish other chords within the key. Look up a "bach chorale" or some hymns for an example of how this will sound. We spent a ton of time composing chorales in this class, so I feel pretty guilty that I can barely remember the details. I've never been a real academic kinda guy though, so rote tasks, no matter how important or edifying, are naturally repulsive to me.
The rest of my semester was split between a couple of core classes (psych 101, woo!) and other music classes.
I took a 1 credit music freshman req, which covered some really basic music history stuff. I also had to take an ear training class, and even though I had to learn soulfege, it was pretty much the easiest thing I did all semester.
Intro to piano was cool, but my professor was a little insane. I was told he was extremely proficient at his instrument (harp) though, so I cut him some slack. What sort of musician *wants* to teach a bunch of freshman an intro piano course (he's a professor, so he's not getting a complete waiver here)?
Symphonic Band and Orchestra rehearsals took up regular (uncredited) time throughout the week. Those are requirements, and even though they were uncredited, they're still cool. There was a concert-attendance requirement (I think 10 concerts throughout the semester?) as well, which was also uncredited.
Then there were private lessons and a group horn lesson from the department instructor... thinking about it now, that was a lot of stuff to do in one semester. I don't even feel bad about dropping German anymore.
As a music (performance) major, you have to be available and willing to invest all of your extra time into practicing, or being available to do extra-curricular stuff - for instance, the orchestra does the pit music for the school opera. You also have to prepare for your personal instrumental exams and a wider trial, which basically consists of preparing a solo for a panel of judges from the music department.
When I revisit this tomorrow, I'll go over some of the requirements and some thoughts about those in more detail.
HMXJohnlok said...
Part 1 - Music as a Lifestyle: A personal brain dump on the accessibility of music in our education programs and in private life.
I used to play a pretty mean French horn - no joke! Eran Egozy, our co-founder and CTO, practices his clarinet almost every morning. It's pretty inspiring, and one of these days - or at least I keep swearing - I'm going to get my horn from back home and start practicing myself.
I wanted to play in movies, but it turns out you have to practice kind of a lot to get that good. I think I could have done it, but the pay-off seemed too distant and too scary. How rewarding is a career in classical music these days? What do you do with it? Just play in an orchestra? No thanks. As much as I love jamming on some Mozart or Strauss, I don't think I could handle that as a career.
Transposition. Gahhh. What a pain. What's so hard about writing music out in a key you recognize? There are a number of reasons that music programs and (some of) its industries are ailing, and I think one of them is that we're going about performance totally the wrong way. Yes, music history is important (very!), and yes, it's also important to understand the roots and theory underlying the music we read and play. But sometimes you have to look at your systems, your barriers, and say: "are we really making music more accessible, or increasing the quality of the performance by increasing the technical demands on professional musicians?"
I think Rock Band offers a resounding "hell naw" to that question.
More tomorrow. Thoughts?
HMXJohnlok said...
Chris Canfield, our Play-Test Designer, came to me today and asked the following:
How do people feel about the relative difficulty of the downloadable content that we release. Put another way, do you guys feel that the difficulty of the songs is 1 - in line with the relative difficulty of other songs both on disc and other DLC, and 2 - that the difficulty ratings provided in the new Music Store accurately represent the difficulty of the song?
We would like to know what your experiences have been so far, so please comment below.
Today's Battle has already been drawn. I will post the matchup LATER TODAY!!! Stay tuned.
ME (The LARPing hour) versus HMXHenry (Frank Zappa)
Frank Zappa wins. Even though you can role play Frank Zappa (or somebody more powerful), it's still just pretending.
HMXJohnlok said...
Today's Battle:
ME (Optimus Prime) - - - HMXHenry (Eran Egozy, co-founder and CTO of Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.)
Okay, I'm obviously conflicted over today's battle selection. Optimus Prime is a freaking sentient robot. He's probably at least four or five stories high, right? Once you pass twenty feet, by the way, you start measuring your height in stories. It's just what you do, don't ask me why. Also, you say "high" instead of "tall." Because, well, "high" has a lot more to do with, you know, cliff faces and sky-scrapers than it does with how much little Billy, who just started the fourth grade, grew last year.
Like I was saying, Optimus Prime is a freaking robot, but robots don't pay my salary. If you want to get really technical, Eran doesn't either, and I don't even report directly to him, but the fact that he has pretty direct control over whether or not I continue working here, that makes him pretty powerful in the grand scheme of things. His signature ain't on my checks, but his size nine (or ten... I'm guessing he's a nine or ten... I haven't looked, but he looks like a nine or ten) boot could definitely kick my sorry rear right out of the office.
On the other hand, Optimus Prime could literally crush me (or zap me or punch me or any other number of things) to death, so I guess anything is possible.
Optimus Prime had his own cartoon! His own movie! Eran's had his picture taken, yeah, but he's not in any cartoons that I know of.
The clincher for me, I guess, is that Eran was in Time Magazine's 2008 Top 100 "Most Influential People" in the world. Has Optimus Prime ever been in there? No, because he's not even a person! As much as I hate to concede defeat to HMXHenry (a second time no less...), I have to say that Eran wins this battle.
HMXJohnlok said...
I rocked a three city tour this weekend. Well, I didn't "rock" it... more like, it rocked me.
The weekend started strong. Saw Iron Man (which was amazing), and followed the movie up with a performance by "The Main Drag" at TT the Bear's in Central Square. TMD, which features mostly Harmonix employees (including HMXJohnD), is a cool indie-pop group. I recommend you check them out: myspace.com/themaindrag.
I took a plane out to Buffalo, NY early Saturday morning to catch The Police in concert at the HSBC Arena. The Sabers also play there, if you weren't already aware - it's a big joint. I also, admittedly, saw Bon Jovi there a few years back. He puts on a really entertaining show.
My friend picked me up at the airport, and we spent most of the day hanging out, caught a movie, played some Rock Band at another friend's house. Not that I mind, but I can't escape this game.
Elvis Costello and the Imposters opened up for The Police. That was awesome - the mixing was really off, and I couldn't understand most of the words, so I was a little mad about that, but they still put on a really good show. Most of those problems were fixed by the time The Police came on.
You know, there are some things you just have to see in person. People had been telling me for a long time that Stewart Copland was an amazing drummer. Well, he's not. Rather, he's an amazing percussionist. The guy's got chops. On "King of Pain" he moved over to a sweet standing-cymbal setup thing. I don't know what it was, but it was sweet, and he had this killer bass drum, too. Good percussionists can take a good show and really elevate the quality of a live performance. You really can't help but watch them.
The Police pretty much played every song you could want them to play. I grew up listening to their tapes in my dad's car. I'm just happy I got the opportunity to see the original group live! After the show, we made the hour trip back to Rochester (my home town), where we crashed for the night. In slightly unrelated news, I was delayed at the airport so long that I was able to start and finish Chuck Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters. It was an action packed weekend!
Anyway, if The Police are passing through or near your area, you should definitely drop some dough for the tickets.
Battle Hat results:
(me) HAL 9000 versus - - - - bacon (hmxhenry)
I really wanted to win. But I don't think there's a thing in that hat that can stand up to bacon. I concede.
HMXJohnlok said...
Hey! We have an EXCLUSIVE interview with the one and only Apples comin' down the pipeline. Expect to see that sometime next week (or whenever we have asked Apples enough questions and he has answered enough questions to constitute an interview).
I hope that some of you are psyched for next week's DLC. Those of you who are not-so-psyched, your day will come, I assure you! I actually got a chance to play the YYY song already (on vocals), and it is awesome. I haven't had a chance to test the others yet (I have to work *sometimes* after all), so I can't endorse them in good conscience just yet!
Iron Man at 7. Can't wait. Hope you all get a chance to see it this weekend!
HMXJohnlok said...
So if you're over 18, you should check out Jonathan Coulton's song, "First of May." Pretty relevant stuff.
As you have probably noticed over the last week or so, I like to address hard-hitting subjects: incontinent cats, how good I am at my job, and I've even written a thinly veiled haiku about the local watering hole.
This week, I wanted to really spice things up and experiment with a medium I thought could really help me reach out beyond my core audience (about 15 people if you were curious). I went with something a bit more artistic: a comic. As you can see, there is nothing here that looks like a comic, more than two words strung together, or even anything resembling a complete thought, let alone art.
Here's the misshapen, haphazard result:
HMXJohnlok said...
I nearly got my ass handed to me by an upcoming track (yes, we can test upcoming tracks as they become available).
Of course, I can't tell you what it is, but honestly, I'm a bit of a sadist.
Anecdote: I have beaten Perfect Drug on expert drums.
Anecdote: While beating Perfect Drug on expert drums, I hoarded overdrive. Yes, a bit cheap, but ya know strategy is strategy!
Songs I randomly started singing today:
- Smokin' (Boston)
- Technologic (Daft Punk)
- That song from Ghost Busters that plays when they drive the Statue of Liberty (beats me)
- Superstitious (Europe)
HMXJohnlok said...
Harmonix did some volunteering for the Boston Film Festival this weekend. I believe it opened on Wednesday of last week, and tonight it closes. Over the weekend we had several different Harmonix teams staffing the director's green room, and in the process got to meet some pretty rad people.
...like New York comedian Henry Kaiser (there are some pretty funny videos on his MySpace: Here!)
...and some of the people from Harry and the Potters: Harry and the Potters
Of course, Sean saw Ben Kingsley (oh so briefly) last week as well. He needs no links or introduction.
There was a midnight showing (on the cusp of Sunday, as I enjoy putting it) for the movie BLOOD CAR - as our sponsor badges gained us free entry, how could I pass up such an opportunity? It was preceded by the short film, The Rambler.
You can check out the trailer for BLOOD CAR at BloodCar.com - some adult content, so beware. The movie itself was a riot. It's about a young elementary school teacher named Archie Andrews who, on his quest to invent an engine that runs on wheat grass, inadvertently invents an automobile which runs on human blood. The movie narrates his spiral downward, as he selfishly (and ruthlessly) murders people to fuel his car. Did I mention he's also a vegan?
HMXJohnlok said...
My roommate's cat refuses to use the litter box. I hate to whine here, but it has seriously been the story of my life for the past few weeks. It has gotten to the point where we have forgotten the cat's real name, having long ago substituted it with the more apt moniker: "Poop Cat."
And even when I'm not at home, the thought of her incontinence, left unchecked in my apartment, haunts my every waking moment.
Not only does she haunt my thoughts, but she's actually started leaving demeaning letters on my desk at work.
I can prove it.
HMXJohnlok said...
In a Field somewhere,
Glasses empty, fill, and raise
Comfort comes on tap.
HMXJohnlok said...
Update:
Sean's getting a root canal today. HMXHenry is on his way to the pacific coast for vacation.
Drama:
I am all alone.
It's so cold and lonely here.
Plea:
Anyway, I'm the only one here today for the DLC announcement, so I would consider it a personal favor if everyone could sugar-coat the usual helping of disdain.
Switching gears:
This weekend we're at the Brattle Independent Film Festival here in Boston. We have some cool stuff worked out so that we'll be playing in the director's green room. I think Sean actually saw Ben Kingsley the other day when it opened. If you're there this weekend and you see some folks floating around with HMX tags, be sure to say hi!
Tracks listened to this morning:
Coldplay - "Politik" - Rush of Blood to the Head
Boston - "Walk On" - Walk On
ELO - "Don't Bring Me Down" - Discovery
Tracks to Come:
The Police...
The Decemberists...
HMXJohnlok said...
I'm about to head out for the night, or, I guess, I'm about to leave my desk and go play Rock Band with the web team for an hour and a half. And after that is a Smash Bros Brawl 1v1 between me and QA lead, Tim "Okiro" Cook.
There will be shenanigans, there will be winners, and there will be losers.
I'll leave you to ponder where on that spectrum I will fall.
Happy DLC-Announcement eve.
HMXJohnlok said...
I have been playing a lot of Civilization 4 lately. Way more than is healthy. I had trouble getting to sleep yesterday, because all I could think about was how well the war with the Zulus and Malis went. My team-mate and I were bent on nuking them back into the stone age, and I think we delivered - their entire island is now a radioactive husk, their once lush farms glowing hot from the fallout, a punch delivered by scores of short range tactical nukes.
All that's left is to storm the mainland and finish the job. Then we focus our sight elsewhere. Mansa Musa, we're coming for you.
HMXJohnlok said...
I just got back from the Boys' and Girls' Club of Dorchester. We took over a PS2 bundle w/ an extra guitar. Apparently we are jerks, because we forgot to bring along a second pair of batteries. Luckily the awesome staff there saved the day!
So basically, when I go to do demos or give out bundles, I set things up, plug things in, show people how to set things up. People rely on us pretty heavily, sometimes because they don't want to step on our toes (we don't mind anyway), and partly because the people we visit don't know too much about video games or Rock Band. Setup usually takes somewhere around 5-10 minutes, depending on whether or not the console and TV are set up already.
This time was a little different. I should have just dropped the bundle on the floor and scrambled. The kids there descended upon the game, the package, and the TV like highly organized, highly efficient worker ants. The game was set up in less than a minute, and everybody in the joint was crammed around the screen. There was a group jammed onto the coffee table, groups crammed into, onto, and around the couches, and a few stragglers off to the side in chairs or on banisters.
Normally, at this point, I also do a bit of a demo. That was a mistake as well. They didn't want to be shown how to play, they didn't want to review the features. They wanted to play.
And play they did. Badly. For about the first five or six attempts, every single person failed out. Each time somebody failed, four new kids took the instruments, and failed again, but a little less badly.
Fifteen minutes later, oddly enough (although not surprisingly I suppose), they had already mastered the basic mechanics. People were failing and getting saved. One kid about two feet tall (not literally) mastered drums on medium, and played "Maps" almost flawlessly.
Weird demo. It was a blast. I bet they are still playing.
HMXJohnlok said...
So I've been at meetings all day and haven't had a chance to even breathe. Let me catch up on moderation real quick:
Please stop. Whatever you're doing, STOP IT. Now.
There, that's all. Damn, I'm good at this whole moderating thing.
Anyway, Spencer in PR and I are headed over to, uh, someplace (like I said, I'm damn good at this job), to give a couple of bundles to the Boys and Girls Club. We've been doing some work with them, and Rock Band rules, so 2+2 = Rock Band fun for teens.
Anyway, we have a script (it hasn't been approved yet) for the Escapist Magazine video we promised. It is going to be something. It sure will be something that, you know, people will watch I guess. And maybe, um, I don't know (start running now), enjoy? More details to follow - and that shouldn't be hard considering I gave you none! Damn. I am good at this job.
Love,
Me.
HMXJohnlok said...
Life has been interesting at Harmonix. If you’re on the community team here, there is always something to do. Sometimes, for example, people literally want to light us on fire (read: april 1st DLC announcement). Sometimes they want us to have their babies (read: recent albums and/or Boston DLC announcements). That sort of thing tends to generate a lot of work for us - the weekly DLC announcements are as much of a surprise for the community as they are for the community team sometimes. I mean, we know which *songs* are coming out each week, but do we have any clue how everybody will react? Sometimes, yes, we have a clue, but for the most part the weekly feedback tends to take its own course.
I for one was especially indignant about the response to the Arguably Punk Pack, but I quickly realized that I was falling into the trap: just because I like stuff doesn’t mean everyone has to feel the same way. It’s a trap people fall into all the time, and it’s not just on our forums. People get really territorial about their music.
PS - don't listen to the website's time! IT IS A LIAR!
HMXJohnlok said...
So I thought I'd try something new. Periodically throughout the day, I will post some fragmented thoughts. I figured this would be a nice way to talk to everybody without using the forums, and maybe to get people to check their blogs (and ours!) more often. Hopefully I can provide bits of information, insight, and wisdom along the way!
Here are today's thoughts as of 2:44 PM:
Community related announcement -
So we’re in the process of working on a Rock Band: Forums Q&A. We’ve selected somewhere around 25-30 questions from the post NoD made a few weeks back. Just as a warning ahead of time: I think the Q&A will be geared far more in the entertainment arena rather than being informational. Just figured I would cover my bases ahead of time.
Deep thoughts -
Is there a song I wouldn’t play in Rock Band?
Admittedly, we have the advantage at Harmonix of being able to play-test each song before they go out, so I think that tends to skew our perspective. I think there are certain songs that I wouldn’t listen to on the radio, but I seriously doubt there’s a song I wouldn’t play in Rock Band. I can do expert on all of the different instruments, so there's usually something fun in the band for me to do. /flex
Have you tried out any new songs in Rock Band?
Life at Harmonix -
Compared to some of the folks here I am a musical noob. Like, level 70 warlock getting killed by a holy paladin kind of noob. And I've been performing for pretty much my whole life.
HMXJohnlok said...
Day 3 kicked off much the same as the other days: relaxed and relatively late. We headed to the night's venue around 3-3:30, to a place called Firehouse Lounge. Coincidentally, as we were nearing the end of our drive, Sean spotted MC Frontalot (the “nerdcore” artist). Sean pretty much jumped out of the moving car, forcing us to pull over to the side of the road. Nice parking job by the way, JohnD (rollseyes). I found out later that Sean actually used to be Front’s neighbor in nearby Somerville, which explained what I had earlier considered his groupy-esque leap from the car.
We found a parking garage close to the venue, which was cool since we had to lug a bundle, console, drum throne, microphone stand, and various other electronic trinkets and cables to the club. And by the way, despite having climbed the garage’s four flights to our car at least three or four times throughout the night, we never could figure out where the door was to the stairs, and had to brave the maze-of-a-garage by scaling the various ramps every time. Needless to say, that was pretty silly.
We scoped out the venue at around 3 or 4PM, and, figuring it was going to be an easy setup, we decided to walk around town. We ended up hanging out for a few minutes at a place called The Lucky Nickel (I think?), where we sat down to have a few drinks and relax – meanwhile, JohnD went to visit a friend during that time and managed to get lost, causing him to show up a few minutes late to setup. Anyway, the young woman behind the bar asked us if we were performing at the festival, and Sean explained that we represented a video game developer and that we were showing off our game.
She asked, "Which game? Anything big?"
"Rock Band?" Sean said.
"Wait, you mean the Rock Band?"
"Sure do."
At this point she got really excited, and explained that she plays the game pretty much every day. It's always really weird, cool, and increasingly less surprising when people know of and love our game! We got to chat with her a bit, and then we took off. She said she was going to tell all of her friends that she met us. Awesome.
It is at this point of the story that I give you a most important update: Sean bought a cowboy hat. If anybody else I knew bought a cowboy hat, and insisted on wearing it for the rest of the night, as Sean did, I would have refused to be seen within ten feet of that person. However, on Sean, and being who he is (my boss?), it seemed only natural. I forgot that he was ever without a hat after only a few minutes. His chiseled mustache, samurai-unicorn tattoo, and cowboy boots must have felt lonely without the hat. I imagine that it was like a unity of his soul, as if the hat had been separated at birth. It was really quite beautiful to behold.
We were able to set up pretty much as quickly as we had anticipated, and the night went smoothly. People were more shy than usual, and we had to fill in band members more than we would have liked, but people seemed to enjoy themselves. There were also far fewer Australians than I had expected (and would have liked) at the Australian party. Weird. We did get heckled a bit by a few of the rowdier ones while we were breaking down. We talked to them anyway and they were rad.
Things wrapped up pretty early (around 9 or 10 I want to say), so we headed out for a late dinner at this place called Hickory-something-or-other. We had some burgers and steaks which were tasty. We got to eat outside, and the highlight of the meal was the singer/guitar player who was playing outside. He had a sweet voice that sort of just calmed us, and sang "My Girl," which Sean loves. He makes me sing it to him before bed and at work sometimes.
**Here’s where I edit in some notes about Thursday and Friday’s shenanigans. They were shenanigans indeed and I will do a blowout 2-for-1 blog on them later today or tomorrow. Stay tuned!
P.S. I also got my own hotel room on Wednesday! Woohoo!
HMXJohnlok said...
Day 2 of our trip here at South By Southwest has come and gone. Like our first day here, things proceeded at a pretty relaxed pace - unless you're HMXHenry, who continues to valiantly hold down the fort at the HMX offices. We did have a chance to get some work done from the hotel, and even had some time to chill out and get our bearings before heading to the venue.
After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we jumped into our rental car to take care of the preliminary business of finding Sean a dealer. He doesn't operate very well without a fix.
Actually that's not true. Instead, we headed out to Guitar Center, where we picked up a microphone stand, drum throne, and some extra A/V cables and extensions, which actually came quite in handy later during setup.
When we got to Six we were met by the manager, Jessica, who was super helpful, reasonable, and otherwise awesome throughout the afternoon helping us get our act together. We should buy her a car or something. A reasonably priced car. Maybe a Honda Civic. With cruise-control and side air-bags. Safety first.
As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, there were three floors at the venue, with a large patio/bar on the roof. The main floor and bar area was where we had the main booth. With TVs lining the bar, and two projectors near each entrance, it was totally kick-ass. I should get that for my tiny fourth floor apartment. I don't need room to cook, eat, breathe, or sleep anyway. Frankly, who does when you've got two giant projectors to play Rock Band with.
At the request of the party's hosts, we tried to get a Rock Band setup on the roof, but after experimenting with the venue's sound system and hitting various other snags, we found out that we just couldn't arrange it in time. Nonetheless, JohnD worked some magic and everything in the main area came out really sweet - and having all three of us in one area came in handy; don't let anyone tell you that managing inebriated would-be video gamers is easy!
We had a chance to step out before the party started, and stepped next door to a place called "Starlite," where, we agreed, we had one of the nicest and tastiest dinners we've had in a while.
The doors opened at 10PM, and the game was an instant hit - the rock antics were easily the highlight of the party. We were able to keep the line flowing - I believe gazillionaire Mark Cuban (of Dallas Mavericks fame) showed up and watched the game for a bit, though he didn't partake in the rocktivities (I should be shot for that word) - and the song selection had some decent variety! One ballsy group even successfully completed Timmy and the Lords of the Underwolrd. Color me impressed.
By the time 2AM rolled around and it was time to pack up, people were begging us for "one more song." It got so bad that the bartender had to turn on all the lights and firmly (and loudly) inform everyone that they needed to be gone within two minutes. We were tired and he was our hero. Packing up went surprisingly quick, and stepping outside afterward was literally a breath of fresh air. We made it back to the hotel in good time (before 3AM), and I for one fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
Tonight we're going to what I've only been told is "the Australian party." It's supposed to be our last semi-low-key event before we're thrust into 25-hour days Thursday and Friday. We'll probably head over in a few hours for setup. So far it's looking like it'll be a blast - I'll let you know how it went tomorrow!
HMXJohnlok said...
So as some of you may or may not know, hmxsean, HMXJohnD, and I are all at South by Southwest in Austin, TX. Aside from escaping the blustery Boston weather, we're here to support some cool artists (which you'll notice are in our SXSW themed DLC pack this week) and attend some Rock Band themed events.
This is also my first time abroad with the gang, so I am definitely psyched to be here. Yesterday was kind of a preparatory day - fly out, find our hotel room (thanks to JohnD for getting us lost for a good twenty minutes - I'm only resentful because I get ridiculously carsick), that sort of thing.
Anyway, we landed around 12:30-1, then booked it to our hotel. After grabbing some lunch, we had a chance to unpack and flop. Now, I know most of you haven't had a chance to meet Sean in person, so let me give you a (mercifully) quick glance into what life is like when your boss is Sean.
After a quick shower yesterday afternoon, he posed a most odd question to me: if everyday objects suddenly became sentient beings, which would revolt first? Would it be the toilet? or something else? He offered a few other alternatives, but frankly I can't remember them since he was pretty adamantly in favor of the toilet being the first. I don't try to argue with him too much when he gets like that. Oh, Sean.
Anyway, later in the evening, we headed over to a sweet joint called "Six," where we are scheduled to help facilitate a cool event later this evening. Six is a nice, open club with two sides. The side we will be playing on has three floors, including an amazing roof patio and bar. We had a chance to just hang out up top while we waited for our contact to arrive. The view was nice and the night was cool so we hardly minded.
After we met and discussed some of the logistics for today's event, we wandered around the block and looked for a late dinner. Right as we were about to enter a place on the corner, we heard "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" echoing faintly somewhere down the block. We sort of looked at eachother and said, "no way..."
Sure enough, there was an open venue halfway down the block, where a bunch of people were gathered around partying, and playing Rock Band. They had a killer stage setup and a huge projector. Each of us felt pretty awesome after that, and it was definitely the highlight of the day. But once we grabbed our late dinner, we drove back to the hotel and turned in early.
Overall it was a good day, and a nice and easy start to our trip. Stay tuned this week for more highlights and daily blogs!
-HMXJohnlok
P.S. Sean sounds like a zombie when he sleeps.
P.P.S. Sean and I have to take turns using the internet in our our hotel room, so you may see us on and off randomly until I score my own room later this week.
HMXJohnlok said...
This week we met up with Luke Jacobs, our Manager of Quality Assurance, and asked him a few questions so that everyone can get to know him better! Luke is awesome. Kneel in his presence please. I SAID KNEEL!!!!
The STATS:
Name: Luke Jacobs
Title: Quality Assurance Manager
Favorite food: Macaroni and cheese with black olives, tuna
fish, and peas
Game most skilled at: Until the advent of QA Lead Tim Okiro Cook, Luke dominated in
Soul Calibur
When did you start
working at Harmonix?
June 2004, his first project was as a QA tester for
Anti-Grav.
How did you end up at
Harmonix?
Before working at Harmonix, Luke often attended the Boston
Post Mortem, and got to know the crowd.
A friend of his got a job working for Stainless Steel as a QA lead, and soon
after, Luke joined the folks at Stainless Steel to work on an RTS. After the project was over, during a brief
stint unemployed, he spent his time grinding through City of
as a QA tester, where he met back up with Chris Canfield and several others who
had worked with him at Stainless Steel.
What was it like
starting at Harmonix?
When he began, Harmonix was a much smaller company, with
something around thirty (probably less) employees. During Anti-Grav, Luke's team consisted of four
testers, although there was a slightly larger team working on Karaoke
Revolution. Luke has worked with
Harmonix notables: Helen McWilliams, Chris Canfield, Naoko Takamoto, DeVron
Warner, and Sean Baptiste. The QA department
was small enough (or unfortunate enough?) to be located in a hallway in Harmonix's old
"At Harmonix," Luke said - even when he was just a tester - "I
never felt like I was at the bottom of any totem pole." As proof, he cites his fourth week working
for Harmonix. Luke felt there were flaws
in the system Anti-Grav used for flight, so, after gathering his thoughts, he
brought his feedback to
and the development team. Rather than
shrug him off, they immediately scheduled a meeting where he had an opportunity
to air his gripes and feedback for the system.
As a result, Anti-Grav underwent some huge changes. Later, when he apologized for criticizing the
system, he was quickly reassured by Greg that his words and work were, in fact,
totally appreciated!
"Luke," he said. "Sometimes
you need to be told when something about your game sucks."
What advice would you
give to someone aspiring to work in the industry?
publisher!
field (I.e. computer science, marketing, art)
industry skills - make maps using game tools, learn flash, and so on.
you're not sure where you will fit in.
QA can give you the foot-in-the-door you need, and provide you with a knowledge
and perspective of the many (and varied) departments smattered throughout the
industry.
What are your top 5 "favorite"
video games of all time?
Yes, we asked for 5, and got 7! THIS MAN CANNOT BE CONTAINED!
What games have you been
playing lately?
What is the coolest
thing YOU HAVE EVER DONE?
When he was 18, Luke played a serial killer in the play A Good Man is Hard to Find. In the closing moments of the play, Luke's
character kills the last surviving member of his victim's family, speaks a few
lines, and the play ends. One night,
after his final lines, the theater went pitch black and the play ended. There was no applause. After a few excruciating moments in the
deafening silence of the theater, he could hear people begin to cry, which slowly
gave way and was drowned out by the roar of the crowd as they began to cheer and
clap.
Pretty freakin' sweet.
Luke Jacobs makes people cry.
Who would win in a
fight, Sarah Connor from T2 or Ripley
from Aliens?
Ripley. Sarah Connor
is a survivor - her skills are based around escaping and surviving impossible
odds. Ripley however can execute. There is no escaping on a space ship - she
makes a plan, fights back, and wins.
Hey all,
As some of you may have noticed, my presence here has dwindled over the last few weeks. The community team has been busy tying up loose ends, traveling, talking about Rock Band, and generally just busting ass throughout the last quaking moments before the Rock Band 2 launch.
Let's get right into the blog, then, eh?
1. PAX was an amazing experience. I highly suggest that everybody with the means to get there attend next year's expo! The Penny Arcade guys put on a hell of a show, and I was thrilled to share Rock Band 2 with all of our fans (there were a couple of converted haters, as well!). I'm sure the community team will be following up w/ some PAX goodies and oddities when they actually get a chance to stop and rest at the office over the next few weeks.
2. I hope everyone gave the PAX pack a try - if you haven't, please do - I don't think you'll be disappointed. We don't make any money off of the pack, so there's no conflict of interest there. For the few of you out there whose icy-cold veins couldn't be warmed by the fire and verve of the PAX tracks, you can still donate to Child's Play without downloading the songs. Please visit http://www.childsplaycharity.org/ for more details, or to make a direct donation
3. I will be leaving the community team - never fear, however, for I will be busting some new moves with the audio production team (the team responsible for assembling the DLC packs and tracks you all so covet!). You've all been a hoot and a hollah' for sure. Please do try not to give Sean, Henry, and Alex any heart attacks?
Please feel free to PM me w/ your comments in the future, but be advised that I no longer work for the community team in an official capacity. For any customer support requests, comments about release dates, DLC and the like, please hit up the rest of the guys on the community team.
Best,
HMXJohnlok
Wednesday, September 3, 2008