Star in your own 'Rock Band’

Move over Guitar Hero and make room for the new band in town. Released in late fall, teens at the Ann Arbor (MI) District Library call MTV Game’s Rock Band “the ultimate party game” and a video game that “makes rock cool again.”

One of the most talked about video games, Rock Band is a lot like Guitar Hero, with drums and vocals added, making play even more fun. According to a 2007 survey of 400 predominantly school and public libraries conducted by Scott Nicholson of Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, Guitar Hero is the second most popular video game (after Dance Dance Revolution). The full survey (librarygamelab.org/pulse2007.pdf) was conducted prior to the release of Rock Band. We can only assume that Rock Band will become at least as popular. Jami Schwarzwalder, librarian at the Pierce County Library System in Washington said, “before Rock Band was released, the teens were really into playing Guitar Hero II, so I think for them it was just an upgrade.” There’s a lot more options with Rock Band, the visuals are amazing, and the four-player team element makes everyone feel like a star. Make Rock Band part of your library’s game night or after school programming and you’ll have more young people than you can accommodate clamoring to play.

Rock Band, rated T (Teen) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (esrb.com) for lyrics and mild suggestive themes, is available for Sony’s PlayStation 2 (PS2) and PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Microsoft’s XBox 360 consoles. A Wii version will be available soon. The software alone can be purchased for $59.99; with the peripherals—USB hub, wired microphone, wired drums (with a kick pedal and two wooden drum sticks), and a faux plastic guitar—the package price is $169.95. In addition, a second guitar can be purchased for the PS2 ($59.99). Any microphone with a USB plug-in can be used with Rock Band. If your library already owns a bass guitar from Guitar Hero, the instrument is compatible with the PS2 and XBox 360. It was announced in early January that Mad Catz has signed a multi-year agreement with MTV to produce instrument controllers, including guitars (wired and wireless), microphones, and drums, but there is no indication yet how these items will differ from the ones produced by Harmonix® and sold with the game. The PS3 and Xbox 360 accommodate online play as long as all users have the same video console system and an online connection.

The game includes 45 songs and 13 bonus tracks from the 1960s to today, including performances by The Foo Fighters, The Who, Radiohead, R.E.M., Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Beastie Boys, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and lots more. In addition, downloadable content of over 200 other songs is available through XBox Live and the PS3 Network store, with prices ranging from 99 cents to $2.99 per track. All song titles, including some downloads, are listed on Rock Band’s Web site (rockband.com). If suggestive lyrics are an issue, become familiar with the songs before allowing teens to play.

Make sure your library has a place to store all the components of the game. Consider saving the box that it comes in or break down the drum set so that all the peripherals can fit into a plastic tub. Or, the entire drum set including the stand can be stored safely in the official Rock Band Drum Bag that can be ordered for $49.99 from rockbandstore.com.

How to Play

The main objective of the game, especially in the multiplayer mode, is to simulate the performance of a rock band by playing instruments in time with musical notes that scroll vertically down the screen and singing karaoke with vocals that scroll horizontally across the screen. Notes must be selected correctly to earn points. One of the major differences between Guitar Hero and Rock Band is that each player’s skills affect the performance of the entire band and teamwork is essential. A poor performance will elicit a chorus of boos from the audience and affect the band’s score, so new players should practice first with tutorials and solos.

Each band member can choose a level of difficulty—easy, medium, hard, or expert. The game features five modes of play: Tutorial, Practice, Quick Play, Solo Tour, and Band World Tour. In the Solo Tour mode, a single player can become a superstar. In Band World Tour mode, from two to four players can join a band. In fact, the game’s real strength is this multiplayer mode which requires a group effort, with each person’s play affecting the other members of the virtual band. In this mode, players can give their band a name and create characters by choosing skin color, clothing, a name, a hometown, and more. There are rewards for cooperative play.

The band begins playing in a small, hometown setting and as it improves, so do the venues, which are based on actual places where bands perform. Players eventually can unlock up to 41 different venues in 17 cities, such as Boston, New York, Los Angeles, London, Rome, and Sydney. If the band members play and perform well, they earn fans, which allows them to unlock a van, a tour bus, or a jet; earn in-game money; hire a sound man; and even get signed to a label—with the ultimate goal of being in the Rock Star Hall of Fame. For most players, it will take numerous sessions to achieve that goal. As band members earn money, they can spend it in the “Rock Shop” and purchase cool outfits and other items to customize their character.

Components

Microphone: The player using the microphone sings the song which scrolls across the screen. It’s important to nail your vocal pitch with the meter that indicates the original vocal track. A tutorial explains the crowd meter (located on the left side of the screen, it will sink low and turn red if the audience doesn’t dig your style and will eventually boo you off stage), the energy meter (this is where improvised freestyle singing comes in handy when there are no words, and if you hit your notes right, the meter can go into overdrive to help teammates whose playing has not been up to par), the streak meter (indicates how many phrases in a row you get correct), and your score (indicates the number of stars you have earned). The microphone can also be used as an instrument by tapping on it like a tambourine when the percussion notes appear.

Drums: The four drum set has 12 pieces to connect, but it can be assembled easily in less than five minutes. When complete, the set stands almost two feet tall. A pedal that comes with the game plugs into the drum set and helps keep it real as you hit the notes at the same time as you step on the pedal. The scrolling on-screen notes are color coded to match the colors on each drum pad—red, yellow, blue, and green. If you’re familiar with Guitar Hero or Dance Dance Revolution, picture the notes appearing on the screen and, when they hit a certain point, your stick makes contact with the drum on the appropriate color. Your ability to hit the notes at the correct time will affect your band members play as well. An article in the January 2008 issue of Wired magazine, “Rock Band Feature: Harmonix’s Top Tips for Drummers,” has an interview with the drum’s creators, Harmonix®, on how to improve drum play (tinyurl.com/29v2xn).

Guitar: The Fender Stratocaster® is a realistic looking wireless guitar that enjoys many solo parts in the Rock Band song list. Keys are color coded which act in a similar fashion to the drums. When the notes on the screen reach a certain point, play the appropriate key on the guitar. If you don’t, your crowd meter (one measure of how well you are playing) will decline and your band mates probably won’t be too happy.

Rock Band in the library

The premise behind the design of Rock Band is to simulate the feel of playing in an actual band. The instruments are faux, but the experience is real. Players assume the identities of members of a band, customize their characters, and a group effort is needed to succeed. Plan a game night at your library, and let youngsters try their skills. The library will be the “place to go” for band wannabees, youngsters who just want to try on different identities, those interested in a career in music, and teens who just want to hang out and have fun. After mastering the game, players may even be able to transfer their skills to real instruments. The game play developed here could also offer crossover opportunities with the school band as well as music, art, and fashion design courses.

The game also encourages the development of social skills. To be successful, teamwork as well as problem-solving and negotiation skills are required to take up the slack for a band member’s poor performance and to advance the band’s overall level of play. Players must exercise collective intelligence to determine what the group must do so that they can all succeed. These valuable skills can be transferred to group homework projects and the workplace.

Teens can go to rockband.com for forums and leader boards about the game. YouTube has mini tutorials for the game and videos created by Rock Band fans. Check out the LibGaming listserve, libgaming.googlegroups.com, to find out how libraries are using Rock Band. Also, share your experience with me at kczarnecki@plcmc.org.