Guitar Hero Live

Now seems like the perfect time for an encore, and that’s where Guitar Hero Live comes in. We chat to designer James Norris from Freestyle Games about the ambitious new title and how it’s going to revolutionise the franchise and the gaming industry as a whole.

At the forefront of the latest features is Guitar Hero TV, which offers a brand new way to play. “The way people listen to music now is different, so we thought we could do something new,” explains Norris. “Guitar Hero TV is a kind of music discovery platform. We’re launching with hundreds of songs and we’re always going to be adding new ones. We hope that people will turn it on, find the songs you would expect in Guitar Hero, but also discover something new.”

One of the highlights of Guitar Hero TV is the online multiplayer aspect that connects you with players across the globe. “The coolest thing for me is that when you tune into one of our channels you’re playing the same song at the same time with the rest of the world,” Norris says. “It’s a nice unifying sort of thing; everyone is listening to and jamming to that song at the same time.”

As a huge fan of customisation in games, I can’t help but ask how that will come into play so I can stand out online. “The two main things are your note highway, which is what you’re staring at most of the time, and your player cards, which is what people will see during the result sequence,” replies Norris. “They will also show up on the leaderboards so everyone will know who is the top dog.”

There will also be plenty of swag for those who love exclusivity. “We also have premium shows on GHTV and they will change pretty regularly. If you win one of them you’ll get a special note highway that no-one else can have. We want to give people new bragging rights and a lot of options.”

EB Expo attendees in Sydney this month were able to test the GH Live mode, where the player gets to see everything from the perspective of the guitarist.

”This is the mode that makes you the star,” Norris says. “You get onstage and whether you do well or suck, the crowd and your bandmates are going to react accordingly, like throw stuff at you and give you the stink eye. In previous versions you would be saved by the kick out, but now we want you to feel what it’s like knowing everyone is looking at you and you’re the one messing up,” he laughs.

One of the biggest changes the game is introducing is a brand new controller with six black-and-white buttons in a 2×3 layout. “Gone are the colours of the past,” declares Norris. “At first we thought that taking them was crazy and we booed the UI artist right out of the building [laughs]. But then we tried it out and it worked really well.

“A lot of players found it difficult to use the pinky, but the new set-up allows you to stay in one comfort zone at the Beginner difficulty. As you step it [up] you climb into the black buttons and then there are some barre and power chords in Advanced. But it’s when you hit Expert that it gets really exciting. It’s going to be a new challenge for old GH players. If you were really good at that then, there’s still something new for you here.”