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Guitar Hero: On Tour (video game)

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Guitar Hero: On Tour
File:GuitarHeroOnTour.jpg
Developer(s)Vicarious Visions
Publisher(s)RedOctane, Activision
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Genre(s)Music
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Guitar Hero: On Tour is an upcoming music video game for the Nintendo DS system, based on the Guitar Hero series of video games. The game is being developed by Vicarious Visions and published by RedOctane and Activision, and will be released in North America on June 22, 2008[1]. The game simulates the use of the guitar-shaped controller used in other games in the series by providing a "Guitar Grip", a unique four-fret controller that fits into the Game Boy Advance slot on the DS unit. The game will feature more than 25 licensed songs. GameSpot has stated that the game will work with both the Nintendo DS Lite and the original Nintendo DS.[3]

Development

File:Gh on tour grip.jpg
The "Guitar Grip" fits into the GBA slot on the Nintendo DS Lite to simulate the guitar controller.

Work on a Nintendo DS version was started in early Template:Vgy according to Vicarious Visions CEO, Karthik Bala,[4] though the game was not officially announced until September 7, 2007 at the Austin GDC '07.[5] Bala stated that the inspiration for the game was to "see if it was even possible to do a really good music rhythm game on a handheld".[6] The first six months of development were "touch and go", according to Bala, and it took nearly a year to figure out the best strumming mechanism for the game.[6] Bala claimed that they had gone through more than 20 combinations of software and hardware peripherals until they "hit upon the idea of creating a peripheral that would have the fret buttons plugging into the GBA slot of the DS".[4] This also gave the advantage of making the peripheral compact, allowing it to be easily taken on the road.[4] Other designs that were tested but dropped included a larger guitar-shaped unit that the DS was attached to (dubbed "Ukelele Hero" by the design team), different grips with three to six to twelve buttons, and gameplay that was built only around using the stylus.[6][7] Not until the initial prototype was done did Vicarious Visions approach Nintendo and RedOctane; both companies were skeptical of the game but helped to support the team, Nintendo by assisting in the hardware interaction with the DS, and RedOctane by helping with the ergonomics of the Guitar Grip.[6]

Even with the hardware designed, Vicarious Visions spent additional time refining the game play. According to lead designer Jeremy Russo, the team had the largest number of playtesters brought in for any project in order to refine the touchscreen "strumming" action, using a range of testers, including those that had never played a Guitar Hero game, the "'Dragonforce' Expert" players, and real guitar players. In addition, the team wanted to expand the "Guitar Duel" mode to include several DS-specific mini-games that could not be recreated on other consoles, but found themselves running out of time. RedOctane wanted to see On Tour as a "polished AAA title on a handheld" and insisted on the "Guitar Duel" be a key feature of the game, and gave Vicarious Visions more time to complete the game. The additional time allowed the team to develop the software to recognize every type of strumming approaching, including finding a solution to handle the expert players that strummed faster than they could previously recognized. This time also was used to strengthen the "Guitar Duel" gameplay, and as a result, this mode became the testers' favorite feature of the game.[8]

While some tracks were brought over from Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Vicarious Visions recreated all the note tracks for the game, aiming to keep the same difference in difficulty from Easy to Expert as in the console versions.[6] Each song has been divided into three separate compressed tracks that play back simultaneously during gameplay.[6]

Vicarious Visions developed a method to overcome the 2,000-polygon drawing limit imposed by the Nintendo DS hardware in order to allow the characters, each composed of about 2,000 polygons, still be recognizable.[6] They also developed a method of allowing input through the GBA port of the DS.[6]

During a conference call on May 8, 2008, Activision revealed that the game would both be sold as an individual game (along with the "Guitar Grip") as well as bundled with the DS hardware itself.[9]

Gameplay

Screenshot of the two DS screens during gameplay of Guitar Hero: On Tour. The right screen is presented on the touchscreen side of the DS.
See also: Gameplay in the Guitar Hero series

The core gameplay, remains unchanged from the other games in the series.[4] To adapt the gameplay to the Nintendo DS, the game will ship with a special peripheral, the "Guitar Grip", that is slightly smaller than the Nintendo DS Lite and fits into the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot on the unit. The unit is designed for the DS Lite, but features a small adapter that can be removed for use in the older Nintendo DS models.[3] Four fret buttons are located on the side of the unit near the cartridge slot. A wriststrap is attached to the underside to provide support while playing. The player holds the unit in a vertical book orientation (similar to Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword or Hotel Dusk: Room 215), and uses a special guitar pick-shaped stylus to strum on the touchscreen of the DS with their free hand. Notes and the performance of the chosen character in the band are shown on the opposite screen. As notes scroll down on the "note highway", the player must press the correct fret button and strum the touchscreen at the same time using a special pick shaped stylus to successfully score points. While holding a long note, the player can also use the touch screen to apply a whammy effect by moving the stylus across the on-screen whammy bar or anywhere on the screen. After the player has successfully hit a selected series of notes, they will gain 'star power' which doubles their score until the meter has run out. This is activated by yelling or blowing into the DS microphone, by pressing any of the face buttons on the DS, or by tapping the Star Power meter on the touch screen.

There will be a single player Career Mode, allowing the player to select from six different characters, four that return from the other games in the series and two unique to On Tour. Completing Career Mode will unlock more venues and options for the selected character's appearance. The game will utilize the local wireless abilities of the Nintendo DS to support both 2-player co-operative play and competitive play. The competitive play introduces concepts found in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock's "Battle Mode" which is called "Guitar Duel". In Guitar Duel, one player can create a temporary distraction for the other player by successfully completing certain sections of the song. In On Tour, these distractions will require the affected player to utilize features of the DS to remove the distraction, including having to blow in the microphone to put out virtual flames on their guitar,having to rapidly sign autographs on the touchscreen if rushed by a group of in-game fans, or to fix a broken string by dragging the broken ends together. [4]

Promotion

When pre-ordered in certain stores, the consumer will receive either a special Guitar Hero: On Tour set of headphones, or an exclusive guitar pick stylus, both of which have the Guitar Hero: On Tour logo.

On June 14, Toys "R" Us stores across the US will host a "First to Play" event, where players may try out the game more than a week before it's release. Also at the event, anyone who attends will receive a free Guitar Hero sticker, a temporary tattoo, and a special dog tag. [10]

To coincide with the release of Guitar Hero: On Tour in North America and the United Kingdom, Nintendo will release a bundle which will include Guitar Hero: On Tour and a limited edition Silver/Black Nintendo DS Lite branded with the Guitar Hero logo.[11][12]

Soundtrack

According to the June issue of Nintendo Power, Guitar Hero: On Tour will include more than 25 licensed tracks, with more than 85% of them being master recordings.[6] Twenty will be exclusive to this version, while the remaining songs will be pulled from previous games in the series. This includes such songs as:[13][14][6]

Song title Artist Master
recording 		Tier
All Star Smash Mouth yesGreen tickY 2. Rooftop
All the Small Things Blink-182 yesGreen tickY 1. Subway
Are You Gonna Be My Girl Jet yesGreen tickY 1. Subway
Black Magic Woman Santana 4. Greek Arena
Breed Nirvana yesGreen tickY 2. Rooftop
China Grove Doobie BrothersThe Doobie Brothers yesGreen tickY 3. Parade
Do What You Want OK Go yesGreen tickY 1. Subway
Heaven Los Lonely Boys yesGreen tickY 3. Parade
Helicopter Bloc Party yesGreen tickY 3. Parade
Hit Me with Your Best Shot Pat Benatar yesGreen tickY 2. Rooftop
Jessie's Girl Rick Springfield yesGreen tickY 2. Rooftop
Jet Airliner Steve Miller Band 4. Greek Arena
La Grange ZZ Top 4. Greek Arena
Rock and Roll All Nite Kiss 3. Parade
Spiderwebs No Doubt yesGreen tickY 1. Subway
Stray Cat Strut Stray Cats yesGreen tickY 4. Greek Arena
This Love Maroon 5 yesGreen tickY 2. Rooftop
We're Not Gonna Take It Twisted Sister yesGreen tickY 1. Subway
What I Want Daughtry featuring Slash yesGreen tickY 3. Parade
Youth Gone Wild Skid Row 4. Greek Arena
TBA Red Hot Chili Peppers
TBA Ozzy Osbourne
TBA Incubus

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Console Hero: Date and Price announced for Guitar Hero On Tour". 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2008-03-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Guitar Hero: On Tour page on GAME
  3. ^ a b Brian Ekberg (2008-04-14). "Guitar Hero: On Tour First Look". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
  4. ^ a b c d e Harris, Craig (2008-03-13). "Exclusive Reveal: Guitar Hero DS". IGN. Retrieved 2008-03-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Frey, Burk (2007-09-07). "News - Austin GDC '07: New Guitar Hero DS details". Games Are Fun. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Faylor, Chris (2008-05-30). "How Guitar Hero Came to DS When Nobody Asked: Shack's Hands-on Preview and Interview". Shacknews. Retrieved 2008-05-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Booth, Jesse (2008-06-06). "Hardware Design". IGN. Retrieved 2008-06-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Russo, Jeremy (2008-06-12). "The Gameplay". IGN. Retrieved 2008-06-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Thorson, Tor (2008-05-08). "Guitar Hero "leaping forward" in Q4, On Tour DS bundle confirmed". Gamespot. Retrieved 2008-05-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ IGN: Toys 'R' Us Hosting 'First to Play' Event for Activision's Highly Anticipated Guitar Hero: On Tour
  11. ^ http://press.nintendo.com/articles.jsp?id=15415
  12. ^ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=190814
  13. ^ "Guitar Hero On Tour Info". goNintendo. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
  14. ^ Harris, Craig (2008-05-28). "Guitar Hero: On Tour Hands-on". IGN. Retrieved 2009-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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