Mashing up genres has always been a sure way of innovating in the games industry – and veteran developer Harmonix may have come up with one of the most intriguing examples yet. The creator of the multimillion selling Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles has just announced Chroma, a free-to-play first-person shooter that uses music as a key gameplay mechanic. Forget bullets, missiles and pinpoint accuracy – think rhythm, beat-matching and deadly bass lines.
How does that work? According to Harmonix, every familiar element of the arena-based online shooter has been included, but then tweaked to use music. Every weapon in the game blasts different audio sounds and samples, and each player’s arsenal is governed by their personal tastes. Each character class has a different take on standard rhythm action inputs, so for example, the engineers need to tap out a note sequence on a Guitar-Hero-style timing display to blast their dual pistols, while snipers need to time their shots to the background music in order to get one-shot kills. Every movement in the game has a rhythm element, so jumping on the beat provides a bonus, while team members must act in unison to create tunes. You’re not an army, you’re a band.
Meanwhile, background scenery also alters depending on the music. At major moments in a track, walls and buildings shift, and landscape morphs, so that new cover points and sniper hotspots become available.
A history of harmony
Apparently, Harmonix has been mulling over this concept for several years. The studio, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has always innovated with music and interactivity. Its first major release, the 2001 PlayStation 2 title FreQuency, mixed retro arcade visuals with a music building mechanic, and its sizable cult audience allowed a similarly trippy sequel, Amplitude. Worldwide success with the Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Dance Central titles followed, but since then the studio has been getting back to its experimental roots with projects like 2011’s interesting video re-mixing app, VidRhythm.
To get the shooter component right, the studio is working with Hidden Path Entertainment, previously responsible for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. A closed alpha test of the game will also invite gamers to make their own suggestions on how the design should continue. As for the free-to-play components, Harmomix is promising that microtransactions will all be based on character and sound customisations rather than “pay-to-win” elements such as access to better weapons and power-ups.
No word on release date yet, or on the details of the game’s all-important soundtrack, but release is expected for later in the year on Steam.
