Music Wars - Interference is your friend
Genre: Platformer cum music game
Number of players: 1-4
Platform: PC and Xbox (Reuse already acquired game controllers)
Target Audience: 15 and Up
Target ESRB rating: Teen
Background:
In a parallel universe where the only language is music and there isn't any form of recorded music, you and your friends are a mega rock band. On one of your routine tours, your tour bus suffers a horrible crash. The band survives but has lost its memory, all of your songs seem like a distant memory. They are all hazy and unclear. This the quest to regain all that lost music. The only way to get it back is to travel the world and learn it from the tonnes of cover musicians. But there is only one catch, like every known rock band ever you were very rude. So the community doesn't want to help you. You need to force it out of them. Infiltrate their jam sessions and live performances. Destroy them. Take back what's rightfully yours and rule the world of music again.
The game is set in a city lined with streets, office buildings, theaters and sports arenas. There are street musicians on some corners, music schools, recording studios, night clubs and concert halls. All of the games navigation will be done by ear. Players need to navigate based on the origin of the sound. Once they encounter their “enemy” the music will get very clear and then the sound will turn into notes flying towards the players. Each character has to “interfere” and cancel the incoming notes. This way the band can re learn all their old songs. Not all the locations will require all the band members, but some locations will require all the band members in perfect harmony.
As the band completes missions they get to keep the instruments of the people they have just defeated. Better instruments will make the incoming music easy to replicate. The tougher opponents will play “tighter” (better) and hence the music will be harder to learn. Difficulty will be determined by the number of notes and the complexity of the combinations. Players can make their lives easier by having better instruments. A good instrument gives the player a longer time to hit a note.
While on your journey to find all of your music you will encounter rouge musicians and fans who you have wronged in the past. You can kill them with music. Basically hitting a string of buttons(like fighting games) will send out a beam of sound. If band members co operate then these beams will be more powerful. The keystrokes for each of the band member will be different. And not all moves can be combined successfully. Street bums while traveling and rogue fans while performing can be blinded or silenced by throwing drumsticks or guitar picks at them.
Highlights of the game include fights against really good bands that will test the individual skill and teamwork. And if the game is played right the music should sound really melodious.
The core game mechanic will be that of guitar hero in that the players will have to hit the notes that are prompted on the screen. The only change I am proposing is that instead of colored notes that show up on the screen the notes will show like they do on a real music notation. Of course there will still be clues regarding which button needs to be pressed for the corresponding note. The biggest difference will be that each of the characters will have a radically different button sequences and hence abilities.
Also the players have a sandbox in which they can travel. They have to find the easier gigs before they can tackle the harder ones. But skilled players will be able to take on the harder challenges even without taking on some low level challenges. In certain scenarios players won't be able to hear certain songs until they have completed certain basic levels. The game is only finished when the entire band has learned their greatest hit and performs it in front of a sold out stadium.
As there are 4 different characters there is plenty of replay value. Once you complete the game as a guitarist you can always replay the game as a drummer.
Features
• Single and Multi-player(network)
• Characters are guitar, bass, singer, drums
• Guitar can hit higher pitches better so he must handle all the high incoming notes
• Bass can hit lower pitches better so he must handle all the low incoming notes
• Singer can hit mid tones better so he must handle all the low incoming notes
• Drummer sets the tempo and can drastically affect the enemies and his own band mates. Songs completed at a higher tempo will yield more points
• Enemies of certain will only respond(die) because of certain kinds of music. Old people die from rock and young ones die if you play ABBA
• Drummers and bassists can break down doors and rattle stuff. Needed to enter rooms and halls that aren't open to the band.
• Singers and Guitarists can shatter windows and ear drums. Needed to enter halls where the doors are locked but have back windows.
Yes there are some quick time events but that can be tweaked
Inspiration:
Metalocalypse, guitar hero, rock band, street fighter, warcraft(DOTA).
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