I can't help it. Every song I listen to gets me thinking in Guitar Hero. I ponder if a particular song was a level in Guitar Hero, would the individual parts be interesting enough for guitar, bass, keyboard/vocals, and drums? But the ruminating doesn't stop there. I already have a list of over 17 songs that I intend on creating using the Guitar Hero Music Studio. And as the list grows larger so do my crazy ideas. I'm investing a lot of energy into Guitar Hero. The more I invest the more I worry about the limitations of the song creator features.
FEARS
- Is there a song length limit? Hopefully I can make a song that's at least 5-6 minutes long. I've already spotted a limit to the number of drum beats available for a song. This worries me greatly.
- Can the composer choose to double up the drums, keyboard, or vocals? Can we make a song featuring 4 guitars? This kind of flexibility is essential for some of my song ideas.
- Though everyone has a limit to the amount of songs they can upload to GHTunes, will we still be able to trade songs with our friends? Can we even host the files on our own websites so we don't have to worry about hosting limitations? Also, is the maximum number of uploads determined by PS3 log in names/Xbox Live accounts? If so, what about the Wii? Could we just make new accounts to get more space? Will it be tied to each unique Wii?
- The developers have said that the tools they are giving the players almost directly compare to the variety, versatility, and quality of the tools that they use to create the real Guitar Hero tracks. Hopefully this includes the new touch pad and slide notes. I also need the ability to create 3 note "power chords," and I would love the ability to create double handed arpeggios where one hand plays on the buttons while the other plays on the touch pad at the same time!
- Can we balance the audio levels for individual tracks at different points in a song?
- Can we alter the tempo levels midway though a song?
- The album cover creator isn't open like LBP or even Mario Kart DS, which is very disapointing. It's more like Halo where players can pick and choose from a set of stickers/templates/stencils and mix up the colors. I hope I can create a specific logo or otherwise refer people to this blog for further information about each song.
- Because all the skews of Guitar Hero across the 3 platforms have the same features, I though the songs when uploaded to GHTunes would all be compatible with each other. In other words I hope I will be able to download user created songs regardless of the platform they were created on.
- Apparently, if you have a MIDI compatible PC you can hook up your PS3 to it and extend your song creating abilities. This is an interesting option that I hope the developers can extend in some fashion to the other platforms. Perhaps the Wii can get some DS connectivity for some touch screen editing. This leads me to...
THE IDEA
- What if Guitar Hero: World Tour pulled a Spore and released the Music Studio for purchase for the PC. This would allow players to create and edit their music using a mouse and keyboard instead of having to fiddle with the in game interface. If the developers could figure out a way to make the PC Music Studio free and run in browser, the amount of content on GHTunes would skyrocket just like the creatures in the Spore universe. Doing this would also even out the advantage the PS3 has over the other systems by giving PC functionality to all.
Little Big Planet is having a very similar effect on me as well. More on that later.