You Say You Want a Revolution: Chris Foster on The Beatles: Rock Band

6/24/2009 7:38 AM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3

The Beatles created a revolution in rock music. Rock Band created a revolution in music videogames. Combine the two, and the revolutionary power is enough to topple every government on Earth!

Well, maybe not, but it's still a pretty big deal. I sat down for a quick chat with Lead Designer Chris Foster about the development of The Beatles: Rock Band, his favorite bands and what's next...

Crispy Gamer: When Harmonix's Beatles game was first announced, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos promised, "This game is not just a Rock Band song expansion pack." How exactly is this not a Rock Band expansion pack?

Chris Foster: It's interesting; at the time, we knew ... the decision to acknowledge that it was a Rock Band game was one that came from both [the Beatles'] Apple [Corp.] and MTV. For the core gameplay, clearly there are significant changes, most notably the vocal harmony. But what's key is that it's a game really about the Beatles and telling their story. We don't have the World Tour in there from Rock Band. It's not about cash and stars and fans; they kind of had all the cash and fans they needed from the get-go. It's not just about going through a bunch of live venues. It's not the exact same game mechanics, like, again, with vocal harmony, so there was a real interest to make it its own thing and give it the care and attention it needed. That's what was intended by the original statement.

Crispy Gamer: So Alex's statement was misconstrued a little bit?

Foster: I think so... I think maybe it was a mixed message but, you know, it's Rock Band.

Crispy Gamer: How does the game let you "tell the story" of the Beatles? You play in different locations from their career ... is that all there is to it?

Foster: There's more to it than that, although at E3 we're not talking too much about the story, that one secret corner of the game. But if you look at the venues you'll see we take you from the Cavern Club to the Apple Corp. rooftop and all the iconic live venues in-between -- Ed Sullivan Theater, Shea Stadium, Budokan. Then, one of the key differences is that middle section in the studio years, where we take them to Abbey Road Studio Two and we use the dreamscapes to give you the psychedelic interpretation of all these different songs.

Crispy Gamer: Is the whole Beatles catalog going to be available as downloadable content eventually?

Foster: All that we've announced at this point is our first DLC album, which is "Abbey Road," and the Xbox Live exclusive "All You Need is Love" for Doctors Without Borders.

Crispy Gamer: Is the goal eventually to have it all available?

Foster: It would certainly be awesome to have it all out there, but we haven't announced any specific plans.

Crispy Gamer: It's been reported that the songs from The Beatles: Rock Band aren't going to integrate with the other Rock Band games...

Foster: Yeah, there are a few reasons for that. One is that we've got new gameplay, with vocal harmony, which doesn't exist in Rock Band 2 and couldn't be easily put into it. And then we've got the way that we're treating a lot of the venues and environments. Dreamscapes don't have an analogue in Rock Band 2. Although we did music videos in Rock Band 2, these are going significantly further.