Rock Guitar Battle (Work In Progress)

* this game is currently in the early stages of development, this page will be updated with more details as development continues *

Overview

Rock Guitar Battle (working title) is a music-based RPG currently in development by me as the solo developer. Battle other guitarists with shredding solos you get to compose. Improve your musical skills and learn new licks to play cooler solos and battle better players, trying to become the best guitar player you can be.

I really want to make a game where you play as a musician, but in a more meaningful way than the character playing music just being an aesthetic thing that doesn't directly affect the gameplay, like in many games were the bard character simply uses spells that deal damage like any other character, but they happen to play special musical bits when casting to show that the character is a bard. In this game, the music itself is the focus of the gameplay, and you as the player get to have a hand in composing the music you use to battle. In this game, you get to truly embody the rock guitarist you've always wanted to be.

Story Summary

You play as a famous rock guitarist about to play the biggest show of your career headlining a massive rock festival. There's just one problem: you made a deal with the actual devil to get your mad guitar skills and he has come to collect. In an attempt to save yourself from damnation, you have challenged the devil to a guitar duel for your soul during your set at the end of the festival. The devil accepted, but has taken away his guitar-shredding gifts to you, leaving you a complete beginner. You only have a few days to go around the festival desperately trying to re-learn how to play guitar before you face-off with the prince of darkness on the main stage in front of an audience of thousands with eternity on the line. Fortunately, you are in a place full of incredible musicians who can help you.  Play with and battle against other guitarists, learn from their solos, and improve your skills. Otherwise, this show will be your last.

Gameplay 

Overview

Gameplay centers around battling other guitarists with awesome solos you get to compose. As you play, win battles, and explore the festival, you learn new licks on the guitar that you can use in your solos. When you battle other guitarists, you compose a solo by selecting a series of licks from the ones you know to compete with what the other guitarist plays. Then, you have to trigger the notes at the right time as the music plays to actually perform your composition.

Solos are graded based on the complexity of the licks that make them up, combined with how accurately they are played. Harder licks are more impressive, but only if you play them correctly. Mistakes don't make for a good show. You have to outperform the other guitarist to win a battle, so be sure to balance choosing impressive licks with staying within your skill level. And of course, you can always practice more if you need, or just want, to play the harder licks.

Improving Your Skills

Having been stripped of your devilish gifts at the start of the game, you begin knowing only the very basics of the guitar. Fortunately, there are several ways to learn new licks and improve your skills.

• Find other guitarists around the festival to learn from them and add some of their licks to your repertoire. Some are friendly and will be happy to teach you. Others may have more of an ego and will require you to beat them in a guitar battle to demonstrate you are worthy of knowing their secrets.

• Explore the festival to find tab books. These contain new licks for you to use in your solos.

• Improve your playing skills by battling against other guitarists or practicing in private back at your own tent. That way, you'll be able to pull out the really complex licks when you need to show-up a highly skilled opponent.

Customization

Style is very important at a rock festival. After all, you can't go battling the devil on stage without looking really cool. To that end, there are several aspects of your look you can customize in the game, including:

• The color of your guitar.

• The shape of your guitar's body.

• I intend to make the player character's appearance customizable as well to at least some degree, hopefully allowing the player to choose their haircut, build, and outfit.