According to Harmonix, development on Rock Band 3 began right after they released Rock Band 2 in September 2008. After the game released, the music genre started to saturate and sales dropped off.
“We saw a kind of staleness in terms of game-play innovation,” says project director Daniel Sussman. “Really, the main focus of Rock Band 3 development was finding new ways to experience the music and actually doubling down, if you will, on our investment in compelling game play. We are adding a new instrument (a 25-key, fully functioning MIDI keyboard) and we’re adding a whole new mode, which is designed basically to answer that staleness factor.”
The addition of these things is expected to make the game both more accessibly to those new to the game and liven it up for veterans. For one, more detail has been added to the player models and the story mode. “Previously our career modes weren’t really about getting better as a Rock Band player, it was about investing time,” says senior designer Dan Teasdale. “We developed this entirely new career mode based around unlocking achievement-like goals to show your progression through the game, and also give you incentives to get better. We have hundreds and hundreds of these goals across instruments and gameplay modes and across (downloadable content). It is a really great way to finish Rock Band in your way, based on your skill, and not on some predetermined path of songs.”
Players can now more easily jump in and out of the game, making for an easier party experience. There’s also a better method of finding titles in your collection, along with having seven-player band options. More realistic guitar controllers are being considered where you can actually strum, along with a drum controller with added symbols, and expert players can play in the music training pro mode. “You can be an expert keys-player playing with an all easy band, no problem,” says Harmonix PR John Drake.
Source: USA Today
