Famous - Road to Glory

Presentation

Management, minigame, rythm game – Nintendo DS – 2007

What I did.

• Game concept based on the client's proposal, game design documentation and game vision.
• Minigame design using all the features of the Nintendo DS (mic, touchscreen, etc) and game mechanics for the rhythm sequences.
• Sound design with a programmer to build a sound engine allowing the player to create its own tunes.
• two tunes for the game.

What I learned.

• How to adjust the content of the game during the many target changes made by the editor.
• Work with another game designer (I was alone on Dance floor) and a larger team.
• The sound design aspect of a project.

Famous – Road to Glory is an action, rhythm and management game in which the player must manage his career as a musician in order to achieve the status of ultimate rockstar. The game was published by Nobilis.

I was in charge of the game concept , based on Nobilis’ proposal, which validated the project. Next, the game design itself was written as a duet with my colleague for the whole management system and myself for the action side (minigames) and the musical/rhythm side.
I wanted the musical composition aspect to be an important asset for the game and that’s why I designed a system that allows the player to create his own melody, without any knowledge of music theory. The songs are built around a group of several different blocks that the player have to unlock during the gameplay and that he can organize as he sees fit, like puzzle pieces. Of course, there was an optimal sequence, corresponding to the melody as I originally composed it, which allowed him to score a lot more points.
On this occasion, I composed two of the ten melodies available in the game.
I also wanted the Nintendo DS’s touch screen to be the main input interface for the character’s music instrument training minigame, trying to simulate the use of a musical instrument. We translated that with strokes and swipes done with the DS Pen.