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When Rock Band was first announced, I, like many others, was shocked and skeptical. The game concept made perfect sense as an evolution of past games created by the fine folks at Harmonix. However, the game was so ambitious that I was uncertain how it would turn out.

Thankfully, Rock Band blew everyone out of the water upon release. Now we have to ask ourselves what we can expect from the next installment in the series. What follows are some postulations based on hopes, dreams, and insight from Harmonix project leader Greg LoPiccolo in an interview with gamesindustry.biz.

User-Generated Content:

Interest in user-generated content has been growing in gaming circles recently. With Microsoft’s XNA service and the upcoming Little Big Planet from Sony, gamers are getting a chance to create content and share it with others.

One notable omission from both the Guitar Hero series and Rock Band is a remix mode. In the previous offerings from Harmonix, the excellent Frequency and Amplitude, gamers were able to place their own notes within a song in whatever pattern they saw fit. An added feature was the ability to alter the tempo of the song and various effects. This resulted in original remixes that could have a drastically different feel to them. These alterations could be saved and shared with friends.

Rock Band would obviously benefit from the return of a remix mode, but why stop there? Why not let gamers create their own songs from scratch? It seems like a simple addition. Attach a harmonic scale to the guitar frets, retain the drum sounds from other modes, and allow a vocalist to record their own lyrics. Unfortunately, if gamers are given the tools to create their own songs, the first thing many will do is recreate popular songs that Harmonix has not licensed for the game. With the growing popularity of lawsuits aimed at music game makers, they probably have a right to be cautious. LoPiccolo had the following to say:

We would like to make it possible for people to introduce their own music into the Rock Band ecosystem, which is a pretty complicated topic.

It isn’t easy to achieve – there are IP issues, ratings issues, and so forth. So there are a lot of things to work through to get that to work, but that seems like a natural direction for the franchise to move.

We’d love to have it be a vehicle for people to be able to express themselves in terms of creating their own music and bringing it to a wider audience.

Self-Expression:

One of my favorite additions to Rock Band was the inclusion of big rock endings. Not only did they allow us to play through a song without having to worry about failing in the last fifteen seconds, but they also allowed us to stylishly wail on the guitar or pound on the drums with reckless abandon. Instead of following a predetermined note path, gamers got a chance to express themselves with whatever kind of rocking they wished. If you enjoyed this aspect of the game, you’ll be glad to know that LoPiccolo hints that we can expect more of this kind of thing in the future:

There are ways for people to play distinctive roles and express themselves, but only a tiny fraction of the overall experience. We see a lot of potential for expanding that.

Not a lot of details are contained in that quote, and I am having difficulty postulating what other avenues can be pursued to allow for further self expression. However, I remain confident Harmonix will find a way to get gamers making even bigger fools of themselves.

Increase the Size of the Band:

Four instruments may seem like plenty, but when you have a bonafide Rock Band party in progress, it is obvious that the band could benefit from additional players getting involved. This could range from simple additions such as an additional microphone (for back up singing and duets) to entirely new instruments such as a keyboard. LoPiccolo knows the interest is there, but there are some complications with regard to pulling this off:

Most consoles are set up for four peripherals, not five, which means you have to drop something. Which means that the song offering is more complicated.

You know, it is a big commitment. And then the question is, are there enough rock songs with compelling keyboard parts to make it worthwhile? And maybe the answer is yes, but we’ve been pretty busy and we haven’t really gotten there yet.

It is also worth noting that there is always room for more cow bell.

Frequent Small Chunks of Rock:

It is no secret that downloadable content has been extremely successful for both Rock Band and the Guitar Hero series. This trend is likely to continue, but is there anything else gamers can expect while waiting for a true sequel? It is clear that the path to be taken for the Guitar Hero franchise includes period pieces like Rock the 80’s and band specific software like Activision’s upcoming Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Many have wondered if we might see EA release software at retail focused on specific bands or genres as well. LoPiccolo chimes in on this possibility:

We have nothing specific to announce, but certainly that philosophy makes perfect sense for this kind of franchise. It is certainly the kind of thing we would be receptive to looking at.”

Another possiblility is the simultaneous release of albums and versions of the album’s tracks that are playable in Rock Band:

…I can certainly imagine a future of coordinated releases, where some given band may release their content into Rock Band at the same. I think that would make a lot of sense.

Overall, I believe the future of Rock Band is very bright indeed. It is encouraging to know that the developers at Harmonix still have a few tricks up their sleeves and aren’t willing to rest on their laurels. With the financial support provided by a publisher as huge as EA, we can probably expect big things from this team.

For more information and the full interview with LoPiccolo, go here.