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VidRhythm going free, updated
Harmonix is, of course, the company behind the great Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises for consoles, but its latest project is an iOS app, VidRhythm, that will let you create quick and funny music videos just by recording quick clips of you and your friends recording various musical parts. I enjoyed the app a lot when it first came out, and have since used it a few times to make videos with friends while hanging out or waiting around in a line. In fact, the app has even landed on Apple's best of 2011 list. And now it's been updated -- Harmonix has dropped the app down to the low price of free, and added in twelve new "songs" designed just for the holidays. There's also a new pitch correction feature (for when you don't quite sing the right note), and a new mode that will send out high quality 720p video from an iPhone 4 or 4S. Very slick. VidRhythm is a great app that's a ton of fun whenever you're hanging around with a group of people. Definitely pick it up right now for the many holiday parties you'll be going to, and be sure to post those videos online when you make them!
VidRhythm goes free, adds new tracks and video styles
Vidrhythm, Harmonix's video-splicing music sampling app, is now free. Not only has it gone gratis, but the VidRhythm v1.1 update adds 12 new tracks (to the 21 available), and includes some holiday classics like "Jingle Bells" and "Deck the Halls." The app also has pitch correction now for that one buddy who couldn't make the "BOM" sound in the right key. Finally, you get six new video styles and the option to export clips in 720p, delivering high-definition nightmares across the internet. VidRhythm was one of our selections in the 2011 Holiday Buyer's Guide for iOS (just ignore that price now).
2011 Holiday Buyers Guide: iOS
You'll forgive us, but we're banking on the concept of Aunt Eileen stuffing your stocking with iTunes gift cards rather than, say, a Zune Marketplace one. Perhaps that depends on if you've been naughty or nice? We're not quite sure how this holiday stuff works, but we're trying our best here. Anyway, below the break we've compiled another year's worth of great games on both iPhone and iPad platforms that we hope you'll love as well. Even if you don't get those gift cards, these games should still be affordable -- even after buying all those presents. Good luck with the relatives!
VidRhythm now free on the App Store
As part of a "Like App Store on Facebook" deal (that part of the promotion hasn't gone live yet), Harmonix is offering its absurd video music composition thing VidRhythm for free. Celebrate the thrill of new iPhone announcement by getting a weird new game for your current phone! Harmonix warns us that as the price is still being flipped over, users who attempt to purchase the game right now may run into some errors. Just channel that pain into your VidRhythm clips once it does download.
VidRhythm adds user-uploaded tracks, has Harmonix eyeing iOS for the future
"Initial reception has been great," Harmonix creative director Josh Randall told me in an email exchange earlier today. He was speaking to Harmonix' latest music creation, VidRhythm, and the success it's seen both critically and commercially on the iOS App Store. "We're at 5-out-of-5 stars on the App store ... in just a few weeks we've seen over 1,000 videos uploaded to YouTube, and we presume over that number to Facebook." And today, Harmonix launched its first major update to the bizarrely delightful application, albeit not one you'll find waiting in your phone as an update. The VidRhythm user-generated content creator is available now from the official site, allowing folks with the technical chops to cut apart their favorite tracks and add them to VidRhythm. "We can't wait to see what people do with it," Randall added. But Harmonix isn't done with the application, nor is it done with the iOS platform. While declining my request for specific sales numbers, Randall said, "Suffice it to say it's doing well enough to keep supporting VidRhythm, and to think about what other experiences we can bring to iOS next." More specifically, he told me the VR team is working on adding "even more songs and video styles to play with" in the "next few months." Get your pets at the ready!
Harmonix interested in branching out beyond music with Kinect
Many years ago, before Harmonix was the dev house that birthed Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Central, the company created EyeToy: AntiGrav -- a motion-controlled game for Sony's PlayStation 2 "EyeToy" camera peripheral. Despite strong sales, that was the last time that the Massachusetts-based developer created a project not steeped in music. But it seems that the studio may not have abandoned its one-time interest in non-music motion-based games. "I think we're always open-minded about new opportunities," Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos told me in an interview this week at the Tokyo Game Show. "Certainly our focus always has been and probably always will be on music-themed games," he added, but his company's involvement with Dance Central has rekindled the studio's interest in other types of motion-based gaming. "A perfect example is the Kinect, which I think that through our work on Dance Central we've developed an affinity for -- towards motion gaming." Though Rigopulos wouldn't speak to specifics, he would say that, "It wouldn't be surprising if in the future we took some steps outside of our wheelhouse in music to try some new things in non-music focused motion gaming." Harmonix' latest release, VidRhythm for iOS devices, may also be on the cards for some type of Kinect-based adaptation. "Of course our hope is to keep improving it and expanding it, including bringing it to other platforms, such as possibly Kinect," Rigopulos explained. That said, with VidRhythm having just launched in the past few weeks, he's not even sure of initial sales reports just yet, so it may be a few before we hear more about the application headed to other devices.
Portabliss: VidRhythm (iOS)
Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. In each installment, we'll tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: VidRhythm. I've been debating for some time whether or not it would be kosher to refer to VidRhythm, Harmonix's new iOS music-making application, as a "game." I suppose splitting hairs in this debate could lead to the retroactive de-gamification of classics like the MTV Music Generator, but the lack of points, or a win scenario, or any form of competition seems to disqualify VidRhythm from eligibility to be written about on this, our gaming blog. But I'm going to do it anyway. Because while VidRhythm lacks many of those oh-so-important game components, it brings a hell of a lot of manic, hilarious fun to the table.
Daily iPhone App: VidRhythm
When Harmonix (the makers of Rock Band and Dance Central) first announced it was creating a brand new iOS app, I was looking forward to a brand new music game of some kind. But the company surprised us all with VidRhythm, now available on the App Store for US$1.99. It's not really a game, really; it's a casual (and fun) remixing tool and music video maker. The game has a bunch of tracks (mostly original, though there are a few classical songs in the mix as well) that are assembled out of little hits of sound, everything from bass drums and high-hat hits to various other beats and samples. Your job as the music video maker is to replace those samples with your own audio and video. The app tells you exactly what to do (like "say Bom"), and you can then record video of you or some gullible friends doing just that. Record all the samples, choose a video style, hit Go, and voila: almost instantly you have an original music video, made up of your own video recordings and audio mix. It's wild to see in action. There's no actual game to play, but it is a lot of fun to play with, and Harmonix has done a great job of hiding all of the video and audio processing that must go on behind the scenes to make something like this. You can see some examples of the videos on YouTube, but until you actually dive in and make one yourself, it's hard to tell just how magical the app really is. Essentially, VidRhythm is a cool toy, not to mention a fun creative tool. I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get a full game from Harmonix, but this is nice, too, and I look forward to seeing the kind of videos people end up creating with it.
VidRhythm is Harmonix's mash-up music video-generating iOS app
Harmonix's VidRhythm, available next month on the iOS App Store, involves performing clips that last only a few seconds with your camera-equipped iOS device, and then watching them be transformed into an insane mash-up music video. One wouldn't necessarily classify it as a "game," but you'll likely be competing against your friends to see who can delve deeper, and more creatively, into the gaping maw of madness that VidRhythm presents. IGN, which has clips of the app in action, notes the program will ship with 25 tracks and that clips can easily be uploaded to YouTube or Facebook with a single button. It's also possible to export the mini masterpieces of monstrous diversion as .mov files. We found VidRhythm's interface incredibly intuitive when we had the opportunity to mess around with the app in the wee morning hours at Gamescom. Harmonix's John Drake and Eric Pope also briefly discussed the app's origin as guests on The Joystiq Show during the convention. We also discovered VidRhythm's sound clips are easy to customize once you've gotten a grip on how it'll be presented in the final product. For example, the image above came out when we changed the words "Go" and "Team" to "Joy" and "Stiq" in a particular clip. We hope to share our VidRhythm experimentation -- which we lovingly refer to as "nightmare creations" -- sometime soon.
Harmonix's VidRhythm coming to iOS, is more app than game
We've been gnawing on the Harmonix-trademarked title "VidRhythm" since early July, but we've had little to go on, save for the name itself and the confirmation that it's a project the Rock Band/Dance Central developer is working on. Thanks to a Gamasutra interview with Harmonix boss Alex Rigopulos, we now know VidRhythm is headed to iOS and is really more app than full-fledged game. "We think there are a lot of creative opportunities [with smartphones] that we haven't really been able to focus on yet," he told the site. "So we're looking forward to doing more in that space." We think we speak for most all of you when we say "Just make an iOS sequel to Frequency and Amplitude so we can give you all the money we have already." [Image credit: RockBandAide]
'Vidrhythm' trademarked by Harmonix [update]
Harmonix has filed an "intent to use" trademark application for Vidrhythm with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As Siliconera notes, the independent developer has said it's looking down many development avenues, so it's not clear what Vidrhythm may be. Go ahead and place your bets. Officially, Harmonix is currently working to high-kick Dance Central 2 out the door and continues to pump out Rock Band DLC at a weekly beat. We've contacted the developer for any further details on Vidrhythm. Update: Harmonix communications director John Drake informed Joystiq: "Nothing to add at this time, other than to confirm that it is a project we're working on."
