Fuser (video game)
Fuser is an upcoming rhythm game developed by Harmonix and published by NCSoft. It is planned for release in the latter part of 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
| FUSER | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Harmonix |
| Publisher(s) | NCSoft |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One |
| Release | 2020 |
| Genre(s) | Rhythm |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Gameplay
In Fuser, the player takes the role of a DJ at a large concert. They have a virtual DJ table with four record players, and a list of records (their crate) along the top of the screen. Each record has four tracks keyed by color and related to a type of musical instruments like drums, guitar or vocals. At any time, the player can place select a record, then select a specific track from that record, and then place it on any of the record players. This adds that instrument's track to the current mix across all four records, automatically adjusting the mix's tempo and musical key. New record/tracks can be added to any record player, overriding the previous track in the mix. This concept is comparable to Harmonix' prior game DropMix, which was a physical card game incorporating NFC technology with an electronic game board and mobile app that was published through Hasbro.[1][2]
The game has a single-player campaign featuring multiple sets across various venues. At each set, the player attempts to make mixes, adding new tracks in time to the beat to score more points. Additionally, the virtual audience will throw out requests, such as for specific songs, songs from a specific genre, or a certain type of instrument. These requests vary based on the venue and other factors. Completing these requests in a short amount of time scores additional points. The player is ranked on a five-star scale based on their total score during the set.[1] To achieve a high score, the player has the opportunity to customize the contents of the crate to be as efficient as possible in switching between tracks.[2] Fuser will include a multiplayer mode to let players collaborate on creating a mix.[1] There will also be a freestyle mode that will allow players to create their own mixes and share them with others over social media.[1]
The game is expected to ship with more than 100 licensed music songs.[1]
Development
Harmonix had announced a publishing deal through NCSoft in August 2018 for a rhythm game for personal computers and consoles.[3] Harmonix' Dan Sussman said that NCSoft had seen the game in an early state and quickly became their publishing partner for it, including support for showcasing the game at industry events.[4] Fuser was announced at the 2020 PAX East event in February 2020, with plans for release later that year.
Sussman said that Fuser was a continued evolution of their music games in how they have looked at player agency. With Fuser, Sussman believed that many players of their games have a wide range of musical tastes, as well wanting to have more control of how they interact with their music, thus enabling them to be creative with their tastes.[4] Additionally, Harmonix found that with games like Rock Band, which offered a large number of songs, the songs essentially became disposable as players didn't have much incentive to learn the songs in details, and wanted a game that gave the player an opportunity to get more familiar with the structure of a song.[4] Compared to many of Harmonix' past games, Fuser does not require any special peripherals. Harmonix's Dan Walsh said that accessibility and ease of bringing the game to market, both as retail and digital products, was a driver behind a peripheral-less game.[5] Sussman also found that because Fuser featured new gameplay compared to any of their previous games, it was able to draw both experienced rhythm game players and new players into it.[4]
Soundtrack
Segments of the following songs have been confirmed to be included with Fuser:[6]
Three songs are available as pre-order bonuses:
| Artist | Song |
|---|---|
| Dua Lipa | "New Rules" |
| Khalid | "Young Dumb & Broke" |
| The Killers | "Mr. Brightside" |
Sussman said that as with past Harmonix games, songs from bands closely associated with Harmonix employees will likely also appear on the full setlist. Sussman also said that for music licensing purposes, they assured that the rights for these songs not only include the ability to mix with other songs, but for users to share these songs and mixes to social media.[4]
References
- McWhertor, Michael (February 26, 2020). "Harmonix unveils Fuser, a music-mixing game where you play as a festival DJ". Polygon. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- Naudus, Kris (March 3, 2020). "'Fuser' is 'Rock Band' and 'DropMix' without the expensive clutter". Engadget. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- Kerr, Chris (August 2, 2018). "Harmonix signs multiplatform publishing deal with NCSoft". Gamasutra. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
- Couture, Joel (March 6, 2020). "Harmonix Talks About Letting Players Get Creative With FUSER". Siliconera. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- Dayus, Oscar (February 26, 2020). "Guitar Hero dev's new game snubs physical instruments – here's why". PCGamesN. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
- Koczwara, Michael (February 26, 2020). "'Fuser' Makes You Feel Like a DJ — Even If You Don't Know Who Billie Eilish Is". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 26, 2020.