Josh Randall, creative director of Guitar Hero developer Harmonix Music, Inc., will be making a rare trip across the Atlantic later this month to deliver a keynote lecture at the Cybersonica Festival, which takes place at the Science Museum's Dana Centre, 19th and 20th May 2006.
In a UK first, he will also show a brief demonstration of Guitar Hero 2 and discuss the limitless possibilities for the series.
Guitar Hero, developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane, has redefined interactive music entertainment technology, proving a smash hit in the US and throughout Europe. Coming complete with a replica Gibson SG controller, Guitar Hero marks a landmark in interactive entertainment, conveying the thrill and feeling of playing a real guitar within the context of a game.
Now in its fifth year, the Cybersonica International Festival of Music, Sound, Art and Technology is a leading international event for anyone interested in the theory and practice of how new technologies are shaping and changing the way musicians, DJs, VJs, digital artists, audiovisualisers and creative software developers make and present their work. The festival brings together a vibrant community of sonic and audiovisual innovation, nurtures new talent and showcases the freshest and latest work in the field. Visit www.cybersonica.org for updates.
Randall's keynote will discuss his experience at Harmonix Music, from the company's origins as a funky interactive music start-up, to its growth into North America's leading music game studio. He'll trace the development of their award-winning music games Frequency, Amplitude, Karaoke Stage, and Guitar Hero, and discuss how teams of artists, designers, coders, and musicians all worked together to create these groundbreaking musical game experiences. He'll look at some of the pitfalls of designing interactive music products for a mass audience, and describe lessons learned from over six years of music game development. He'll discuss the role of creative expression within the game space, and how new interfaces and controllers are changing the way we interact with our music and TVs. Music gaming is bringing more and more people together every day, so what is the social impact of these games? Josh will peer into the future of music gaming, and ponder what might be coming next.
"Harmonix Music is the leading light in interactive music technology, and his keynote is a real coup for the festival," says [name], [job title], Cybersonica 06. "In addition, we're thrilled that the festival will mark the UK unveiling of Guitar Hero II – one of the most hotly-anticipated games of the year."
"I'm delighted to be delivering the keynote at Cybersonica '06," adds Josh Randall, creative director, Harmonix Music, Inc. "Games like Guitar Hero have offered a glimpse at the future of music gaming and I hope my insight can help inspire both current and future pioneers of the medium. I also can't wait to see the reaction Guitar Hero II receives."
The Cybersonica Festival conference takes place on May 19th and 20th 2006 at the Science Museum's Dana Centre, London, and also comprises a two week sonic art exhibition at Phonica Records, Soho, London from 8th – 20th May. Visit www.cybersonica.org for full details.
Josh Randall will deliver his keynote at 5:15pm, 19th May
Source: BHPR press release
