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All Articles: Chroma
Harmonix is developing Chroma, a music-based arena FPS
Back in 2012, Harmonix began hiring developers to work on a “combat game.” Today, they lifted the lid on Chroma, a free-to-play, first-person, multiplayer shooter for the PC. If this sounds a bit out of Harmonix’s wheelhouse, then you should also know that in Chroma, “Music is Your Weapon.” Hopefully, Harmonix will explain what that means sooner rather than later.
Harmonix has partnered with Hidden Path Entertainment (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) to bring the game to Steam sometime this year. Players will be able to choose from multiple from character classes and form a “band” with their teammates to take on their opponents. Also, a “Change Up” system will unleash major moments that “dramatically alter the landscape of the battlefield in real time both physically and strategically, raising sniper towers, adding cover, and more in sync with the music.”
“Chroma has been a dream project of mine for some time,” said Harmonix co-founder and CEO Alex Rigopulos. “Watching the teams at Harmonix and Hidden Path begin to bring this vision to life has been tremendously exciting. We’re also thrilled to release an alpha version of this game and to evolve it in collaboration with our players. We can’t wait to hear what people think of this new approach to both first-person shooters and music games.”
Harmonix plans to offer players early access to Chroma through a closed alpha later this year. You can apply to enter the alpha right here.
Harmonix is gearing up for a next-gen “combat game”
Harmonix, a company best known for its musical franchises, such as Rock Band and Dance Central, is apparently moving in a brand new direction for its next title. A job advertisement on Gamasutra shows the company is actively seeking a “Combat Designer to create real-time, single-player combat experiences for a brand new IP on next-generation hardware.”
The ad is also seeking someone who can create “robust combat AI systems for minor and major combat encounters,” which certainly sounds a world away from the musical titles that have made the company’s name. Although never fear, Harmonix still needs to butter their bread and is rumored to be working on a pair of as-yet-untitled music projects for both the 3DS and PS Vita.