Harmonix, of Rock Band fame, turned some heads recently when they announced a musical…first-person shooter. That game, Chroma, has already been through some early alpha testing, and it doesn’t sound like things went that great.
An email being sent out by Harmonix to testers thanks them for their input, and says that “Based on the terrific feedback we got from all of you in the community, as well as our own analysis, we have concluded that Chroma will need some substantial retooling to be the game we want it to be.”
“We remain passionately committed to the high-level vision”, the email continues, “and we think there are some very successful mechanics and systems in the existing build. The team has, in fact, already started prototyping new directions for the game based on those successful mechanics. We look forward to sharing more with you down the line, as Chroma evolves in new directions.”
I like this. Shooters are new ground for Harmonix, and if they’re going to actually take the time to learn and listen while developing Chroma, then the game can only benefit from that perspective.