Unsigned (computer game)

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Unsigned
Unsigned Logo
Developer(s)	FV Productions
Designer(s)	Louis Ingenthron
License	GNU GPL ^[1]
Engine	Microsoft XNA
Version	1.2.1.93
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360
Release date	February 2008 (debut release), 15 April 2008 (latest version)
Genre(s)	Music video game
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Media	Download
System requirements	1GB RAM (1.5GB on Vista), DirectX9 graphics card supporting Shader Model 2.0 or higher, 1.3 GHz Processor
Input methods	Keyboard, joystick/guitar controller/drumset controller/USB microphone

Unsigned is a music video game created by FV Productions in which players use the keyboard or the Guitar Hero/Rock Band controllers to play along with scrolling on-screen musical notes to simulate playing a song, and is a clone of the Rock Band video game. Unsigned was presented at Maker Faire 2008 in the Microsoft booth.

Unsigned is free and open-source software. The game is written in Microsoft's C# programming language. It uses Microsoft's Cross Platform XNA Framework. It is licensed under the GNU General Public License, though the game incorporates other free and open-source code under other licenses. The game's included song files are proprietary, and their redistribution is not permitted.^[1]

1 Gameplay
2 History
3 Publicity / External Attention
4 Features
5 Announced Features
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Unsigned gameplay screenshot^[2]

The gameplay of Unsigned is similar to Rock Band - the player emulates playing a guitar, or drums; or they can be judged on their singing talent. Unsigned is meant to be played by picking up the keyboard like a guitar, with one hand pressing the fret buttons and another pressing the pick button. It can also be used by playing the keyboard using drum buttons and the space key as a bass pedal. There is support for joysticks however, meaning that the Guitar Hero/Rock Band controllers (with the appropriate adapter and/or software) can be used as well.

Colored markers appear on the screen, synchronized with the song, and are played by holding the fret buttons of the correct color (A-G) and pressing one of the pick buttons (Up or Down) at the correct moment. For drums, the correct button must be pressed at the correct moment, with no strumming required. Vocals are played by singing into a microphone matching pitch and timing with on-screen cues. Every ten correct hits increase the score multiplier, which multiplies the points for every hit by up to four times. For vocals, the score multiplier is increased whenever the player does exceptionally well on a vocal phrase. The multiplier is reset in case of a miss.

The game also features hammer-on and pull-off (commonly abbreviated to HOPO) notes for the guitar and bass gametypes. A HOPO note allows the player to press only its fret button to play if the previous note was played correctly. The game engine was recently rewritten to make HOPOs easier to hit and change the feel of the game to move closer to the source material (Rock Band).

When a player hits a series of notes indicated as Rock Power notes, their Rock Power bar fills. The player can activate the rock power by tipping their guitar, completing a drum fill, or freestyle vocal soloing. When activated, the rock meter depletes, the band's multiplier doubles, and the crowd will be easier to please.

A song is passed by keeping the crowd pleased through to the end of the song. A song can be failed multiple ways. If a player overstrums or misses too many notes the crowd will start to react negatively (notated by the rock meter on the left of the screen decreasing). If the meter hits the bottom, the song ends in failure. Alternatively, if one player in band multiplayer hits the bottom of their personal meter, they will 'fail out' and need to be saved by another player. A player can save a failed out bandmate by activating their rock power (and thus spending a half-meter's worth).

[edit] History

Unsigned began its life as a 2D Guitar Hero Clone in mid-April 2007 under the title "Generic Guitar Game." It was originally made using Game Maker, a drag-and-drop game making program. In summer 2007, it moved to C# using the Microsoft XNA framework. Following Harmonix's Rock Band release, Unsigned took a total overhaul. It was rewritten from scratch to be a 3D game and it was renamed "Garage Band." In December, Unsigned was posted on SourceForge and became open-source, necessitating a new name ('Unsigned') as Apple had already trademarked the name 'Garage Band'. During January, Unsigned started gaining attention on various Guitar Hero and Rock Band Fan/Modding forums^[3]. As it was gaining significant positive attention, A forum was opened with MakeForum.org but has since been closed, as Unsigned bought its own domain. The new forums opened on this site and 500 users created a forum account in the first month. It has been growing exponentially ever since.^[4]

[edit] Publicity / External Attention

Unsigned has been recognized and welcomed by the Guitar Hero and Rock Band modding/customs community^[3]

It was also presented at Maker Faire 2008 in San Mateo, CA. Unsigned was invited by, and was hosted in the booth of Microsoft. The response from the attendees was overwhelmingly positive, and the booth had a solid crowd nearly every minute it was open.^[5]^[6]

[edit] Features

No songs are included with the downloadable release, but players can download song data for songs they own from the Unsigned web site and forums.
Song customization using the Feedback charting program and the chart2unsigned converter.
Dynamic lighting that is programmable by song charters
3d backgrounds (Venues) that can be made using Valve's Hammer Editor and a conversion utility
Compatibility with joysticks and Guitar Hero/Rock Band peripherals.