“Hello, Twitch! One, two, three, four.”
A little equipment failure can’t stop rock and roll. At least, it better not.
Stage Presence is an upcoming VR title in which YOU are the rockstar, but guess what? During one of your crunchiest jams, the electrical goes wonky and the music dies; it’s just you, the mic, and the crowd.
You’ve got to keep the crowd entertained for as long as you can using your mighty vocal chords. Oh, and if they don’t like you, they will throw bottles of piss at you. These are some rowdy fans.
The game can be played in single player, with unlockable venues to work your way through; or you can invite friends to watch, or even stream on Twitch and let chat take over the crowd! It’s a fantastic idea, but for anyone who’s spent 10 seconds in a densely populated Twitch chat, good luck keeping them happy.
There’s actually a video on YouTube showing the game’s Twitch integration, and the chat log is a cesspool — you’ve been warned!
But as a singer and a show-off, I can’t wait to try it. I’ve been in and out of bands and played plenty of shows, but most of my performing is done in a small room with the door closed when no one is home. With Stage Presence, my pretend crowd can be a real crowd.
I’m interested to see where this goes. How long before we’re just having full-on virtual reality concerts? (Editor’s note: It’s already happening!) If people hate your music in VR, does it hurt less? If you die in a dreamworld, do you die in real life?
It will also be interesting to see all the different ways people use this. There are plenty of ways to entertain a live crowd without singing: stand-up, beatboxing, being Michael Winslow.
Actually buying a VR kit is likely a long ways away for me, but absolutely everything to do with the technology is exciting. We are getting closer and closer to that Holodeck.
Stage Presence is developed by Sea Green Games out of Manchester, UK, and it’s tinyBuild’s first VR signing. It’s expected to come out in the coming months on PC and VR platforms. PAX Easters already got a chance to try it out. Check out the announcement trailer here:
Mark McAvoy is a Contributor for AYBOnline.com. His opinions are his own.
