Frets on Fire
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Frets on Fire
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 Frets on Fire gameplay. |
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| Developer(s) | Unreal Voodoo |
| Designer(s) | Sami Kyöstilä |
| License | GNU GPL (source code, tutorial files, graphics) Proprietary media (included fonts and songs)[1] |
| Engine | Pygame |
| Version | 1.3.110 |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X |
| Release date(s) | 3 August 2006 (debut release), 5 November 2008 (latest version) |
| Genre(s) | Music |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media | Download |
| System requirements | 128 or 256 MB RAM, OpenGL graphics card |
| Input methods | Keyboard, joystick/guitar controller |
Frets on Fire (abbreviated 'FoF') is a free, open-source Finnish music video game created by Unreal Voodoo. Players use the keyboard to play along with markers which appear on screen, with the aim to score points, achieve a high point multiplier, and complete a song.[2] Frets on Fire was the winner of the Assembly 2006 game development competition.[3]
The game is written in the Python programming language, and is licensed under the GNU General Public License, although the game incorporates other free and open-source code under other licenses. The game's included song files and some internal fonts are proprietary, and their redistribution is not permitted outside of the Frets On Fire executable.[1]
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[edit] Gameplay
Frets on Fire is a video game that imitates the commercial game Guitar Hero. It is playable on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. The player presses buttons in time to coloured markers, which appear on-screen, the markers are matched with the rhythm of the music. Frets on Fire can be played by using a keyboard by pressing the fret buttons and pick buttons, although there is support for joysticks, meaning that with the appropriate adapter and/or software, various guitar-type controllers can be used as well.[5]
Colored, square-shaped markers appear on the player's screen, synchronized with the song, and are played by holding the fret buttons that correspond with the correct color, and pressing one of the pick buttons, at the correct moment. Every ten correct hits increase the score multiplier, which multiplies the points for every hit by up to four times. The multiplier is reset when the player misses a note or strums at the wrong time.
[edit] Version history
Since version 1.2.438, the game features hammer-on and pull-off notes, commonly abbreviates to HO/PO, although the game refers to them as "tappable notes". A HO/PO note allows the player to press only its fret button to play if the previous note was played correctly, emulating the feature of the Guitar Hero series. Bugs were found in the new gameplay element, and version 1.2.451 fixed them, along with adding an option to disable HO/PO notes.
[edit] Features
Frets on Fire includes a built-in song editor that allows editing and creation of songs. This allows users to customise their own tracks. The Frets on Fire Wiki has an extensive[6] resource of custom song frets. Frets on Fire also allows users to import songs from other guitar games. These include Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s [7]. The game also features a tutorial, which lets users unfamiliar with the gameplay get accustomed to the game.
Much like console guitar-style games, Frets on Fire comes with "World Charts", an official online high score list. However, since the entire system is open source, players have the ability to host their own server as well[8].
While the game contains a keyboard play mode, USB Joysticks can also be used. This allows regular joysticks and guitar controllers[5] to be controllers for the game as well, helping to replicate the same feel that commercial guitar games provide.
[edit] Reviews
Frets on Fire has received generally positive reviews on a variety of publications. Released for competition at Assembly, it won first place among its competition[3]. As a free, open source game, it has not received as much attention from mainstream review sites, but many niche game sites as well as open source game review sites have discussed it, averaging between 7 and 8 out of 10. Gamespot's user ratings give the game an 8.1 as of November 2008[9]; other sites such as Download.com average lower, around 3.5/5[10]. However, because of the cross-platform nature of the game, it has garnered fans from both Linux [11] and Mac [12] gaming communities as well.
[edit] Modding
A very widely-used modification of the game is Frets on Fire X (commonly abbreviated "FoFiX"), a more stable fork with themes designed to look like Guitar Hero series or Rock Band series, as well as 2-player support.[13]
The University of Nevada developed a mod of frets on fire called Blind Hero which uses a haptic glove to make this game accessible to players who are blind.
[edit] Flaws
Frets On Fire lacks the ability to allow players to use the whammy bar, as the sound engine in Pygame cannot modulate the pitch of a track. By editing the game's source code, or through the use of a mod, the whammy bar can be simulated as a feature known as "Killswitch" and "Pitchbend" was added in the 3.100 update for FoFix[14]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Frets on Fire license". Frets on Fire Subversion repository. SourceForge.net. http://fretsonfire.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/fretsonfire/trunk/copying.txt?view=markup. Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
- ^ "Assemblyn satoa (Assembly's harvest)" (in Finnish). Pelit. 2006-09. pp. 76–77.
- ^ a b "Results for ASSEMBLY '06". demoparty.net. http://www.demoparty.net/assembly2006/results.html. Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
- ^ "Frets on Fire graphics guide". sourceforge.net. http://fretsonfire.sourceforge.net/documentation/modding/graphics/. Retrieved on 2007-04-20. "pose.svg - Elvis Costello look-a-like posing with keyboard."
- ^ a b "Frets on Fire "about" page". http://fretsonfire.sourceforge.net/about/. Retrieved on 2007-04-20.
- ^ "Frets On Fire Wiki: Custom Songs". wikidot.com. http://fretsonfire.wikidot.com/custom-songs. Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
- ^ "Frets On Fire Wiki: Importing Guitar Hero songs into Frets on Fire". wikidot.com. http://fretsonfire.wikidot.com/importing-guitar-hero-songs-into-frets-on-fire. Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
- ^ "Charts Server source code released". SourceForge.net. http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?forum_id=697622. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ "Frets on Fire for PC Reviews". gamespot.com. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/puzzle/fretsonfire/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gsbottomnav&tag=quicklinks;reviews. Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
- ^ "Frets on Fire - Free software downloads and reviews - CNET Download.com". download.com. http://www.download.com/Frets-on-Fire/3000-7551_4-10661367.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
- ^ Williss, Nathan (2007-2-13). "Linux.com :: Review: Frets on Fire". linux.com. http://www.linux.com/feature/60024. Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
- ^ Wuerthele, Micheal (2007-7-2). "Inside Mac Games Review: Frets on Fire". insidemacgames.com. http://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=789. Retrieved on 2008-11-18.
- ^ ccgr (Friday, 13 February 2009). "Frets on Fire X (FoFiX) - PC". Christian Centered Gamer. http://www.ccgr.org/reviews-mainmenu-31/13-computer/5016-f. Retrieved on 2009-03-08.
- ^ "code.google.com :: FoFix code page". 2009-1-24. http://code.google.com/p/fofix/issues/detail?id=419. Retrieved on 2009-1-24.
[edit] External links
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