Backbeat News

Today we are proud to announce that the demo version of Backbeat has been released! The last year we've spent working on the mechanics, music, and visual style of Backbeat have all built up to this point. In terms of content the game is less than 15% done, but the first six levels that set up the story and the mechanics are complete, and now you can experience the beginning of our creative puzzle/strategy title, for free and at your leisure.



The demo introduces you to Watts and two of her friends as they start on the road to stardom and form a funk band. The concepts of our multilinear time-based puzzles and the first of four musical resources are also presented. We hope this first taste of Backbeat's gameplay and characters will make you hungry for more, and that you'll share your thoughts with the development team.

Join us for two livestreams this weekend during the Steam Next Fest, at Sunday 19:00 CET / 13:00 EST / 10:00 PST, and Monday night at 23:30 EST / 20:30 PST. We'll talk about the game's design, art, music, and much more showing off advanced mechanics and levels in development from the retail version. We may also raffle off a copy or two of our award-winning musical RTS, Hexagroove: Tactical DJ. So wishlist and stop on by. Until then, hit that DOWNLOAD DEMO button on the store page and take the game for a spin!

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1585730/view/2978556685280871698
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1585730/view/2978556685280987999

[h2]Join the conversation![/h2]

Do you have an idea for a dev blog topic? Curious about the team and story of Backbeat? Comment on this post or tweet at us, we'd love to hear your thoughts.

Stay cool and funky!
-- The Backbeat team at Ichigoichie

Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - YouTube

The Steam Next Festival is coming and we are thrilled to show you our new Backbeat Demo. Join our livestream to talk about different aspects of the game and production!

[h2]NOTE THIS STREAM WILL BE ENTIRELY IN JAPANESE[/h2]



[h2]On the agenda[/h2]



We'll start by giving you an introduction Backbeat, highlighting controls, mechanics, and gameplay in the demo. We'll also talk about the setting, characters and inspirations that went into building 1995 Hornsburg.

We'll also give you a glimpse into the full version with some of the more sophisticated mechanics and scoring that show up farther into the game. Finally, we'll celebrate our new demo launch with a giveaway of the full version of our award-winning DJ simulator, Hexagroove!

Wishlist Backbeat and stay updated on important news and information about the game leading up to launch! A single click is all it takes to bring into the world of funk, humour, nostalgia, and strategic puzzling madness!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1585730/Backbeat/

Stay cool and funky!
-- The Backbeat team at Ichigoichie



Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Youtube

The Steam Next Festival is coming and we are thrilled to show you our new Backbeat Demo. Join our livestream to talk about different aspects of the game and production!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]On the agenda[/h2]



We'll start by giving you an introduction Backbeat, highlighting controls, mechanics, and gameplay in the demo. We'll also talk about the setting, characters and inspirations that went into building 1995 Hornsburg.

We'll also provide a glimpse into the full version with some of the more sophisticated mechanics and scoring that show up farther into the game. Finally, we'll celebrate our new demo launch with a giveaway of the full version of our award-winning DJ simulator, Hexagroove!

Wishlist Backbeat and stay updated on important news and information leading up to launch! A single click is all it takes to dive into our world of funk, humor, nostalgia, and strategic puzzling madness!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1585730/Backbeat/

Stay cool and funky!
-- The Backbeat team at Ichigoichie

Got a quarter? Give us a call!

Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Youtube

The Steam Next Festival is coming and we are thrilled to show you our new Backbeat Demo. Join our livestream to talk about different aspects of the game and production!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]On the agenda[/h2]



We'll start by giving you an introduction Backbeat, highlighting controls, mechanics, and gameplay in the demo. We'll also talk about the setting, characters and inspirations that went into building 1995 Hornsburg.

We'll also provide a glimpse into the full version with some of the more sophisticated mechanics and scoring that show up farther into the game. Finally, we'll celebrate our new demo launch with a giveaway of the full version of our award-winning DJ simulator, Hexagroove!

Wishlist Backbeat and stay updated on important news and information leading up to launch! A single click is all it takes to dive into our world of funk, humor, nostalgia, and strategic puzzling madness!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1585730/Backbeat/

Stay cool and funky!
-- The Backbeat team at Ichigoichie

Got a quarter? Give us a call!

Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Youtube

It is late August and the whole Backbeat team has returned from a skönt Swedish summer vacation. With our demo release less than a month away, every chair in the office bullpen is filled and we are creating content like never before.



We have a tradition of making beautiful, full-size posters of our titles to hang on the walls of the office, and our one for Backbeat is nearly done. At the centerpiece is a collage of the eight band members. We were inspired by 90s movie posters and character-centric game key art in creating this image. Weaving together all the personalities and graphic styles we've centered around in the title was a lot of fun, and we can't wait to put on the finishing touches and send it off to the printer.



Now four-artists strong, we have been working on visual effects for the payoff moments in Backbeat and our playback camera system, adding particles and wipes. The visual design language is a blend of 90s pastels, geometry, and 32-bit era games, so you'll find lots of circles, triangles, and squiggles filling both the ethereal and player control sections of the game. Most interactive portions are flat and lower contrast, but after solving a puzzle, the player is treated to a music video of her choices and we dim the lights and bump up the bloom.



The final level of our demo takes place in Callahan's, a dive bar on the edge of downtown Hornsburg. Our heroes play an open mic night in their first public appearance. After overcoming a bout of stage fright, they learn the unique time-balancing game mechanic of STAGGER before being taunted by their soon-to-be nemesis La Tormenta.



The dialog system is nearly finished, and this month our character artist Sandra has turned her attention to the many colorful NPCs and supporting characters that stand along the path to stardom for of our heroes. We drew references from cameos in some famous 90s band movies and an internet meme or two for good measure. Can you see anyone you know?



Last by not least, we have started localization! Backbeat will be full of professional Japanese translation from day one by some old friends in Tokyo. If you're looking to brush up on your kanji, you're in luck!

It's just a few weeks until the Steam Next Festival and Tokyo Game Show, where our demo will be live, so for now we'll sign off and head back to the product backlog.

[h2]Join the conversation![/h2]

Do you have an idea for a dev blog topic? Curious about the team and story of Backbeat? Comment on this post or tweet at me, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Stay cool and funky!
-- The Backbeat team at Ichigoichie

Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Youtube