Sing Your Heart Out: VR Karaoke Game ‘Songbird’ Launches Today on Meta Quest

Blog
|
|
X

Whether you’re alone in the shower or up on the stage, there’s nothing quite like belting out your favorite song. Songbird taps into the swelling feeling of letting the music take you away by turning anywhere into a karaoke stage, and it launches today on Meta Quest.

Songbird transports you to the musical fantasy world of Nestopia, where you’ll find yourself performing for other characters and venturing to venues as variable as boardwalks and mountain vistas. And while you don’t need to be a seasoned performer to enjoy Songbird—casual crooners can have just as much fun—if you’re serious about singing, the game can help you hone your vocal skills as you hit high notes and high scores.

We sat down with Lennon Lange, Lead Designer and Senior Producer at Always Blue Games, to discuss the upcoming release of Songbird, what it was like creating a karaoke game in VR, and how the team’s experience with classic music games of the past influenced them in creating the immersive singing experience.

Always Blue Games has a ton of experience in creating music games ranging from Guitar Hero to Karaoke Revolution Party. How did those experiences influence your work on Songbird? Were there any big elements of the ways that games have approached music and singing that gave you ideas to tackle or improve?

Lennon Lange: Guitar Hero came out at a time when the music game genre had not hit mass appeal. Guitar Hero was created to be an ode to both music and playing guitar. The music we selected for GH1 and GH2 was hand-picked to be focused on fun and playability first and big names second. We wanted to make sure that the music didn’t just sell the game, but it acted as a full expression of the joy of playing guitar and the rock music genre.

We have taken a similar approach with Songbird. Each song we selected for the game's 33 tracks was made with the joy of singing in mind. We wanted to not only have some great songs to sing to, but some songs that would push you into singing in different ways and really grow the player as a true singer. Our goal was to capture in-a-bottle moments that you will remember for the rest of your life. With Guitar Hero we wanted to inspire people to pick up an actual guitar, but with Songbird, we want people to become real-life singers and be able to find the joy that only nailing that perfect note can deliver.

What attracted you to VR, and what does it offer for this kind of game that traditional flatscreen gaming doesn’t?

LL: Ever since the release of Stephen King's The Lawnmower Man back in 1992, I have dreamed of VR gaming. It’s taken years to get to where we are technology-wise, but we are now at a point to deliver fully immersive experiences that take you out of reality into places you can only imagine. With Songbird, we knew that some people can be shy when it comes to singing, which made VR so appealing. People are transported to a whole new world, filled with color and friendly critters that cheer you on. This creates a warm, welcoming environment for people to truly let go and just sing with ease.

Did creating a singing game in VR provide any particular unexpected challenges or opportunities?

LL: One of the biggest opportunities was the built-in microphone in the Meta Quest system. It freed up the player from the classic karaoke video games that needed a microphone peripheral. Not only is the mic built in, but it is a very high-quality mic that allows players to sing at practically any volume. So, if a player just wants to hum along to a song, they can do that and fully hit high scores. Or if they want to belt out those notes, they can go right ahead. The Meta Quest delivers a fully contained karaoke experience ready to go at any time.

An aspect of Songbird that sounds really intriguing is the idea that it can help you improve your vocal skills and make you a better singer. Can you explain how Songbird teaches you to sing and what players gain from that element?

LL: Singing is literally like exercising a muscle. The more you do it, the better you become. It is a learned skill, so anyone can become a singer—it just takes practice. We have also built tools in the game to aid the player in their rise to stardom. Rehearsal mode lets players break a song down into sections. This makes it so, if players are struggling with a certain verse that has that one high note they just can’t quite hit, they can set that section to repeat and practice it over and over again until they eventually nail it. Another fun tool we added to the game is a warm-up song. This allows players to sing musical scales in the game. These are the same tools vocal coaches use in professional vocal lessons.

We’ve all sung along to the radio in the car or belted in the shower and had a good time, but I imagine that picking tracks to make a game brings in a lot more considerations than just whether people like a song. So what makes a song good to sing in a video game? Are there more technical elements at play that casual music fans probably aren’t thinking about?

LL: In music games, songs are the game's levels, so you need to think of them in that way. You need the easier levels that allow the player to get comfortable with the game mechanics, but you also need the medium and hard levels that really challenge the player. Each of our songs was picked on several criteria: difficulty, genre, length, and, most importantly, whether it is fun to sing. I’ve learned a lot when it comes to music games, having worked on more than 17 of them, as well as being a singer myself. For me, the key ingredient to what makes a good song is that feeling you get when you play it. Certain songs just hit differently. We want players to finish a song with goose bumps running down their arms and feeling like they were the star of that performance. Everyone deserves to feel the rush of being a lead singer in a band.

Going beyond individual songs, it feels like setting the tracklist for a game like this is almost more like putting together an album, with the organization of the tracks, and which ones get included, being important to the overall feel of the game. So how did you go about picking the 33 tracks in Songbird?

LL: Crafting the perfect tracklist for a game with mass appeal is an artform. There are so many different types of players and so many different genres of music. We wanted to have a collection of music that appeals to young and old, as well as fans of pop to rock to even opera. The tracklist is about music appreciation so that even if a song isn’t necessarily a player's genre, they can still appreciate the musicality that goes into each song. We want to take the player on a musical journey.

Were there any tracks that didn’t make the cut that you were sad to see go, and why didn’t they make it? Any that might get a second chance with additional tracks coming in DLC?

LL: Having worked on many music games, the most difficult part of the process is always music licensing. You have your holy grail bands like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and many more, but typically those bands do not license their music. You still add them to the list, but you go into it knowing it's gonna be a no. The key is that you never give up trying, which is the mentality we are going into when it comes to DLC for the game.

We plan to launch a ton of additional songs to make this the ultimate karaoke experience. The key to getting the highly requested artists like the Taylor Swifts of the world comes from not only the game’s success, but from the player base. If enough fans are calling out to these musicians to have their music in games, the more likely they are to be open to it.

Our focus when it comes to DLC is to give the fans what they want. We want to hear what songs our players want to sing and we will go after them all, while also adding more and more tracks that we know they are going to love, but just don’t know it yet.

Singing is the focus of Songbird, but it’s also set in the immersive fantasy world of Nestopia, and it seems like there’s a lot to see there. What can players expect to experience there and how does the setting add to the karaoke experience?

LL: The immersive fantasy world is made for you to escape to. It is a safe place for you to be free from any possible embarrassment that comes with performing in front of people. You will find beautiful surroundings and cute little critters that join in the fun. The goal is to set the stage for you to truly express yourself without the fear of judgment, because in Songbird there is no judgment, only joy. There is no failure in the game and you are scored on your effort, not just your skill. Everyone deserves the chance to find the joy in singing, and what better place to do that than in Nestopia, which takes you all over, from beautiful gardens, to a boardwalk filled with fun, all the way to the end of the galaxy, where you may find the true meaning of joy.

Nestopia isn’t an empty place, either—it’s populated by other characters and companions. What are they like and what do they bring to the game?

LL: The critters in Nestopia serve an important role in the game. They are there to lift you up. They perform alongside you so you are never really alone in the world. They do it all from a place of love and happiness. We like to think of them as your emotional support animals as you journey throughout Nestopia. There are also little aliens in the game called the Cosmopuffs. These cute little guys will fly in to give you a bonus during your performance or sometimes give you an added challenge. They can be quite mischievous.

There are also additional interactive elements like catchables and dancing—can you tell us about what to expect from those and what they bring to the gameplay?

LL: Each of the critters in the game sends out catchables for you to grab. This adds to the VR experience by making the player reach out and grab things as they sing while also adding a fun rhythm game aspect, as the catchables are hand-placed for each song to go with the music.

Some catchables will increase your score, while others, like the Golden Notes, act as an in-game currency for unlocking an assortment of fun and, dare I say, whacky microphones. Catchables can also be turned off for those wanting a pure karaoke experience.

Songbird launches with 33 karaoke tracks and more are coming to the game in post-launch DLC releases. What can players expect in the DLC? What’s in store for the future of Songbird?

LL: We want this game to grow with the players. We are planning monthly DLC song pack drops to keep players singing and expressing themselves. There are countless songs we want to see in the game. As for the future of Songbird, we have some great plans including free updates to the game. We want to deliver the best karaoke gaming experience ever.

Anything else that you’d like to add or think players should know?

LL: Be sure to follow our socials and join our Discord, as we want to hear from the fans. This game is a gift for all of you. Our goal is to bring love and joy to the world one note at a time.

Songbird is available now in the Meta Horizon store for the Meta Quest platform, and since it uses the Meta Quest headset’s built-in microphone, you can start singing immediately with no extra setup.

RELATED ARTICLES
See all articles