Frets on Fire – Sourceforge Project of the Month

Frets on Fire made sf.net’s Project of the Month! Congrats to all the devs and those who have contributed to it’s success.

Description of project:

Frets on Fire is a game of musical skill and fast fingers. The aim of the game is to play guitar with the keyboard as accurately as possible. The game comes with four songs and more can be made with the built-in editor.

Why and how did you get started?

We started making the game in the summer of 2006 as an entry for the Assembly party’s game development competition, which is held annually in Helsinki, Finland. The game was very well received by the audience and was awarded with first place.

Who is the software’s intended audience?

The game is made for everyone who enjoys music and rhythm based games. The game has four difficulty levels which make it easy for a beginner to pick up while still providing a challenge even for the seasoned pro. We’ve also included an interactive tutorial that makes it easy to get going.

What are a couple of notable examples of how people are using your software?

We have been nothing short of overwhelmed by how well players have adopted the game. These days you can find thousands of community-made add-on song tabulatures on the Internet, along with several high-quality game modifications that provide new graphics, instruments and other amazing features. Several people have also built their own custom guitar controllers for the game. One example I found particularly inspiring was a University project in which a special version of the game along with custom controllers was created for the blind.

What are the system requirements for your software, and what do people need to know about getting it set up and running?

The game requires a Linux, Windows or Mac OS X operating system, some 128 MB of RAM, a sound card and reasonably powerful 3D graphics accelerator. A separate keyboard is highly recommended, but you can still use a regular laptop to play the game.

What gave you an indication that your project was becoming successful?

I think the first signs were visible already at the Assembly party where the game was originally published. The event lasts for four days, and on each successive day more and more people could be seen playing Frets on Fire.

Read the rest of the interview here (sf.net community blog)
FoF Project Page
MFH Mod (one of the best FoF mods around)
My FoF.net profile (mods, songs, etc.)