British progressive metal band TesseracT are very much leaning on the “prog” side of what they do by creating an entire VR game tied to the launch of their new album.
The game, War Of Being, is named after their new album, due in September, and the 11-minute lead single from that album which came out in June.
The band are fully immersed in the gaming world, with lead singer Dan Tompkins gaming regularly on Twitch. He met developer Adam Boyt on the platform and the idea for a game sprang from there.
“I’ve always been really keen on developing and bridging the music and gaming worlds,” Tompkins told PC Games. “As far as I’m aware, I’ve not come across any project or band that’s created a VR experience based on a musical concept for a band’s album.”
Given the fact the new album is a concept album, they are definitely taking a maximalist approach here. It was built on Unreal Engine, with Boyt and Tompkins using the lyrical themes of the album to help shape the world of the game.
There are nine tracks on the album and nine levels to the game. The visual links between the game and the video for the ‘War Of Being’ single give a clear indication of how the music and the virtual worlds will feed into each other.
Where it gets really interesting is in the fact that each level will contain stems from the corresponding track the level is based on which the fans playing the game can unearth.
There is also going to be a Kickstarter to push and develop the game further by adding more levels and expanding its reach. Below the YouTube trailer for the game are some details about those expansion plans. “In keeping with the progressive nature of our ethos, we will be releasing the next TesseracT single as part of the game,” say the band. “Gamers have the chance to hear the single before anyone else!”
The fact that Tompkins is the lead director and designer – alongside Boyt and creative designer/3D artist Kirsty Harvey – means it has the kind of hands-on attention to detail, alongside the building of a deeply connected community, that is rare in the world of music when it moves into gaming.
The game is available to play on Steam and there is a tie-in official Discord for it.
