Meta Quest players are experiencing a whole new level of “Digital Love” after the music of Daft Punk joined the illusory realms of Defeat Saber.
From the iconic vocals of “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” to the timeless melodies of “One More Time,” Daft Punk have finally made their way into the beloved virtual reality rhythm game. The legendary robots were “without a doubt one of the most requested artists by fans to be added to the Beat saber alignment,” according to Meta.
The ambitious effort to activate Daft Punk in Beat saber It took more than two years, according to Vickie Nauman, founder of the Los Angeles-based consulting and advisory firm CrossBorderWorks.
“The collaborative effort was between Beat saber core team, Warner Music in London and the Daft Punk team,” says Nauman EDM.com. “This probably involved 10 main people from all three parties over more than two years and included many exchanges about which songs Beat saber they wanted in the game, the music rights involved and what songs the artists wanted.”
Nauman has worked with the title's developer, Beat Games, to execute the company's licensing deals since its beginnings as an independent game studio in Prague, a role he remained in after Facebook (now Meta) acquired the studio in 2019. .
“As a rhythm game, Beat saber “has specific requirements for what will work in the game and our beat mapping process led to some last minute changes, but everyone was very accommodating as we all wanted it to happen,” he continued. “We've wanted Daft Punk in the game since The game started in 2018! Then the band broke up and we thought there was no hope until the team at Warner UK revived the idea. A true multi-team effort.”
A collaboration between Daft Punk and Beat saber It had been a latent dream, but the cake was never in the sky. Tim Miles, senior vice president of sync at Warner Music Group, tells us that his team had an unwavering belief that there was a “genuine, authentic fit” between the two, but that the timing needed to be right.
The stars aligned in 2022, when brainstorming for the 25th anniversary of the influential Daft Punk Task and live 97 albums. Miles said it seemed like the perfect time to take advantage of his relationship with Meta.
“Having worked on other game projects with The Pokemon Company and Ubisoft, we were incredibly sensitive to the large amount of time and resources it takes to create games, and in the case of Beat sabercombining the rhythm of the images with the music,” explains Miles. “With this in mind, we thought a lot about what the experience would be for the fans and that is why it is the first Beat saber pack to include live versions of the songs and graphics during gameplay. The packaging also shows off Daft Punk's iconic helmet, which isn't a million miles away from what the Meta Oculus VR headset looks like, so it was clearly meant to be!
Available starting March 7, the official Daft Punk music pack is something of a watershed moment for Beat saber. The release has spawned the game's first live tracks and mashups, as well as its longest song, “The Prime Time of Your Life (Live 2007).” That record stands at 10 minutes and 23 seconds, dethroning Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Free Bird” and strengthening forearm muscles everywhere.
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The developers at Beat Games didn't stop there. With the package comes a new gaming environment inspired by Daft Punk's legendary pyramid stage, where they performed their totemic Coachella stage in 2006.
All of this shows a paradigm shift in the way music for games is licensed. The technological terra firma beneath gaming's feet is growing at a rapid pace, allowing developers to transcend the limitations of music alone and use it to create multi-sensory dreamscapes.
Miles believes we're seeing a broader scope in music's ability to tell stories and enhance the gaming experience. The result, he says, is a “great opportunity” for artists and writers.
“Traditionally, music in games was used as part of an in-game radio; see GTA either Very far for example,” explains Miles. “We also had great success with karaoke and rhythm games, like Guitar Hero and we sang, when they were fashionable. However, today, the space has evolved to include opportunities for artists to compose and create songs for triple AAA games and fit directly into the game's narrative. For example, we worked with Stormzy to Watch Dogs: Legion in the form of custom DLC, and Ed Sheeran for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet where Ed's 'Celestial' plays at the end of the game.
“Games are definitely an alternative channel for music consumption, and the way artists and developers interact with them is still in its infancy,” he continues. “What's exciting is that the number of opportunities is increasing, developers are becoming braver and more agile, and labels like Warner are leaning into this space with an open mind. The process is also similar to how we place our music artists in film and television. and how we work with top-level Hollywood productions.”
Beat saber Players can secure the Daft Punk Music Pack for $12.99 or purchase individual tracks for $1.99 each. New Meta Quest owners who want to add the game can include it in the bundle for $39.99.
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