Guitar Hero Live

The UX Challenge: Guitar Hero Live

When Freestyle Games (FSG) set out to reinvent Guitar Hero, they made a bold decision—removing the animated characters that defined previous editions and replacing them with a fully immersive, live-action experience. This shift created new UX/UI challenges that required innovative design solutions.

The UX Solution

We designed two distinct gameplay experiences:

• GH Live – A first-person concert experience where players became the lead guitarist in a band, performing at real festivals: Sounddial (UK) and Rock the Block (US). Players interacted with bandmates and the crowd, who dynamically reacted to their performance - cheering for a flawless solo or booing and throwing objects when mistakes piled up.
• GHTV – Inspired by MTV’s golden era (’80s/’90s), this mode allowed players to watch music videos from their favourite bands and jump in to play along at any time.

My team and I created everything from the game’s logo and branding to festival, stadium, and band identities, including merchandise. We also designed the entire UX/UI, ensuring that menus, the in-game HUD, and navigation were intuitive -especially when using the guitar controller. Through extensive research, we fine-tuned the UI to be as simple and responsive as possible for a seamless player experience.

Outcome & Recognition

• Guitar Hero Live was nominated for multiple industry awards, including:
  • NME’s Game of the Year (2016)
  • DICE Awards: Family Game of the Year (2016)
  • SXSW Gaming Awards: Excellence in Convergence (2016)
  • BAFTA: Family Award (2016)

By reimagining the Guitar Hero experience with a fresh UX approach and intuitive design, we helped deliver an immersive, award-nominated game that resonated with players and critics alike.