Seventeen-year-old guitar prodigy Francis Vendetti lives with his mother in a small Colorado town that is still in thrall to its most famous export: Francis's late uncle, a platinum-selling folk singer. Francis feels inevitable pressure to continue the family trade, and, in preparation for his highly anticipated first public performance in town, writes a suite of Dylan-esque tracks about toil and loss. Except the act is an affectation: Francis is, at heart and by temperament, a prog-rock wailer who dreams of playing high-gain, euphoric guitar solos over the swell of a supportive orchestra. When he's visited by a sympathetic alien being who observes: "You wear folk like a cheap suit", Francis swaps his skinny Levi's for an LED-encrusted catsuit and sets off across the Milky Way to shred for an audience of intergalactic concertgoers. This is true space opera territory – Ziggy-era Bowie meets The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – and far from typical video game subject matter.

You could easily mistake game-maker Johnny Galvatron and his in-game protagonist, Francis Vendetti, for twins. The two don futuristic ensembles, sweep back their slightly disheveled bangs and mask their eyes behind the same opaque and oversized glasses. They enjoy sampling new stage personas and adore Star Trek. After a few minutes of listening to them talk, it is clear that they also share similar dreams: brimming with cinematic guitar solos, basking in concert lighting of brilliant blue and trippy orange, and enjoying an unforgettable tour with musical legend David Bowie.