The Project Natal. The Revolution has Come!

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During our extended preview of Dance Central at Harmonix's studio (post-E3), we talked with project lead Kasson Crooker and lead producer Naoko Takamoto about the challenges of making a new dance "franchise" (a term Crooker doesn't like) and finding gender balance in a game that's all about shaking what your momma gave you. Our full interview follows.

Joystiq: Is Dance Central considered "a platform" in the same way that Rock Band is?

Kasson Crooker: Yeah, it is a platform. We're at the beginning and DLC will be the extension. And I hope that if people take to it -- the non-dancers take to it, the dancers take to it, people take to it from a fitness workout physical experience -- that this is the beginning of a huge world of dance for Harmonix. The same way Rock Band has been.

Continue reading Interview: Dance Central producers on balancing gender and keeping it 'fresh'

Interview: Dance Central producers on balancing gender and keeping it 'fresh' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dance Central Project Lead Kasson Crooker tells Joystiq that the game's downloadable content will cost more than the $2 Rock Band standard. The Harmonix developer explained that the "complexity" involved makes DLC for Dance Central "significantly different" from that offered in Rock Band and noted that we can expect to hear more on pricing closer to the game's ship date later this year.

Harmonix's approach to Rock Band pricing has always seemed fair, but we wanted to know the specific differences in creating DLC for DC. Crooker elaborated, "Because [Dance Central DLC] comes with a brand new unique routine with the three difficulties, we have to: engage the choreographer, find the song, license the song, come up with a routine, get them into a [motion capture] suit, shoot all the choreography, integrate the animation, build the filter system, the flash cards, the [voiceover] for 'Break it Down' -- it's a pretty elaborate process that is not only a lot more expensive, but a lot more time consuming."

Standardized weekly DLC a la Rock Band is unlikely at the game's launch. Each DLC routine is designed for use in "Break it Down" and "Perform It!" modes, as well as the the multiplayer "Dance Battle" mode.

Dance Central DLC to cost more than Rock Band's, Harmonix explains why originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, The Beatles: Rock Band developer Harmonix has been busy working on next week’s big release for some time now, but did you know it’s also working on “re-energizing” its “core franchises?” Harmonix PR overlord John Drake told CVG as much, saying that while the studio is ready to refocus on its existing portfolio, it’s been busy making sure it got The Beatles game 100 percent right. “We were terrified while making the game, hoping we don’t make [Apple Corps] mad at any point — they’re really nice and easy to work with, but this is The Beatles, you can’t afford to mess this up.”

Considering the longtime rhythm game developer more or less re-energized its Amplitude and Frequency franchises with Rock Band Unplugged, we’re taking a wild stab in the dark here when we suggest Drake’s likely talking about Rock Band 3. And does “re-energizing” in this case mean “adding Project Natal functionality?” We’re not sure yet, but we’ve got our fingers as uncrossed as possible, just in case.

Harmonix to ‘re-energize’ its franchises after The Beatles: Rock Band originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's no surprise that Harmonix is working on expanding the Rock Band franchise in some way. This year brings The Beatles: Rock Band, but what will the future hold? MTV Games head Scott Guthrie talked to MCV about "what is effectively the next game, or 'Rock Band 3'." Guthrie doesn't deny that the next major release from Harmonix could be another artist collaboration a la The Beatles, but whatever the next project is will undoubtedly reflect a major change for the franchise.

"We aren't standing still," Guthrie notes. "We will keep moving into new areas and look at new technologies that our platform holder partners are also developing, such as Project Natal from Microsoft. We're working with them to pull some things together."

Obviously, with Project Natal barely in its infancy, it's unlikely we'll see much of a Natal-enabled Harmonix project any time soon. It certainly is an interesting concept, one that has us wondering how exactly Natal could possibly enhance the plastic instrument experience. Certainly, Harmonix must be wondering the same thing.

[Thanks, Nick!]

Harmonix looking at Project Natal for 'Rock Band 3' originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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