Genius Products Inc. (GNPR)

[fredman]

Interview: Scratch the Ultimate DJ’s Fred Galpern

The story behind DJ Hero and Scratch the Ultimate DJ can be confusing. Not only do both games center around similar DJ turntable controllers but the games have also been involved in complicated legal entanglements.

Originally, 7 Studios was developing Scratch for its publisher, Genius Products while Activision was developing DJ Hero. After negotiations for Activision to acquire Scratch failed, Activision bought out 7 Studios while the studio was still in the process of making Scratch. This created a contractual conflict which ultimately led to Scratch’s delay. The timing of the acquisition left many wondering whether Activision purposely attempted to delay, if not eliminate, any competition in the DJ space.

At this year’s Austin GDC, I had a chance to sit down with Fred Galpern, the producer for Scratch to talk about the game. With new developer Commotion Interactive, Galpern remains optimistic about Scratch’s chances when it releases in Spring 2010.

It’s easy to mistake DJ Hero and Scratch for direct competitors á la Guitar Hero and Rock Band. After all, like GH and RB, both games feature similar controllers. However, Galpern is quick to point out that the games are targeting completely different genres of music. On the one hand, DJ Hero features electronic-rock-pop mash ups. On the other hand, with a set list featuring artists such as The Beastie Boys, Salt ‘n Pepper, Run DMC, Outkast, and Kanye West, there’s no question that Scratch is pure hip-hop. Mix Master Mike of The Beastie Boys is even consulting for the project.

“When we handed him the controller, I was terrified,” Galpern remembers. “Oh man, this guy better like it.”

You can’t disappoint “the premiere turntablist on the planet,” as Galpern calls him. Luckily Mike is a hardcore gamer who doesn’t scoff at music games as some musicians have.

“He liked it,” Galpern continues. “He asked, ‘Can it be reversed, can I do my tricks?’ He banged on the thing. ‘Is it sturdy?’ He leaned on the crossfader. ‘Can I play a real hard session and push the shit out of this thing?’”

When the makers of the Rock Band ION Drum Rocker (Numark turntables and Akai Pro MPCs) have teamed up to make the Numark Scratch Deck, is it any surprise that it held up to Mike’s gauntlet? This controller is a beat-making MPC sandwiched between a turntable and crossfader. The turntable is fully rotatable for scratching and uses a a touch-sensitive surface to simulate record stopping. The MPC drum buttons’ spacing and material are taken directly from real MPCs.

Early Scratch Deck models featured a realistic crossfader that slid back and forth freely. Eventually, Numark decided to make it spring loaded. Galpern tells me that during testing, many people, including Mix Master Mike, asked why the crossfader wasn’t a slider. After playing, however, the answer was obvious: a slider doesn’t provide enough feedback for the average player in game.
“In gaming, everything is twitch,” Galpern says. “Even if there was a knotch where it locked in a little, it still wasn’t precise enough. The crossfader is purposely built first and foremost for effective gameplay”

Like the guitar and drum controllers before, Scatch’s turntable has to find the right balance between realism and fun while leaning towards the former.

Gameplay can be described as Beatmania with generous amounts of improvisational freestyling. The emphasis is on emulating the MPC beats as they come down the onscreen lane with occasional scratching and crossfading interludes.

You might say, “Hold on! This sounds like Guitar Hero with a different controller!” But here’s where Scratch aims to innovate on that formula: improvising during songs by throwing in extra on-rhythm scratches and MPC beats will net you more points. Sure, you can play the game like Rock Band, perfectly emulating the onscreen notes…

“But who’s going to do that,” Galpern asks? “Every time someone plays though a song, it sounds different. It’s really fun to watch guys who are good at the game play it. When Mix Master Mike got on, he spends most of his time scratching. He matches notes and then he’s ‘wika-wika’ all the time.”

Galpern emphasizes that Scratch embodies the feeling of being a DJ. He teased that there will be differences between online and local multiplayer that “acknowledges you’re a DJ.”

As for those NPD reports that music game sales were down 46%, Galpern is unconcerned. In fact, he was attending Austin GDC to look into expanding into the Austin staples of MMOs and iPhone games. Simply from hearing about games at the conference, all 11 of his iPhone application pages have now been filled with new games.

But what about those piles of plastic instruments growing in our living rooms? Galpern predicts that the veritable plastic bubble might soon pop. “I only think there are a few [new instruments] left to do and then it’s really going to have a sharp decline. Then you’ll have a slow and steady interest in these games.”

We’ll have to see if Scratch the Ultimate DJ can make its own unique mark on the music game space when it releases next spring. Its emphasis on improvisation and targetting of the untapped Hip-Hop genre will certainly help set it apart.

Source: http://gamesplusblog.com/?p=2190