CENTRAL, HARMONIX
MARCOS AGUIRRE, Choreographer, Harmonix
music game market is a little oversaturated and I think it’s good that everybody has sort of dialled back into focusing on core games. I view this as a transition period. Harmonix is resetting the whole industry. It’s not about fake experiences – it’s about delivering real experiences.
What are the advantages of being owned by MTV? Crooker: The music in Dance Centralis MTV’s absolute sweet spot. They also bring resources that we didn’t have before, so we have access to more music and artists, which is key. On the marketing side of things,
MTV is also working closely with Microsoft to get the word out about how good the game is.
How important is the UK and European markets to Harmonix? Did you localise Dance Central to specific territories? Crooker: This was a huge discussion at the beginning of the game. For me, I wanted to find artists for the
www.mcvuk.com
KASSON CROOKER, Project Director, Harmonix
game that are huge everywhere. We received input from MTV UK
and Europe about which artists are up and coming, and went after those, too. I think the average consumer will probably see the track list as a little North US- focused, but through DLC we can offer more region-specific artists and songs.
I also think the potential for success overseas is huge. Dance games from our competitors have been successful in the UK, so we’re super excited about that.
What’s next for Dance Central and Harmonix? Crooker: We’re looking at some basic pre-production for Dance Central 2but mostly we’re working on DLC right now. I want to make sure people like Dance Centraland it does well first. If that happens, then we can look at what people enjoyed about the experience and decide if we want to offer an addition to it.
As for anything else we’re working on, it’s all secret.
DEAN TATE Lead Designer, Harmonix
DANCE KINECTIONS 50
The number of Harmonix employees who worked on Dance Central
With its ability to track the movement of 20 limbs, Kinect is well- suited to Dance Central and its hundreds of dance moves. Harmonix says embracing Microsoft’s motion accessory rather than PlayStation Move or Wii was an easy choice.
“Kinect was a no-brainer because you don’t have to hold anything close to your body,” says project director Kasson Crooker. “If Kinect didn’t work, we would never have made this game. The other motion controllers out there are really cool but they yield different experiences. For us, we’re just totally focused on Kinect.” Microsoft also provided assistance with development. Lead designer Dean
Tate adds: “Microsoft tested the game with tons of people, and that was absolutely crucial to the development process.”
October 29th 2010 33
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