DJ Hero – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DJ Hero Developer(s) FreeStyleGames, Exient Entertainment (Wii/PS2) Publisher(s) Activision Series Hero Engine Havok (Cloth) Platform(s) PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360 Releasedate(s) Genre(s) Music video game, Rhythm game Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer Distribution Blu-ray Disc (PS3), DVD (PS2/Xbox 360), Wii Optical Disc (Wii)

DJ Hero is a music video game, developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision as a rhythm game spin-off of the Guitar Hero franchise. It was released on October 27, 2009 in North America and on October 29, 2009 in Europe. The game is based on turntablism, the act of creating a new musical work from one or more previously recorded songs using record players and sound effect generators, and features 94 remixes of two different songs from a selection of over 100 different songs across numerous genres.

To score points, the player must press buttons to activate accented beats, adjust their crossfade between the two songs, and "scratch" the turntable on the game's custom controller in time to marks that scroll on the screen to score points and perform well for the virtual crowd. The game features both a single player Career mode and cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. The game also features a mode for selected songs for a DJ player to play alongside another player using a Guitar Hero guitar controller. Many DJ and mix artists have contributed to the game both in the game's development, the creation of mixes, and in lending their images for playable avatars in the game; these including DJ Shadow, Z-Trip, DJ AM, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Daft Punk.

DJ Hero was generally well received by game journalists, praising the departure from the Guitar Hero series-style of gameplay, the use of the turntable controller to simulate the motions of a DJ and how the game's difficulty curve helps the player to become skilled on it, and the game's soundtrack; several smaller issues were identified as potential improvements for a possible sequel. However, the game did not perform as strongly as expected by industry analysts, believed to be due to the waning interest in music games during 2009; regardless, DJ Hero is stated by NPD Group to be the highest-grossing new intellectual property of 2009 in North America.

DJ Hero primarily simulates turntablism, a musical style used by disc jockeys to create a new mashup song by incorporating one or more previously recorded songs played on record players along with sound effect generators. The game features score attack gameplay similar to the Guitar Hero games. The controller consists of a wireless deck consisting of a movable turntable that supports 3 "stream" buttons, an effects dial, a crossfader, and a "Euphoria" button; a hidden panel contains additional controller buttons to interact with the gaming console outside of the game.[2] A portion of the controller can be detached and reattached to adapt the unit for left-handed players.[3] Notes travel in an arc across a spinning record on screen, and the player holds down one of the 3 stream buttons to play notes; two buttons reflect the two songs used in that particular mix, and the third represents samples to add to the mix which can be adjusted with the effects dial.[2] The player must also constantly adjust the crossfader to match onscreen symbols, which alters the relative volume of the songs as to bring one song to the forefront of the mix for a short time.[2] Certain tracks are shown on screen as a series of up or down arrow, representing scratching sections, requiring the player to turn the turntable in the direction of the arrows while holding down the button to score points, mimicking the scratching of the record needle on vinyl albums.[2] "Euphoria" is equivalent to Guitar Hero's Star Power, collected by successfully completing specific phrases in the song mix, called Perfect Regions, and can be released by pressing the Euphoria button, doubling the player's current multiplier as well as automatic crossfading when active.[2] There is also a "Rewind" meter that builds through consistent successful playing, and once full, allows the player to rewind the song to fix errors in their performance.[2][3] The player must continue to perform well or their performance meter will drop and the music track will cut out. Failing the song is not possible, unlike in Guitar Hero games.[2]

A single player career mode is available, as well both competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes ("DJ vs DJ"), playable locally or remotely. Ten songs have been specially mixed to also support gameplay with Guitar Hero and other compatible guitar controllers in a "DJ vs Guitar" mode.[2][3] Players can also use a microphone for a non-scoring addition to the mix.[2] A Party Play mode allows the game to automatically play the songs with the ability for a player to jump in and play at any time.[2]

Activision had initially applied for a trademark on the name DJ Hero in early 2008, leading to speculation that Activision was making plans to compete against Konami's Beatmania series of music video games with their own DJ game as a possible spinoff of their popular Guitar Hero series.[4]FreeStyleGames, a small developer of music games, was employed to help produce localized downloadable content for Guitar Hero games and develop another yet-to-be announced music game.[5] This game was later revealed to be DJ Hero.[6][7] Activision CEO Robert Kotick confirmed the existence of DJ Hero in an interview with CNBC on January 20, 2009, revealing a release "later this year".[8] Activision CFO Thomas Tippl stated that DJ Hero would be aimed at a broader audience than the Guitar Hero games primarily through the use of more contemporary music in its soundtrack.[9] Producer Will Townsend stated they opted for a wide variety of music to "make sure that everybody has something in there that they want."[2]DJ Hero was designed as a party game and to make the player "the life of the party", giving ways for them to be "in control of the music", according to Townsend.[2]

FreeStyleGames teamed up with London based music production company Crossfade Cartel owned by Ofei Sakyi and Dan Neil to ensure the overall quality of the soundtrack.[10][11] The 16 man music production team used a combination of MIDI software along with the music sequencer program, Ableton Live; the MIDI information was used to construct the gameplay elements such as crossfading and scratching with additional custom export software.[10] Because of this nature, Neil stated that it was much easier to alter a mix to meet certain gameplay goals, taking only a few minutes to complete, compared with the development of songs for Guitar Hero.[10]

The team worked alongside artists and DJ's for incorporation of songs into the game.[10] Neil stated they brought to artists and DJ's working prototypes of the game and hardware to show them what the sampled music and final mixes sounded like, garnering interest from these groups.[10] This led to securing of rights from several groups for their songs, though this did occur late in the development process.[10] Mixing with celebrity DJ's was performed either though electronic communications, or at FreeStyleGames' studios or the homes or studios of the DJ's themselves; the team outlined the goals of the game and requested mixes that emphasized the gameplay featured, but avoided hampering the creativity of the artists.[10]

DJ Shadow was brought in by Activision during November and December 2008, at least a year into the development into the game, to help select individual songs, help with creating the mixes, and provide additional input for the game, and will also be a playable DJ avatar in the game.[12][13] He was able to identify old effects samples that were used in the past for scratching for the developers to include the game.[12] To create the mixes, DJ Shadow first created a "dry version" of each mix which did not include any embellishments. DJ Shadow then proceeded to build off that to create the "wet version" with added effects that was used as the base for the gameplay's mixes.[12] Artists Eminem and Jay-Z have also served as consultants for the game; a special edition of DJ Hero was branded with their names, and included a limited edition of the controller, a music CD of their songs, a DJ stand, and a travel case for the units. This version is titled "Renegade Edition."[14] Jay-Z stated that he "[loved] the freedom" that the game gives him, and was able to work closely with Activision to put in new mixes that he envisioned, and considered the game "a DJ's universe", while Eminem believed DJ Hero was a game that he could "see [himself] actually playing".[14] DJ's Z-Trip and DJ AM both created mixes for the game and will also be playable DJ's in the game; Z-Trip will also help demonstrate the game at the 2009 E3 Conference.[15][16]Cut Chemist and J.Period will also be assisting in creating mixes for the game.[13][17]Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Daft Punk have contributed remixes to the soundtrack and will also appear as playable avatars.[18][19][20] In the case of Daft Punk, a special venue inspired by the group's Alive 2007 tour was created, that Tim Riley, Vice President for Music Affairs at Activision, considered to be "the next best thing to being at a Daft Punk concert".[21]David Guetta has also contributed three mixes that were made available as downloadable content for the game; Guetta would also serve as a spokesperson in the game's European marketing.[22] As part of the game's promotion, the DJ Hero controller appears in the music video for Kid Cudi's "Make Her Say".[23]

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DJ Hero - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia