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Champion turntablist Mix Master Mike told us how he's bringing authenticity to "Scratch: The Ultimate DJ."
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The music rhythm game genre is about to expand into hip-hop. Genius Products and developer Seven Studios have been working with legendary music producer with Quincy Jones III to create "Scratch: The Ultimate DJ."
And to lend his expertise to the game, which uses a turntable peripheral, they've enlisted all-star DJ Mix Master Mike (whose real name is Michael Schwartz) of Beastie Boys fame. But when he was first introduced to "Scratch," the champion turntablist wasn't sure what to make of it.
"Of course, I was pretty skeptical when they told me about it," said Schwartz in a recent phone interview. "But in the initial meeting when they first showed it to me, it was actually kind of dope; I was pretty surprised."
"I'm there to make sure it's as authentic as possible and to make sure it feels like the real thing."
Once he learned what the game was all about, Schwartz jumped on the project and shared his ideas. "I'm there to make sure it's as authentic as possible and to make sure it feels like the real thing, as if you were really on a turntable," he said. "I made sure [the developers] had the scratching sound as close to the real thing as possible, and the whole beat-making thing as real as possible."
As for the gameplay and design, he said that creative lead Dan Lehrich had a good grasp on things, but Schwartz gave his thoughts when asked. "[Dan] shows the game to me and asks my advice on things, what to change and what to keep, and I give insight on what to do," he said.
For the turntable peripheral, which former Multiplayer reporter Patrick Klepek got to touch a few weeks ago, Schwartz had to make some changes. "They just had to get the knobs working in the right way because they weren't up to par -- I think that was three months ago," he said. "Now it's probably like 95 percent done as far as playing like the actual thing."
"I see it as a good first step into learning how to scratch."
So with Schwartz on board, I asked if he thought "Scratch" would help train gamers to become DJs. He thought "inspire" was right word moreso than "teach." "I think, for now, it starts off with the baby steps," he explained. "But this is a good start; it's good for actually developing timing and moving the buttons and stuff. I see it as a good first step into learning how to scratch."
It also goes the other way: Like with "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band," just because you play a real instrument, doesn't mean you'll necessarily be a pro in the game right off the bat. Schwartz said he wasn't even playing on the Expert difficulty yet. "I sucked at first -- I started me out on a pretty high level, and I got a little mind-boggled because you have to switch back and forth," he said. "You have to go from scratching to actual beat-making. You kind of have to be ambidextrous, but it's all in fun. It caters to your skill level."
"I think it's going to be as big as 'Guitar Hero,' if not bigger."
Schwartz added that the game isn't just aiming for hip-hop heads who want to be DJs. "I think it's going to attract everybody," he said. "Gamers -- period -- are going to look at this game, because it's the first of its kind, so I think they're going to be really interested. I think it's going to be as big as 'Guitar Hero,' if not bigger."
Speaking of "Guitar Hero," I asked Schwartz what he thought about "DJ Hero," the upcoming DJ game from Activision, the makers of "Guitar Hero." "What I've heard is that it's not going to be as authentic as 'Scratch,'" he said. "I know it's more based on just mixing; it's going to be two completely different things. This is more based on scratching and beat-making, and the other one is just like beat-matching. But don't hold me to that, I just heard from the grapevine."
"What's great about the game are all the possibilities," he continued. "It's crazy, I can think of 10 million things to do next."
Would that include a Beastie Boys' edition of "Scratch"? A publicist on the call interjected and said that standalone artist expansions and DLC are possibilities in the future. "And 'Scratch' has got [Beastie Boys' song] 'Intergalactic' on board so that should be cool," Schwartz said. "I mentioned it to [Beastie Boy] Mike D, so he's looking forward to checking the game out."
"They're going to feel like they're really at a party and as if they're really performing in front of the crowd," Schwartz reiterated. "This controller is that legit. I think kids will be excited."
"Scratch: The Ultimate DJ" is slated for this year on Xbox 360/PS3, packed-in with a turntable peripheral. It also features a custom track by Mix Master Mike.
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