Game Idea A Week: Dance Competition

Week Three (19/10/2009)

The Idea for this week is inspired by the TV show "So you think you can dance". In this party game players learn different dance styles and can do partnered dances. Players can also make up their own dance for the songs and then upload the dance moves so to a community area so people can share moves.

Platform:

Wii. The players use both the Wiimote and the nunchuck to make the moves with their arms. If the player has a Balance Board they can use this to do feet movements.

Why it needs to be made:

There should be more dance games and this one lets players learn the different styles, as well as do partnered dances. Further, it lets the player create their own dance moves to upload to the community.

Description:

Each level represents a "week" of the TV competition. So initially the player must get through a certain number of dances with points to be able to make it to the "top 20". After this, each "week" the player does a single dance by themselves where they can pick which style they want to do, and a partnered dance where the style is picked randomly. They can have a rehearsal dance if they want, or just jump straight into the main dance that they get judged on.

Dance styles available will include: contemporary, jazz, ballet, hip hop, popping and locking, ballroom, etc... In single player mode, the player performs the moves shown on the screen. Some of the dances will have an A.I. partner, where the player must match their moves to their partner on the screen. In multiplayer mode with two players, there are again partnered and single person dances. For partnered dances, each player is given slightly different moves that will match up to the other person's moves.

The goal of the game is to be the ultimate winner after a set number of weeks and eliminations of other contestants. If the player gets eliminated, they automatically get sent back to just after the last stage they won - that is they re-do the week. As the game progresses the player is able to go back to previous dances they did so they can do them again to get more points.

In the community area people can upload their own dance moves for the songs that come with the game (i.e. the game already has the license for these songs). To input the moves, the player simply moves the Wiimote and nunchuck at the times they want to the music. The game reads in the approximate movements of the controllers and converts this to a cartoon stick figure representation procedurally so that other people will know the "correct" moves. In their own area a player can upload their own music and songs with moves, but it is unlikely that they can share these with others due to music license laws.

Why it will be a compelling game:

Each time the player does a dance they will probably make a couple of wrong moves, the more they play it they get to know the moves and can improve. There will be the feeling that if they just do it one more time they will be able to improve.

When playing in multiplayer the game is compelling because watching other people "dance" is amusing, and if dancing with a partner there is some level of joint success to each person's score.

The community area will encourage people to make their own moves for a song and let them be a bit more free with the movements available. It also will increase replayability because, although the songs will be the same, the moves will be different and can give a very different feel to the dance. Being able to create your own moves is more in line with the side of dance that encourages creativity and choreography.

Other thoughts:

The player can optionally choose to do extra practice classes to learn about the different styles or practice a particular song before going to judging.