Blog > Archive for the ‘Dance Fabulous’ Category

A blog reader and N-Gage fan has let me know about his website Shaysoft, which is dedicated to all things Nokia and  has now begun covering N-Gage games with reviews. The site is called Shaysoft and can be found at the web address www.shaysoft.net. Among the games he’s reviewed so far are Dance Fabulous, Spore Origins, Worms World Party, and Brain Challenge.

Here’s an example of the site’s take on Dance Fabulous:

“I think this is the most important part of this game because it all depends on you. You can import musics what you like. It only supports MP3/M4A or aacplus version files. So make sure your musics are all MP3/M4A or aacplus version.”

Read the full review here, and of course visit the entire Shaysoft N-Gage section here. Incidentally, an updated version of Dance Fabulous is being released shortly.

Pocket Gamer’s Jon Mundy has been coaxed onto the dance floor with Dance Fabulous, the new rhythm music game for the N-Gage platform. He notes that while not an enthusiast of actual dancing, he found the game easy to get into and a lot of fun to play.

In his review, he gives it an 8 out of 10, saying it may have the highest production values of any N-Gage game. He goes on to say:

“So the biggest surprise is how beautifully simple Dance Fabulous is. Rather than the Yes-style prog-rock epic we might have expected given the number of players involved, Nokia has come up with a sweet Beatles pop song - catchy as hell and accessible to all.

“But with such superb production values (possibly the best on N-Gage), a refreshingly open-ended game mechanic and a compelling drip-feed of unlockables, anyone with an open mind and a sense of fun should overcome their British reserve and get dancing. Preferably fabulously.”

Read the complete Pocket Gamer review here.

On the other hand, not everybody gets the game. Mikey Bee of NokNok.tv found the game “baffling” in his review, noting, “Why would anyone in their right mind want to play this game?” Fortunately he turned the game over to his daughter, who gave the game 4 and a half stars in review, and has been happily playing the game for over a week with no signs of letting up.

Read the entire NokNok.tv review here.

As some commenters have pointed out in the earlier threads related to Dance Fabulous, the first party N-Gage dancing game is now available for download through your N-Gage application.Visit the Showroom tab, click ‘Update Now’ and check the latest games list.

The game page is also now live on the Website. The free trial will appear on the Website game page within the next 24 hours, for those who would rather download it that way.

Your music makes you move. Pick your tune. Pick your style. Pick your location. Pick Dance Fabulous! Dance Fabulous is all about your music and your style. Dance along to your own music library, create your own unique dance moves, and boost your music experience to a totally new level! Dance Fabulous features North American singer Cindy Gomez, with five of her songs and motion-captured dance moves.

You’ll have a real-life digital pop star in your pocket! Download more tracks for your game from the Nokia Music Store. To learn more visit music.nokia.com.

We spoke with Xavier Carrillo Costa, CEO and Director General of Digital Legends Entertainment, the creator of Dance Fabulous for Nokia, about this upcoming game and the mobile games industry in general.

When did you start developing commercial games?
I started developing commercial games back in 1998 for both PC and console and I’ve been developing 3D mobile games for smartphones since 2003.

What do you think it is that makes developing for mobile so popular?
I don’t think that developing games for mobile has become as popular as it should yet. But I would say that current smartphones are proving to be competitive rivals to handheld consoles both in terms of hardware capabilities and in gameplay. This fact is attracting more developers to the mobile space.

What are you working on at the moment?
We are currently working on a HD version of our game, KROLL, for OpenGLES2.0 phones and creating a new internal IP.  Our most recent project before this was Dance Fabulous for N-Gage.

Tell me a bit about Dance Fabulous?
Dance Fabulous is a dancing game. You have the freedom to create and perform your own choreography based on moves recorded by real dancers in motion capture studios. It also allows you to play with whatever music you have or bring to your device.

Dance Fabulous is about expressing yourself by dancing, creating and sharing. It is a mobile dancing game where players are able to enhance their music experience through a game.

What inspired you to make this game?
From a business perspective, we wanted to do something related to music.  Gameplay wise, the original idea of Dance Fabulous was inspired by observing people in their normal daily routine listening to music when commuting, for example.  It is not possible for them to dance while on public transport but thought they could enjoy making their avatar dance to the music they liked on their handset instead.

From our previous experience with the fighting game ONE for Nokia, we realized that by using our expertise in motion capture we could evolve fighting choreography into dancing choreography to make a dancing game.

What makes it such an appealing game to play?
It is a combination between configuring your own avatar from millions of combinations with the freedom of creating the choreography and moves you like with any song that you have on your device. It also promotes content creation, challenging friends and sharing within their communities.

What mobile technologies does it make use of? And why are they so exciting?
From a technological point of view, Dance Fabulous features skeletal animations that allow us to capture moves from real dancers. It also includes physics for the movement of the dancer’s hair that brings more dynamism to the choreography and is also used as a cool factor for some special dance moves.  We also use online capability for community features.

What do you think it takes to be a successful mobile developer?
Be open, reactive and fast as we are evolving in an ever changing environment both in terms of technology as well as new areas for gameplay. You need to take risks to anticipate the next big move in the industry and be ready for when this is made mass market.  From a design perspective always keep in mind that the game will run on a mobile device with specific features and controls.

How long have you been working with Nokia?
Digital Legends Entertainment has been working as a Nokia 1st Party developer since 2004. Last October we released a new version of ONE. This new version was adapted for a wider audience with more intuitive controls and a proven, more polished gameplay.

What do you find the most interesting about the N-Gage platform?
N-Gage is the premium gaming platform of the biggest phone manufacturer. Nokia has over 1 billion active users and therefore the potential to reach the biggest installed based around the globe both through credit card and operator billing.

It also avoids device fragmentation and porting overheads as the SDK ensures you have your game running on all N-Gage compatible devices by providing a single build.

N-Gage Publishing activities have been key in contributing to build the ecosystem. They have always focused their activities on innovation and high quality games. They have contributed to the existence of native game developers (like us), many of which have become a reference in the mobile industry.

Nokia has the capacity to fund innovative projects, in our case ONE.  This is the perfect example of ONE being the first mobile game to use motion capture, to feature normal mapping techniques and multiplayer combats over Bluetooth.  For Dance Fabulous, we have focused our efforts mainly on gameplay innovation.

What do you see as the main challenges in the mobile games industry?
In my opinion, the industry is now becoming more aware that native games are a key element for the future. Publishers and carriers are defining new business models that need to take into account elements such as competition brought by garage developers that now have direct channels to market their games where there is freedom for pricing.

The larger publishers need to understand in more depth that they have an important role to play as they have the ability to better know the market. Game differentiation should be driven by quality and production values. Every day we hear more success stories where differentiation by quality and production value is beginning to reward publishers.

Where will mobile gaming be in five to ten years time?
A consolidated and mature mass market.

Rita of Symbian-Guru has posted a lengthy, and may I say fabulous, piece featuring her first impressions of Dance Fabulous, the new first party dancing game for the N-Gage platform. Along with videos and background information behind the creators of the game, she has some exclusive video, pictures of the game’s star Cindy Gomez, and much more.

She also reveals more interesting tidbits, such as the fact that Cindy can sing in eight different languages, and that the game’s title song will also be featured in an upcoming film:

“[T]his song will also be the theme soundtrack of Street Dancing: The Movie, a film set in India about a boy who falls in love with Cindy’s character while playing Dance Fabulous and travels to Mumbai to participate in a dance competition hosted by Cindy. The movie will include a collaboration between Dave Stewart and composer A.R. Rahman of Slumdog Millionaire fame.”

Also worth reading are her impressions of the game itself, which come from extensive hands on playing time. Here she explains that the game is not just a ‘follow the arrows’ type of game, but a genuinely creative dance interpretation:

“You can choose whatever choreography you want by choosing successions of any of the moves that are available (and they are plenty). You simply have to follow the rhythm and the beat of the song that’s playing, so it’s a genuine dance game. The scores are based on the difficulty of the moves, the rhythm and the diversity.”

There’s lots more to read about and download too, so I urge you to get over and take a look.

And don’t forget to reserve a free 30-day pass at the Dance Fabulous mini-site, too.

More videos showing the behind the scenes making of Dance Fabulous, the first party rhythm game for the N-Gage platform, have been posted on YouTube for your enjoyment.

Go ahead and take a look. The game is expected to be released next week, on June 11. All of the Dance Fabulous videos can be found in the N-Gage YouTube channel, and don’t forget to visit the Dance Fabulous mini-site to reserve your 30 day pass today.

• Dance Fabulous Technical Approach
  
• Dance Fabulous Round The Globe
• Dance Fabulous Recording The Song
  
• Dance Fabulous Music Video Shoot
  
• Dance Fabulous MoCap Ralph
• Dance Fabulous Street Dancing

And you can see the URL at the end of the trailer links to the recently opened Dance Fabulous site, where you will learn the game’s release date has just been announced as June 11.

Pocket Gamer’s Jon Jordan has got his hands on Dance Fabulous at the recent Mobile World Congress convention, and returns with a report. He describes the basic gameplay modes, as well as the exciting ability to import your own music to use as your preferred tunes.

The game, being developed by Digital Legends (creators of ONE) and published by Nokia, is expected out in Summer 2009 according to the report.

Here’s a an excerpt from his preview:

“The basic gameplay sees you controlling a cute manga-style 3D avatar who moves around a dancefloor as you hit the phone’s main four-way button…. There’s also a Guitar Hero-style Challenge mode, where you have to hit the button at the right time in the right direction as arrows fall down the screen.”

Click it here for the rest, and then tell us what you think. Are you looking forward to this new N-Gage game?

N-Gager Reviews Metal Gear

N-Gage fan site N-Gager.co.uk has written up a thorough and painstaking review of Metal Gear Solid Mobile, obviously having quite a lot of fun with the game and giving it high marks. From the review:

“Metal Gear Solid is fantastic fun and when it first makes you jump with shock/fear you’ll know the developers have really done their job here. £6 is nothing to ask for such a great N-Gage experience and although the game isn’t huge there is plenty of replay value. Some of the Pickup Points require you to complete the game without your radar activated or without killing any guards which is great fun to try and do. You won’t be disappointed with Metal Gear Solid Mobile.”

Read the rest here.

Nok Nok Loves Reset

Although the game has been out for some months now, Nok Nok has just reviewed Reset Generation, and they love it:

“This is more than just a videogame about videogames, it’s a homage that manages that rare achievement — to match (and even surpass) the originals for addictiveness, gameplay and sheer fun. Reset Generation is a brilliant blend of old school concepts and next-gen innovation, and it’s this mixture along with killer gameplay that makes it N-Gage’s greatest triumph to date.”

Check out the whole thing here.

But wait, there’s more…

Resident Evil Game Page is Up
Check out screen shots, videos and more.

Blast From the Past
N-Gage Player emo185 has taken a look back at the history of the N-Gage program, from taco to full course meal.

Cindy’s Song
Hear Cindy Gomez’s Street Dancing tune in full from the upcoming N-Gage game Dance Fabulous right here.