'DJ Hero' could inspire a new generation of DJs
By Gieson Cacho
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 10/29/2009 01:00:00 AM PDT
Updated: 10/29/2009 04:36:30 AM PDT
Sam Maxion knew he wanted to be a DJ when he was 12. "I was at a wedding and seeing a DJ doing his thing," he says. "I was mesmerized." That moment sparked a career that's led him to learn the art as a teenager with disc jockey crews. It has opened up doors to stints at radio stations in San Francisco, Phoenix and Hawaii as an adult. Now, Maxion produces music and spins records at East Bay clubs.
But with all that experience, somehow he's found himself back at square one. The professional DJ is in the same boat as thousands of wannabe beat mixers: He's learning to play "DJ Hero." The latest addition to the "Guitar Hero" family crosses a major boundary. Since its inception, the franchise has focused on rock. It rarely has gone outside the established gameplay of guitar, vocals and drums.
But with "DJ Hero," released this week, Activision's FreeStyleGames studio ventures into uncharted territory. The developer takes that music-rhythm formula and applies it to hip-hop, the dominant form of pop music for the past two decades. It introduces players to a turntable controller that captures the spirit of spinning records in the same way "Guitar Hero's" plastic instruments emulates shredding on an ax.
If this catches on, the ramifications could be just as big as the 2005 original. Activision's music franchise has made more than $2 billion in its lifetime and changed the music landscape so bands such as Metallica and Van Halen clamor for their own editions. "DJ Hero" taps a new vein of music and potentially stretches the game genre's reach. It even could create a whole new generation of disc jockeys.
"DJing in the past has always been something you learned by trade," says Troy Farol, owner of the DJ Arts Academy in South San Francisco. "You learned on your own. You had a friend or family member that DJs and you tag along with them and learn. It's not necessarily something you can learn pretty easily. It's inaccessible. With 'DJ Hero,' it provides somewhat a type of access." He hopes that the game's impact will ripple onto his school. He imagines a scenario where those who play it will want to move to the next level.
On the retail side, Chad Zammuto, manager of Guitar Center in Concord, has the same sentiment. The retailer, who also will sell the game, says he saw more interest in their instruments after "Guitar Hero" came out, and he's expecting the same thing with "DJ Hero." "People who would have never wanted to pick a guitar decide to," he says. "People who thought they were good at the game would be good at real guitar. I think it'll definitely have an effect at inspiring people to become DJs."
FreeStyleGames mimics the experience like this: Players hit buttons on the platter in time with matching jewels crawling down the screen. Players flick the crossfader left and right, switching the music between two record sources. And of course, there's the scratching, represented by lines that run like tire marks on the screen.
Even with a faux turntable for scratching, a crossfader and an effects knob, there are still some elements of the job that the game can't teach. There's beat matching, learning the timing of a scratch and picking records that complement each other. Most importantly, "DJ Hero" can't replicate one element performance with a live audience.
"Playing the video game is one thing and knowing the equipment, knowing those real life situations there's nothing like experience, especially playing for the crowd," Farol says. "You have to bring it to the crowd and really provide a good time with music."
Still, Maxion is having a good time with the game. He scratches. His style is relaxed. He aces one lesson and moves on to another. He's not exactly making music one of his complaints but he's still enjoying himself. In the evitable sequel, he says he would like to see support for two turntables. That way "you can juggle beats," he says. It'll also make "DJ Hero" more realistic.
It may not be at a wedding, but he can see the game's potential.
"I would think it would open the door for kids," Maxion says. "It's a starting point for novice DJs to get into the real thing."
