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DJ Hero dev FreeStyleGames in limbo, 'actively working with Activision on various options'
Despite reports of "severe layoffs" at DJ Hero development house FreeStyleGames yesterday, a statement issued by creative director Jamie Jackson, design director David Osbourn, and commercial director Chris Lee says that "no decisions have been taken at this stage" regarding the future of the studio. Furthermore, the trio noted, "We're actively working with Activision on various options going forward" -- it all sounds very reminiscent of Bizarre Creations' recent closing, frankly. It certainly doesn't help that plans for future downloadable content in the DJ Hero and Guitar Hero franchises have been dissolved, not to mention Activision's statement during yesterday's financial call: "We simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand." Neither Activision nor FreeStyleGames have commented regarding yesterday's alleged layoffs.
DJ Hero 2 made in seven months following enormous vacation
Jamie Jackson, creative director at DJ Hero 2 developer Freestyle Games, told PlayStation UK in an interview recently that the latest title was made in just seven months. The game reportedly kicked off development immediately after a "mass exodus" at the studio, clarified to Joystiq as a "big holiday" for the team. According to Jackson, "15-hour days for quite a long time" resulted in the vast majority of the studio vacationing in places like Ibiza to get the creative juices flowing once more. When everyone was back, the team had to hop right back in the saddle for the sequel. "We had to get straight back on it ... so DJ Hero 2 has been made in around seven months," Jackson explained. And though the team only had a handful of months to get the sequel together, it wasn't interested in putting out "the same game again with different music" -- Jackson got specific, shouting out the new Battle Mixes and Freestyling features as improvements made despite a dramatically shortened development cycle. And now, with the game nearly complete, we have to imagine that various Mediterranean islands are bracing for impact.
Video interview: Freestyle Games' Jamie Jackson
Freestyle Games' upcoming DJ Hero is quite possibly the most refreshing addition to the music genre in quite some time. We chatted with Jamie Jackson, Creative Director of the game, to talk about introducing gamers to the world of scratch. Below is a small text excerpt of the entire video interview.How did the DJ Hero concept come about?About three years ago, we were looking into a concept for a hip-hop game that took into account all four pillars of hip-hop. But really quickly, we decided the DJ element was much more inspiring, and had more to do with it. It actually allowed us to branch out ... It wasn't just hip-hop, it was dance, it was electronica, it was drum and bass. And we could still bring in things like rock, and motown, and bring in all these old classic songs as well.So how do you translate the process of DJ'ing to a videogame?What we wanted to do was give something to the consumer that wasn't too intimidating, so we kind of took the core elements, which is scratching and cross-fading, and then we made the game based on those two things.%Gallery-70460%
