"And in the final product, we'll be releasing a do-it-yourself kit that allows you to solder all the points on yourself," jokes Lehrich. Why so much attention toward yet another plastic peripheral? DJing is a significantly more important part of our culture than a lot of rock snobs would like to admit. It's a highly technical and intense activity; for some, there's an art to blending, layering, and setting mood and ambience. For turntablists, it's all about tricks and tactics. Scratch seems to be interested in the latter.
During my 45 minute demo I got a glimpse at what LA-based 7 Studios has planned. In the past this studio's made some wince-worthy licensed games (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was a recent title), but Lehrich tells me that they've been working on this for a few years, and have fought hard to be able to make a game free of the constraints of Hollywood's demands. Let's hope that time has allowed the Scratch team to spread its wings. I'm not sure if it's going to kick Rock Band 2 out of my PS3, but as a former music writer with an investment in DJ culture, I'm curious to see how the team plans to carve a niche.
At first glance, it's easy to see why smatterings of J-philes got peeved at Scratch for the same reason that many got angry at Guitar Hero's success: the concept and peripheral certainly resemble Konami's old Beatmania game and controller. Like Guitar Hero, however, Scratch seems to have its finger on the pulse of American tastes more than Konami's Bemani music games of yesteryear. I sense that 7 Studios will be happy if it can satisfy a sample-obsessed beat fanatic like myself, and undoubtedly even happier if it can get the same mainstream exposure won by plastic guitar games. That dual focus could explain the juxtaposition of contemporary hitmakers like Kanye West with legends such as Eric B. & Rakim.
During yesterday's demo -- hands-off, to my annoyance -- I watched Lehrich fire up a Gorillaz track to show off the gameplay. As in many music games, you'll have the option of hitting notes as they come curving down a grid, ala Beatmania. Unlike that game, the action is more turntable-centric. As you hit enough notes to build your meter, you'll go into solo mode, Scratch's version of star power or overdrive. With solo mode, you'll have the chance to improvise on the rotary wheel, hit notes, and flip the crossfader bar back and forth, which functions as a sort of "whammy bar." Lehrich also indicates that as you play, you can unlock a sample library, dubbed "battle records," to customize your solo mode scratches. Wanna layer animal sound effects or the kicks and claps of a Roland 808 into your solo? You can. I can now say that I've heard the sounds of an elephant's trumpeting cry juxtaposed over "Don't Sweat the Technique." In the same way that Guitar Hero and Rock Band work to satisfy dabblers but make hardcore fans feel like rock gods, Scratch aims to offer a low bar of entry but make hardcore gamers feel a bit like Cut Chemist. We'll see if the team can pull it off.
At the end of Lehrich's demo of Eric B. & Rakim's early '90s classic, someone from a different department came into the room, bursting with excitement about what he's seen as he passed the window. I believe, "holy shit; that looks awesome! What is that?" are the words he used. That's when I realized that even if there are segments of rap-dismissive strum bar clackers on one side of the spectrum and gamers with fussy tastes in hip-hop beats on the other, a DJ game can still have plenty of potential. The joy of DJing is rooted in the liberating feeling that comes from physically manipulating music. I'm skeptical that any game developer can distill and package that emotion with today's technology, but this could be a step in the right direction.
