John Tam answers questions about ITG

[Pakwan Kenobi]

Thanks to everyone who posted their questions here for John Tam, producer of ITG for the PS2. John answers quite a few burning questions about the upcoming release of ITG. Take a look and read insider info about Red Octane's role in bringing ITG home, as well as plans for the future of ITG.

[Pakwan Kenobi]

What is the status of the USB memory card support on the PS2, and why was it "given up on"?

USB thumb drive support was something that has to come together with Sony's support since it's on their hardware. There exists some driver support through their work on GT4 but since they are a 1st party developer and we are a 3rd party developer, it couldn't come together in time. We have not given up on this feature.

Why did they decide to make ITG into a console game?

The console version started coming together way before I even got to RedOctane. It's something that Roxor wanted to make happen. If you think about it, you just can't put software out there but you want to have pads as well. Roxor's growth as a developer was a logical step from the arcade and into the home. As you know, there are many people out there that do want to play/practice in their home.

How long did it take to finish the PS2 version of the game?

From initial talks to "Gold Master" submission it took about a year depending on how you define milestones. Development took about nine months.

What do you hope to accomplish with this project? What will it take for it to be considered a success in your eyes? I would like to hear more insight on what attracted you to this project.

RedOctane's desire was to have their own game to publish. Roxor came to us because of what we were doing in the dance pad market and the stars aligned for both of us. We are really happy with the relationship and it simply makes sense that we work together for home versions of In The Groove. I think it's already a success. Small things aside, I think that this is just an awesome version of In The Groove to bring to the home. We've shown the product to many hardcore fans of the genre and they have all been blown away with the product that will soon be shipping. Fans of the arcade version will be blown away with how good it looks on a TV with the increased resolution and re-encoded videos.

Where there any obstacles you ran into while transforming an arcade game into a console game? Where there any changes made to make ITG more console-friendly?

Bringing ITG to the home required a slightly different interface to navigate menus. We also needed to account for a few different control schemes. We've accounted for players wanting to tackle it with a DualShock.

The console experience and the arcade experience are very different if you really think about it. You don't want to rush players through menus or limit them to the 3 song paradigm. Those are devices from the arcade that I never liked on home versions of dance games. You're not paid through "coin drops" so what you're trying to provide is a lasting game experience. The unlock system rewards you simply by continued playing instead of an entered code. The audience for the console version is very broad as well. It's not catering to mainly a hardcore audience at this point. Adding broader appeal was something that we and SCEA wanted. What you'll find in this version are a few steps toward this direction.

Technically the PS2 is a different beast than the "Boxor" system that Roxor uses in arcades. RAM was a huge issue. In the end I believe that what you're going to see is something that we all are very impressed with. The vertical resolution is higher even though TV's can't exactly show it off totally (because of the scan lines).

Will there be any way to turn off the non-directional buttons for while you are playing?

By simply selecting "dance pad" under "options/control type" corner buttons get turned off during gameplay, but not menus. We've even included the controller configuration so that players can play doubles steps with the symbol buttons across two DualShock controllers. You'll also find no compatibility problems with any of the pads that RedOctane has ever sold.

Where there any license issues for porting songs to the home version?

Roxor was very smart with song licensing so they didn't have to go back and re-negotiate for the home versions. As long as royalties keep going to artists, they'll all be cool. You're not just supporting us or Roxor, your supporting the artists that created the music as well. Sales of ITG also help to ensure that there'll be future versions of ITG in the arcade and different home consoles.

What will the 4 Console "preview" songs be? And will the unlock system be the same as its arcade counterpart?

We have not released the 4 extra songs because simply, we want players to get the joy of the reward instead of a spoiler before the game even ships. You'd hate us if we told you the end of the book or movie right? The unlock system simply rewards you for continued playing of the game.

Were there any specific reasons why ITG was made for PS2 instead of Xbox?

RedOctane is a startup. Although profitable, we are in a growth phase. Our first project needed to be a logical choice. PlayStation2 was the obvious first choice because of market share. Success will help fund development of future versions and on different consoles. You couldn't believe the resources it takes to get games of this type to market.

Did the inclusion of E-Rotic in the game make the ESRB rating of the game possibly change?

ITG will be rated E for Everyone with a "mild lyrics" comment line. E-Rotic's "touch me" was not a problem.

I wanted to know if there would be an official hard pad like the impossible to find Konami metal pad that resembles the arcade, or something like that that would be exclusive for ITG? Are you worried about how some of the songs will perform on a home version, on which there is no bar to hold for balance? Will this make some songs (notably stuff like Pandemonium) too much harder?

Our New Metal pad is something that came through some extra work by a few of us in the office. It was our goal to improve on the good qualities of the existing metal pad. It's the best product that we can produce at this price point. We recognize that there are multiple price points for dance pads. We're always tinkering on things that may or may not show up to market. I'll just say that "a bar is a logical progression of what we're already doing." Not everyone plays with a bar, but we understand that most people need a bar to clear the hardest of the expert steps. This home version is true to the arcade version and even though we don't have a pad with a bar right now, it's a better decision to leave the 13's alone rather than "tailor" it back just so that someone can clear the steps on the home version.

Were there any issues porting over the arrow and music timing to the console? I assume that the game has been play-tested on many different pads and that there are ways to adjust the timing if necessary.

Were possible bugs in ITG arcade were addressed. Off sync in songs is one issue that has been looked at and worked on in this version. We all understand here why DDR's home releases had larger "perfect windows" that did not match their arcade counterparts. Making the game easier makes people want to play it more. Roxor didn't follow along the same lines with ITG. In ITG the "fantastic windows" are designed to match the arcade versions exactly. We couldn't forgive ourselves if you practicing at home was really practicing at all. Timing sync can also be adjusted within the game options up to 100 milliseconds.

Are you guys going to make a mix with a much more diverse musical choice, and possibly get freestyle somewhat a resurrection? The free stylists feel quite jaded and somewhat alienated by the latest dance games coming out all the way back the DDR Max. Or is it the pure direction to just the PA players and pushing more challenge.

For this version, being true to Roxor's ITG arcade was a big priority. We recognize a diversity in tastes and play styles. We are looking into ways to possibly fill the gaps and needs of players of all types. Our general opinion is that freestyle is not something that can be addressed through exactly forcing gameplay. Although Roxor has tried to incorporate some elements of freestyle into the step charts through devices like "hands," true freestyle is comes out through a play style vs. gameplay devices. We'll have to wait to see what Roxor comes up with next. ITG was their first product. They are fans of the genre and tend to listen to the rest of the fans. Keep on making some noise and we'll see what can be done.

Do you think there will be any sort of national competition to promote this, say on an ITG2 machine or on the home release of ITG?

RedOctane will continue to support tournaments. National competitions are something that we aren't quite at the place to sponsor just right now. Do we want this product to grow and get to the point where a National Competition can succeed? That answer is an emphatic YES and we'll be sponsoring any tournament that grows to that scale! We are not in the business of running tournaments but we do sponsor any legitimate one that contacts us.

Will there be any songs from DDR? Will there be all of the arcade songs?
The only announced song that happens to cross over with DDR is Vanilla Ninja's "Tough Enough" which happened to get into Ultramix 2 after ITG was released in arcades. All 70 songs from ITG arcade are in this version. Liquid Moon was made unlockable with it's full set of steps. We then thought that fans would love a preview taste of ITG2 songs and requested that Roxor add a some songs into the unlock system.

"When does a song become so hard that it is impossible to beat. Right now Pandemonium is helping to blur that line. So how are you going to top that song in difficulty. Are you going to limit yourselves so that you don't make a song too hard only to see a really hard song?"

It's tough to try to speak for Roxor's step designers but I'll throw out my $.02 on this one. No song in the game presently is impossible to beat. Our QA testers can play through every step chart in the game. A song can get too hard, we see this by turning too many mods when goofing around. There are many games out there that have content that seems "un-beatable" by "normal" people. This creates challenge. Challenge is what ITG is all about. We see this challenge as a feature that other dance games don't quite have. This is great as long as there's enough content there for the rest of the "normal" people like myself to enjoy.

Will you be able to make custom marathon courses?

That's a great feature but no course editor is included in this version.

Will In The Groove for the PS2 have the same features as In The Groove 2?...In short, are freeze rolls and Survival Mode a possibility?

ITG2 features are for ITG2. In other words, no.

This isn't a question that was asked but I want to put this out there.

We never said May 9th. We’ve only posted May on the official website. It's a better answer than the "when it done" that fans usually get. =)

John Tam
Producer
RedOctane

[blackdevilrx]

Way to ask about the release date. I can't believe we missed that.
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[Nig*ga Pleeze]

Imagine playing the ITG expert songs on a soft pad

[Cutriss]

[Thomas Hobbes]

Rofl, I already posted this. >=P
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[peepsluvr]

Yay, my question got posted!

Anyway, I think this Q&A session was very informative. I was very adamant about not buying ITG for the PS2, but I might now. And with the upcoming release of DDR Extreme 2, I get to enjoy both Konami and Roxor/Red Octane!

[mikieson]

I dont know much about it. Is the pad layout like DDR?

[mydixiewrecked]

[Thomas Hobbes]

Up until ITG2, ITG was only available as a "boxor" upgrade kit for DDR machines. It uses the same system and hardware.
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[mikieson]

Thank you so much for the reply.......I may look into ITG....May be good.

[Dark Fish]

[Reenee]

No complaints, obviously. If anything, they're better than 2.0s.

[Ryu_Hirakashi]

My question got posted as well.

I'm glad that the producers are gracious enough to approach the fans, and tell us about the project from their POV.

Thanks Red Octane!!!!

Hirakashi Ryu
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[djzmudpony]

From what I've been reading, Red Octane's goal was to keep it as much like the arcade version of ITG. I with they could have gotten the USB Thumb Drive working but I'm quite happy with the direction of the game. Hopefully only a few more days...
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[reklamfox]

what i would like to know is ITG going to have the "dance" songs like DDR or are they going to be different like more rock music (like with step maina). basically whats the main style of music going to be?
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melissa_meisterFLEX



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[VxJasonxV]

Alternatively you can just go to www.inthegroove.com
Saves a few key strokes and is a very logical name .
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[Raf]

[-Omega-]

im pretty sure extreme 2 hasn't been anounced and/or isn't coming out.






UNFORTUNATLEY
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