Jason: From a very top-line perspective, the biggest element to any DDR game is the music. There is a long process involved with acquiring the music content for each game.
For example, a lot of the music first requires securing the licensing rights to use the song in the game. Assuming the content is good to go, we also have to edit the song to fit the typical length for the game (roughly 90-115 seconds on average). Once the song is in the proper length, the dance step patterns have to be created for each difficulty level in the game. If you figure the typical DDR game has about 70 songs, we are already talking about 500+ individually tailored step patterns that have to be made.
As you can see, we have not even addressed the development time needed to make the actual game or incorporate new modes/features, etc. While DDR games are, on the surface, more simplistic than RPGs or action games, the amount of development time needed is on par to other games.
Aaron: All three upcoming titles seem to have a key focus on beginner players as well as really challenging long-time players. What prompted this approach?
Jason: DDR has really grown from "cult" to "cultural" status since its early hey days in the arcade. We certainly realize that our fan base is extremely loyal and we have a lot of people who spent a long time practicing the game to become expert players. We always want to make sure that the game is balanced enough to appeal to players of all skill levels.
At the same time, we also realize that there are a lot of people who see other people play DDR and get easily intimidated to try the game. We want to give those people an opportunity to play this game and gradually move through the learning curve. These are the main reasons we put more focus on new and existing players.
Aaron: Everybody loves music, but the types of music people enjoy are as diverse and unique as the people themselves. When selecting music for a mix of Dance Dance Revolution, what considerations does the team take in order to ensure such a wide, varying selection of music that players of all tastes are able to enjoy?
Jason: You bring up a good point — even if you emphasize diversity in the song list, you can never satisfy everyone. However, music variety is one of the most important objectives when making the song list.
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