Recently I blogged about my surprise that Just Dance is Ubisoft's best-selling Wii game.
The other day I found a comment on my post from "Dancing in CT" who said everyone he/she knows loves it:
Who cares about the scoring? Just Dance isn't so much about competing but about laughing and sharing one of the best forms of exercise.
It got me to thinking about what makes the Wii so effective, and why sometimes the games that come out for it seem rather haphazard in design.
Just Dance is a cute game in which an onscreen avatar dances to a song (titles include "Who Let the Dogs Out?" and "U Can't Touch This." The game has a cool, funky look to it and the dance moves are genuinely entertaining. It's a very goofy game, and I felt sillier playing it than something like Dance Dance Revolution, but it is pretty fun at first.
My main objection is that the scoring is off; the game gives you points for moving correctly, but it seems incapable of judging whether or not you have completed a move, making scoring arbitrary.
But it does get you up dancing. And that's what "Dancing in CT" likes about it. And that is the strength of the Wii; it is perfect for games that make you move.
But the weakness of the Wii, from a gamer's perspective, is that much of the Wii's audience is made up of non-gamers who see Wii games as activities rather than games. Just Dance is a good activity, because it's fun to dance with the avatar, but a bad game, because you can't win through skill. And the problem is, game designers have discovered there are a huge number of people with Wii's who don't care if it's a good game as long as it's a fun activity.
The fact is, you could create a DVD of someone dancing to a song and tell people to dance along, and it would have the same effect as Just Dance. But there is something about the pretense of being scored that motivates people in a way just dancing to a DVD wouldn't.
I'm fine with people who just want to play and don't care about the score. After all, whatever the game thinks, we know perfectly well if we're doing the move or not, so you can score yourself, and try to outdo others, even if the game doesn't have the slightest idea what's going on. But I would prefer a game that worked for both those who want an activity and those who want a real game. And with a little more work, Just Dance could have been just that.
Comments
I recently picked up this game because I heard it was a popular group title. My wife and I have a child and we’re always looking for things we can do together. I admit, when I put the disc in, my heart sank. “This is it?” But I kept a tight upper lip and gave the game an honest go… and I’m so glad I did.
My wife loves it and wants to invite more friends and family to play it. My five-year-old thought it was stupid at first, but soon warmed to it because grandma and his parents were having so much fun without him. And really, my kid’s reaction embodied the majority of gaming critics. It’s too bad they didn’t give it a chance… it’s too bad they were acting like 5-year-olds too. If they had only given it a chance with a group of good people, they would have seen what the game was really about. Is completely awesome? No. But it’s fun. 2/10 from IGN, really? Is it really an abomination to all that is holy in the gaming world?
I agree with your criticism of the game though. I definitely would have preferred unique profiles and score tracking along with more songs, better feedback, unlockables, etc. However, this is honestly the most accessible game I’ve ever played. It was a bit of a struggle to get some of my family to play Wii Sports Resort, but Just Dance is just too easy to dive in… careful though; the game’s not deep enough to go head first.
I hope the next one gets a major overhaul. There’s so much room for improvement… and this is coming from someone who can’t wait to get his hands on Monster Hunter Tri.
Also, it’s been mentioned before, but this game makes a lot of sense for Microsoft’s Natal… but I don’t know if that thing can track four bodies at once. And I still haven’t seen a tech demo without noticeably bad lag.
Good comments and insight into the Just Dance game. I’d have to agree that it is more of an activity than a game. Except that as a game, I’m doing pretty darn good. I must admit that my kids can beat me on a few of the songs…
Another issue I agree with you about is the scoring. I swear I am doing every move correctly, yet I get a big “X”. This is extremely difficult for me to accept (especially when I’m in a major competition with my cousins!). I know I did the move correctly so why don’t I get the points? Remember, I’m in this to WIN!!!
Thanks again for your blog entry! It was fun to read and relate to!
Sincerely,
Kevin
khellriegel.wordpress.com
Hey! I just wanted to add, that, that second comment on your last blog about this game is 100% right on.
The way that gamers play video games and people just looking for fun (or “an activity as you put it) play games in COMPLETELY contradicting ways. We’re just looking to move and maybe have a laugh with some friends.
I mean, men dancing to spice girls’?
I understand why, from a gamers’ perspective, this game is kind of worthless, as the scores do no matter and you get no feedback, but for an “ordinary” person, it is nice for a few laughs and that’s it!
I currently hold the world record for Dare by Gorillaz on this game (I’m listed in the Guiness Book Of World Records 2011 for it) and will soon hold the world record for every song on Just Dance after they’ve been verified.
The scoring on the game isn’t as good as it could be. The biggest thing I’ve learned through playing it to get the world records is that the direction you’re pointing the remote for each move does affect whether it scores your move or not. This is the reason why even if you are moving on the beat you might get x’s instead of getting points. You have to watch how their hands are during each move. If it’s is in a fist, you most likely want the remote to be perpendicular in your hand, where as if their fingers are pointing out, you’ll want to point the remote in that direction. I did a lot of trial & error to figure out how to hold the remote during the songs & there’s still some parts that I have yet to figure out what I’m doing wrong.
Just Dance 2 seems to be a little better with the scoring but then again, I’ve only played it for a couple days & have been focusing more on what the dance moves are in general.
I’m still unsure on what the most possible points are. I’ve seen videos of people getting over 20k but I’ve yet to get over 19k on any song myself. (granted, I’ve only been focusing on beating the current world records & not finding one song I think I can do that well & practicing it until I get over 20k.)
I wish that they had it set up to link to your mii so you can keep track of how well you do & not just the highest score on the console.
We love Just Dance. The only down side is that my daughter was born with only her left hand and there is no option to switch hands for the dancer. She is often discouraged because she is 7 and she doesn’t get the concept of dancing with the oposite hand. Maybe the future games could offer left or right handed for those without another option.
I don’t know if this would work, but if you put a big mirror next to the TV and had you daughter watch the mirror she would see the image reversed. I don’t know if that would be more or less confusing, but you could try it.