Rumor: Survey Hints at Dance Central Sequel Changes

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A new Microsoft Game Studios survey may hint at planned features for a sequel to Dance Central, reports Kotaku. The proposed features mostly center on making the game easier to pick up and play, giving users more personalized options, and expanded downloadable content options.

The Dance Central Store would let players buy new outfits, dance moves, and songs, similar to Rock Band. To make the game a bit easier on those of us with two left feet, the survey suggests more practice options, the inclusion of easier songs, a Loose Filters mode to be more lenient on accuracy, and better feedback on what players are doing wrong.

Harmonix may also be looking to expand the multiplayer options with on-screen lyrics so people who aren't dancing can score points by singing, and 2-player modes both in your living room and over Xbox Live. You may also be able to personalize your dancer and string together custom choreography.

Other potential features may include song importing "from one version of Dance Central into another," voice controls, photo exporting and social networking features, and a campaign mode with a calorie counter.

While it's important to keep in mind that none of these features are set in stone, the survey implies they're all on the table. Harmonix is probably gauging interest in the pre-production stage to decide on a feature set to aim for during development.

When Harmonix confirmed layoffs yesterday, it said it was to align the staff size with "current product development plans." The early stages of this Dance Central sequel probably require fewer staff, but we may see the studio growing again when the project is closer to completion.

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From The Chatty
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    February 8, 2011 3:05 PM

    Our 6 year old plays this (on Easy & Med skill levels mind you) and had no issues jumping right in to any song, even many songs she's never heard before.

    I think the biggest issue would be playspace and how well your Kinect is positioned. If you stand too close (and the Kinect sensor loses the bottom part of you) then you'll lose points for your bottom half not doing the moves.

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