new DDR / StepMania Game in your pocket (www.myDigiBit.com)

Hey everyone,

I am the inventor of new gaming hardware that you wear on your feet / shoes or hands called DigiBit (www.myDigiBit.com). One of the games is DigiBit Dance and works just like StepMania or DDR but you can put the whole system in your pocket. Arcade in your pocket! I need beta testers that are good with StepMania or DDR to test this hardware. I am in the Detroit MI area.

Anyone interested in beta testing or helping me with this open source platform? All games are currently in Unity3D.
e-mail: coltcorrea@myDigiBit.com
phone: +1 586 201 6159
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coltcorrea/
IG: @my.DigBit
FB: https://business.facebook.com/my.DigiBit
Twitter: @My_DigiBit
YouTube: https://youtu.be/3l8KCyppQFE

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OMFG MOTION CONTROLS THEY SUCK CASUAL GAMING GET OUT OF MY FACE <90% of those on 4chan would say this

doesn't really look that bad

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Why does motion controls suck? I have worked hard on this game and plan to have a real good experience with this. The goal is to have the DigiBit hardware be as good as a high-end DDR system. < 17ms response.

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That wasn't my opinion, just saying that the "hardcore" "gamers" would say that
they think motion controls kill the hardcore market

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For the Dance game, we would like to be as good as any high end system. With the help of experienced DDR / DanceMania players, I think we can achieve this.

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What about DANCERUSH players?

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Yes - DANCE RUSH players would also be great beta testers.

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Tell me more about it. What is the advantage over dance pads?

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While the side conversations are going on, here is an actual questionnaire that I think would help out a lot of the people here to understand what you want to do with this new type of mobile dance game that you are creating:

1) What platforms will this be available on (iOS/Android/Google Play)?
2) What is the audience for this game? Is it casual? Hardcore? Both?
2a) If it is for casual players, what are you planning on doing to make the game more user-friendly or to entice someone who would use both their mobile phones for playing video games as well as getting them to move using your device.
2b) If for a hardcore audience, how are you going to get them to buy this device as opposed to saving up for an actual dance mat that could be the same/slightly higher price than the device you are building for?
3) How are you planning on making the device trigger 'steps' so that it can help both players who have never played on an actual rhythm dance arcade game as well as for those that are seasoned/veterans of playing home/arcade mats?
3a) How is the device 'mapped'/configured so that it can recognize where the 'up', 'left', 'down', and 'right' arrows are without the use of an actual dance mat?
4) Do you have artists/musicians lined up for a music song list ready/available? If so, what type of genre's of music can we expect to see for this game and what artists are headlining this game?
4a) Can artists/musicians come to you to provide their music for the game?
5) Is the app free or do we have to pay OUTSIDE of paying for the devices?

BONUS) Can this device be used as a pedometer to track how many steps taken + heart rate + calories lost + designed specifically for dance game players?

Just know that you are competing with other companies that are/have developed actual dance mats that rival those of arcade dance platforms. Although they are a bit steep on price range, the people who have used these platforms have all but praised their quality and usefulness in their own play-testing of said dance mats. Appealing this to hardcore players is going to be a VERY hard thing to do unless it can either help them with their training OR offer a cheaper alternative to buying a full-blown arcade dance platform, just fyi.

*the bonus question could potentially give your device an extreme benefit for hardcore players as there really isn't a device currently in the market designed for people who do long sessions of DDR/PIU/ITG and want to track their heart rate + calories lost while playing.

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Reply to Daniel_BMS -> "Tell me more about it. What is the advantage over dance pads?"

Advantages over Dance Pads:
1. DigiBits are small and can be taken anywhere played anytime, indoors our outside. Much more mobile than a game pad with a PC or an arcade game.
2. DigiBits work with your phone. If you turn 180 deg while holding your phone, you still are looking at the screen. DigiBit provides more move possibilities than are impossible with a PAD / Fixed screen.
3. DigiBits (in the future) can be synced together so up to 12 players at one time can challenge each other to synchronized game play. With pads and arcade, I have seen only up to 2 players.
4. DigiBits do not wear out from a lot of play like the lower cost pads.
5. DigiBits can be lower costs than most game pads. We can sell them around $70.
6. DigiBits provide more games than only dance games that you get with a game pad. With DigiBits we have already, DigiBit Dance, DigiBit Dash (endless runner), DigiBit DogFight (jet fighter VR game), DigiBit FlappyHands, DigiBit FunnyWingsVR (fly as a hero).
7. DigiBits work with hand motion as well as feet motion. Dance pads only work with feet.
8. DigiBits work with VR and non-VR games. Both are supported.

Reply to Max ->Thanks for the following questions:

1) What platforms will this be available on (iOS/Android/Google Play)?
[colt] - iPhone6 and above are supported. Android 6.0 (Marshmallow and above are supported). Pretty much any phone since 2016 is supported.

2) What is the audience for this game? Is it casual? Hardcore? Both?
[colt] -At the start (right now) we are targeting the casual gamer. I hope to be able to get the system to work well for hardcore rhythm games like DigiBit Dance. Also I can see hardcore gamers enjoying Digibit DogFight with some updates. To make the game enjoyable for the hardcore gamers, I need help from experts. That is why I am talking here.

2a) If it is for casual players, what are you planning on doing to make the game more user-friendly or to entice someone who would use both their mobile phones for playing video games as well as getting them to move using your device.
[colt] - We have tested our system on more than 100 kids in the age range of 8 - 12 and have made many "out-of-box" experience and "ease-of-use" adjustments. Currently a customer can open the box and be playing the first game in less than 3 minutes. It is as easy as 1. "download the game", 2. "clip on the devices to your feet" and 3. "play". We also have "trainers" for each game to show the customers what body moves are needed for each game.

2b) If for a hardcore audience, how are you going to get them to buy this device as opposed to saving up for an actual dance mat that could be the same/slightly higher price than the device you are building for?
[colt] - Good question. Do you think the "take and play anywhere" is an advantage? How about play with up to 6 players at one time synchronized to each other? Digibits are much smaller than the PAD's and its possible to play any types of games not just dance games. So the flexibility is also an advantage.

3) How are you planning on making the device trigger 'steps' so that it can help both players who have never played on an actual rhythm dance arcade game as well as for those that are seasoned/veterans of playing home/arcade mats?
[colt] - Yes we have put a "HUGE" effort into the motion tracking and trigger mechanism but I hope to find a good group of beta testers to help make the DigiBit system great for feet control.

3a) How is the device 'mapped'/configured so that it can recognize where the 'up', 'left', 'down', and 'right' arrows are without the use of an actual dance mat?
[colt] - That is electronics and software "magic". DigiBit has a patent pending on this new technology. There is a lot of math, software and electronics involved. This is my career if you look at my linked in, you will see I have made many other inventions not related to games. https://www.linkedin.com/in/coltcorrea/

4) Do you have artists/musicians lined up for a music song list ready/available? If so, what type of genre's of music can we expect to see for this game and what artists are headlining this game?
[colt] - I do not have any artsts lined up. Honestly I am just a guy in a Detroit basement chasing a dream. I do not have the money or power to attract big names. As far as the type of music, my plan is to support SM files and MP3's so customers can make their own playlists just like Stepmania. What do you guys think of this plan?

4a) Can artists/musicians come to you to provide their music for the game?
[colt] - For sure! I am open to all possibilities.

5) Is the app free or do we have to pay OUTSIDE of paying for the devices?
[colt] - Yes this is my current plan. Also I can make the app Open Source if there are other game developers / software guys interested in helping.

BONUS) Can this device be used as a pedometer to track how many steps taken + heart rate + calories lost + designed specifically for dance game players?
[colt] - We can do pedometer but we do not have the sensors for heat rate and heart rate would be hard to get with the devices on your feet while wearing shoes. Calories lost could be calculated if you enter your size and weight. Is this a huge advantage for most players?

Just know that you are competing with other companies that are/have developed actual dance mats that rival those of arcade dance platforms. Although they are a bit steep on price range, the people who have used these platforms have all but praised their quality and usefulness in their own play-testing of said dance mats. Appealing this to hardcore players is going to be a VERY hard thing to do unless it can either help them with their training OR offer a cheaper alternative to buying a full-blown arcade dance platform, just fyi.
[colt] - After reading the advantages above, what do you think? Is this appealing?

*the bonus question could potentially give your device an extreme benefit for hardcore players as there really isn't a device currently in the market designed for people who do long sessions of DDR/PIU/ITG and want to track their heart rate + calories lost while playing.

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I'd be down to test drive.

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I think that is an extremely good idea! So many musical games fail when they do not attract the artists people are interested in. Next up is to make sure the music is presented in an interesting way.

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"Next up is to make sure the music is presented in an interesting way."

Do you have a suggestion on how to do this?

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I will have to play it. But I already know the music needs to be visualized well.

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myDigiBit.com doesn't seem to work. Is there another link I can use? (Never mind, just type it into the URL bar.) This looks pretty dang legit.

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Huh, basically budget Vive for smartphones? I'm a little bit skeptical in getting DigiBit Dance to work, but seeing that the goal is to match the performance of an actual DDR machine, I'm sure you guys can make it. As long as it can run MAX 300 better than the DDR at my local arcade, it'll work for me. I'd love to beta-test, but I'm kinda on the other side of the continent.

Yes the DigiBit system is totally legit (www.myDigiBit.com). I have been working in it for 2 years solid. Let me start a list of people interested in beta testing it. I am just a guy in a basement but I am serious about getting this to work well.

I think we can even do better than the arcade machines because we can do move like "turn your whole body" because you are holding the screen (the phone) and it turns with you.

I am in need of SM files and MP3 files that I can build into the system. There are 5 lanes in DigiBit Dance and not 4 like normal
StepMania / DDR:

3.2 DigiBit Dance 5 lanes (not 4 like normal StepMania)
The normal LEFT, RIGHT, UP, and DOWN symbols need to be supported but also 2 special “TURN RIGHT” and “TURN LEFT” also need to be supported. These symbols will be in the center column and they will come from the *.sm file from a 5th column in the note values. If there is no 5th column, then no turn arrows will exists for the song.

EXAMPLE WITH NO TURN ARROWS (sm file):
// measure 1
1000
0000

EXAMPLE WITH TURN ARROWS (sm file):
// measure 1
10001
00002
00000

Where:
0 = no arrow
1 = TURN RIGHT
2 = TURN LEFT

Here is a link to the game spec: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CGuFSLv6Q97uGRoeq58s6duyrLpMF0vgemviVI7xbv4/edit?usp=sharing

Anyone interested in testing this system, send me your e-mail and let me know what type of phone you have.


Colt Correa
+1 586 201 6159

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I could see something like...

1. Move left
2. Turn left
3. Move back
4. Jump
5. Move forth
6. Turn right
7. Move right

...it really depends on what is judging what here. Steps? Motion? Are you kicking in a certain direction or tapping/swiping the screen?

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The judging is done when your foot hits the ground. So if you move your foot forward the judgement happens when you foot hits the ground. It is similar to DDR but the big difference is you are holing the screen in your hand (your phone). So far we have no judgement based on your hand motions for the "DigiBit Dance" game. Other game we have use hand motion but not "Dance".

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I do think an option to disable turns is good - people may be playing this walking down the street, since it's a non-home alternative. Or at least to make it compatible with the existing DDR database.

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Yes - we plan to make the game 100% compatible with existing SM files. With 4 lanes, there are no turns, when you add a 5th, then you get turns.

EXAMPLE WITH NO TURN ARROWS (sm file):
// measure 1
1000
0000

EXAMPLE WITH TURN ARROWS (sm file):
// measure 1
10001
00002
00000

Where:
0 = no arrow
1 = TURN RIGHT
2 = TURN LEFT


It is good to be skeptical. Getting good judgement in code is not easy. The hardware I have can measure movements near millisecond speeds. This is well in the rage of the DDR machines. The new electronics tech for wearables is amazing in what it can do. The processor in each device is more powerful than some of the DDR machine processors. This is mainly true since DDR goes back to the 90's.

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