Natal dance game

So, yesterday, I talked about Natal hardware. Now, I want to propose potential games for Project Natal. Here's my first idea.


DANCE, DANCE, DANCE
That's a Steve Miller Band song, if you're not familiar.

Natal could easily compete with Dance Dance Revolution, a very popular game. Just as Microsoft's demo game Ricochet showed a see through form to represent the player, this game would use such a character to prompt player movements. The goal of the game is to roughly mimic the avatar's dance movements as they are happening. If the avatar twirls to the side and points an arm left, the player does the same simultaneously. Hand graphics would be accented so they can be seen clearly through the avatar's body.

Simultaneous motion is possible because the dances are set, rather than random, so the player can gradually learn different dances. The game would also allow players to create and record their own dances, and perhaps even share those online.

Another mode might play like Simon, with the avatar performing an increasingly complex series of moves and the player repeating this series for as long as he or she can.

The simultaneous mode could include a historical campaign in which the player learns many of the famous dances of the past century and even before (potential DLC) with the music of those time periods. Players could also learn these dances separately. This history mode is important because it is what would attract older people... people who would remember such dances from their childhood or films.

And this game could even include cooperative multiplayer. Two players could dance together, leading to some funny moments when one player gets it right and another keeps messing them both up.

This game has a ton of potential for downloaded content and microtransactions (such as period music and settings). It appeals to a wide variety of gamers, and even non-gamers. And you just know it would find its way into bars and other public venues.