MTV Drumscape

"MTV Drumscape" (or "Drumscape") is an arcade drum simulation made by Devecka Enterprises. First introduced in 1997, it was designed with the intention of introducing players to music in a fun and interesting way. "Drumscape" resembles Karaoke for drums and has been set up as a top earning attractionFact|date=April 2008 in the US and other countries by hundreds of amusement locations such as the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and several Las Vegas Casino game rooms [ [http://www.beachboardwalk.com/03_press_arcades06.html Press - Arcades 2006 ] ] . Production of "Drumscape" stopped in 2001.

A number of celebrity drummers and musicians are pictured on the drumscape website either playing the game or posing with its creatorshttp://www.drumscape.biz] .

Gameplay

The player sits in a booth before an array of electronic drum simulation pads. After selecting a song from a large number of music tracks, the player hits the pads with a pair of drumsticks while a time meter counts down. The manufacturers recommend arcade machines be set to a 2 minute and 15 second play-period costing $1Fact|date=April 2008. Unlike other music games, the player's actions are not dictated by a set rhythm displayed onscreen, but rather the player plays as he sees fit. Additionally, "Drumscape" lacks a scoring system to indicate success or failure of a player. As the player drums, stage lights and crowd cheers are triggered to create a more realistic experience. "Drumscape" machines usually have a large number of tracks on them and the tracklist can be changed by the operator in a manner similar to a jukebox.

Design

"Drumscape" uses off the shelf components including a DTX drumset, amplifier, a standard computer (running the "Drumscape" menu software on its OS), a standard audio music player (such as CD system), and a standard VCR (not utilized in the final product)Fact|date=April 2008. As claimed in its patent, it does not provide any cues for drumming.

Reception

While "Drumscape" is deemed more realistic by some drummersFact|date=April 2008, it lacks a scoring system to indicate success or failure making it comparable to "DDR DVD Game". For this reason, compared to drumming games like "DrumMania" it has seen comparatively lackluster successFact|date=April 2008. While "Drumscape" aims to be the only drum simulation game in North America (due to the U.S. patent, which extends into Canada), many arcades have imported "DrumMania" to much success. This has put strong pressure on those arcades insisting on treading the more legally safe path.

Patents

"Drumscape" was the first music game based on Devecka Enterprises' 1996 patents and it was released in 1997 prior to Konami's first "Beat Mania" gameFact|date=April 2008. Devecka Enterprises has claimed that its patents cover not only drumming games but all music gamesFact|date=April 2008 (including but not limited to "Guitar Freaks", "Guitar Hero", "Rock Band", and "Dance Dance Revolution"), however because its concept is very basic and that prior non-patented MIDI drumsets have been used as training tools and as input, the patent's validity has been called into question. Outside of the United States, Devecka's patents have been successfully challenged due to these claims. Neither Devecka nor MTV, for example, have challenged Konami or other music game companies (such as Harmonix for its "Rock Band" and series or Namco for its "Taiko no Tatsujin" drumming game).

Within the United States, Devecka Enterprises has attempted to bar the legal licensing of "DrumMania", a competitive and similar product that is more in line with traditional arcade games due to its ability to assign a score for player performance. Devecka's claim relies on its holding of the drum simulation game patent in the United States. As such, Devecka's patent numbers are currently cited in documentation for the "Guitar Hero" series and in its softwareFact|date=April 2008.

Devecka Enterprises president, John Devecka, is a consultant for Red Octane and Activision [ [http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2007/10/gamesetinvestigation_the_guita.php GameSetWatch - GameSetInvestigation: The Guitar Hero Patent Mystery ] ] which now owns all of Devecka Enterprises' US and international patents and produces the Guitar Hero series. All patents issued by the USPTO are presumed valid [ [http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/appxl_35_U_S_C_282.htm 35 U.S.C. 282 Presumption of validity; defenses. - Patent Laws ] ] [ [http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=16014 Gamasutra - Exclusive: Exploring Guitar Hero III 's Patent Secrets ] ] .

Later Devecka patents include:
*patent|US|5739457 (April 14, 1998) - Method and apparatus for simulating a jam session and instructing a user in how to play the drums [ [http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5739457.PN.&OS=PN/5739457&RS=PN/5739457 United States Patent: 5739457 ] ]
*patent|US|6018121 (January 25, 2000) - Method and apparatus for simulating a jam session and instructing a user in how to play the drums [ [http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6018121.PN.&OS=PN/6018121&RS=PN/6018121 United States Patent: 6018121 ] ] [ [http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&TERM1=devecka&FIELD1=INNM&co1=AND&TERM2=&FIELD2=&d=PTXT Patent Database Search Results: IN/devecka in US Patent Collection ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=4269 Maxim Magazine review of Drumcape]