MTV 3: This is the Interview

Jun 15, 2004

We've been having too much fun playing around with MTV Music Generator 3: This is the Remix and after a while we had some questions. Fortunately, we got hooked up via email with Daniel Neil, who is the Lead Code and Design person at Mix Max. Now we got to virtually converse about this about-to-be-released title that is worth any and all hype that comes its way.

IGN: MTV 3 takes a very different approach to the concept of a music making game than MTV 2 did. What were your main goals towards approaching this title?

Daniel Neil: Our overriding goal was simply to make the best sounding, easiest to use music creation product that has ever been seen.

MTV 3 is the first product that we have developed and so we have a totally fresh angle on the genre. We consciously ignored the approach of other titles so that we could think about what people actually wanted from a music game without getting stuck into the standard, set way of thinking.

On a more practical level, we set out a number of simple high level design concepts like:

"All changes to the music must be done in real-time"

This led to real-time song editing, interactive waveform editing, real-time changes to the dynamic and static effects and unbroken music playback during screen transitions.

IGN: The new interface is clean and simple to use with some subtle backgrounds. What was your inspiration for creating the sparse and effective look?

Daniel Neil: We wanted to ensure that the product did not look like any previous music product, and so took all of our visual cues from music based media. Obviously there were lots of important practical design considerations such as keeping the backgrounds subtle so that you are not distracted from the main screen controls that also drove the look of the art.

The user interface is so important in this type of product that we worked and reworked the mechanisms many many times before we settled on a look and feel that really allowed the players to get the most from the complex functionality without intimidating them!

IGN: How did the songs get selected?

Daniel Neil: We had three main criteria for selecting the songs: Firstly each had to be a great stand alone track that people who were into that style of music would be aware of. Secondly the track had to be easy and fun to remix into different styles. Often this meant making sure that there were not too many chord sequences that could bog down a player in technicalities or overly complex structural sequences. Finally the track had to represent a genre of music. This allowed us to select samples to compliment the track which would allow you to create (for example) a drum and bass track from scratch that did not sound like the original DJ Marky cut. We have Sean Paul (dancehall) and Carl Cox (techno) The Ones (house) and so on…. IGN: The song list includes a few American hip-hop artists and a bunch of electronic music artists. How well do you think that's going to play out in America without the guitar rock?

Daniel Neil: Actually rock is not so well suited to being remixed. Generally it will have more chordal sequences, verses, choruses, middle eights and so on.. With someone like Snoop Dogg, he can be rapping over any backing track that you care to create and still sound great… that would not be the case with most rock music! Of course, if you are into rock, you can rip a riff from a rock track and loop it, or even rip the whole track and manipulate it that way. IGN: Supposing this game blows up, what would you like to incorporate into future versions?

Daniel Neil: We are already in discussions about the next title. You would not expect me to spoil the surprise would you?

IGN: Why can't I cross mix the songs? What's holding me back from making a mash-up of Outkast and Snoop Dogg?

Daniel Neil: With the Ripper who is stopping you!? But point taken. We kept the genres isolated so that players could take any sample from the SampleBase and add it to their tune in the knowledge that it would fit in key. This allows players to build confidence in building tracks before they move on to the more complicated features such as the Ripper.

IGN: Is it a tricky situation giving kids at home the ability to easily sample any artist?

Daniel Neil: Not tricky at all! This allows kids to mix up their own music into the tracks we supply, or even with other music. It opens the door, allowing the game to create music of any style. IGN: Why do the different genres have set ranges for their BPMs? Why can't I slow a track down to half-speed for effect and then whip it back to normal? Daniel Neil: There are a few technical reasons for this. For example if you speed up the track, the game is processing sound quicker and with the level of effects complexity that we allow, the consoles literally cant keep up. As far as slowing the track down, the delays that are matched to the beat require space internally to store their delayed audio, and a slower track will require more delay space. We wanted to leave as much space free for samples. I am not a fan of the "You cant do that" messages that pop up in other games after you might have spent an hour getting the track written.

IGN: What were your goals in terms of the experience that you wanted to provide to the users of this title?

Daniel Neil: Our biggest goal for the experience was that it must feel like a console product. Just because a concept or feature works with a mouse and keyboard does not mean it will work on a controller. In fact in many cases the opposite is true. I am actually now faster at laying down a track using MTV 3 than any professional sequencing package! We also wanted players to surprise themselves as to the quality of music that they could produce. We have stacked the game with really professional samples… and paid the premium to do so! With these, and the level of sophistication and polish that you can apply in the effects processing, it is unbelievable the sounds that you can get from MTV 3.

IGN: How do you feel about the mash-up scene that mixes different genres together?

Daniel Neil: It's a perfect match for MTV 3. We allow people to do it themselves without having to buy expensive PC software and you know.. writing music from your sofa is quite a lot more relaxing…

IGN: What is your own musical background? Daniel Neil: I have played in rock and punk bands for too long to mention (I will resist a plug), been a techno DJ, made music on computers and so on…. and now its taken over my job too. IGN: How big is Mixmax and how many worked on this title? Daniel Neil: We have a very very small team….you could count them on one hand… even if you had lost a finger or two. A few talented developers can achieve a lot if they are given space to produce a product that they believe in.

IGN: What were some of the biggest difficulties in making MTV 3? Daniel Neil: Probably the biggest difficulty was the development team deciding that some feature, although complete, could be done in a slightly neater or clearer way, and then doing it again. Luckily we had the space to allow this to happen, and I think it shows.