''MTV Drumscape'' (or ''Drumscape'') is an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

simulation A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of Conceptual model, models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or proc ...

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 Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

for drums and has been set up as a top earning "attraction" in the US and other countries by hundreds of amusement locations such as the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and several Las Vegas Casino game rooms. 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 creators.

Gameplay

The player sits in a booth before an array of electronic drum simulation pads. After selecting a song, the player hits the pads with a pair of drumsticks while a time meter counts down. The manufacturers recommend that arcade machines be set to a 2-minute and 15 second play-period costing $1. Unlike other

music game A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs. Music video games may take a ...

s, 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.

Design

''Drumscape'' uses

off the shelf Off-the-shelf may refer to: * Commercial off-the-shelf, a phrase in computing and industrial supply terminology * Government off-the-shelf * Ready-to-wear * Shelf corporation, a type of company * Off the Shelf Festival, a festival of writing and ...

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). As claimed in its patent, it does not provide any cues for drumming.

Reception

While ''Drumscape'' is deemed more realistic by some drummers, 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 is a music video game series produced by Konami. It is a rhythm game where the player uses a controller to simulate the playing of an electric guitar. The game consists of music predominantly from the rock music, rock and roll and J-pop g ...

'' it has seen comparatively lackluster success. 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 , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

's first ''Beat Mania'' game. Devecka Enterprises has claimed that its patents cover not only drumming games but all

s (including but not limited to ''

Guitar Freaks is a music video game series produced by Konami. It is a rhythm game where the player uses a controller to simulate the playing of an electric guitar. The game consists of music predominantly from the rock music, rock and roll and J-pop genres ...

'', ''

Guitar Hero ''Guitar Hero'' is a series of music rhythm game video games first released in November 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs. Player ...

'', ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

'', and ''

Dance Dance Revolution (''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance V ...

''), however because its concept is very basic and that prior non-patented

MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...

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

companies (such as

Harmonix Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as bei ...

for its ''

'' series or

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

for its ''

Taiko no Tatsujin , lead=yes, group=lower-alpha (Japanese: 太鼓の達人, Taiko no Tatsujin, lit. "Master of the drums") is a series of games created by Namco. In the games, players simulate playing a taiko drum in time with music. The series has released games ...

'' drumming game). Within the United States, Devecka Enterprises has attempted to bar the legal licensing of ''

'', 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 A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

in the United States. Devecka Enterprises president, John Devecka, is a consultant for

Red Octane RedOctane, Inc. was an American electronic entertainment company best known for producing the ''Guitar Hero'' series, beginning in November 2005. RedOctane became a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision in 2006. In February 2010, Activision clos ...

and

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

which now owns all of Devecka Enterprises' US and international patents and produces the

series. All patents issued by the

USPTO The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

are presumed valid. Later Devecka patents include: * (April 14, 1998) - Method and apparatus for simulating a jam session and instructing a user in how to play the drums * (January 25, 2000) - Method and apparatus for simulating a jam session and instructing a user in how to play the drumsPatent Database Search Results: IN/devecka in US Patent Collection
/ref>

References

External links

Maxim Magazine review of Drumscape
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mtv Drumscape Drums Drumming video games Music video games