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In The Groove

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  1. How come some songs on ITG/2 were cut shorter than the album versions? Some examples are Liquid Moon, Renaissance, Delirium, and Infection. Was it because of the 2:00 song limit (esp. ITG2)?

    Most of the songs go through a “remix” when they appear in games or other projects. The biggest reason for these remixes is for time limits. Common numbers that apply to remixes for promos/game appearances are: 0:30 1:00, 1:30, 1:45, 3:30.

  2. Is the ITG series completely shut down?

    As of today (6/11/2007) the ITG series remains dormant and in the hands of Konami. The original ITG team has moved on to other projects.

  3. Whats your first quad star? what song was the hardest to create? (in ITG)

    During the first ITG beta testing phase, my first quad stars were “Why Me” and “Romeo & Juli8″ The Vertex expert steps originally received 26 revisions before becoming what people know it as today. (this song was difficult because we were still figuring out what could be done with mines at that time.)

  4. Does ZiG-ZaG have a website or something that we could visit? (also, adding a ZiG-ZaG section to the FAQ might be a good idea. there are lots of questions about him/her/it/they)

    Currently, (5-7-2007) There is not an internet portal that provides ZiGZaG music to listeners. (as far as I know) I have considered adding a section for these questions. This may become a reality in the near future! Thank you for the suggestion.

  5. Is In The Groove 3 “Dead”? I hear people saying that Konami has shut it down, but I’m just curious. And if it isn’t, will it be the same as when RoXoR made it?

    Konami now owns the ITG franchise. This means that they now have full control over future products that (may? or May not?) be released. ITG is currently not dead. The series is still very much alive and thriving at several arcade locations across the world. Nothing in the future can change this past.

  6. So now that ITG3 won’t be released, what’s going to happen to those stepfiles you have sitting there nearly untouched?

    Little is known about the the ITG brand future. Sadly enough; most of this material will remain unscene and out of public eye. This can be quite common with any media related projects when future plans change. Will ITG ever continue to live on? Who knows…

  7. So, there a bunch of cool BG videos in ITG, what program(s) were used to make these?

    Every artist has their own bag of “tricks” to produce products like this. ITG backgrounds were constructed with Digital Juice backdrops (www.digitaljuice.com). What raw product created these? Products like Maya, 3D studio max, Aftereffects, and other similar imaging packages.

  8. A few changes occurred from ITG1 ps2, to the future versions (Don’t Promise me ~Happiness Comes Mix~ was renamed Happiness Comes, PA Theme was changed to Penny Arcade Theme, and Oasis, Don’t Promise me, and Happiness comes have new banners (as well as some minor banner changes in songs by kid whatever and crispy)) What brought on these changes?

    Changes (like these) usually occur to correct for accuracy & details. Misunderstandings are common with any media project; especially when groups of people are involved. Thankfully, software is very easy to update and accuracy can be true to the product.

  9. Will you come down to Chicago and play on my ITG Machine?

    I’m so there! If I’m in the Chicago area, I have no problem with this. Is there enough room for mad freestyl’n o’ skeelz? :-)

  10. I’m not sure you’re allowed to talk about this since it is ITG3 related, but I’m curious. Can you reveal any info about the supposed 14 footer Chaos Energy that was in the works? Or even release it to the community? It sounded very interesting (unless my memory is fading and it was only a rumor).

    I’m unable to specify and/or clarify any rumors/announcements about future ITG related software/hardware/products. Sorry!

  11. You mentioned that chris foy had a myspace, where is it located?

    You can find Chris Foy’s myspace page HERE (http://myspace.com/foyboy21)

  12. Who are the artists “Doolittle” and “Lynn” from In The Groove 2? Their songs were really fun to play!

    “Lynn” is also known as “Papaya” or “Miss Papaya” in the Bubblegum dance genre. She is very well known for the lyrics and music she contributed to this genre. “Doolittle” is a concept demo artist that isn’t as well established. You will most likely hear more about this artist in the future. (game related or not)

  13. I was wondering…How did you initially hook up with Roxor games and what was your original job with them?

    My connection with StepMania, Machine Dance, and Electronic music composition; lead me to a position at Roxor Games.

  14. Have you ever heard of a guy named ____ (ITG players?) If so, do you ____ him in anyway?

    Yes, I’ve heard of several famous ITG players. In general, I’m impressed by a lot of players skills these days. Glad we (as in a community) are continuing to grow forward and conquer new challenges eh?

  15. What in the world do those left and right arrows in the Utopia Expert stepchart go to? You can probably guess the part I’m referring to (it begins with a seemingly random sequence of right arrows) since it’s hard to explain, but I can’t seem to hear the instrument with which the steps correspond. Do I just need to crank it up to 11, or is it beyond the range of crappy consumer speakers/headphones?

    One of the most popular ITG stepchart questions I receive is this one. This Expert chart was created by Chris Foy.

  16. Now I’m confused. I just found out about the R23 patch that has just been released by RoXoR. Now, if I’m not mistaken, doesn’t Konami own ITG? If so, how can RoXoR update it? Secondly, I know that the patch fixes the time stamp hack (though I still think a max song length of 2:30 - 2:45 would be MUCH better), but I’ve also heard it allows for BGScripts and other things to work. Does this mean that ITG can now display the backgrounds and banner images of custom songs, including .avi animated backgrounds?

    Roxor continues to support existing In The Groove machines in the field. This is unrelated to the happenings between Konami/Roxor.

  17. How is it that someone gets his/her/their music into the ITG gaming series? or more likely said, how DO you guys look for artists to be recruited into the game?…

    Most of the content from ITG came from various sources who were actively involved in the music industry at the time. If artists are part of a community website, that is generally is a great way to promote their work. We generally look for artists to contract for a particular need. We do more “looking” then listening by submissions. As an artist myself, it never hurts to get your work out there anyway you can. Just being involved in the music industry will help get you noticed by anyone looking for that type of music.

  18. When the backgrounds and banners are/were made for ITG, what program(s) is/was/were used? Photoshop? Fireworks? Some unknown obscure program that will never be released to the general public? MS paint?

    Most of the artwork for the ITG series was developed by our small team of graphics gurus. This includes Ryan McKanna, Matt Puls, and Heather Dority. I do believe adobe photoshop was part of their large arsenal.

  19. Kyle, there is much commotion about ITG3; if it exists, is coming out, and if that’s what all the hints you’ve created are referring to. Through ITG and it’s reign, it is apparent that Roxor has worked through loopholes and/or made it past Konami (up until a couple months ago). Are these “loopholes” still in existence or is the name ITG in the hands of Konami for good, and do they have no intention of working with anyone else to bring it’s name back?

    I’m not able to specify complete details about the arrangement between Roxor and Konami regarding the ITG series. (I’m sorry for this) As much as people speculate or “claim” to know things, I can assure you that they do not understand the full details behind the history here. In general, I would suggest that nobody get caught up with politics and internet forum debates. I’d get out there and just enjoy what you love to do. Don’t let internet drama determine what you believe in.

  20. !. is it an 11 or a 12?

    This chart is originally a 12 rating on ITG. This was because of the complex rhythms and ability to score well on the chart. In general, it’s a pretty straight forward song that won’t cause people difficulty. There was talk and changes to the rating in later ITG versions. This song was believed to be considered a harder “11″ then the initial easy “12″ rating.

  21. What were your thought behind the ‘Euphoria’ Expert steps. Specifically the part where it’s all right arrows, then all left arrows, then those two sections of the cart seem to collide. any tips on timing this right?

    Many people question the initial design behind this step chart. Chris Foy is the original author behind this chart. Foy’s step styles tends to emulate the music with the most auditory accuracy possible. This can include effects or other specific attributes to the song. I would suggest taking your question directly to the master himself. (He can probably address your question more accurately then myself) You should be able to locate the “Foy-n-ator ” on myspace.com

  22. How good at ITG are you? like in general? can you 100% Expert stuff?

    In general, it is part of my job to make sure the game is possible for players to attain these incredible scores. Yes I am able to 100% some of the material in the game. Am I as good as the best players at the past ITG championship events? I wouldn’t go so far to say that! However, I consider myself fairly decent and involved in the dance game community!

  23. I have a couple questions regarding Stepmania. First off, I heard the the ITG team (or former ITG team i guess) is in charge of Stepmania, is this true? Also, if it is, do you help score Stepmix Entries? And why isn’t Stepmania Illegal?

    Wow, this is an action packed question! FIRST - Most of the ITG team consists of original members on the Stepmania dev team. These projects are still developed and cross developed at the same time. (the people that actually created ITG maintain stepmania) SECOND - I do not have any affiliation or influence on the Stepmix series on the Stepmania site. I believe most of this is handled by Chris Danford. THIRD - Stepmania is a non profit developed project. This means that nobody makes profit from the project so it falls into public domain. Most of the coding from this project is owned and maintained by Chris Danford/ Glenn Maynard. Material that is loaded into Stepmania is usually owned by other people. If you are using materials that you don’t own, this could be considered illegal. Hope that helps answer your question.

  24. Who actually does the backgrounds and banners for ITG?

    ITG / Roxor had a few different teams of people that made these backgrounds. The 3 people that contributed graphic work to the ITG series are: Ryan McKanna, Heather Dority, and Matt Puls.

  25. What’s the title of the ITG1 intro tune, and is there a full version? I seem to recall hearing the second part of it as part of a different song, but I may be misremembering that.

    This song uses samples from a common sample library. A lot of people have made comparisons to other songs because of their use as well. The actual title of this song (from the original ITG attract sequence) is “In The Groove”. Currently, there is no other version of this song outside of the game.

  26. What is the name of the song that plays on the machine when someone finishes their round and dosnt hit the button again. Not Take Me Back.. but the other song its like F#-F#-F#GF#E-E-E-DCD-G—-….(I Think?) Please Help ive been looking for the name of that song for about a year… no lie…

    Very impressive ears and transcribing skills! That is a remake of one of my old tunes “legacy” that is available on the “Synthsations” album. You should be able to locate it without too much digging. That remake (also with other things) might appear on a future album. Be sure to watch out for it.

  27. When you or any other step artists worked on stepcharts for ITG, did you guys ever have a dance choreographer come in and give you some advice? Y’know, translating real dance moves to the four-panel arcade platform? :)

    C. Foy and myself often spent many late hours (sometimes 11 p.m to 5 a.m) going through dance step motions and planning. If we questioned something, we generally presented data to an outside person and asked for opinions. I guess you could say that we did involve many outside people occasionally. Obviously, we had a habit of doing whatever we felt was necessary for perfection.

  28. When will we find out more about the future of dance games that contain your music in them? (as in, what you discuss in your blog post from Dec. 20)

    Naturally, as the next year comes closer; (2007) I imagine you’ll be able to put meanings together. I can promise you that there is a good future ahead and something to look forward to!

  29. When your songs are used for ITG, do you have any say about the configuration of the steps?

    I actually help contribute step authoring to the ITG series. Obviously, there are several types and styles that differ from song to song. Sometimes, this results in patterns that follow the song or compliment the song. I feel both styles are important and I can appreciate the step patterns even if this conflicts with my personal opinions. Generally, I’ve been very happy with the step/song innovation & results in the ITG series.

  30. “I really enjoy making new material. I consider myself more of a producer instead of a DJ. (DJ’s typically take material that is already produced, and then make something new and intresting out of it.)” Would you consider ZiGZaG a DJ since some of his songs are just yours but touched up and such? also i really enjoy your music and hope to see more in the future :)

    That’s an interesting way to look at it! Yes, the work of ZigZag is often rearranged and morphed. From what I understand; both methods apply here. There is material composed from original ideas and traditional remixes from material that I have helped contribute. It’s sort of a “fushion” of both ideas. Recently (December 2006), the work from this artist has not been in production.

  31. Since Konami owns ITG, are you gonna try to hang with Konami now? =D

    Most likely not! I’m not really happy with the direction Konami is deciding to take their games recently. I have memories of the past and it seems that those memories are changing and completely different today. I wish them luck with their future projects; but I’m not really interested in their future at this time.

  32. I’m sure you’ve been getting this a lot, but what are your feelings on the outcome of the Konami v. RoXoR case?

    I’m not able to talk about this in full detail. (I apologize for this) ITG now belongs to Konami and they will now be controlling the game. They acquired the ITG name and franchise on October 18, 2006. Am I angry about this? Not at all! ITG set out for a purpose and certainly accomplished that and more! Who would have thought a small project by a group of guys would have gone as far as it did? Even as much to get noticed by several arcades and companies along with way? It’s truly a good feeling to know that it went as far as it did! ITG’s vision will always remain with me and I can say that nothing can stop those dreams and memories I have from living forever. Obviously, the world is about options and I hope that these options continue to be free and not controlled by one source forever. Does this mean the end? As of this date, I don’t think anyone would know the true answer to that question. I would personally like to thank all the fans and ITG players all over the world who made ITG what it was. Be sure to keep stomping on those arrows and keep living the ITG dream!

  33. How did u get 2 put ur music on ITG? Did u ask them or did they ask u? P.s. Oasis ROCKS!!

    My involvement with the In The Groove is related to my original involvement with the Step Mania project years ago. Basically, the original people responsible for SM emulation formed a team and produced a commercial game known as “In The Groove”.

  34. Will the original summer ever be on ITG?

    I wouldn’t be surprised if it pops up somewhere in the future. It certainly has not made any appearance or had much demand at this point however.

  35. There are a lot of jerks out there (otherwise this would not be America, but some utopia) that really love to annoy you when you play in the arcades (from ‘boo!’ to ‘bar-raper!’). Is there any advice you could give to little ol’ me (and others who have low confidence)?

    I understand that this is a very difficult problem for people to deal with sometimes. I’ve actually witnessed people picking on others while they play dance games. My best advice is to either “ignore” the offenders or to laugh with them. As funny as this sounds, it typically can work. If you don’t appear to be bothered by comments, people typically will typically stop. What’s the fun in bugging someone when it’s not having an impact? :) As another suggestion, maybe try doing some songs that you wouldn’t need a bar? Maybe try some mods? It’s a good rule of thumb to be able to play multiple difficulties/styles anyway. There is no shame in ‘attack play’ versus ‘freestyle play’. There is also no shame in holding the bar versus not holding the bar. Bottom line? Have some fun with the game and don’t worry about others trying to distract you. As long as you continue to stay in your zone and keep your cool, you’ll overcome any of these outsider distractions. Hope that helps!

  36. Who is your favorite itg artist?

    That’s a very good question. I’ve always been a big fan of Nina, E-rotic, and Missing Heart outside of the ITG games. I like a lot of the music in the songlist though…

  37. What music and stepchart are you most proud of?

    That’s a very difficult question. I actually like a lot of pieces of songs/steps. If I had to choose a complimenting pair, it’d probably be Zodiac.

  38. Bar or No Bar?

    Either… It really doesn’t matter to me. I think of the bar as a “tool” and not a necessity in most cases. I often switch off during a song either way. I do NOT depend on using it.

  39. Who is your favorite Roxor co-worker? Is there any reason why? Are there any Roxor employees you DON’T get along with, or just don’t like?

    We’ve all gone through difficult times in the past. I share many different visions and beliefs with ITG compared to a lot of my coworkers. I’ve probably had my fair share of squalls with everyone on the team at one point in the past. We generally agree to “disagree” on a lot of topics. Foy and I seem to get along pretty well, we are generally good friends outside of Roxor as well.

  40. There are many similarities between Stepmania and In the Groove. How do they tie in altogether (does Stepmania crew work on ITG, were ideas passed around via internet or something, are they just plain stealing, etc.)?

    Long answer coming…Be prepared! — ITG/Roxor quick story: Back in early 2003, most of the “ITG Team” was helping develope to the original Stepmania project. Chris Danford, Glenn Maynard (ITG’s lead programmers) are probably responsible for 90%+ of the original code that most people now know as Stepmania. Ryan McKenna contributed to the simfile community via his “Plaguemix” Series. MJ was well-known in the community for running a site called “DDRsimfiles.com” and specialized in doubles edits. Chris Foy had always pushed the limited with his unorthodox/challenging expert level DDR edits that involved high level thinking. And I (Kyle Ward) contributed Sound/Music to the Stepmania project as well as made original music when a community known as “DDRmaniax” existed. The first DDRmaniax edit contest featured my compositions. (now to actually answer your question) A lot of people don’t understand that ITG is based from Stepmania because a lot of our core team use to actually help develop Stepmania. We aren’t stealing, we simply came together as a team and contributed our efforts to a fully released game in our own vision. Most of the concepts you see in stepmania started out as concepts for ITG and later got ported into SM after the fact. (Mines/Rolls/Mods/Mod Stacking….several other features too) SM continues to be developed by Chris and Glenn in their spare time, but most of our team time is devoted to ITG. We fully believe in the game and still have fun subjecting others to our “vision” of a dance simulator game. Many of us still enjoy casual gaming and can be found at arcades all around the nation. We’ve pushed ITG into so many markets and exposed so many fresh people to the game that it’s a huge accomplishment for us all. We started out as a very small team and we are STILL a very small team that is continuing to make a huge impact in this game genre.

  41. What’s your favorite stepchart in ITG2?

    That’s a very difficult question for me. (I really like a lot of the charts) My favorites that I often play would have to be: Monolith Hard, Energizer Hard, VerTex^2 Hard, Tribal Style Expert, Bumble Bee Expert, There are so many more I’d like to mention too! :)

  42. Which songs on ITG2 can you NOT pass? Courses? How well would you gauge your freestyle technique?

    I can usually pass all the content from ITG. (testing is certainly a huge part of what I do for the series) On the flip-side, it’s generally a matter of how well I can pass these songs… :)

  43. When you do stepcharts for ITG, do you typically try to do charts for songs that aren’t yours, or do you find it easier to do a kickass chart to a song that you’ve created?

    It really depends! Most of the time a stepchart rhythm jumps out at me during composition or when I simply listen to a new song. It’s like a fast BOOM that just hits you and you have that vision…You know what you want to do. I generally don’t have a bias towards my material versus other material either.

  44. Some people believe that ZiGZaG is actually Kyle Ward. Who is ZiGZaG, and is it really you behind the mask?

    ZiGZaG’s identity has been kept secret by his request. ZiGZaG is an artist local to the pacific northwest that uses very unorthodox techniques to create music.

  45. Was that your hand in the disconnected backrounds? Where are the buttons on the phone?

    It’s a very nice hand isn’t it? :grin: Didn’t you know that phones of the future don’t require buttons?

    Actually, you can thank the great and powerful “photoshop” for it’s miracle work!

  46. Is there anything you regret doing while helping make the ITG series?

    Sometimes, ITG material can be very time consuming. While I enjoy game content, it’s often nice to sit down and make song without pressure. ITG’s memories will always remain in my eyes forever…

  47. How do you feel about the project In The Groove Rebirth?

    I’m very supportive of community based projects. I think it’s great that the ITG spirit can live on forever amongst community members. Goodluck with the projects guys!

  48. I just got 100% single-player star completion on ITG PC! Can you say the same?

    congrats on the accomplishment! I haven’t actually had a good deal of time to play through the PC version of ITG. (Most of my playing/testing involved the arcade ports) Additionally, my time has been rather limiting recently. However, I suspect that I will conquer this challenge one day!

  49. Rumor has it that Konami plans to create update kits for In the Groove 2 Dedicabs.

    I’m unable to officially comment on any future plans involving the ITG franchise. (6/27/07)

  50. Who is ONYX and why do we not hear enough of his amazing music?

    The producer of Onyx music is unknown at this time. I suspect you will hear more about Onyx music as we are able to get our dirty fingers on it!

  51. Do you believe, that if ITG hadn’t used existing Konami Cabinets and made their own, that Roxor would still have the rights to the franchise? or was there still too many issues, that Konami pointed out about Roxor, that would have still ruined the franchises chances?

    Not likely. Konami entertainment is a very greedy company that typically doesn’t partner with anyone who has good intentions with product support. They have lost several faithful fans and even the vision they once understood with their own products. (my personal opinion on the matter)

    There are many aspects that people do not understand between the the final outcome of the ITG legal battle. Additionally, there are many rumors and speculation(s) around the internet with “theories” from people. I can assure you that there are details and logistics behind the outcome that people aren’t fully aware of. Sadly, 4 panel players now have one less option…

    I’m contacted regularly by ITG players who are sad about the future of the franchise. My heart goes out to all those players that enjoyed the time of ITG’s short life. Regardless of all these past details, ITG’s spirit will continue to live on. Arcades around the world battle to keep ITG dedicabs running. Remaining players have even helped with ITG mechanics to help keep machines running at arcades. This truly shows the demand for the product. It went so far in this short period of life.

    Additionally, ITG still earns well against other 4 panel dancing games. Arcades have become wise to this and have kept ITG around because of the earning factor. Players continue to make edits that feature mines and other aspects from ITG. Thank you for playing and allowing In The Groove to be a part of your life!

  52. When do you plan on releasing your next album, and will it have any songs by Smiley on it?

    Production is slightly behind on the 4th KaW album due to other projects. I’ll be sure to announce it’s release here as soon as a date is known. Happily, I can guarantee that you’ll hear a Smiley song on that album!

    In the meantime; be sure to keep an eye on the site jukebox for new music previews!

  53. I’ve heard something about Roxor creating a new dance game. Do you know anything about this or if it might come out anytime soon?

    Due to a legal battle with Konami Entertainment, Roxor Games can no longer produce a “Dance Simulation” game. However, Roxor Games still exists and is still currently developing other products. You can visit their site (www.roxorgames.com) for updates.

  54. Can I make step files for songs listed in the jukebox?

    If the song is only available in the Jukebox (as a preview) then it is currently unreleased. I typically do not approve of “white label” or unreleased material being used in projects at this time.

  55. Word has it that during In The Groove 3 production, you were pushing for the inclusion of Lift steps in the game engine.. for those who don’t know, these are steps where you actually have to lift your foot (or hand) OFF the arrow at the time the Lift reaches the stationary arrows, rather than ON it. Anyway, my question is, why did you want Lifts in the game, and what songs did you have in mind perhaps when you imagined stepcharts with Lifts? In what cases can Lift steps add flavor to a stepchart? Thank you. :)

    Very good find. Thankfully this “lift” concept made it’s way into the opensource stepmania code. I have very vivid uses for this concept (in my head) that I hoped to include in the past. as you have concluded, this never came to be. Sadly, I have several ideas like this that are not often used.

    On a positive note, need not worry! This concept is still fresh in my mind and will most likely make a future impact in the next title that I’m involved with. Be sure to keep an eye out! :-)

  56. How do you pronounce the song “!” ?

    I’ve always referred to this song by excessively yelling at the person who just asked the question. (yells) :-)

    Truthfully? I’m not sure. Many people seem to have many names for it. Lately, “BANG!” seems to be the default choice.

  57. Can you make step files for songs listed in the jukebox for ITG-players?

    Due to my current schedule, I generally do not have the time to author simfiles. When the songs become officially released (outside of the jukebox), I’m sure you will see some steps made available by authors of the community.

  58. What is the name of the remixed “Legacy” used in the ITG2 credits and where could I find it? Also, was it ever included in the PC version?

    Very good find! This was a potential remix of the original “Legacy” melody from the synthsations album. Half of the concept was used for a credit theme; and the other half went to kbits “Robotix”.

    In general, I sometimes make material that is easy to recondition for similar purposes like this. Does it have a name? Not yet; but don’t be surprised if it pops up sometime in the future! :-)

  59. What happened to all the stepcharts and graphics from ITG3?
    When konami sued you guys was it completed?
    If so, will you be able to release this material to the community?

    All material for the future (and past) ITG series was frozen and passed on to Konami. I no longer have access to this material and will certainly not break any of my previous contract commitments. Will this material ever see the light of day? It is possible, but you might see it in new forms from Konami. They might use it for inspiration, they might hide it and act like it never existed… Whatever the case may be, it is now controlled elsewhere!

    I’ve seen reports of “illegal leaks/rips” All of these so called “leaks” have not been completely accurate. A lot of this material was unfinished at the time and was not complete by any means. This is probably the closest outlet for seeing some of this unreleased material. With a few searches, you should be able to locate something!

  60. What is your optional about the “ITG Rebirth” project?

    By optional do you possibly mean opinion? :-)

    I’ve heard of this project and I’ve had some people contact me about it. I think it’s really neat that the players are doing something to continue the “ITG spirit”. Because of the final r21 update, this allows players to continue the series and take it to the next level. I’m happy to see the spirit live on and I hold high regards for these players that take on this huge task.

    Personally with me? I’ve fallen out of the 4 panel (directional) dance game scene. Ever since my work on PIU Pro, I don’t see myself ever returning to this ancient format. Once you’ve enjoyed the memories of the past; they continue to be memories. The future is meant to be explored and I look forward to the uncharted territories ahead.

  61. Who’s DJ zombie? Has he/she got website?

    DJ Zombie is Pete Ellison from Portland Oregon. You can find him via his website at http://www.peteellison.com/

  62. This question is about ITG2, not 3, so hopefully you’ll be able to answer it. Anyway, I was just curious - you know how at the end of a song you can get little reward icons on your performance summary, like “1000 Peak Combo” and “Single Digit Excellents” and stuff like that? Well, could you give a list of every single possible one of those? I’m just curious as to how obscure they get or how high it will recognize your combos.

    Oh, and while it’s on my mind, I seem to remember seeing some screenshots of ITG PC when it was still in beta that had some of those ribbons on the record summary screens. Were those left in, and if so, how do you get them?

    From memory (there are probably more of these I’m forgetting)

    In ITG, you can achieve awards for:

    70-80-90-100% Great Attack,
    Full combo,
    Less then 10 greats on a song,
    1 great, full excellent combo,
    less then 10 excellents,
    1 excellent,
    full fantastic combo,
    combo awards between 1,000-10,000

    Hope this answers your question!

  63. is there any POSSIBLE way for the ITG3 simfiles to make there way to the public, It bugs the heck out of me that these sims will never be played (except by you guys of course)
    also, were the rumors of a 14 block song in ITG3 true? would there have been a 14 if it was released?

    While it is sad that the remains of the ITG3 beta content will never be public, you can find several “leaked” files throughout the community relating to ITG3. Most of these leaks are NOT true to the original works and have been altered by the community. I can promise you that we (the developers) were also sad that we’d never be able to share the true data with the devoted players. (Some files took several day/hours of work)

    While many people believe that a 14 level song did NOT exist, we did have a few potential 14s ready for play testing. One of these 14’s includes Chris Foy’s Pink Fuzzy bunny steps that have never been released or leaked to the 4panel community to this day.

  64. Do you have any idea if ITG3 will come out at all or if it is even possible? Do you think you and your old team can still make the stepfiles and songs for ITG3 and just post them for players like myself to bring them to an ITG2 machine with R21 and play them? (If it is legal of course.)

    It is not likely that ITG3 will ever “officially” be released to the public. At this time, Konami has no interest in providing ITG players with anything new. (The former ITG team is not allowed to release any former materials, sorry!)

    I’d strongly recommend enjoying the R21 feature of ITG2, and checking out other dance titles that are being released and supported.

  65. ITG2 Multiplayer is still being made. How is this possible after the ruling with Konami? If that can still be manufactured whats to stop ITG3 from being released over there and then it just being imported into America like the DDR Extreme machines (yes i know that was illegal but it happened frequently)?

    ITG2 multiplayer is presently being sold & supported because of prior arrangements to the “settlement”.
    To simply answer your additional question, nothing! :-)

  66. Two Questions: what are your feelings on these new ITG to Super Nova Kits…and what did you think about DDR to ITG Kits?

    question 2…

    What was your first thought when you heard Konami was sueing, and ITG was no longer yours to work on?

    You can’t ask 2 questions for the price of 1…. Sorry! (no jk)

    1) It is my feeling that when a location purchases an amusement device, they are allowed to modify to their liking. This can affect future support, but this is usually understood. I’m not partial to these supernova kits at all. I would question why anybody would want to replace a better earning game with this though!

    2) Honestly, I’m not devastated and angered like many people seem to predict. The ITG project was not “mine” or my sole work. I participated with a great team of people who did the impossible! We created product that turned several heads in the amusement industry. (ITG kits are still known for the outstanding earnings performance)

    Life has a funny way of progressing at times, and I feel no hate towards any of this history. We all enjoyed ITG while it was in it’s prime development days.

    Lately, I’m very happy with my other opportunities. I typically keep active with my other projects and I enjoy every second of what I do.

  67. Before RoXoR Games was sued by Konami, how many In The Groove games were going to be planned?

    I’m not sure that we ever had an official set “ITG versions list”. I believe we would have continued for several more years. There are so many new ideas and so little time to apply them all!

    Personally? I do thank Konami for allowing me to move on, and helping me realize how stale the DDR series had become since 2003.

  68. I’ve seen a couples of videos of tricky disco from ITG3. the question is how you get the screen to flash “out of memory” and “system rebooting” with a complete black screen?

    All of these effects can be achieved via BG animation effects with the stepmania engine. I suggest you checkout the forums via www.stepmania.com for further information.

  69. So when your testing the stepcharts, were you ever able to pass any of the three 13 Block songs on Expert?

    Yes, I am able to play the top tier expert songs of the ITG series. How well do I do? That’s another question! (laughs)

  70. Will their be an ITG 3?

    It is possible! This decision is up to Konami. Want to see it happen? Let them know about it by sending emails and being active on their player forums. If there is enough demand for something, anything is possible.

  71. Rumor is that ITG2 for PS2 is coming out in summer of 2008, will their every be an ITG2 for PS2?, and also, im 13 years old, are than any tournys for my age and how good should people be at 13

    This rumor is completely false. As of October 18th 2006, Konami now owns the “In The Groove” franchise. As of now (12-16-07) they’ve made no indication of continuing ITG releases. From this day forward, ITG continues to live on through it’s dedicated players.

    Being 13 is an incredibly young age for serious machine dance play. With years of practice, you have the potential to be one step ahead of many older players. Keep up the goodwork! :-)

  72. In the world cup ITG 2006 when Damien won, it was announced that he will recieve an ITG3 cabinet. Now that release will not occur, what will happen?

    Damien was given the option to receive an ITG2 dedicated cabinet. He did eventually receive one of the last ITG2 cabinets later in the year.

  73. Why did some of the ITG team not help work on PIU Pro?

    Some members of the former ITG team decided to not honor an NDA that had been previously negotiated. What does this mean? Deciding to help share inside information with players & communities. (discussions & file swapping of sensitive materials) This resulted in several ITG related “leaks”.

    Most of the time there is zero tolerance of this behavior in any industry. Because these actions, it resulted in immediate termination and cutoff from all future development opportunities.

  74. Hey it’s the 13 year old, i was wondering how good u were when u were 13,
    hardest level i can pass is 12 foot like vertex and tell and stuff…
    also i wanna know how to plug my pad into comp so i can play MDawg’s ITG2

    As a developer of ITG, we naturally had to play test all the content that was released. Both Chris Foy and myself are capable of passing some of ITG’s most challenging charts. How do we score? Pretty decently, but that’s another story! :-)

    For your second question, I’d suggest you check http://www.itgfreak.com for questions relating to an “unsupported ITG version” Hopefully the ITG community will be able to help you more directly with this issue.

  75. You might have been asked this before but…. Why do you go by so many different names? KaW :-) Inspector K etc.

    The main reasoning behind this is:
    I started giving project names an alias back in 2000. The original idea behind this was to give the music “styles” an icon/name for people to follow. This makes it easier for people to follow a particular style that they like.

  76. A few questions relating to ITG2 and r21/23.

    First What was the reason for enabling custom songs with r21? Had this been in the works, or was it a response to the impending settlement of the lawsuit, or something else?

    Second: Why limit the song length to 2 minutes instead of using Long Verison stage tracking like Stepmania does?

    Without being too specific about this: R21 was a way to give ITG players what they always wanted. (control over the game)

    In some of the final days developing ITG for players, it was great to be able to help provide them with the last update they’d ever need to continue enjoying ITG forever.

  77. Put Goin’ home full version to your site plz!

    The original Goin’ Home (My first track ever produced) is available via SCI Recordings. Please go to http://www.scirecordings.com/catalog to preview or purchase this track.

  78. I have Onyx’s Stop & Go in my ITG. What is different between Stop & Go and Stop 2 Go?

    Stop 2 Go is a current unavailable white label remix of the concept behind “Stop & Go” What is it like? I guess we’ll have to wait and see in the near future when it’s released! :-)

  79. Do you know, what song Hardcore of the north really is? Hardcore of the north is remix of Finnish folk song. Do you know that songs name? :D

    Hardcore of the North by Digital Explosion is based off an original Finnish Polka called “Säkkijärven polkka” This song appeared first appeared in ITG and was known as “the first very difficult 12 with a lot of arrows!” :-D

  80. Does each step that ITG people have some sort of step theme? (crossovers, holds, mines, streams, hands, ect)

    Generally, most of the steps in ITG did have a theme that they tried to follow. For example (experts):
    Oasis - Advanced twisting., Tell - Jump steps, VerTex - Mine dodging, Bend your Mind - Hand usage, Charlene, jump step/mine avoidance, Hardcore of the North - 24th note bursts, Pandemonium/Summer - Stamina, Utopia - Difficult rhythms, etc…

    As you can see, several of our charts & songs had themes that we set out to accomplish. Hope this helps answer your question!

  81. Why are most of the songs on ITG & ITG2 are badly offsync ? Don’t get me wrong i love the game but alot of them are off. (example:Amore)

    As ITG was developed, changes would happen “daily” to input code and to the systems used to calibrate those songs. Additionally, the final encryption process also played a part in inconsistencies.
    Unfortunately, these problems and other similar issues lead to several sync changes overtime.

    As with any “new” process in the software world, these were corrected for and changed in the future with other bugs.

    Luckily, the process for “sync” has become a lot more delicate today and this has lead to better production that leaves very little error! Additionally, tools have become vastly improved since what was available at the time.

  82. Who is dust devil and does he/she have a website? Does he/she have any albums that can be bought?

    Dust Devil is an Extreme Music artist that was licensed for “In The Groove 2″. Dust devil’s “DCode” song has also appeared in many television outlets and is a remake from Tito Puente’s “Mambo Gallego”. You can locate more about Dust Devil here: http://www.extrememusic.com/

  83. First of all, my apologies if this question is to personal because of the Konami/Roxor lawsuit.

    I remember seeing an advertisement on itgfreak.com and other websites advertising the In The Groove 3 dedicated cabinet and something about being able to playtest it somewhere (I beleive it said Las Vegas?). I was wondering if you could tell me if an In The Groove 3 dedicated cabinet ever existed and if you have played the game while it was still in its production stages on the cabinet. If so, is the dedicated cabinet still functioning and set up somewhere or was it shut down because of Konami, or if it existed at all?

    Thank you for your time. Keep up all your hard work.

    ~B!LL

    A dedicated “In The Groove3 cabinet” was in the process of being born in summer 2006. It was brought to the core ITG teams’ attention during Summer of 2006 that the production of ITG3 would be halted until further notice. Sadly, the beta cabinet never got to experience the play test stage for the AMOA 2006 show. The machine was later disassembled and became “parts” for other machines.

  84. Did you know that there exists an online effort known as the “In The Groove 3 Completion Project”? If you do know about it, what do you think of it?

    I’ve seen forum threads and have been told about these projects from various ITG players. Some communities are helping support tournaments, some are building new content packs, and some enjoy causing harm to the community (sadly).

    Regardless of the situation, I’m glad that the existing ITG community can continue to live and prolong ITG’s soul! The force of R21 is strong no doubt eh? :-)

  85. i saw that in a pack of itg songs there was a song called supremacy by KaW and i got a ITG rebirth pack and saw a song called supremacy by KaW(?). but they sounded different did u plan to put 2 songs into 1mix? and also i saw i saw a song called indulgence by KaW sounds like a remix of pandemonium. i really like it :D.

    My best guess is that you’ve stumbled upon an older demo mix of “Supremacy”. This went through some changes and later appeared on the Urban Comatose album in it’s final form.

    Thank you for the kind comments about the songs, I much appreciate this! :-)

  86. how long does it take to create a song and put in the step chart?

    This is a very difficult question to answer! A lot of it has to do with how technical the song rhythm is, and how technical you plan for your step placement to be.

    To give you a rough estimate for the ITG series: There were single step sequences that took as little as 2 hours, and sequences that took up to 22 hours! Naturally, after the initial authoring period, you must additionally also allow weeks of testing and tweaking.

  87. While playing on my home crafted ITG machine (Currently hosted off of StepMania because I’m to poor to buy ITGPC :D), I can finish most songs with less then 50 greats, but in the arcade, my great count jumps to 300+ :(. Do you know the ITG2 default arcade difficulty rating and timing windows? Or the name of anyone who can help me find them out? Anything will help, thanks!

    The simple answer to your question would be:

    (ITG2 to SM)
    JudgeWindowSecondsMine=0.070000
    JudgeWindowSecondsBoo=0.180000
    JudgeWindowSecondsGood=0.135000
    JudgeWindowSecondsGreat=0.102000
    JudgeWindowSecondsPerfect=0.043000
    JudgeWindowSecondsMarvelous=0.021500
    JudgeWindowSecondsOK=0.320000
    JudgeWindowSecondsAttack=0.130000

    The life difficulty for a typical ITG machine is between stepmania’s 4-5 life bar difficulty. Hope this helps!

  88. Which city is that on the Kagami Background?

    The background picture featured in the ITG series for Kagami is a street snapshot from Chicago, IL USA.

  89. is there a way to override the 2:00 minutes long songs in the R23 patch for the ITG 2?

    No. Part of the reason for R23’s release was to fix for the unlimited limit from R21’s release. In edition to this time limit, background scripting code was improved/fixed.
    (This was done because of complaints from locations of players abusing time limits on local ITG machines)

    Please note that the limit of R23 is 130 seconds and not a solid 2 minutes.
    I Hope this helps answer your question!

  90. who is your favorite itg player?

    Ya know, I’ve never thought about that…. I know you won’t want to hear this answer, but I can’t really think of a “single” player.

    I would say that I’m very impressed at the attitudes of most of the European ITG players. Out of all the tournaments and forums I’ve come across, the Europeans seem to be a very level headed crowd with great respect towards each other. Making friends and participating in a “community” is probably one of the best aspects of dance machines.

  91. Who is Ernest + Julio on the ITG2? Are they Ernest and Julio?

    Yes (simple question, simple answer!) I think you actually answered your own question though… :-)

  92. I love your music, it really shined during the releases of itg 1 & 2! I was wondering if you were going to use your works in a new kind of rhythm game apart from a dancing series?.
    I know Konami’s Beatmania & pop’n music series are pretty popular in Japan( although there’s barely a scene here in North America apart from the really hardcore importers), if you did something along those lines I think it would work out well, to have a new kind of music game exclusively from NA’s shores.

    I’m always open to new possibilities and new types of game ideas! Even after the ITG series, I’ve continued to explore other possibilities and still do this in my spare time! I typically stick to a dance game title because of the physical aspect and my passion for Dance music.

    Unfortunately, Konami owns patents and trademarks on those titles and has the ability to stop all other “similar” titles if they are released in North America. Yes, they appear to have a monopoly over this very simple concept of “music games”

    Yes, I feel that this monopoly is wrong and I believe one day this will change…

  93. Since ITG is owned by konami , is their next project an music/rhythm game too?
    And how much does a ITG machine cost?

    After months and months, Konami has made no attempt to revive ITG’s concepts or do anything with the materials they acquired from the Roxor settlement. Will they someday? (Probably not…) I suspect you will see concepts from ITG live on (slowly) through future DDR titles, but you will never see another “official” ITG produced.

    ITG machines can now only be purchased through previous owners. These machines have held their value incredibly and are getting very hard to find!

  94. Who drew the art for Anubis? Can you get me a artist page?

    Most ITG’s original art was drawn by “Beth Shultz”. Here is a link to her deviant art page - http://jackboot.deviantart.com/