DJ Hero: After Party is a cancelled spin-off to the original DJ Hero game, which was briefly being worked on by Zoë Mode, the UK based subsidiary of Kuju Entertainment, for Activision in 2009. It was proposed as a game for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii.
Another Spin On DJ Hero
As FreeStyleGames was in the final stages of developing the first DJ Hero, Zoë Mode set a team of artists on formulating ideas for a spin-off game to it in July 2009. The developer had, in the recent past, created other such music games as Rock Revolution and Disney: Sing It! when the project began.
Leading Light, the design studio of Christian Bravery, was contracted to help make concept art for the company, as the vision behind game was steadily being realised. Together, they imagined an alternative approach to the formula of DJ Hero, one developer explained.
“It would have had a very different vibe to it than the other games. We wanted it to have its own personality and feel. More relaxed and laid back.”
DJ: After Party would have made for a more casual-friendly approach to the series. Another developer described the possibility of it being made up of “slower, more up beat” tracks, although work on the title never got as far as assembling a set list.
The general idea behind it was that most of the show venues, as you might imagine, were after parties. Leading Light and the developers put together images of some of the events, which included celebrity wedding receptions, boat parties and a private luxury island.
Activision allowed the developer to use the DJ Hero license in developing conceptual documents and a prototype demo for their potential spin-off, as well as the opportunity to present a proposal to their management. Zoë Mode ended up working on the concept for a few months before Activision ultimately decided against pursuing the project, rejecting the pitch in October 2009; the month of DJ Hero’s first release.
According to one artist, the concepts were, however, retained by Activision and some of their ideas were later used in DJ Hero 2.
Character art:
More concepts including pitch documents/research:
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So afterparty was basically DJ Hero 2 before DJ Hero 2. I never did like the premise/concept of DJ hero 2 as it was too ditzy, but reading this makes me think they just jacked the concept of afterparty entirely as a way to get DJ Hero more mainstream. The description/mission of afterparty is EXACTLY what DJ Hero 2 tried to accomplish.
In theory, DJ Hero 1 was really the only true entry to the series creatively speaking. I thought FSG really found some magic with the first DJ Hero but took massive steps back with 2. Considering FSG is now the devs for Guitar Hero I HIGHLY doubt a true sequel to the original will ever materialize…especially given the climate of rhythm games. Blah.
Loved the original DJ Hero but what a weird saga it was in hindsight…