QJ:  Does the game do different music styles? Have people tried or talked about modding the game with different genre's?

DW: I can put in different music in the code, but that functionality isn't open to players right now. Last November, I ran the game in Montreal using some Boards of Canada tunes (we called it "Joust of Canada"). Then, for my friends at New York City's Babycastles indie arcade, a prepared a special version that uses some Wu-Tang Clan. I am hoping that the final version of the game will allow players to play the game with their own mp3s. That said, for me the J.S. Bach music is an integral part of the experience. That was a very intentional choice.


QJ: How does the game work and/or how would you explain it to people?

DW: Johann Sebastian Joust is a no-graphics, digitally-enabled folk game for 2 to 7 players, designed motion controllers. The goal is to be the last player remaining. When the music - selections from J.S. Bach's "Brandenburg Concertos" - plays in slow-motion, the controllers are extremely sensitive to movement. When the music speeds up, this threshold becomes less strict, giving the players a small window to dash at their opponents. If your controller is ever moved beyond the allowable threshold, you're out! Basically, you try to jostle your opponents' controllers while protecting your own.

QJ: What has been the response from the guys at Sony?

DW: I got to play with some Sony folks at IndieCade this past October! Also, I did read that a Sony representative mentioned the game in his 2011 GDC Online talk. That's pretty wild.

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