Karaoke Forums

Hey guys! I just released my karaoke game. I came across this forum and thought I'd ask what you guys think? Here is the site:

http://singthegame.com/

It is different than regular karaoke software in that it is really a game too, players are scored based on how well they do. I wonder if it would work well in a bar setting? I really think this adds a lot to karaoke. I know I would never have gotten interested in karaoke myself if it weren't scored.

Scoring could lead to karaoke battles, where maybe the winning player stays on the mic until beaten. The challenging players would then get to pick the next song. It also gets more people involved since you can have one or more singers up at the same time. The game supports any number of player simultaneously, limited only by the number of microphones.

One thing I see right off the bat is that it currently doesn't output the singers from the speakers. The mic is only used for the software to score the players. This could be something I'd look at adding if it would see some use.

Would anyone consider using my software at a gig?

While that might be something that would be fine for home use, it would be suicide for a KJ to use it at a gig. People don't go to karaoke shows because they want to battle, they go because they enjoy singing. Playing games and entertaining are 2 totally different things.

Anything that "scores" karaoke singers I won't use.
I find it discourages singers who may not be great singers but enjoy Karaoke nonetheless.
And it discourages newbies from ever trying. They think "Wow, everyone else is so good. I don't stand a chance. I'll look like a fool."
I try to keep a show that encourages EVERYONE to sing, good , bad, or indifferent.
Sometimes it's not about how well someone sings, but more about how much fun they have( and therefore the audience has fun too!).
So sorry, but no, I won't ever use it.

Sounds like it would be fun to try among friends at home, but couldn't use something like that at a show. I'm afraid some could get discouraged or would take the scoring aspect very personally. But at home, sounds like it would be fun to try.

There used to be a karaoke player that have a scoring system based on pitch and tempo. I am not sure what was the brand. There are still some in used in my part of the world.

It will be good of home use esp. for practicing new song. I am not sure if it will be a good idea in a bar setting.

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My motto: "No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time". Karaoke competion of ANY sort is a show killer....

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

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Wow, Nate - do you actually host or write software?

I cannot imagine this going down well at all, exept for home parties - where people use Singstar and such...

Well said.......What would they call that new software, "star search kraoke" perhaps?

The only way I could see that this might work which wouldn't necessarily be good business for you Nate is if there were a contest at a large venue where singers from all the neighboring venues came together to participate in a singing contest to pick various level of winners. Each neighboring venue could/would send a few representatives from their own local venue. It would sort of be like a citywide or countywide contested event. Perhaps a trophy or a cash prize would be awarded to the establishment or KJ sending/sponsoring the winning singers.

Maybe make it a annual or semi-annual event.

Ive seen sofware that "grades" performances in action in latin america.

Probably you need to have special karaoke files to let it work.....


In any case all that this can do is try to get the time and pitch close to the origional, but in my experience the many of the best karaoke performances do not sound exactly like the origional and the good singers know when to make minor variations in time, tempo, pitch etc.

The performances where the person puts in a little extra energy, ad libs a word or two etc will be graded poorly by a machine but may knock the socks off of a human audience if done well.

Pretty sure I would not even use it if I could find all the songs I wanted that had the feature.

First I would like to congratulate the Original Poster on his new and innovative software. Don’t be discouraged by the negative responses.

The whole idea and purpose of bar-karaoke is to sell drinks. If you have to stay sharp enough to perform well, you’re not buying a lot of drinks. If you have to stay sharp enough to care if someone else is performing well, you’re not buying enough drinks. Successful software improves the overall drink/hour ratio.

Now go yee and write code....

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While I agree with the rest, compliments on your software. It is indeed a nice party idea and I can even see, a fun event every once in a while in a bar environment.

Big compliments on the graphics. I really like the SingSong splash screen in the screenshots. You wouldn't be able, to create a a nice background I could use for my Compuhost, do you?

Thanks everyone for the responses. Have to say I didn't see that coming, but it is understandable. As you have guessed, I write software rather than host shows. While I don't think most people's reactions would be so severe to scoring, it makes sense that if people aren't used to regular karaoke in a bar setting, it would turn some people off. Remember you are still singing even when scored, and I can tell you from experience, there is no need to stay sober.

A tournament is a neat idea. I'm planning more "party modes" for future versions.

Sevarin, thanks for the compliments. The main screen was actually done by my wife, I'll be sure to pass the compliment on. I'm absolutely horrible at artsy stuff like that so I just stick to coding.

Thanks for evaluating the idea for bar karaoke. I'll keep the comments in mind and I'll run more ideas past you guys if I can come up with something I think might fit a public show better.

Did anyone try the game? How do you feel about the pitch detection?

I'm thinking it would be nice if a venue is having a contest that they'd use a scoring method that didn't involve judges. We know how fair that is. If it took in consideration applause after a singer sang that would be a plus also.

One of the biggest gripes about contests is the judges are bias. If it was turned into a judging tool instead of a game maybe it would work well for contests in a public venue. Although I must say I am against having contest personally, but they still happen.

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Nate:

I was reading through the FAQ section of your page and saw your explanation of why you could not distribute lyrics. While you are correct that the lyrics themselves are copyrighted, the timing data that goes with the lyrics could be distributed because that is your own work. That would take a lot of the effort out of setting up your application.

I still don’t think it’s going to fly but I have been known to be wrong. Good luck.

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Dam your'e lookin hot today in that new dress......

[quote="Nate @ Tue Oct 07, 2008 12:56 pm"]Thanks everyone for the responses. Have to say I didn't see that coming, but it is understandable. As you have guessed, I write software rather than host shows. While I don't think most people's reactions would be so severe to scoring, it makes sense that if people aren't used to regular karaoke in a bar setting, it would turn some people off. Remember you are still singing even when scored, and I can tell you from experience, there is no need to stay sober.

A tournament is a neat idea. I'm planning more "party modes" for future versions.

Sevarin, thanks for the compliments. The main screen was actually done by my wife, I'll be sure to pass the compliment on. I'm absolutely horrible at artsy stuff like that so I just stick to coding.

Thanks for evaluating the idea for bar karaoke. I'll keep the comments in mind and I'll run more ideas past you guys if I can come up with something I think might fit a public show better.

Nate, I really don't care for it when it appears that someone gets bombarded with negative comments, and I certainly don't want to be known for that, so I apoligize if that's the way I came across. Let me start over. I have only sang karaoke once, so my opinion might not mean a whole lot anyway.
It's just that as a new singer, for me it's intimidating enough already without the thought of being rated. I wouldn't want to be rated behind someone who follows all the shows, and is very good. It would take the fun out of it for me, and I probably wouldn't sing. On the other hand, there are probably very good singers that would want that.
You are obviously very talented to be able to create such a program, and I am sure it's just what some might be looking for.

Anyway, good luck with your efforts! Ron

Wonder if it could be used in the privacy of one's own home in order to practice being a better singer.

Let me clarify my stance: I do not dislike this product - it's a nice little Singstar clone, and looks quite well produced.

Just would never use at my show. Would certainly play at home with friends.