Dance Ex Machina

Dxm — Jenny's Dance Ex Machina machine as seen in Episode 4.

Dance Ex Machina, more commonly known as DXM, is a fictional aerobic dance game created by the creators of Video Game High School. It can be played by either one or two players (max) and is highly reminiscient of the popular game series Dance Dance Revolution.

Gameplay

The core gameplay involves the player(s) stepping his or her feet to correspond with the arrows that appear on screen and the beat, and players are given individual grades for their accuracy of every streaked note. (From highest to lowest: Flawless, Rad, Almost, Mediocre/Lame, and Miss). If a player consistantly misses notes then dialogue such as "Are you trying?" appears. At the end of each song, players are graded on a A-F scale based on their performance (A+ being the highest possible score and F- being the lowest).

Each song's difficulty varies and is shown to a player before engaging in gameplay, and is based on 4 different factors (Speed, Tech, Hang, Wubwub).

Appearances

Season 1

Episode 4

DXM is the game Brian D chooses to face The Law in after the latter forces Brian to challenge him in any video game. The game is played in Jenny's garage, as the machine was stored there and collecting dust.

Episode 8

A DXM machine was added to Brian's and it is seen being used by Brian D and Jenny Matrix towards the end of the episode.

Season 2

Episode 5

Behind the Scenes

It is shown in a Behind The Scenes clip from Episode 4 that the machine used for filming was a rented Dance Dance Revolution arcade game, which the creators said costed a few grand to rent.

Trivia

The game's name is a reference to the term, 'deus ex machina,' which is an unexpected power or event that saves a hopeless situation, used mainly in ancient Greek plays.
- The term's definition could foreshadow or reference to Brian D managing to convince Calhoun to let him participate in the varsity tryouts in Episode 9, despite being expelled.
In Episode 4, right before the title screen it shows the FBI logo and it says "Winners Don't Use Drugs" below. This is a reference to the NES run'n'gun game Narc, in which Brian D robo-trips out of his mind.
The logos for Dance Ex Machina are designed by Rob Tokarz