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Dance Dance Revolution takes over the world one coordinated, techno- over at a time
By Lindsey Ramsey, Jayplay writes.
Mallory Smith is ready to show me how it's done. She takes a deep breath, hops on top of the platform and selects a song. The screen flashes and the Paola freshman is off. Left, Up, Left, Down. The directions fly out of the machine in breakneck speed. The lights begin to flash as her foot hits the up arrow. Forty-five seconds in, she's already breaking a sweat, her Jayhawk sweat pants start to cling to her dancing legs. She bounces hard, making sure each of her steps count. The song ends and she looks at her score in disgust. I am amazed because (to me) what she did looked phenomenal, but she knows she can do better. She wipes her brow and is ready to DDR again.
They're doing it in dorms. In public. Anywhere they can get it. They are sweaty and rhythmically pounding. They are taking over the Internet and living rooms nationwide. Yes, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) freaks do it better, faster, longer and to cheesier techno then any other gamers out there. What's more is their game may be helping them in a way that no other standard video game can: by helping them lose weight. The DDR craze has hit full swing and Lawrence is right in the thick of it.
DD what?
This craze that is sweeping the globe, and probably is available in a bowling alley near you, is a game that centers on dancing to instructions given by four arrows: Up, Down, Left and Right. You press each panel with your feet following the arrows on the screen. The arrows are synchronized to the beat of a song; your ability to match the steps on the screen with the steps on the panels determines your success. You select a song and the dancing begins.
("I love) the physicality of it, the immense concentration it requires and the ridiculous techno. But the best part is kicking ass," Brianna Matzke, Buffalo, Minn., freshman and DDR fanatic, says.
Arcade machines consist of a platform with arrow panels and a cabinet that houses the monitor and "guts" of the game. This cabinet is completed by flashing lights that, when partnered with the thumping techno, create a rave/dance club feel. Some arcade machines allow for competitions between players while others concentrate on solo play. Scoring depends on how well the player is able to match the steps in time with the music. The most recent versions of DDR have four levels of difficulty: Beginner, Light, Standard and Heavy. When players miss a step, the "dance gauge" is depleted, resulting in a lower final score. The machine gives letter grades that go from E (fail) to AAA (perfect). If a player's score is good,
he is given the chance to progress to another song, usually three to five songs per game. Cynan de Leon, vice president of marketing for www.ddrfreak.com says it's the arcade machines that get people hooked.
"The music, the lights, the sheer size and loudness of the machine. I mean, the machine is huge, compared to a fighting game arcade machine. Lights are blinking everywhere and speakers are blasting. It's nuts. If you're lucky you'll hear songs that sound like remakes of Madonna or Queen, or some weird techno song. When you pass by an arcade, and you hear music like that, you want to know where the heck that music is coming from," de Leon says. "For people who haven't played before, it's possibly the craziest thing they've ever seen."
Jason Gibson straightens his dance pad and centers himself in front of his house's plasma TV. Using his feet to make his selection, the Talmage senior begins to dance. His dance pad slides along the wooden floor, but Gibson doesn't seem to notice. He has obviously danced to this song before because his feet hit every mark in perfect time. He jumps and the whole house shakes. The song thumps out of the TV speakers loud enough to wake anyone sleeping upstairs. But he keeps going. Left, Up, Down, Down, Right, Up. His breathing gets louder as the song nears its end. His roommate looks on in awe as Gibson finishes up, the dance pad now completely askew.
When a player is too timid or needs a lot of practice, home consoles do the trick. For the price of a PlayStation, a dance pad and the game, serious or wannabe DDR
contenders can play in the comfort of their own home. Amanda McQuin, Wellington junior, says she prefers playing in her apartment because she isn't afraid to mess up and she doesn't have to pay for every game. But she occasionally will venture out to the machine at the Kansas Union 's Jaybowl. Whatever a player's preference may be , McQuin likes DDR because most video games require sitting on the couch and discourage physical activity, but to play DDR you actually have to get up and move. Plus helps coordination.
The newest home console version of DDR, Dance Dance Revolution Extreme, includes online multiplayer options so people from across the globe can dance together. Home consoles may be good for practice but fans say it's the arcade that gives the full experience of dancing in public and full-on competition. Every DDR fanatic has his or her own preference - arcade vs. home - but most fans say no matter where you play, it's the people
DDR details
they're with that makes DDR the most fun.
Best Buy (both for PS2)
DDR Extreme: $39.99
DDR Max 2: $29.99
Wireless Dance Pad: $29.99
DDR Extreme (PS2): $39.99
DDR Ultra Mix (Xbox): $39.99
Ultra Mix Dance Pad (Xbox):
$59.99
DDR Extreme Bundle (includes game, pad and PS2):
$299.99
If you are looking for an arcade experience, the Kansas Union Jaybowl is the only place in Lawrence to go.
"I brought it to college with me, and my entire floor (Lewis, Floor 5) last year loved it, too, so we became obsessed with it and introduced it to everyone," says Katherine Edell, Rochester, Minn., sophomore. "People from other halls and floors would come up just to have a DDR tournament. We would play out in the lobby and people on the floor below us complained to security that our stomping was too loud."
History of the revolution
Dancing or rhythm games began gaining popularity in 1996 with the introduction of Parappa the Rapper. A comprehensive gamer site, www.1up.com, rated Parappa the Rapper one of 50 essential games, saying it gave birth to the rhythm action genre. Jumping on the rhythm game bandwagon, Japanese video game producer Konami introduced Dance Dance Revolution at the Tokyo Game Show in 1998; it soon became a staple in Japanese arcades. Dance Dance Revolution was introduced to the United States in 2000, and now there are more than 2000 arcade-style DDR machines in the United States. Several versions of DDR have also been released for at-home use on PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox and even Sega Dreamcast. Most of these home consoles require a separate dance pad that functions as the game's controller. As of 2003, the most recent statistics available, more than 6.5 million copies of DDR had been sold since the series premiered in 1998, 4 million in Japan, 1.5 million in Europe and 1 million in the United States.
Phenomenon or fluke? If the Internet is any indication, then
DDR has reached cult status. There are fan sites galore that chronicle every aspect of the game, from equipment to special moves. A Google search for Dance Dance Revolution returned 11,600,000 links. OK, so it's popular, but why don't people just go dancing instead? DDR
freaks like de Leone says it's just not the same.
"A lot of people playing DDR simply can't go to a club. I mean, what kind of club would allow 14-year-olds? Some people really like karaoke. Some might even be pretty good. Would they go and try out for "American Idol"? Probably not. A similar thing here: some people really like DDR. Some people might even be pretty good. But a lot of people who play DDR don't think that it's dancing. It's 'smashing arrows' for a lot of people," de Leon says.
The Web site www.ddrfreak.com lists machine locations, Internet forums and even step charts for the different versions of DDR.As of July 2005 the site had more Continued on page 16=