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Games Entertainment

A Beginner's Guide to the Dance Dance Phenomena 293

Posted by timothy from the perhaps-it's-a-good-weight-loss-plan dept.
An anonymous reader writes "I just saw a rather interesting article over at LANParty.com about breaking into the world of Dance Dance Revolution. The article has a humourous story about going from DDR mocker to DDR fanatic thanks to a seven-year-old kid. Also, it has reviews of some home DDR equipment for those too timid to play in public. The article is written from a beginner's perspective, and has some good resources for newbies! If you've ever thought of hopping up and 'busting a move', be sure to check it out."
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A Beginner's Guide to the Dance Dance Phenomena More

A Beginner's Guide to the Dance Dance Phenomena

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  • Though I have never played this game, I think it's still pretty addicting. I mean to go and try it someday, but fear that I might get hooked. It's like ...exercise!
  • I think this would be more fitting under the "Laugh, it's funny" category. ;)

  • I'm probably addicted. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Renraku ( 518261 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @04:57PM (#4159484) Homepage
    DDR introduced me to social situations. I mean, before DDR, I never really mingled with people at large social gatherings. But DDR has made me a much more social person, forcing you to either deal with people or play at home. Not to mention the health benefits of being able to pass Max300 on maniac (I did that once, it hurt).

    • You don't need an arcade.... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by mblase ( 200735 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:17PM (#4159638)
      DDR introduced me to social situations. I mean, before DDR, I never really mingled with people at large social gatherings. But DDR has made me a much more social person, forcing you to either deal with people or play at home.

      For what it's worth, regular dance lessons (of pretty much any kind. I started with swing and proceeded into ballroom) will achieve the same result, teaching you to be more sociable and courteous -- especially with the opposite sex -- while also helping you get into better shape.

      I was going to say that DDR is probably cheaper than dance lessons, but at a buck for three songs, it's probably not.

      Crack your paper Yellow Pages to look for dance instruction in your area, or look in the quarterly park district catalog. Learn some partner dances. Swallow your pride and practice them in public. If nothing else, it'll make the next wedding reception you attend 100% more enjoyable.
      • Amusingly, the Geek aversion to dance and/or public situations is similar to that of the Japanese public. A wholy heart-warming and amusing movie about this from Japan is Shall We Dance [imdb.com]. It could be found at our local library in the foreign films section and I would highly recommend it.
        • I'm a social dancer myself, and believe it or not most of the people I go out with are engineers or engineering majors. There's the occaisional geoscience grad student or art major, but by and large most of the dancers I know either are or were electrical engineering, computer science, or mechanical engineering majors. Its actually quite suprising that most of the dancers I know are geeks.

          On another note, I also highly recommend Shall We Dance. Its amusing, its fun, the music in it is great.
      • Nothing's like DDR when it comes to song selections and intensity. I haven't seen anything as intense as those songs. I love most of the songs, and its in a relaxed atmosphere. No lessons, no need for partners or dressing up. And DDR machines around here are in our local malls, so we can just go whenever.
      • I've been doing social (ballroom, salsa, swing) dancing for nearly three years now, and I have to agree, it's a great activity, much more satisfying than any dance game I've played.

        In many ways it's a perfect social activity for shy nerd types, in that if you get good at it and you're reasonably polite to your partners, members of the opposite sex will be scrambling past each other for a chance to dance with you even if you can't make idle conversation to save your life. You don't even have to speak the same language! That's true for both guy geeks and girl geeks. Best of all, getting good at it isn't a matter of having a natural talent; I was a complete klutz when I started, but I took a bunch of lessons and practiced diligently and now I'm having to turn women away.

        It's not a purely physical thing, either; some social dances give your brain as much of a workout as your body, and (especially if you're a guy) they'll test your reflexes and on-the-fly decisionmaking skills as much as a good game of Quake will. When you're dancing, say, a tango, you're simultaneously threading your way around a dance floor full of other people moving unpredictably, staying in time with the music and listening to its structure so you can choose good steps to match its feel, planning your moves far enough ahead to end up pointed in the right direction, indicating your intentions to your partner slightly ahead of actually taking your steps (i.e., leading), and staying ready at all times to react gracefully to avoid a collision when someone suddenly appears right in front of you. It's a thrill ride, and that's not counting the attractive woman pressed up against you!

        Most of the folks at the places I dance are science/engineering types, so I'm not alone in thinking it's a good geek pastime.

        Ballroomdancers.com [ballroomdancers.com] has a decent list of places to dance ballroom. If salsa is more your speed, you can try SalsaWeb.com [salsaweb.com]. Most social dance places offer cheap group lessons for beginners; look up your nearest one and give it a try!

      • For what it's worth, regular dance lessons (of pretty much any kind. I started with swing and proceeded into ballroom) will achieve the same result, teaching you to be more sociable and courteous -- especially with the opposite sex -- while also helping you get into better shape.

        Couldn't agree more. I also have to recommend Irish dancing, of the sort one finds at a ceili. (Various transliterations abound--Gaelic is a fiendish language at times. Listen for something pronounced, KAY-lee.) It's sort of an Irish square dance. There's a caller, and you're told what to do before and (usually) during the song. One of the more difficult aspects of swing dancing (I've found) is the need to improvise as you go along--it's something I'm just not very good at.

        I have two left feet. But as long as you're moving in about the same direction as everyone else, there's nothing to fear. The ability to count to eight is helpful as well--but that shouldn't be a problem in this crowd. You get the opportunity to dance with lots of partners (or groups, or lines)--or not, if you prefer--and it is excellent exercise. Don't be afraid to take a breather now and then--there's usually good imported Irish stout available on site as well.

        I was only exposed to the concept earlier this year, and I haven't looked back. Now, all of my friends are doing it--a motley assortment of physicists, chemists, and biologists, with wildly varying amounts of coordination, innate talent, and attention span.

    • > DDR introduced me to social situations. I mean, before DDR, I never really mingled with people at large social gatherings. But DDR has made me a much more social person, forcing you to either deal with people or play at home.

      Me too. Before there was DDR, there was SDRAM. People laughed at me at LAN parties as they fragged my bog-slow-framerate azz. I couldn't deal with people with such a lame system.

      So I bought an RDRAM system, and the people at LAN parties poured Bawlz into my power supply and shorted it out. Said I deserved it for supporting the lawyers at Rambus. So I got a new power supply, but I had to play from home. (and despite decent frame rates, with the lag on a 56k connection, everyone still fragged my azz.)

      Then I got a DDR system in a kickass aluminum case! Wow! My framerates are up, and I'm no longer embarassed to show up at the LAN party! I can deal with people, and I don't have to play at home anymore! w00t! I 0wn!

      (Not to mention the health benefits of being able to haul my watercooled rig with fishtank reservoir to the party. I did that once up ten flights of stairs, it hurt.)

  • Exercise couldn't be more fun. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Broadband ( 602443 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @04:58PM (#4159486)
    I just got hooked to this new addiction back in May and I can safely say I've got more exercise over the past few months then i'd get in an entire year!
  • I had no idea what this was until I read several of the articles. People actually dance at arcades now? Man, I _AM_ old, I never heard of this.

    *sigh*

  • What the article doesn't mention ... (Score:5, Funny)

    by slagdogg ( 549983 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @04:59PM (#4159499)
    Is that DDR is also a great way to meet the neighbors that live below you ... :)

  • I've done it. (Score:5, Funny)

    by yzquxnet ( 133355 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:01PM (#4159509) Homepage
    I've done it. I thought is was stupid. But, I guess you have to like that sort of thing. Generally speaking I don't move my feet around like that unless I'm falling down the stairs.

  • Try it on your PC - StepMania! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by chrisdanford ( 267750 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:01PM (#4159514)
    I work on an open-source DDR/Pump simulator called StepMania. It's almost feature identical to the DDR MAX/MAX2 and has a ton of customizable features.

    Download StepMania, download some songs, and at play it with a keyboard. Slowly you'll start tapping your toes. Then, buy some pads, some USB convertors, and practice up. You'll be ready to wow everyone at the arcade!
  • This is really news for nerds. I can't see that it matters though.
  • Bringing DDR to the home is a huge step I think. It could be a more exciting and entertaining party game than say, Twister.

    On second thought, I don't know if you can play naked DDR and have the same amount of fun as you would naked Twister.

    At least if DDR makes it into the home, maybe the other 98% in here can get girls over to their houses/apartments (without any form of trickery or force). Everytime I see that game, there's always girls playing it. Then again, I don't think I've ever seen any guys playing it.

    • The man has a point. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Mulletproof ( 513805 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:32PM (#4159741) Homepage Journal
      Study the demographics that play DDR (no sources, just spend a night at your local gameworks). Having skills in DDR is a good way to hook up with the ladies as this is one of the few games they seem to like and float around the most. On a side note, I'd be more impressed with people who play DDR if they could bust their moves at random instead of the physical game of memorization DDR is.
      • I'd be more impressed with people who play DDR if they could bust their moves at random instead of the physical game of memorization DDR is.

        All the DDR players I know don't do any memorization at all. They read the arrows off the screen in real time. Try it: ask a high-level player to do something they've never done before, and they'll clear it with no more problems than usual. Seeing all those arrows, I wouldn't have thought the human brain could process that much information at once, but it's possible with training.

    • I don't know if you can play naked DDR and have the same amount of fun as you would naked Twister.

      Are you kidding, while naked twister has the high rubbing factor, naked DDR has a higher bounce factor.

  • DDR (Score:3, Interesting)

    by AmbientNightmare ( 595391 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:05PM (#4159544)
    DDR is a very fun game, although it does take a little practice to get used to. For anyone interested, you can usually get 2 dancemats and the first US version for around $40-$60 dollars, and it's well worth it. And, once you start getting good, you'll enjoy it a lot more. Also, girls LOVE playing this game, I wish I could convey how often I have ladies over to "dance" with me. Highly recommended for excersise, improving pedal-dexterity, and impressing ladies who think 6'2" 200lb men can't dance.
  • DDR is news for nerds, and YES it does matter. :\
  • It's the most ridiculous looking game you will ever see. However it it the only excercise my step kids bother to get. I it keeps them away from the soda pop and Reese's cups then it's fine by me. It has become somewhat of a cult thing. There are clubs in the schools that have DDR as a focus. I guess we are really a fadish society and that will never change.

  • I couldn't read the article because there was this strobe light going off in the middle of the page.

    Going back, I see it must be on rotation coz it changed, but that original ad made the page unreadable. Doesn't anybody have quality control on ads these days?

    .02

    cLive ;-)

  • The best DDR review you'll ever read.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rahga ( 13479 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:06PM (#4159555) Journal
    It's usually at http://sardius.fefea.org/ [fefea.org], but since the site is down, click my mirror of it here: http://www.rahga.com/fun/konamix/ [rahga.com]

    For what it's worth, Michael Jackson is involved.... and trust me, it blows every other DDR review out of the water. :)
  • until you realize you just need to go with the beat.

  • DDR PHASE II (Score:4, Funny)

    by ArcSecond ( 534786 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:08PM (#4159572)
    Around these parts (Vancouver, Canada), the only people that play DDR are asian kids. It looks like fun, in the way that Karaoke is fun. (Which in my dictionary, is "marginally".)

    The next step is for DDR to infect the minds of white folks. I expect to see long rows of these machines bringing in the line-dancing crowd in the very near future.

  • Beyond DDR (Score:4, Informative)

    by frohike ( 32045 ) <bard.allusion@net> on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:08PM (#4159573) Homepage
    We (Cryptic Allusion) are also developing a Dreamcast game with the freely available homebrew tools to go beyond the basic get-as-many-steps-right-as-you-can of DDR to something much closer to Puyo Puyo or Puzzle Fighter. Here's the link:

    Feet of Fury [cagames.com]

    There's also Dance With Intensity [claws-and-paws.com] that someone developed to play DDR songs on your PC, assuming you can track down the step files and MP3s/OGGs.
  • When are they come out with a game where I can wave glow sticks to trance music?

  • /. reader -- dancers? (Score:5, Funny)

    by deft ( 253558 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:11PM (#4159591) Homepage
    from the slashdot readers that I know... top things they'd like to see added to a game:

    10. golems
    9. battle chariots
    8. star cruisers
    7. light sabers
    6. dark elves
    5. dancing girls
    4. power axes
    3. tanks
    2. balistic missles
    1. more cinematics of lara croft

    things they wouldn't like:

    10. calisthenics
    9. exertion
    8. breathing hard
    7. movement
    6. physicality
    5. burning energy
    4. working out
    3. sweat
    2. exercise
    1. dancing

    i see a critical flaw here.

  • This thing was on King Of The Hill, in the episode where they went to Japan. I had never heard of it before that episode, nor since, until today.

    From the title, I thought this article was going to be about DDR vs Rambus ram. Hmph.

  • I first played in Indianapolis. I was with my then boyfriend at an arcade, and I did not want to play. (I also did not want to do the stupid Frankenstein thing, but such is life.) But I got up there and I whipped redengine's tail. He was so bad. It was pretty early in the morning, so there was no crowd, but I keep looking for them around here b/c I can't wait to be able to do it again. Anybody know where you can find DDR things in Central Illinois?

  • here's some videos (Score:4, Informative)

    by Kargan ( 250092 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:14PM (#4159619) Homepage
    If, like, me, after reading the descriptions you're still having a hard time picturing just exactly what this game is about, here's a site with some videos, looks like mostly from tournaments.

    http://www.ddrfreak.com/videos.php

  • Mocking--dancing? (Score:4, Funny)

    by indiigo ( 121714 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:16PM (#4159633) Homepage
    Nah, I think I'll stay on the mocking side of the fence. No amount of explaining or justifying is going to get me to budge from this lofty position.

  • DDR v RAMBUS (Score:5, Funny)

    by guttentag ( 313541 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:16PM (#4159635) Journal
    Dude, Dance Dance Revolution is so much more fun than Radical Advanced Moronic Bouncing Up-and-down Skating!
  • when somethign you've been into for like over a year starts to become popular in a mainstream way. Our arcade has a 4th mix machine and we have a ps1 with pads at home, and we're pretty damn good.
    However, I've noticed a bad trend in DDR. There are lots of people who play just to hit the arrows. I mean if I can't beat every catastrophic song on maniac some people wont even bother talking to me. So for all you people who are bragging about your ability to hit every single 1/64th note crazy speed arrow on a 100 foot song, you suck, get a life. I mean playing a game instead of dancing is bad enough.
    So for all you DDR people, it's about having fun and possibly even looking good! *gasp* or at least trying to look good.

    If you don't know about DDR or Bemani check out
    www.ddrfreak.com
    www.bemanistyle.com

    Paraparaparadise is pretty cool.
    • You've been into it for over a year? I got bored of DDR about 3 years ago. Obviously my obscure video game coolness quotient is way higher than yours. You better start looking for the next bizarre video game craze now so you can avoid this type of ridicule in the future.

  • DDR does exist for the PC (Score:3, Informative)

    by Ryu2 ( 89645 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:23PM (#4159682) Homepage Journal
    Contrary to what the article said, there is a REAL DDR port by Konami for the PC that just came out recently... I've seen it for sale at Fry's electronics. You can use a dance pad that connects via the USB cable.

    It's DDR 3rd mix only, though, I believe.

  • Know your DDR opponents (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Funny article/guide over at somethingawful.com on various opponents you may face at the arcade.
    http://www.somethingawful.com/article.php ?id=378
  • First time I ran into DDR was at a local Fun Zone. Some kid was "dancing" on some pads, appearantly having fun. Paying a dollar for maybe 5 minutes. The night before I was in a club dancing for free. Better music, more people, and it didn't cost me a thing.

    I'm all cool with what people find fun, but DDR is outright lame. Not because dancing in public is lame, but because it's expensive, the music isn't the best, and you look like a fool in an arcade dancing on some buttons.

    Whatever, I guess I'm just trolling.

    • Re:Wake up, there are cheaper places to dance. (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      You spent money on transportation to a club? I dance in my living room for free, and I don't even have to wear clothes.

    • Re:Wake up, there are cheaper places to dance. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Enonu ( 129798 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:57PM (#4159886)
      You're missing the appeal.

      What's the point of playing a game? Two answers depending on who you are:

      1. To have fun
      2. To beat it

      I'm personally in the #1 and #2 crowd. DDR songs at 9 feet (1 == beginner) are exceptionaly hard. So hard, that'd I'd challenge any "real" dancer to do a 9-footer, and get at least a B in under 20 tries. Normal people might be able to do it after 500 or so tries.

      Now here's the obsession people have. Do the above, but get a AA (not missing a step and staying on-time). Ah, missed a step --> do the entire song again! It's like being able to beat Contra without dying once. Stractch that. It's like being able to beat ghost and ghoblins and not dying once. It's a real accomplishment.

      Finally. If you're overweight, the game kicks ass for losing weight. Even in public, it's worth the shame to lose the pounds. I've met people who've lost over 60lbs on the machine. I doubt there are many other weight loss methods that'd compete in terms of fun.

      So, is DDR worth it? Depends on who you are.
      • So hard, that'd I'd challenge any "real" dancer to do a 9-footer, and get at least a B in under 20 tries.

        Uh... Dude... DDR is an arcade game. Most dancers actually dance; They don't have a lot of skill at mashing buttons.

        With that said, while people may be losing weight playing DDR, doing so is not going to get them into awesome shape (this is me speaking as a bodybuilder.) If they don't change their diet and they don't continue to excercise after the DDR craze has warn down on them, the benifits of the game aren't going to last.

        I'll stick to diet, weightlifting, and real life arobics (such as swimming, skating, and "real" dancing,) thank you. : )

        Oooh... Side note: contrary to popular belief, dieting doesn't mean sarving one's self. ^_^
        • Uh... Dude... DDR is an arcade game. Most dancers actually dance; They don't have a lot of skill at mashing buttons.


          No, but dancers usually do have a developed sense of rhythm, and an ability to move to their feet to right positions at the right time. DDR may not be 'real' dancing, but that isn't to say they don't have anything in common.

    • DDR, despite the name, is not about dancing (yes, i know about freestyle, but that is probably the exception rather than the rule). It is a rythem game, where you match the steps displayed on the screen. It is more about having fun and going with the beat of the music. Who cares if you look stupid? It's still fun for a lot of people, gets them to meet other people and exercise. They shouldn't stop because other people think it looks goofy.
    • "Cute asian gamer chicks" Am I a hormone on a string? Sure, but paying isn't without fringe benefits.

  • ddr destroyed my relationship (Score:3, Funny)

    by terminal96 ( 530726 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:25PM (#4159699) Homepage
    ddr destroyed my relationship :( girls are evil

  • Bemani (Score:2, Informative)

    by Lomby ( 147071 )
    I just got back from Japan and I got addicted to another bemani (Beat Mania) kind of game.
    It is called "Taiko No Tatsujin" (Drum Master).
    It is really addictive: you have to play a japanese drum (kodo). The machine has an incredible bone shaking sound, that really gives you the idea of hitting a giant drum.
    This game is particular, because it is very beginner friendly, but it can also be used by experts.
    The tune selection is also great!
    You can see the arcade machine here [highwaygames.com].
    A PS2 is on its way, lucky me (and you)!

  • A Guide to Dance Dancers (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rayonic ( 462789 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:31PM (#4159731) Homepage Journal
    This topic wouldn't be complete without a link to this. [somethingawful.com]

    That is all.
    • That was good. Funny even. The resident arcade junkies at Gameworks are even worse. They'll get get one of those $20 all night passes and simply pound games like DDR until they are mastered. And the cute asian girls? I managed to avoid such a setup by noticing the bottle of water and change of gym shoes at the base of the machine... I'll be savin' those quarters and my pride, tank you very much.

  • New security interface? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Nkwe ( 604125 )
    You could always put a set of pads outside your front door, door to the machine room, lab, etc.

    Swipe your badge? No Way, dude.

    Dance the right steps? You are in!

    Combine security and corporate fitness all in one...

  • Modding your dance pads (Score:4, Informative)

    by drivers ( 45076 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:37PM (#4159774)
    If you want your home DDR pads to last you need to take a trip down to Home Depot (or Lowes or whatever) get some supplies and mod your soft pad into a durable hard pad. Follow the instructions here: home modding [ddrfreak.com]
  • I hate it for one reason: volume. Every time I come near one of those things the sound is turned up so high that it feels like it'll rupture my eardrums! Feeling like my ears have been boxed is not fun.. turn those things down. You in the cars with the too loud bass should listen too.. :P

    In addition to that bit of horridness about DDR, there is no redeming feature to the game. ;)

  • Not everyone uses it for exercise (Score:3, Funny)

    by guttentag ( 313541 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:47PM (#4159821) Journal
    I know there's someone out there who spent weeks writing a shell script that would "watch" the screen and return the appropriate feedback so he could play without having to get off his ass.

    Come on, I know you're out there and I know you read Slashdot.

  • Hm (Score:2)

    by zapfie ( 560589 )
    One of the best parts about DDR is that if you go to an arcade with the right crowd, it is a very social atmosphere. I started out on the home version, but it's gotten to the point where I don't bother even playing unless I can go to an arcade. I have met over 20 new friends (many of whom I have become very close to) by playing DDR, and I'm sure there will be more to come. If you are new to DDR, you will want to be sure to go to DDR Freak [ddrfreak.com]. It has locations for arcade machines across the US (and some international regions too), and each machine location page shows the average rating from people who play there of how they like it. Also, they have a forum system that includes regional sections, so you can see what's going on in your area (upcoming tournaments, etc.). Half the fun of DDR (at least for me) is just getting out there and meeting new people, so while the home version is fine, if you like it you really owe it to yourself to find a good arcade in your area. If anyone has any questions about DDR, I can try to answer them here.

  • I prefer this variant. (Score:5, Funny)

    by CaptainCarrot ( 84625 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:56PM (#4159873)
    Mosh Mosh Revolution! [megatokyo.com]

    Ever since that strip came out, I can't walk by a DDR machine without thinking about how much better it could be...

    • MegaTokyo message:
      Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 8388608 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 11520 bytes) in /www/megatokyo.com/htdocs/comic.php on line 7

      Slashdot has crashed a comic strip.

    • I was waiting for someone to mention that. I'm suprised there isn't a home version by now. Just merge the source trees from DDR and GTA3, and instant console hit!

  • An AC beat me to it, but... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Tofuhead ( 40727 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @05:59PM (#4159899)

    http://www.somethingawful.com/article.php?id=378 [somethingawful.com]

    The last entry is no joke. The kids you'll find in Hawaiian and Californian arcades (in my experience) just don't mess around.

    I guess every generation needs its killer app arcade game. Back in my day (said the ancient 20-something), it was 2-D fighters like Street Fighter II et al. Seeing my nieces and nephews dominate the DDR machines reminds me of when _I_ was the little Asian punk keeping everyone else off the SF2 machine. =P I guess the difference (actual non-violent physical activity vs. non-physical fantasy violence) is a good one, but I'm too set in my fuddy-duddy fighter ways ever to give DDR a shot.

    I'll take a joystick or Ascii Pad FT over a dance mat/platform any day.

    < tofuhead >

  • I read most of the article(s), waiting for the punchline and for the author to start talking about CAS latencies, RAMBUS (is evil), etc. and then it dawned on me that he reall was talking about some sort of physical activity. At that realisation, I stopped reading since "physical activity" is something that I'm fairly averse to... :)

  • As an avid player of DDR.... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by pclinger ( 114364 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @06:00PM (#4159906) Homepage Journal
    I must say this is one of the greatest arcade games ever invented.

    Sure, when you are new to the game, you look like a retard who doesn't know the difference between stepping left and right on a pad, but hey, you have fun. Once you get good at the game, you can draw a crowd (seriously!) and have a lot of fun. It's one of the only games that women will actually stop and look at (yes fellow geeks, I said women, got your attention now?)

    For those of you who say it is expensive, go to a place like Nickel City where games a lot cheaper. Many of these "nickel" places have DDR for you to play for around 20 cents. Now that is not expensive. It would cost you about 2 bucks an hour to just keep playing. Going to a movie is more expensive than that. And just imagine how many calories you could burn! You may actually *gasp* lose weight!

    A great resource for information about DDR is www.ddrfreak.com. Go look at some of the videos.

    BTW, there is DDR for the playstation if you are interested. Go to your local gaming store if you are interested in getting it.
  • at a lan party. 45 people going DDR nutzo. I laughed till my stomach hurt, then realized..HEY, you know the ONLY women at the lan party were ALL there, and so were alot of guys. Just think guys, one thing WOMEN REALLY LOVE is DANCING, and this way a geek just might actually get close to one :)
  • I want the exercise bikes at the gym hooked up to a combat flight simulator. Pedal harder for more speed.

    There's an arcade game like that, but it's single-player, too short, and the bike settings are wimpy. A gym version is needed. There are gym-grade exercise bytes where you move along a road, but that's only mildly entertaining.

  • i am *convinced* that younger / smaller kids are more adept at games like this than relatively full grown adults like myself.

    the key seem to lie within their short, therefore fairly limble (is that a word?) extremeties.

    as legs grow longer, it need more and more energy to move them; and unfortunately our "power" (in J/s) grows at an inferior rate compared to volume (and therefore mass) as we get taller (and hopefully longer legs). Hence while a kid can match his legs to a 1/64th beat with no problems, you will sweat and pant and cry for miracles before your legs can keep up.

    and last thing: most "soft" pads are no match for the arcade pad's quality. and i generally recommend against the soft ones cuz they and usually too sensitive and when you go to the arcade you tend to not press the button hard enough to reigster a hit. (if you practice with the "hard hit", you will torn up your pads mighty quick).

    go on ebay for some "hard" pads, or build your own. it's probabbly going to get you much further.
  • I realize that a thrill for everyone '80s related is quite now quite common (look at the MAME craze), but really, getting excited about the DDR [jotro.de]? What, do these fans drive Trabants and Wartburgs [clara.net] while singing Die Partei hat immer Recht? [fortunecity.com]
  • DDR is a passing fad. Everyone knows that in the future, when no one will dance with you, you run the following:
    echo "Computer, create dance partner."
    neckservo -left 20 -up 15
    echo "female"
    neckservo -right 20

    x=0
    while [ $x == 0 ]
    do
    ./pleasant_grin
    done

  • Pump It Up! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Xenopax ( 238094 ) <xenopax.cesmail@net> on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @06:47PM (#4160152) Journal
    I know that DDR is the big popular dance game, but if you want one that's really fun play Pump It Up (PIU). I find that one to be a lot more challenging than DDR, plus you don't have the annoying announcer screaming "Good Job!" or whatever the hell he says.

    Also, I own the home pads for DDR and PIU, and PIU has much better pads IMO. Plus those are pads for your PC, so you can download fan made songs to dance to. :-) DDR only has playstation pads as far as I know. I'm sure there's a hack to get them going on your PC so you can download songs, but PIU is ready to go over USB.

    Reading this I want to run out and play some PIU. To bad I'm getting my ACL repaired this time next week. :-(

  • Dance Simulators (Score:5, Funny)

    by Nathdot ( 465087 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @06:58PM (#4160197)
    Just a thought worth remembering:

    DDR is just a dance SIMULATOR

    Does as scoring a perfect mission in flight sim stealth bomber automatically qualify you for the USAF?
    More to point, a high DDR score does not mean you are ready for the dance floor of your local club.

    If it were anywhere near a close approximation to life it would at the very least tell you just what the fuck to do with your arms!

    • Though the fighter simulator depends on the level of realism, getting good at DDR actually does help you in the dance department. Foot/eye coordination, visual on screen dancing representations... it's not that huge of a leap to go it on your own, actually.
      • Seriously!

        Have you watched one of these people -- "these people" being a general veiled term of derision for all DDR enthusiasts -- going at it.

        My immediate thoughts go straight back my first aid training, specifically: What to do if someone is having a seizure.

        I have no doubts that the Dance Dance Revolutionist thinks they are "the bomb" as you kids say, but come on, they soooo are not!

  • DDR - God way to spend money (unlike whores) (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Henry Pate ( 523798 ) on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @08:32PM (#4160685) Homepage Journal
    I've been playing Dance Dance Revolution since the end of may of this year, and I can attest that it is indeed an addictive game, and a fairly fun one at that. When I started I, like so many technically inclined people, had absolutely no rhythm. DDR can be an aid for developing rhythm (most songs are in 4/4 time, there are a few exceptions). Here's a little info for those who haven't played or might be interested:

    DDR is a great way to lose weight, when you get good you'll be sweating from just one song, granted it may be an expensive diet (see below for cheaper ways to play)

    DDR can be basically free: there are a number of projects dedicated to bringing DDR to the PC (Konami released a version...but it isn't better than some of the freely available ones). There is Dance With Intensity, Diet Diet Revolution, and my personal favorite (also a sourceforge project), Stepmania, www.stepmania.com [stepmania.com]. You can play with the keyboard, but chances are you don't want to burn fat from just your fingers. You can build a dance pad (you even get a fun hardware project doing this!), you can find links and help on the forums on www.ddrfreak.com [ddrfreak.com] - ddrfreak also provides a nice little script that will spit out all the steps for a song, and another script that shows all known machine locations in the US! If you are lazy (what?) you can buy Konamix (available at www.redoctane.com or Electronics Boutique, and some other places). It runs on a PS1, so you can use the ps2 to play it. You can get a very good (IMO) dance pad from www.redoctane.com [redoctane.com] for about $100, the ignition 2.0 pad is excellent. You can go with cheaper ones if you wish, but you'll be very frustrated when your skills improve, the mat sticks to your free, and you flop around like a fish out of water.

    I know people who saw others playing DDR and thought it was easy, wow, you step on a little pad when an arrow hits the template...their views quickly changed when they played the game. For new players it can be very difficult, but once you are over that little peak you can really start to have fun. I enjoy the challenge of playing more difficult songs.

  • Karnov.
    Dancing.
    More Dancin!
    Repressed Homosexuality.

    http://www.somethingawful.com/features/dancedanc ek arnov/index.htm
  • This guide [somethingawful.com] is a must read for any budding DDR player.

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