Dance Dance Revolution Series Part I: Primer Introduction
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Submit to SlashdotIn my profile, I wrote that I love Dance Dance Revolution. I was thinking of all the things that I could write about “DDR.” And I decided to start a series of articles about it.
Gameplay
First of all, What is DDR? Dance Dance Revolution is an innovative video game designed by Konami. There are other clones of Dance Dance Revolution like BeatMania, In the Groove, and Dancing Stage. They pretty much work the same way. For simplification purposes, when I refer to Dance Dance revolution, most likely, I’m also referring to the clones.
Unlike traditional video games that only involve finger movements, DDR requires stamina, full body movement, energy, coordination, and rhythm. Also unlike traditional video games, it does not use a normal controller, but a dance pad. This is an example of a dance mat:
Essentially, it is a game where, as music is playing in the background, arrows of up, down, left, and right appear on the screen. Each arrow on the screen is synchronized with the beat of the music. As the arrows pass over a certain point on the screen, the player is supposed to place his or her foot on the corresponding arrow of the dance pad. This “dancing” can be set to different modes from beginner to heavy mode. Obviously, the more difficult modes look cooler.
Benefits
As I mentioned earlier, Dance Dance Revolution requires a lot of stamina and energy. It is very tiring. In fact, it is a great, fun way to loose weight. Some schools and are actually employing it in their PE program.
DDR is also an excellent social activity. Most of the time, two people can play simultaneously. Two people can play with or against each other. Sometimes, even four people can play at once. For those who aren’t dancing, it’s fun to watch the ones who are.
How to Play?
There are two main ways to play Dance Dance Revolution. The first is in the arcade. DDR machines are a little hard to find. Luckily, DDR Freak has a database of DDR machines in the United States. For experts, it is fun to play in an arcade. If someone really good starts to dance, people usually conglomerate around that person and watch. This can be very nerve-racking for beginners; crowds can be brutal. Additionally, playing a dance machine is expensive! On most machines, it is a dollar for 3 songs. Plus, if you fail just ONE song, it is game over and you have to feed it another dollar to continue.
The alternative is home. Practically every modern gaming system has a DDR game: Xbox, PS, and Gamecube (There is a little known way to play Dance Dance revolution on the computer. But, that’s another article in this series.) The downfall of this is that the gaming system, the DDR game, and the pad need to be purchased. Although, the cost of playing in the arcade should be well over this amount.
If you have not played DDR, try it sometime. Once you start, you may just get hooked! Stay tuned to this series to learn more about Dance Dance Revolution. Or, visit the main DDR fan site, DDR Freak.
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Posted on Wednesday, November 16th, 2005
2 Responses to “Dance Dance Revolution Series Part I: Primer Introduction”
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November 22nd, 2005 at 10:39 am
Awesome post! So when is part 2 comming?
November 22nd, 2005 at 4:40 pm
Part 2 is comming in due time…. LOL Please wait patiently, I’m still writing it.