Blast! from the past - DDR History

Cbav · Post by **Cbav** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 10:44 pm

I think this should be an interesting thread.. what I want to know is.. your DDR/PIU Childhood.

How were you introduced to dancing video games?
If possible tell your complete history.
I guess I'll start.

To tell the truth the first Dancing video game I ever played was a PIU in Orlando Florida. It was in the Nickelodeon Hotel around that area. (this was around 4 years ago) On the drive down to Florida my brother was telling me all about DDR and what the game was and I was absolutely fascinated. So even though it was PIU, I wanted to play it because it was somewhat similar to DDR.

I ended up playing DDR for the first time at a friends house, and he ended up having to force me off the dance mat and apparently I looked extremely pissed off at him. Anyway, I bought DDR Konamix and played all day the next day and got to Standard level. From then on I continued to heavy, experiencing the Max songs(on DDR Max1&2). It doesn't feel right to think that I had such a tough time with Max300 back then. I remember passing it with a D for the first time and I was extremely excited. I actually have myself on video getting a C for the first time, and myself and a friend celebrated like mad.

At this point I hated PIU and thought it to be for posers. and fags. ITG was released and I despised it, seeing it as a game wanting to take over DDR, because I was still a DDR Fanboy. Then I eventually bought it, influenced by the song Hybrid. I don't know why... It just convinced me to buy it. I ended up buying ITG1 PS2, and a RedOctane Afterburner metal pad. From then to present I continue my eternal powers of world domination.

Jeff Jeff Revolution · Post by **Jeff Jeff Revolution** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 10:54 pm

In 5th-6th grade, I was 203 pounds. (DAMN!)

So, I saw this "DDR Konamix", and was all excited about the concept of a dancing game. I'd seen people play it in the malls, and they looked incredibly cool, so I shelled out $50 of my own money on Konamix and a soft pad. I started to lose a lot of weight, and I got really into the game.

Since then, I had dropped my weight down to 170 (where it is today), and lost fascination in the game. I restarted about 1 year ago, when I started up again. Since then, I've invested in metal pads, further DDR installments, and have really jumped into the series and whatnot.

Now, I'm in 10th grade, 170 pounds (at 6-foot-2.5, for that matter), and loving every step I take.

Cbav · Post by **Cbav** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 11:15 pm

Jeff Jeff Revolution wrote: Now, I'm in 10th grade, 170 pounds (at 6-foot-2.5, for that matter), and loving every step I take.

you're a beast. haha.

the gattchoon · Post by **the gattchoon** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 11:18 pm

Well, since I haven't posted in a while I'll do this. X)

November 1999, my brother came home from work one night and said let me show you something... he put in a CD into our dear old blue modded Playstation and behold! Arrows and flashing teddy bears in the background of a song "Boys". Classic 1st mix. Choppy, yet entertaining.

He eventually brought home a slippery soft pad (and Beatmania). We started to invite friends over and then I believe around January 2000 he found out that an arcade in Milpitas (MGL), an hour away from where we lived, imported DDR (1.5 mix, wooo! =D) He started going there every Friday night (joined a group of Friday night regulars), but I couldn't go on Fridays because my mom wouldn't let me because I was too small (and only 11), so he would come back home and take me out every Saturday/Sunday to play DDR all day, leaving at 9 am and coming home at 9 pm... sometimes later (and then getting grounded ;_; ). I used to play in heavy 3 inch Skechers because I couldn't step hard enough to have the pad register consistently (I was used to the home soft pad). I was only a weak little 90 lbs girl. Now I'm 18 and 120 lbs, and screw heavy shoes. XD

In March 2000, the Friday night regulars made the site DDR Freak (originally ddrfreak.n3.net); all of them (and me) were among the first members of DDR Freak.

The first tournament I joined was August 2000 at the San Francisco Metreon. I was only into freestyle; I didn't join the Perfect Attack part of tournaments until the next Metreon tournament in November 2000. Good times. =)

I never got into the Para Para Paradise phase when it came out in Northern California, never played it, STILL haven't played it to this day, but I did play Dancemaniax. Or whatever it's called, haha.

I stopped playing DDR from about 2002-2004 just because I was focusing mainly on school and music (and I did get a little bit tired of it, besides the fact that the two closest arcades to me shut down, taking DDR with them). Then when I moved to Indiana I really got back into it, especially score-wise.

Potter · Post by **Potter** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 11:21 pm

u a gai

Cbav · Post by **Cbav** » Sat Dec 23, 2006 11:42 pm

the gattchoon wrote:I used to play in heavy 3 inch Skechers because I couldn't step hard enough to have the pad register consistently (I was used to the home soft pad). I was only a weak little 90 lbs girl. Now I'm 18 and 120 lbs, and screw heavy shoes. XD

I laughed pretty hard at that part.

That's pretty crazy that the Friday-night regulars that you encountered created DDR Freak.

lgolem · Post by **lgolem** » Sun Dec 24, 2006 12:24 am

Back in February of this year, me and Christina were hanging out just as friend and they had a Pump it Up Exceed 2 Machine at the Great X Scape....I refused to play...I never wanted to. Then she finally talked me into one day playing it...she made me play Hate. Until I passed it....which is why I want to shoot myself when I hear that song. I passed that and then passed Hot. That was it for me. Then March rolled around they upgraded the machine to a Zero machine, and toward the end of March the Pump it Up Tournament happened...watching all the people play like Jason and Chris and Johnny....I was like I want to get into this..so with the money I got from working the Tournament I went and bought the X-box version...played it alot til I can do 3s and 4s, by about May I had more time so I played more at the arcade, went though 5s, 6s, and did a couple of 7s...I actually played in socks up until like July...but when Christina dumped me in July, I had more money and more spare time....so I played more pump it up, tried ITG2, liked it but not that much mostly played pump...got up to about 8s and 9s....first tournament I competed in was DDR-a-Thon 5, which I failed misserably...and I have improved since then...I can do alot of Crazys now. I was an ubernoob in Feb and now I will say I have gotten pretty darn good at Pump...still stuff I can't do but I am still improving at a rapid rate.

Cbav · Post by **Cbav** » Sun Dec 24, 2006 12:34 am

yeah man, I originally hated pump. But I'm wanting to get started playing some. So I'm going to get a membership to a Family Fun and Fitness around Greenfield-Indianapolis, with the membership we get free arcade plays. They have Exceed, i think. no idea if that's good or bad.

lgolem · Post by **lgolem** » Sun Dec 24, 2006 2:40 am

Exceed is the same thing as the home version just some different songs...The Exceed 1 mix is a faily good mix, the only problem though is if you were to have a friend play with you, you both have to play the same difficulty, split difficulty didn't arrvie on the scene til Zero.

CgSquall · Post by **CgSquall** » Sun Dec 24, 2006 3:15 pm

I started playing in September of '03.

I was in the Greenwood park mall, I wander into the arcade cause I enjoyed Time Crisis and games like that, and I saw the DDR Machine(Max2 I believe) at the time. There were a bunch of goth kids, and one of them just failed a song on heavy(Sobakasu Freckles if I remember correctly) and I said "That didn't even look that hard...why're you breathing so heavily?" And he of course freaked out and said stuff like "I bet you couldn't do it!"

And so..I did. First song I ever played, was a 7 footer, and I passed it. It probably helped that I had just stopped playing tennis a little while earlier and was already in good shape and had been in band and played piano and all.

Since then I've kept playing, I don't play DDR regularly anymore, but I do play pump regularly. Before September of this year i took almost a full year hiatus from dancing games.

I don't really have a great "Weight loss" story. Before I started playing ddr I was 6'1" 145 pounds, now I'm almost 6'3" at 150ish pounds. I've always been skinny.

the gattchoon · Post by **the gattchoon** » Sun Dec 24, 2006 4:16 pm

Cbav wrote:
the gattchoon wrote:I used to play in heavy 3 inch Skechers because I couldn't step hard enough to have the pad register consistently (I was used to the home soft pad). I was only a weak little 90 lbs girl. Now I'm 18 and 120 lbs, and screw heavy shoes. XD
I laughed pretty hard at that part.

That's pretty crazy that the Friday-night regulars that you encountered created DDR Freak.

They're really nice people, and very intelligent. I love the DDR Freak originals. Good memories and good times. I miss those days.

Dang I should've kept those Skechers, because they were freaking classic. Basically the old school DDR Freakers associated my name "the gattchoon" with those shoes, due to my Stomp To My Beat freestyle routine I did at the 3rd Metreon Tournament (Feb 2001) when I was 12... I think that placed like 5th, my boyfriend at the time placed 4th. Boo! Hahaha.

The best thing about those Skechers was not the 3 inches of added height, but that they were shiny and sparkly black. Too cool. XD

I should have some picture in them somewhere... =P

Cbav · Post by **Cbav** » Sun Dec 24, 2006 4:57 pm

I remember my first encounter with a "good DDR player". It was Taqa when I was about in the 7th-8th grade. My buddy and I were heading out the door of Rascals, and glanced out at the arcade machine and saw him doing Sakura Heavy doubles. (no bar, of course) Personally, i skeeted a bit.

edit:

the gattchoon wrote:I should have some picture in them somewhere... =P

Yes please!

hascoolnickname · Post by **hascoolnickname** » Mon Dec 25, 2006 12:57 am

oh god theres so much text where are all the images

the gattchoon · Post by **the gattchoon** » Mon Dec 25, 2006 3:10 am

hascoolnickname wrote:oh god theres so much text where are all the images

There you go.

sam · Post by **sam** » Mon Dec 25, 2006 10:49 am

fall of 00 my sister had met some guy and my mom made me come with her up to chicago to check out the family. as a bribe she said she'd take me to gameworks. they had a ddr 1.5 mix and i had heard of the game but had yet to play it. i was miserable at it but loved every second of it. i went on in life and then newyears 00 i got really bored and decided to mod my nes power pad into a ddr pad. i had seen someone had done it on another site but didn't post directions so i wanted to figure it out for myself.

at this point i still had no ddr so i downloaded the brand new OMG 3RD MIX and had 2nd remix and club mix for dc. blah blah blah and now i don't play anymore