Blast! from the past - DDR History

Jeff Jeff Revolution · Post by **Jeff Jeff Revolution** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 10:19 pm

The first time I saw a "good" player would have to be at Gameworks around 2000, or at "Superfun" at Washington Square Mall around the same time. Superfun was, as the name implies, Super Fun. It was probably the coolest arcade I had been in, and it was local...but it bit the dust and is now no more...so sad...

UnLiMiTeDmAxX · Post by **UnLiMiTeDmAxX** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 3:42 pm

Saw an asian guy back in 99 in Vegas at Circus Circus before it came to Indiana. Like everyone else I made fun of the game. If I can recall he was playing Paranoia with sunglasses on and doing spins. Of course this is when freestyling was more popular than being an actual tech player.

I gave in and started playing. Didnt get serious or play hardcore until about 2002 and here I am today still loving the DDR/ITG scene. Even tho I play way more ITG than DDR, DDR is still the best dancing game around.

blackcat · Post by **blackcat** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 5:29 pm

Yeah, so I feel behind the times a little bit, because a lot of other people I know started playing DDR when it came to the US for the first time...while other people were starting, I was just starting to figure out what the game was. I knew that the game had four arrows and you had to follow the combinations, but I didn't even know it was called Dance Dance Revolution until my senior year of high school, in 2004 or 2005. I'm pretty sure I learned how to play DDR for the first time during the summer before my senior year of high school with my best friend Katie, so that was probably 2004.

Anyways, so we were at the Union, my favorite place in all of Bloomington, hence the fact that I now work there. So, we were playing pool there, and then Katie was like OOoOOOO DDR!!! Let's play!!! And I was like, "Wha? What's that?" And she was like, "Dance Dance Revolution, duh" So I was like, "OMG no way, I've seen people do that, and they're like so good, I'll just embarrass myself!" And she was like, "Here, I'll show you!" So, we played on Beginner, and figured out that you have to step when the arrow gets at the top (for some reason, I used to think that you stepped when the arrows were in the center....leave it to me to not look at the large print on the DDR machine). Yeah, it was an Extreme at the time...but now it's ITG2.

Yeah, anyways though, so I played it, and it didn't take me long before I could play Light Mode, cuz I'm pretty good with rhythm...and the beginner songs were like too painfully easy, and at the time, the Light songs were just right for me.

Yeah, and then, to make a long story short, I met Mike, and he taught me everything else I needed to know about DDR...and introduced me to ITG, which I hated at first, and now, it's kinda almost my favorite. And now Konami owns ITG. Which blows, because they won't do anything with it. I can only hope that if Konami comes out with another DDR version, it has a USB port....at the VERY LEAST!

I pretty much introduced myself to PIU...I just remember hearing that they had a dance machine in the mall, and I was hoping it would be another DDR machine, but then it was the diagonal arrow thing....like all the other dance games, I hated PIU at first, and I used to be really stubborn about it. Now, it's not that bad at all, but I still favor DDR and ITG over PIU.

Had I started DDR when it first came to the US, I would've probably been around age 12 or so. kekeke.

Pheonixguy · Post by **Pheonixguy** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:54 pm

I remember seeing ddr everywhere (i went to alot of arcades when i was younger, i lived in some of the major cities in texas) but i never tried it until 2 years ago, we went to that indoor water park in indy thats connected to a holiday inn and i played it there. It was an older version, but i have no idea what it was but i had to start out on light and got almost to the point where i could play standard... then i played it again at this 'video game exhibit' at the technology museum in chicago (it was really just a BUNCH of video games in chronological order) and played it there on a ps2, then i bought it and played nonstop all summer

The first time i played pump was in houston last year at dave and busters on a zero machine, i only played twice but i was hooked, and ditto the rest of the ddr story

now i play mostly pump, trying to get better and using it for excersice

letshavetea · Post by **letshavetea** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:12 pm

I wrote a paper thinger for my english class earlier this year... I'll just paste that

Dance Dance Revolution

I used to laugh at it. When I was in sixth grade, my sister brough home a game that I became addicted to. She played it and said it was fun and all that, but to me it looked stupid. Finally, she conned me into playing it, and I'm glad she did.

This game is called Dance Dance Revolution. Now the point of the game is to step on this silly little pad on the right time on certain arrows. The whole idea of the game is so simple that it's just silly. I started playing it a lot, though. I'd come homw from school, already tired from walking home, and I'd set it up and play for several hours.

I kept playing the game, and I kept geting better. I thought I was really good at the game, so I BEGGED my mom to take me to the arcade. See, I played at home on a really crappy dance pad. When I'd step, the whole thing would shift, and it had ripped in a few places along the bottom as well. I hated those pads and my scores in the game suffered because of the horrid pads.

We finally went to the arcade, and I saw the huge game. The machine just seemed very welcoming with the flashing colors and the announcer that was just screaming out "Dance Dance Revolution!" It seemed like it was too good to be true. I put in my tokens and looked through the song list. I didn't recognize ANY of the songs in the game. I looked at this machine confused and felt betrayed. I chose a song and failed it horribly. The once welcoming voice started laughing at me and screamed "GAME OVER" for the whole world to hear. I felt crushed and asked my mom if we could leave.

I didn't play the game again for a few months. If just felt weird. Eventually, my brother started to play, and he broke both of the soft crappy pads. I thought about selling my game and finding something else to do.

I ended up losing the game and didn't play for two yeas. Then, I went to the Kalhari with my family and my good friend Samantha Quinlan freshman year, and she wanted to play Dance Dance Revolution. I walked up to the huge scary machine, but this machine was different from the other one that embarrassed me a long time ago. She dragged me onto the stage, and it felt strang eto hear the announcer yell out again. I put in my credits, and the song list came up. We chose an extremely simple song, and we played great.

I spent over $100 in arcade credits that weekend on DDR. It was just like being reunited with an old friend from long ago and the stage just felt like home. I kept playing at the arcade until after my dad checked out fromt he hotel and we had to leave. I walked away from the arcade with a smile on my face, knowing tha tI had dominated that machine.

Later that year I went on a cruise, and they had a Techno Motion machine on the ship. This game seemed very strange and intimdating at first, but at heart it was the same as Dance Dance Revolution. I was on that cruise for a week and dumed $400 into it. The arcade was a second home to me. I felt like it was part of me. I couldn't sleep one night, so I went down to the arcade at 3 AM and played a few songs. I walked away smiling and went down to the pool and slept outside on a lawn chair.

The arcade on that cruise was my home. I'd step onto the stage and have an audience of 40-60 people instantly every time. I'd step onto the firm, shiny, metal stage knowing I had a lot of people behind me, supporting me with every step I took. I pushed ont he stage and the stage pushed back on me. We were one unit. I was a celebrity on that cruise because of how much I played. The number of people who knew me ont hat boat was just ridiculous. The captain himself came down to watch em play on the last night of the trip.

I walked past the line of people who were all waiting to get off the ship on the last day, and you ould hear them all just whispering "Hey, it's the dance kid!" That feeling of being known by hundreds of people like that was just amazing. I smiled so much that my face was stuck at the end of the day.

This silly game is what brought me all that joy and happiness. I have learned a lot, and met a lot of people because of this game. Those silly pads I started out playing on, torn and tattered are hanging on the wall of my bedroom.

Cbav · Post by **Cbav** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:29 pm

that's a major factor that keeps me playing. I guess you could call it performing for audiences. And whenever I play I regularly get that crowd behind me, and it really does make you feel great. =]

TaQa · Post by **TaQa** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:26 am

Cbav wrote:that's a major factor that keeps me playing. I guess you could call it performing for audiences. And whenever I play I regularly get that crowd behind me, and it really does make you feel great. =]

I disagree. Having crowds is one of the reasons I don't play much anymore.

Pheonixguy · Post by **Pheonixguy** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:27 am

I hope you really didnt turn in that exact copy for an english assignment...

As long as people dont steal your soul with cameras, crowds make me feel special!

lol

FLAKK · Post by **FLAKK** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:38 am

During my sophmore year in high school, I started out playing Stepmania on keyboard. As my interest in the game grew, I wanted to get a dance pad. Since I didn't know of anyone selling good pads at the time, I started to make one on my own. It worked pretty well. Then I saw that this game called Dance Dance Revolution at one of the local arcades. I grew attached to this game very quickly and became decent at playing it. Soon, I threw out the homebrew pad and started to only play on arcade pads.

In fall of 2004, Dread made a post on KYDidder about going to Renaissance Fun Park for Pump it Up. They recently upgraded from Premiere 2 to Exceed. Then, I knew it as "that other dancing game." Since I like to give everything a chance, I said I would show up to play some. I started playing some Normal songs to get used to the pads and after a day or so, I was on some of the Hard charts. DDR took the back seat as I became more and more addicted to Pump. As most of you know by now, I even invested in a Zero GX and recently upgraded it to NX.

Cbav · Post by **Cbav** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:46 am

TaQa wrote:
Cbav wrote:that's a major factor that keeps me playing. I guess you could call it performing for audiences. And whenever I play I regularly get that crowd behind me, and it really does make you feel great. =]
I disagree. Having crowds is one of the reasons I don't play much anymore.

really? i can see possibly see that happening to me long down the road. some of the crowds I get at TFP are little kids that don't do anything but stare wide-eyed so it doesn't bother me as much. Then there's the regular question from the ever-so-clever adult, "You should be a river dancer!" / "Are you a river dancer?" oh yeah.. because we look like we're river dancing.

SoDeepPolaris · Post by **SoDeepPolaris** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:22 am

Cbav wrote:
TaQa wrote:
Cbav wrote:that's a major factor that keeps me playing. I guess you could call it performing for audiences. And whenever I play I regularly get that crowd behind me, and it really does make you feel great. =]
I disagree. Having crowds is one of the reasons I don't play much anymore.
really? i can see possibly see that happening to me long down the road. some of the crowds I get at TFP are little kids that don't do anything but stare wide-eyed so it doesn't bother me as much. Then there's the regular question from the ever-so-clever adult, "You should be a river dancer!" / "Are you a river dancer?" oh yeah.. because we look like we're river dancing.

I dislike crowds because of their reaction when I flip off the pads at a pad miss. JUDGE ME MORE.

letshavetea · Post by **letshavetea** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:16 pm

Pheonixguy wrote:I hope you really didnt turn in that exact copy for an english assignment...

That is actually what I turned in. The paper was pretty much "Write about something that's important to you that doesn't involve people." DDR works for me then.

And about that crowd comment. I always play better when there is a crowd, because if I quit or fail.... I always feel like I'm letting them down so instead I just push myself through it.

TaQa · Post by **TaQa** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 5:07 pm

I just don't like being watched. I also don't like if I'm being told I'm doing good, because that is some BS.

blackcat · Post by **blackcat** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 5:16 pm

TaQa wrote:I just don't like being watched. I also don't like if I'm being told I'm doing good, because that is some BS.

Well, you are better than most people at DDR which is cool. But yeah, I can agree that people that don't play DDR don't understand the DDR players when they are having a bad day. Like, you will totally suck at something, and they are like, "OMG good job! You are amazing!!!" But, they don't understand that you are having a bad game of DDR because they don't play it. They're always going to think that DDR players are amazing no matter what.

I will admit that sometimes I do like crowds...to be honest, I feel as if I do better at DDR sometimes when there are crowds because I like the adrenaline rush. I don't like showing off to crowds, which I feel is completely different, but I like the presence of crowds, because it gives me motivation to do well.

danc1005 · Post by **danc1005** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:46 pm

blackcat wrote: Well, you are better than most people at DDR which is cool. But yeah, I can agree that people that don't play DDR don't understand the DDR players when they are having a bad day. Like, you will totally suck at something, and they are like, "OMG good job! You are amazing!!!" But, they don't understand that you are having a bad game of DDR because they don't play it. They're always going to think that DDR players are amazing no matter what.

I agree. I hate that because the compliment means absolutely nothing to you unless they actually have some skill at the game. And then my friend is always like "Don't be such an asshole, take a compliment" when I reply "That was really bad" or something like that. And then I just sort of roll my eyes.