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Category DDR News
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Tuesday, August 10, 2004
The following news article was published today in San Jose's
<a href=http://www.mercurynews.com>;
<img src=http://images6.fotki.com/v95/photos/6/6766/26672/site_logo_280x75-vi.gif border=0></a>
<br>
<b>Arcade Moves</b>
DON'T SHOOT, JUST DANCE WHEN PLAYING NEW VIDEO GAME
By Graham Toben
Channing Conger, a junior at Crystal Springs High School in Hillsborough, walks into the Malibu Grand Prix arcade in Redwood City. After exchanging his dollar bills for tokens, he walks up to a machine with blaring sounds and flashing lights.
But he's not looking to shoot up ghouls or try his hand at car racing. He's there to dance.
When his turn comes up, he steps onto a metal platform and selects a song. He stamps out a beat by coordinating his feet with blazing arrows on the screen. By the time he is done with the song, he is out of breath but smiling.
Conger is a fan of ``Dance Dance Revolution,'' or DDR, a game that helped usher in a new breed of video games based on rhythm instead of the traditional shooter games.
``The simplicity of the game draws in people from all ages. It's simple to understand but near impossible to perfect,'' Conger said.
DDR has helped blaze a trail for new, musically oriented games, with Konami, the maker of DDR, leading the way. Now gamers can test their coordination and skills with a variety of new games:
``Guitar Freaks''-- use a guitar to play popular songs;
``Beatmania'' -- tests DJ skills;
``Taiko No Tatsujin'' -- Taiko drumming game;
``Mambo a Go Go'' and ``Samba de Amigo'' -- conga drum and maraca simulation.
Some education officials see benefits from these games.
``What's unique and attractive about these games is that it integrates the ways in which people think and learn -- there's a kinesthetic element to it that you can't find in a shooting game,'' said Lori Hamilton-Durbin, who is the head of the Middle School at Nueva School in Hillsborough.
These games are helping break the gamer-as-couch-potato stereotype.
Some people have actually used it to lose weight. Xbox and Playstation versions of DDR have a workout mode in which dancers can track how many calories they have used.
Tyson Mao, a junior at the California Institute of Technology, says that while he hasn't lost weight, ``it's fun just to be physically moving'' in an arcade.
``I like it because it's something I can excel at,'' Mao added.
The basic premise is to require players to repeat a rhythm. In DDR, a player stands on a metal pad marked with four arrows -- up, down, left and right -- with the dancer in the middle of the arrows. As the song begins, arrows scroll up the screen until they are in shadow at the top. When the arrow is inside the shadow, the dancer steps on the corresponding arrow.
But as simple as it sounds, it can take years to perfect. ``I've been playing for three years,'' said Conger, ``and I'm still not half as good as others are.''
Mao agreed. ``You go back time after time because there are always harder and harder songs. You're forced to do better and better.
``Also,'' Mao said, ``it's just plain addictive.''
<a href=http://www.mercurynews.com>;
<img src=http://images6.fotki.com/v95/photos/6/6766/26672/site_logo_280x75-vi.gif border=0></a>
<br>
<b>Arcade Moves</b>
DON'T SHOOT, JUST DANCE WHEN PLAYING NEW VIDEO GAME
By Graham Toben
Channing Conger, a junior at Crystal Springs High School in Hillsborough, walks into the Malibu Grand Prix arcade in Redwood City. After exchanging his dollar bills for tokens, he walks up to a machine with blaring sounds and flashing lights.
But he's not looking to shoot up ghouls or try his hand at car racing. He's there to dance.
When his turn comes up, he steps onto a metal platform and selects a song. He stamps out a beat by coordinating his feet with blazing arrows on the screen. By the time he is done with the song, he is out of breath but smiling.
Conger is a fan of ``Dance Dance Revolution,'' or DDR, a game that helped usher in a new breed of video games based on rhythm instead of the traditional shooter games.
``The simplicity of the game draws in people from all ages. It's simple to understand but near impossible to perfect,'' Conger said.
DDR has helped blaze a trail for new, musically oriented games, with Konami, the maker of DDR, leading the way. Now gamers can test their coordination and skills with a variety of new games:
``Guitar Freaks''-- use a guitar to play popular songs;
``Beatmania'' -- tests DJ skills;
``Taiko No Tatsujin'' -- Taiko drumming game;
``Mambo a Go Go'' and ``Samba de Amigo'' -- conga drum and maraca simulation.
Some education officials see benefits from these games.
``What's unique and attractive about these games is that it integrates the ways in which people think and learn -- there's a kinesthetic element to it that you can't find in a shooting game,'' said Lori Hamilton-Durbin, who is the head of the Middle School at Nueva School in Hillsborough.
These games are helping break the gamer-as-couch-potato stereotype.
Some people have actually used it to lose weight. Xbox and Playstation versions of DDR have a workout mode in which dancers can track how many calories they have used.
Tyson Mao, a junior at the California Institute of Technology, says that while he hasn't lost weight, ``it's fun just to be physically moving'' in an arcade.
``I like it because it's something I can excel at,'' Mao added.
The basic premise is to require players to repeat a rhythm. In DDR, a player stands on a metal pad marked with four arrows -- up, down, left and right -- with the dancer in the middle of the arrows. As the song begins, arrows scroll up the screen until they are in shadow at the top. When the arrow is inside the shadow, the dancer steps on the corresponding arrow.
But as simple as it sounds, it can take years to perfect. ``I've been playing for three years,'' said Conger, ``and I'm still not half as good as others are.''
Mao agreed. ``You go back time after time because there are always harder and harder songs. You're forced to do better and better.
``Also,'' Mao said, ``it's just plain addictive.''
Monday, July 12, 2004
<a href=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2004-09-09/news/feature_1.html>;
<img src=http://images7.fotki.com/v114/photos/6/6766/26672/phoenixnewtimes-vi.jpg border=0 align=left>
Dance Dance Fever - Valley arcade rats find fame on the DDR Dance Pad</a>
<br clear="all">
<a href=http://www2.townonline.com/lynnfield/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=36338>;
<img src=http://www2.townonline.com/images/logos/lynnfield_logoSM.gif border=0 align=left>
Gotta dance (dance): Dance arcade craze takes hold on North Shore</a>
<br>
<a href=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/HTMLTemplate/!ctvVideo/CTVNews/video_games_obesity_040705/20040705/>;
<img src=http://www.ctv.ca/generic/images/video/logo4sky.gif border=0><br>Yet another video on loosing weight with DDR</a>
<br>
<a href=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,125114,00.html>;
<img src=http://www.foxnews.com/images/headers/fnc_logo.gif border=0 align=left>Players Break a Sweat With Video Games</a>
<br clear="all">
<a href=http://www.news24houston.com/content/headlines/?ArID=32232&SecID=2>;
<img src=http://images6.fotki.com/v90/photos/6/6766/26672/news24houston-vi.jpg border=0 align=left>Exergaming</a>
<img src=http://images7.fotki.com/v114/photos/6/6766/26672/phoenixnewtimes-vi.jpg border=0 align=left>
Dance Dance Fever - Valley arcade rats find fame on the DDR Dance Pad</a>
<br clear="all">
<a href=http://www2.townonline.com/lynnfield/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=36338>;
<img src=http://www2.townonline.com/images/logos/lynnfield_logoSM.gif border=0 align=left>
Gotta dance (dance): Dance arcade craze takes hold on North Shore</a>
<br>
<a href=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/HTMLTemplate/!ctvVideo/CTVNews/video_games_obesity_040705/20040705/>;
<img src=http://www.ctv.ca/generic/images/video/logo4sky.gif border=0><br>Yet another video on loosing weight with DDR</a>
<br>
<a href=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,125114,00.html>;
<img src=http://www.foxnews.com/images/headers/fnc_logo.gif border=0 align=left>Players Break a Sweat With Video Games</a>
<br clear="all">
<a href=http://www.news24houston.com/content/headlines/?ArID=32232&SecID=2>;
<img src=http://images6.fotki.com/v90/photos/6/6766/26672/news24houston-vi.jpg border=0 align=left>Exergaming</a>
Friday, June 4, 2004
NBC Today's Show featured a story on how playing Dance Dance Revolution helps to lose weight.
There was an earlier CNN Article about this. Also read some personal stories on weight loss using DDR.
