Judgement: The Last Dance

September 2nd, 2006 at 08:05pm Grey

Judgement day has come. I have spent four weeks trialling the DDR simulator Stepmania, and in the process also given the real Konami arcade machines a shot. I haven’t gotten to try it out as a party game, or attempted to make my own step files as I initially thought I would. But I have advanced very far in the ranks of difficulty. In my first 90 minutes of play I struggled to scrape together a B on a 2-foot difficulty of Billie Jean. Now, 28 days later, I’ve found myself able to achieve a B on an 8-foot version of the same song. And I know through my experiences of playing that I have the potential to go even further. At times I have procrastinated from playing, the simple fact that I’ve received little joy from it often putting me off, but there can be no doubt that overall I have put in the time and effort to be able to properly judge the game.

Some people got very offended by my initial remarks about the genre, and how ridiculous I thought the whole concept was. I think there is a danger sometimes that when you socialise with others who share the same interests you lose sight of how the outside world views your activities. Most people have their heads screwed on and realise that what they’re doing is a bit strange, but carry on because they find it fun. But it’s very important not to forget the fact that these games are considered to be very peculiar, and the vast majority of people I’ve mentioned this project to find the idea of playing at home on your own just, well, freakish. We all have our own little peculiarities and activities that aren’t quite normal, but most of us draw a line somewhere, beyond which lies what we consider too weird and dare not venture. For me dancing around trying to step on buttons in time with some silly tune was past that line. Perhaps the line between that and Punchmania or the roguelikes I enjoy is very thin, but it was still my line.

Has that changed? Do I now have more respect for this genre and the people that play it? Would I consider playing it again myself? Well… Let me get onto that in a bit… (yes, I like teasing) One surprising thing was finding that quite a few other people I know play this game regularly, or have previously mastered some aspect of DDR in the past. No one in real life, I admit, but quite a lot of my online friends. Of course I knew they were all quite nerdy people anyway, but I didn’t realise just how many actually enjoyed dance games. The genre’s popularity is even more prolific than I first thought.

Getting into the game at first had its difficulties. If anyone decides to try out dance games based on reading this then I think I’d recommend you first try out one of the many Playstation games available before moving on to Stepmania, and making use of their tutorials. When playing don’t be afraid to spread out into more difficult songs. Keep adventuring beyond what you’re comfortable with. If you have trouble then practise on a song you feel you can nearly reach, and if you’re determined enough you will make it. Video game and TV/anime themes may be fun to dance to, but with a lack of clear rhythm they aren’t always good teachers. You’re best relying on pop or dance songs that you know well to help push you up to higher difficulties, which will then make you better at all the songs you have. Improving in just one song will make you better at the whole game. A good dance mat may help – preferably one of the foam filled ones – but with some polystyrene and sticky back plastic you can do a Blue Peter job on a cheap mat that will suffice.

When I bought the dance mat a month ago I also purchased a set of scales for £3 so I could compare my start and end weights. I can’t imagine these cheap scales are hugely accurate, but I’m sure they’re good enough for a relative comparison. I should stress that I’m not very healthy. My diet mostly consists of large quantities of chocolate and microwave meals. I may be of average size and healthy weight, but I’m not athletic in the slightest and never have been. At the start I weighed in at 75 kilos (165 lbs). I’ve been playing for 4 weeks, constantly increasing the difficulty at which I play, often doing 2 hour long sessions, and during that time my diet has been as bad as ever. At the end of it all my weight has shifted to 74 kilos – that’s a 2 lb difference. Not much, but admittedly still a slight loss. Do I feel any healthier? Well, kind of I guess. I certainly have a lot more stamina for the game than I did at the start, but that may just be due to getting used to playing. Every time I’ve increased in difficulty I’ve found it more physically exhausting, but each time I’ve quickly gotten used to it. My trousers feel maybe a slight amount slacker, but overall I look the same.

There can be no doubt that DDR can aid slightly as part of a regular exercise and diet program. However, I think anyone interested in seriously losing weight is better off with the likes of step aerobics that have been more scientifically verified to be of major benefit. I don’t fully believe all the reports of people losing major amounts of weight purely through DDR. If you make a conscious decision to put effort into losing weight then that’s going to have an impact on many areas of your life, such as diet and physical activity, not just one game you play frequently. I would personally like to shift a little weight, but I have neither the willpower nor the motivation to make the necessary lifestyle changes. I don’t think DDR could ever make any significant impact on its own.

As silly and stupid as the genre seemed to me a month ago, I can now admit that it does have some appeal as a social game. Playing with friends is bound to be fun, especially if they’re on the same level of skill and you can compete directly with them. Would I do it myself? Probably yes, in fact. Not anywhere near as regularly as I’ve been playing in the last month, but I’d certainly enjoy playing this game with friends every now and then, especially if I can beat them. However, this is something I have unfortunately not actually experienced, and I think perhaps that if I were to then I would eventually get bored of it. I could never go so far as to compete in DDR team competitions and such – that would just be ludicrous. Still, playing with friends is something I’d be happy to give a shot if the opportunity ever arises.

Would I play it on my own? I’ve obviously been doing it a lot this last month. Being able to advance to such high difficulties in such a short time says something about the game itself, and how easy it can be to pick up and master. I have had a lot of satisfaction and joy through playing the game, whenever I’ve achieved something I thought would be impossible. But to be honest it’s been similar to the sort of satisfaction I get when at work, setting a new record for how many assessments I can complete in a month, or managing to deal with some important case or query well. It’s not the usual joy I get purely from playing a game I like. I have not once actually looked forward to playing – normally I’ve put it off as much as possible. I enjoy doing well, and I enjoy getting to dance to music I like, but the basic game itself just isn’t enjoyable enough to keep me playing. And so I’m hanging up my dancing shoes for now. My dance mat has been packed away, and unless someone else wants to play with me I don’t anticipate bringing it out again.

And now for a little treat. Want to know how good I’ve gotten? Well have a look. One of my housemates got a new phone yesterday, so this was a good chance to test out its video functions. As you can see the framerate and video quality are very poor, but it still looks fairly impressive I think. If you listen you can hear the thumps of when my foot hits the mat – a lot of these steps can’t be seen at the low frame rate, but you can hear clearly how fast I’m going. Overall I didn’t do so well in that performance - my last dance, in fact. Got a C but I should have done better – unfortunately the camera was very distracting. Still, this is the first time I’ve had a chance to see my own footwork, and I was pretty amazed myself.

There have been highs and lows to my month of reviewing, but in the end I think I’ve come out somewhere in the middle. This game may not be for me, but I don’t think as badly of the real DDRers any more. Yeah it’s stupid, yeah it looks ridiculous, but I can see how they could get some enjoyment out of it. I still think it’s pretty sad and weird to want to do it on your own. I mean why would anyone get much enjoyment from this? What is so attractive about the game that would make it fun to play on your own on a regular basis? But I suppose there are worse ways to spend your time, and others could easily say the same things about the games I enjoy.

It’s been an interesting experience getting to grips with the game, and I certainly don’t regret the time I’ve spent on it. I hope you’ve all enjoyed reading these posts. I’ll now hand over to John to defend the game he loves. Perhaps he can explain the joy behind solo play, which has still mostly eluded me…

Entry Filed under: StepMania