Every Monday night at 8p.m., the flag room in the union is noisy with the sounds of familiar songs and the voices of students enjoying their time playing a video game that is attracting many people on campus.
Like some video games, points are earned, music is played and everything is displayed on a television screen. But the big difference is that it requires more than just fast reflexes with a controller. Players must actually get their groove on and dance instead of simply using their fingers. The game is called Dance Dance Revolution and it has become one of the most popular activities on campus.
"Dance Dance Revolution is hot," said Sandra Suy, a junior early childhood and development major. "I heard about it from my younger sister and I tried it and realized that it's a great work out and at the same time, I had fun doing it."
An obsessive phenomenon in Japan, Konami's DDR started out in arcades as a quirky interactive dance simulator. The following for the game was so spectacular that the developer, Benami, made over a dozen sequels as well as multiple "rhythm games," such as Beatmania, a DJ/scratching simulation, and Guitar Freaks, a guitar simulator.
"We were introduced to the game at freshman orientation where they had DDR and we all played it and loved it," said president of the club, Mike Kozlowski, sophomore business major, with a very serious look on his face.
Club DDR is now a temporary SA club but they will be a permanent club by the end of the semester. The club plays the games on the Playstation 2 console, primarily using songs from two Japanese releases, DDR Extreme and DDR Party Collections, as well as the US version of DDR Max 2, according to Tanvir Alam, a freshman undecided major and the treasurer of the club.
The game is based on a system of arrows located on dance pads that follow the beat of a given song. The player is expected to step on the corresponding arrows as they appear on the screen.
The Monday night meetings are loud, exciting and social, consisting of students who are energized and completely focused on their game. They jump around on dance pads that have up, down, left and right arrows on them. Their arms flail and their feet move in strategic ways while following the beat of the songs coming from the television.
"It's actually kind of scary at first because everyone is watching you. It takes a little practice before you actually get the hang of it," said Seth Hurley, a freshman psychology major who is also a devoted member of the club.
Last year, the club began as a small group of friends playing the game in a Governor's lounge once a week and the group loved it so much that they decided to form a club and have everyone enjoy the game as much as they do. Now the club consists of 20 dedicated members.
"Mike has done a really good job as president because he advertises the club more," said Clifford Gullans, a junior computer science major who is also the secretary of Club DDR. "He has done a lot more for the club than our last president and he has a lot of plans for the club for this year and for next year."
The club enjoys going to DDR tournaments, which are held frequently across the nation. The competition is divided into a skills division and a freestyle division.
Kozlowski said last semester, he and one of his board members went to a tournament held at an arcade in Rochester and won first and second place in the freestyle division of the competition. The club plans to hold a tournament of their own.
"I like to get new people into it because I think most people are intimidated by it. Last semester, I got two people into the game and they enjoyed it so much that now they're at the highest difficulty level," said Kozlowski.
Many people think the game is a great way to have fun and get a vigorous work out as well.
However, there are people who think differently about the game.
"I personally wouldn't play the game because I think it is pointless and I don't think it resembles dance at all," said Lindsey Schmidt, a sophomore social sciences interdisciplinary major.
"I think the game is really silly but its fun to play when you are bored," said Katherine Agudo, a sophomore exercise sciences major. "I think the game is only meant to be played when you are bored and it shouldn't be a hobby."
Kozlowski says that all he wants is for people to try the game out and see if they like it. He believes that once people try it, they will enjoy the game as much as he does.
"I've never heard of it, but it does sound interesting and I would definitely give it a try to see what it's all about. Everything is worth a try," said Reny Mathew, a senior finance major. This is the type of attitude Kozlowski and his friends like to hear.
"Everybody should definitely come to Club Dance Dance Revolution and give it a try because it helps meet new people, it is an awesome work out, and overall it is a really good experience no matter what skill level, whether you are a hard core player or if you have never seen the game," said Kozlowski.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
