Tell your story about how you started playing DDR...

[Kika]

DDR, Herm. Alright here we go

About 4 years ago, My local arcade got a game called Dance Freaks. I started to watch my friends play that..They were pathetic..So i wanted to be mean and get better, So i did. Then almost 3 years ago.They took it away, But gave My arcade something called "Dance Dance Revolution: Extreme" I was totally for it..Seeing everybody around me was just..Awesome at it..The Thought of dancing on pads to arrows was..annoying but..It was worth it.. My first song on Light mode(Belive it or not) was Max300..First Standard..was Butterfly..First heavy..was Look to the Sky:True Colors mix..My first AA was that song..I NEVER played Beginner..CANT STAND IT! ^^

I started to play 2 1/2 ago..$20 Dollars a day,2 weeks straight..
I Keep on playing, Becuz..The only thing i am good at is DDR..Its sad but true..I have a job for 1 reason, To have DDR money.. lol.

((Ack Kinda got off topic..My bad))
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BAAM LOOK AT THAT BACON SIZZLE

[DahrkDaiz]

Well lets see, I started off with Stepmania. Friends from an IRC chat room got me to download it and try stuff out. My first song was Dark Black Forest on light (on SM). I was like cool, this is fun. Then I kept playing it. Around the end of February '04, there was a snow day, but my college hadn't cancel classes. So I said screw that and went to the arcade at the mall instead. I got on the machine, put my tokens in and was amazed how loud it was. My first song was B4U Light, then Captain Jack, I forget my last song, but my legs HURT so bad.

Later that week I went back on a Friday afternoon. I was around a crowd and was kinda eh... I finally got my chance to play and the guy was moving his selection arrow too fast and I hit the green button to choose my light but he had switched to nonstop... The first song in the course he chose (one of the top 4 course) was Cartoon Heroes and I blew at that horribly, so I jumped off the stage and went to the other mall instead. I was pretty embarrassed to say the least.

I thought the game was pretty darn fun and it was a work out, but when I got to Heavy 3 months later and I had a crowd watching me, oh man that was it, I was hooked. I love the comments people make when doing something like R&P or ee.

[Catnapp3r]

All my friends play, and one day once they left i played we will rock you beginner

and failed
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K.R.A.F.O. FOREVER

[Dansumthing]

I started October 25th, when I bought DDR Mario Mix the day it came out.
That got me hooked.

[angeldemon9923]

I started about a year ago. I met this guy at school and I went up to his house. When I got there, I noticed he had a DDR pad (I knew what it was) and DDR MAX 2. I started to play and progressively got better.

first Beginner- Twilight Zone
First Light- The Whistle Song (blow my whistle baby) first AA as well
First Standard- Tsugaru
First Heavy- Kind Lady
First Challenge- Kind Lady (Interlude)
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ddr.ddrecall.com/user.php?mode=viewprofile&user=3521

myspace.com/angeldemon9923

[aluminum.]

Okay so we have a huge arcade. I once went there and this guy says wanna play this thing called 'ddr' ? So I said yea. He trained me for a year or so.


That's how.

[jims5964]

My daughter and I saw people playing in the game room, then my daughter got hooked and now we have a tx-2000 and a cobalt flux dance pads in our house. I find it a fun way to get a work out.

[#Infinity]

My sister got DDR for her birthday, but when I began playing the game, I got addicted quickly and was hungry to keep improving my scores. I also loved the fact that DDR burns calories.
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[klenta]

WARNING: Rambling ahead!

2002/2003, I was at a mall back home when I saw Technomotion. I'd been eyeing it alot for weeks cause it'd looked interesting but I couldn't get the motivation to make a fool of myself trying it. So one day, I dragged a friend with me and we tried it. I went first and failed miserably because I wasn't able to figure out how to play. I somehow missed seeing the significance of the arrows at the top. As I watched my friend play, I began to figure it out that HEY, those arrows do mean something and that the GOODs, GREATs, etc. showed up when the steps more or less overlapped the top arrows! *gasp!* But I couldn't get myself to play another round.

Didn't think about it until I saw another knock-off machine at Hersheypark. I had free tickets due to high school graduation and dragged another friend with me. Did miserably. Again. But that may have been the pads fault. Or maybe the fact that I hadn't learned to throw my weight around. I'm a lightweight. I only weighed about 95 pounds at the time. Which is why I get exhausted so quickly when I play at the arcades now.

The first time I actually tried DDR was fall of freshmen year (2003). A few folks on the floor decided to introduce us to DDR. A PS2, DDRMAX, and a softpad got dragged out. Once again, I stunk. >.> I'd even resorted to sitting in the middle and slapping the arrows in attempt of improving my score.

And yet another friend had been trying to convince me to play the few times I visited him freshmen year and got me to try Stepmania. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he has a lot of influence over me. He was the nudge I needed to get on this fun journey. When I got back to college, I promptly downloaded Stepmania myself.

But I really started playing when one of the folks from the beginning of the year who has become a close friend, gave me a copy of DDRMAX since he ended up with two copies. Been addicted since. Unfortunately with a lot of breaks. I've also got more pads that I know what to do with. Ironically, none of 'em broke. I just kept finding myself outgrowing the pads.

And last week, I got two Afterburners and have started Doubles (FUN!). Only on Light though. I'd probably start Standard sometime soon. Also picked up ITG and PIU this weekend. I foresee a lot of dancing in the future. I'm not addicted. Really...

Now I'm impatiently waiting for Beatmania to come out and hoping like crazy that Pop'n'Music will follow suit very soon. And eyeing Guitar Hero and the Japanese PS2 and the imports...
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[Fresh!]

Hoo...I started playing almost 5-6 years ago

(April 2001) - My cousins and I saw DDR 3rd Mix at the local movie theatre and we all decided to give it a try. We played Upside Down on basic and proceeded to fail miserably...but it was all done in good fun.
However I was a casual player back then, playing way too much Soul Calibur until the SC regs started dying off.

It was a year later that I started playing DDR regularly, hiding around at the local cinema to practice. What really ignited my interest was watching the double players at BK timezone; now I really wanted to try that shit out. Fell over a few times at first haha, and ended up playing single maniac 3 months later. My first AA and SDG were done on double.

The coolest thing though was meeting other people - most of us got on like family.

Nowadays I meet up with some of the local regs to have the odd game of DDR. Sometimes I give the new regs a hand, or just watch. If SuperNOVA comes out here, oh yes...I'll start playing again
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DDR and push-up bras don't mix.

[BaByGuRl79]

I had only seen the arcade dance games in movies and in one of my video games called The Urbz...and I thought that would be so cool to play that game. Then in July of last year my husband was offered to by these 2 Redoctane dance pads from a friend of his and he bought them for me, but I had no games for it. So me and my sister went to EB Games and bought In The Groove. It was so difficult at first, looking back now, its so funny!! But it was also so much fun.
Then I started geting better and I was hooked, in like 2 weeks I was on Easy. I was pushed to go on Easy but found that it was more fun! I even pushed myself to do Pandemonium, I can now get a 94% on that one!! (Hey I know all you guys are way better..but I am happy with that score)
Me and my sister are now on medium and thats as far as we gotten. We have been on meduim for about a month now. Still cant do Pandemonium on medium though...lol...
But I am hooked...its so addicting, and I have been shedding pounds that I have been having a hard time getting rid of!
I have DDR 2, DDR Extreme, and In The Groove (my fave)
I am going to be buying in the next couple of days, Flow:U.D.U and DDR Extreme 2..and I really cant wait for In The Groove 2 to come out!! Does anyone know yet??
I am not even sure if I want to be able to get any further then medium, I have seen videos and on hard and expert, it just doesnt look fun anymore, unless you freestyle it...

[MiiChan]

I could only play Pump once a week at the arcade.
I could only attend the DDR club at FSU about once a month because of circumstances.

So..I bought a flux August 05' for I can play all I want.
~Fin
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4X4Life

[Trifthen]

Twas Fall 2002, and I was at my girlfriend's house. She had mentioned how a friend of hers was pretty good at DDR, which at the time, I considered a lame waste of time. I had purchased a PSone for her birthday, along with Disney Mix, because I figured she might play it. So of course, her and a friend played it the night I was there.

While sitting in an old sofa, I noticed I was tapping my feet to the songs they were playing, and that I was hitting most of the arrows. Of course, this was light mode, as Disney Mix and the first US release didn't have beginner mode. I felt a little dirty, having enjoyed "that lame dancing game," but after driving home on Sunday, I had the urge to buy my own copy.

Many pads and months of practice later, I'd managed to work my way to heavy mode. Then I learned that arcade machines were mean, and I wasn't ready for heavy quite yet. Something had to be done! So I built a metal pad, and kept playing. Eventually, Sakura was the first 10 (isn't it always) to fall.

Now I have two Cobalt Flux pads, because even after nearly four years, I am still addicted, and no other pad has survived the constant abuse. It's an urge, to destroy, to demolish, to vanquish the game utterly, that keeps me playing. Many people I've met are much better; some started playing after I did, and stopped playing, having nearly AAA'd the entire Extreme machine, but I don't think I'll ever stop. There's always a challenge ahead, some minor improvement to make.

And hey, if there's a machine somewhere, anyone capable of playing Heavy can draw a crowd. So why stop? It's a hidden talent most people don't expect, like being able to solve a Rubik's cube. The shock most observers express is like an adrenaline rush! Now if only I could freestyle...
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A DDR player who writes books?! WTF!
Contact me for a QC DDR t-shirt!
I love my Cobalt Flux
My DD:Recall

[chipper900]

i started playing ddr at the end of 5th grade, i've bee playing ddr for about 3 years.my brother bought the game and introduced it to me and i got good at it so i would go to the falls and it was just really fun and thats what kept me playing ddr...

[Emi16]

I've been playing DDR for four years.
My frends were playing DDR and they wanted to teach me.
I kept playing DDR because it had some good songs.

[mathieu12]

Well I saw the game at school where a guy brought it with two ignition mat and it seemed very fun. So I bought it at Christmas (DDR Extreme 2) with an Intec Wireless Dance Mat. After one afternoon of training, I could pass most Light Song, and I now can pass the easier heavy songs and most of the standard songs. The best investment of my life

[Lan]

Warning: I babble. Like a brook. Srsly.

Let's see... my DDR career is pretty... tiny. I just recently bought my own pad/game (not having to convince my mom, oddly enough...), and I'm just starting to enjoy (note I did not say "be able to survive" I said enjoy.) light mode.

Oh, but wait, that wasn't my first exposure! Oh no... rewind to maybe... '04? I was at a friend's house, and everyone was making a fuss over "DDR". I looked in, and saw, quite possibly, the most concentrated girl ever. She was hopping and bouncing and tapping on a pad that looked relatively intimidating, and then... Oh! Then the arrows! I saw these arrows scrolling quickly across the screen... but I figured watching the girl bounce around like... well, like a dork, would be much more fun.

A little while later, once the crowd had dissipated... I gingerly step onto the pad, keeping my body in a frozen little... stand.
"Okay, put on a slow song so she can get to know it." One of my friends says, and... I really can't remember which song it was, but I used my one, ever-so-shy foot to try and do every arrow. I was terrified of looking like a fool infront of my friends, so I tried to look... I dunno... cool. Ahh, the old days.
Anyway, as a goofy girly girl, once I get to try and pick a song, I find "Butterfly" and it sounds perky and happy and... easy... HAH.

Needless to say, (after my horrible, esteem-shattering experience,) I did not touch the pad, to my recollection, until just this year. At a friend's house (of course) they were all (four of 'em) playing DDR. Of course, only one of them was on the pad, but watching the others shadowdance was pretty cool. So, after shadowdancing along (to help keep my self esteem in the positive numbers) for an hour or so, I decide, alright, I'll try a song.
After three minimally successful tries at Butterfly, I decide, "If I got this at home, I could practice all I want and not worry about looking silly! This can be fun!"

Why do I keep playing? Isn't that a silly question. I like what Trifthen said:
"It's an urge, to destroy, to demolish, to vanquish the game utterly, that keeps me playing. Many people I've met are much better. There's always a challenge ahead, some minor improvement to make." (I clipped out a tad, but it's most of what he said, anyway.)
Though, I actually wanted to get my cardiovascular stamina/leg muscles in shape. I don't know if it does anything for my stomach but... well... I'm having too much fun to care.

May your feet not break off trying to play Max300,

Lan
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"Just take the cake, I don't want it!"
"Okay, I'll get you something you like at the store."
"Don't forget to chain him up this time, and use the good lock."

[jpoppyz]

first of all, i actually now remember the the family vacation was in 2004 and AFTER my first exposure, see my newer post for details.

[deadend_kid]

I first started playing DDR about 1 to 2 years ago. In the town i live in, i have this center, kinda like the boyz and girlz club, but anywayz!! The youth center it's called!! the first time i went there i saw people playing DDR i thouhgt it was stupid!! My friend Adianna challanged me to play, and so i said yes!! the first sing i played was Dream a Dream!! I failed, but i became interested and wanted to learn how to play!!! So my dad bought me DDR extreme1, and every since that day i've been playing DDR!! I'm now playing and heavy!!!

[Utari]

Hmm...

I first played DDR a couple of years back when we went to the beach for a day in March. It was really cold, and since there weren't any stores open, we stopped in an arcade and saw DDR. My sister played first and managed to pass (either beginner or light), and then I played and failed.

A year or two later, we were at Dorney Park (I think) and saw the game again. I think I failed that time too.

Finally, during either June or July of the past summer, my sister went to the beach with two of her friends and they played it there. Then, when they got back, Erica, one of her friends, bought DDR Extreme for the PS2, and she and my sister played a lot. So, my sister convinced my dad to buy it, and she let me play. I really didn't want to at first, since I'd failed before, but she got me hooked and I was completely in love with it. I slowly advanced through beginner (I remembered a time when my sister was like, "Guess what! I think I'm gonna try Can't Stop Falling In Love on light! and was like, "OMG!"), and light, and standard. I introduced to my friends (though I'm still the champ), and now nearly all of them have it and play often. I lost approximately eight pounds from DDR and not drinking soda. I'm even on my fourth mat (the original one, a Madcatz I returned, a pad I got through the internet that died after a huge sleepover/DDR fest, and my current Red Octane mat).

I still play a lot even now, and can do almost any seven footer heavy song. I'd really like to get good enough to do some nine and ten footers, but I still have a long way to go. However, I've been focusing a lot on footwork lately, since I saw this one guy at the arcade who was amazing and looked amazing doing it.

So, DDR has definitely had a profound impact in my thus far and I plan on doing it until my knees give out. ^^