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

[LIL J]

hi Im jason and I love playing ddr. Im only 10 years old. I saw alot of great guys playing at jacob javits,like icycool and jai(he won the ironman!) you guys are awsome! I can only get A's on some level 10 songs on challenge. I won 2nd place at great adventure last week. my picture is on the new jersey march of dimes website. I won a ps2. I also won $100 at united skates of America. I hope to be as good as you guys someday,uhh...,maybe next year?

[Diziyyuki]

My sister bought DDR EXTREME last year so she can work out. She brought it over to my mom's house so we can like...do it. But when she left. She forgot to bring it with her. So came home from my dad's and i tried it. I suked the first time but i kept trying and i semi-mastered Standard in about a month. I'm still wanting to do DDR so bad but i'm living with my dad and the floor squeaks and it makes me nervous so it messes me up.
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[acegamer372]

The first time i ever played ddr was at my friend, kolt's house. I saw ddr before, but never played it, and he could do light at the time. When i first got on it i tripped 3 times. Yes, 3. I really enjoyed it so i bought it at walmart, and played that night until i could do light songs. I kept playing and worked my way up to standard songs, but it took a couple of months. I was officially hooked and i couldnt stop playing. I eventually got to heavy and then, challenge. The funny thing is that i can remember getting it on the first day, and doing a heavy song just to see how hard it was, and i was stunned. i never thought i would be able to be at the level i'm at now, especially freestyling on double-mat. NEED MORE DDR.

[Shok_Spain]

Lived in Argentina 1 year, so tried this Pump It Up arcade once (got owned first stage, while ppl simply rocked)
Then, when I came to Spain, found this Euromix 2 and started playing it for real.
Then bought a PS2 DDR MAX and mat, and started getting better

[~musical melody~]

[DDR Striker64]

My very first time playing DDR was a bitter sweet one....OK OK maybe that was WAAY too corny. OK, let me try it again. Short story, my so-called ex-g/f wanted me to play it, after our Gr9 English Exam and refused to play it, cuz I was totally immature at the time and had all these thoughts of embarrassing myself at the time. Until she offered me a dollar to play. So I did, got scared about playing the fast ones on light (yes I was a scared bastard back then, so what!?), and playing the ones she requested, like...Matsuri Japan, or HERO, so I started on the slow ones. I can't remeber them well, all I know I did Butterfly and Bumble Bee, for my first try and did pretty well. That was like, I think, 6 years ago. Wow, and looking back on it now, I can't believe I'm STYLL on standard on the MAXXs. I should be getting A levels on them, now. Oh well, it's good to stroll down memory lane.
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[PsYc0tIk DreaM]

lolz I was sortof looking for some thread like this.

Ok hi my Name is Kris DeCastro i'm 15 years old. I've been playing DDR of exactly 2 years now but still sortof need sometime playing a bit more.
My origin of playing DDR first started off at a CHurch . I was scared at first to try it but then i was like okay i'll try it. There were a few ups and downs but i was able to go through it. And then i found this Arcade in Woodside NY called NYDS. EVery Friday After school i used to ask my mom 6$ so i can play for an hour a day. It was quiet fun and i got better and better. I met mad friends playing DDR from NY and also from out of the state. And i hope to meet more people.
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retired Dancing game guy 2004-2008. Now turned MMA fighter in training

[davidyko]

Alright, here's me:
So the first time I played was when I went with a friend to an arcade in 4th grade...yeh, I failed Butterfly on beginner...
Then I petitioned my mom to get me a PS2, two dance pads, and DDR (original). Within two months, I was up to 6-7 footers.
During middle school, I lost interest because I had hit a plateau, and couldn't get much better than B's on 8-footers.
But then, this summer, I was bored, so I started playing again, and what do you know? "OMG I can do 9-footers now!"
So know I'm improving fairly fast, best in my high school (which isn't saying much), beaten a few 10s (AA on bag), and just bought ITG.
The end.
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Mariogirl wrote:

Edit = lol I <3 davidyko

Groovestats
David needs more challenges.

[Alexi Stuvok.THV]

Alright, my turn!

I'm Alex, 18 years old, from Ottawa, Canada. I had always wanted to play DDR ever since I could remember, but I was always afraid to play in the arcades because I'm a fairly big guy. So, it wasn't until the day after boxing day last year, 11 months ago if I'm not mistaken, that I got my first crack at it. My friend had just bought DDR Extreme 2, and he wanted me to try it. I declined at first, and watched him play some Light songs for a bit. Eventually I got up and said "Here, lemme try that" and tried a Light song(I don't quite remember what song it was. It may have been Butterfly Upswing Mix). I failed right off the bat. Since then, I vowed to get better at the game. So the next day I went out and bought an Extreme 2 bundle, and played. And played some more. I seemed to soar straight to Standard in a couple months, then plateaued for a while. Now I play heavy mostly. I can easily do 7 footers, some 8 footers, and a select few 9 footers. Can't do any 10's yet, but I'm working my way up there! I also now own Extreme and SuperNOVA for the PS2.

[patrickphan2]

ok. Well my cousin was good at ddr and i watched him. he let me play abyss light and i failed. yea tahts about it.
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Tyrgannus wrote:

Synaesthesia wrote: Thread now delivers. Yeah, unfortunately it isn't DiGiorno

[wellojello]

I started playing DDR when I was 9 because I saw the hidden dance pads under my brother's sofa. He didn't let me play until I began stalking him. And so, from that period on I couldn't stop playing DDR because I can't get over the fact that I can still beat him. xD It's probably the only game he'll ever be defeated in. harharhar.

[pluGGz01]

i first started playing DDR in may of 2006. it all happend one night when me and my brother were in our basement. he convinced me to play it but i really didnt want to because i thought it looked like a really stupid game. but i just decided to play anyway. and i actually really liked it and it is now my favorite game. i play it 1 or 2 times each day!

[ghosx]

One magical winter night 2003 I felt the air breeze through my eyes and I looked, and I was like wtf is that? I tried the mystical device and didn't feel anything for it. After I tries agains I grow a hand in the fence outside then come back in realizing that it's loads of fun and it's got such a huge scope, it's not just my town. I play 10 bucks in 1 hour while being put in a trance of chocolate goodness swirling inside me braighn while feeling exuberated from all that god of fun mystical device of a thousand dreams. That's it came to be, and now I am gawd.... at my city :grin:
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what happened?!?!?!

[trob xD]

i played it over my cousins house once i like it and then i bought it

[cambece]

The first time I played DDR was when I went on a cross-country roadtrip. I was at a movie theater in New Mexico. I saw it and remembered a King of the Hill episode I had seen where Bobby plays on a DDR machine. I tried it and loved it.
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JA Cambece
JA Cambece Law Office

[thebeanerrr]

Around November or December of last year my friend brought his DDR pad and whatnot to school because it was the end of the term and we weren't doing anything in our Theater class.

Everyone lined up to play it. It looked like fun but naturally I sucked and I had no rhythm.

I got addicted and I asked for it for Christmas and I just started playing at home then began going to the arcade to play when I got better.

A certain few of my friends who have been playing DDR longer than me kept telling me I couldn't do it.
And when someone tells me I can't do something, I make it my mission to prove them wrong.
And I did.
That's how I started playing DDR, I sure love it!
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[ddr_cutie1024]

Okay...

Here goes my DDR life story...

I started playing DDR when i was 11 years old.
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DDR can make you a...ddict!!!

[January.]

a few years ago, when i was 10, i went 2 the gameworks arcade 4 a bday party, and a whole bunch of people were playing and crowding around the machine. I watched and fell in love with it, and played it since last christmas.
i love ddr so much i get jealous and mad when other people copy off the game (ie. dance factory)
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your rhinestone eyes are like...
factories far away.

[Dancing Mad]

Many steps to this tale of what brought me to play DDR.

Before I get into it, I want to point out that years ago, 2001 or 2002, was the first time I saw a DDR arcade game, and I remember the song I heard being played on it at the time, which was Dam Dariram. Every so often, I remember now, I would just hang out and watch people play. It never occurred to me that sometime in the future I'd get into it myself.

Now for the story.

Firstly it was when I noticed the store I was working for at the time had a display of a box set for Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix. Took a few weeks to saying I'd get it before I got it, so I got it, and set it up, played for a bit...and now that I look back at that time in the latter half of July, I really did have no bloody idea what I was doing, but then I also didn't know that staying off the center of the pad is the way to go.

Laser Quest, a place I usually went to a lot, had DDR Extreme as part of their small arcade, and on July 30th this year, I decided to give it a try, first on Beginner. One set of that, and moved up to Light. Yeah, it gave me trouble then, as should be expected since all I was going on to begin with was basic knowledge of how the game worked, simply by watching others play. On that day, I played 9 rounds of DDR altogether, as well as 4 rounds of laser tag, which is what I was there for to begin with.

I told a few people about it at work, and one of my then-coworkers directed me to Castles N' Coasters, saying the DDR Extreme there was not only better in quality, but half the price of Laser Quest's machine, which was $1. I went to CnC, found he was right, and started playing there. Within one week of starting to play, I went up to Standard, with some encouragement from other players who had come while I was playing. Yeah, back then I usually tried to play alone.

With her encouragement, and some advice from other players, within a month I was playing on Heavy, getting into it little by little, and always taking the easy way in. My first heavy song attempt (and pass!) was Remember You. The most common recommendation I got was to explore, try new songs.

As to why I keep playing, it is FUN. I love the music, I really do enjoy the fact that every once in a while I have spectators watching me play, but that's just the minor part of why I keep at it. When I started playing I weighed 290. Now I weigh 245 and am still losing weight. That is the primary reason I keep playing.
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I'm still a newbie to DDR, no matter HOW good you think I am...considering how long I've been playing compared to everyone else.

http://ddr.ddrecall.com/user.php?mode=viewprofile&user=4518

[YuMeXsHiNjItE]

so.

I started... one summer night in 1999, on a DDR Solo 2000 at the arcade near my place. I saw the cabinet and someone playing a nonstop course featuring Afronova, and they were playing on Basic and I thought "wow, that's pretty cool!" I also thought this girl that was playing was pretty coordinated too, and people around were staring kinda really oogle-eyed; it was the first time a game like this swept into the area, and people were really amazed. Some went by snickering like "dude. what a stupid game." but there was a bigger crowd watching. That convinced me to give it a try; I saw this girl and I thought I could do that too. I put quarters in and then there were 3 modes of play, and I got kinda confused. I just picked the 4 arrow kind, and I got the song selection screen. I didn't know what to do, so I just picked the first song on the list.

I played it and I thought I was pretty ok at it; I passed it with a relatively high grade for the first time playing it (though it was only "I'm Alive" on Basic, a 1-footer), and I got confident. I then figured out that the arrows on the cabinet allowed you to change songs, so I went over to the nonstop course with Afronova on it and I proceeded on failing miserably because I got confused by the arrows and the arrow speed.

Now, 7 1/2 years later, I'm still a very newb-player who plays once or twice a month (though years ago I used to be an addict to it, playing spells of 2-3 hours at a time, twice a day) after getting some CS for PS2. I still have those, and, 4 pads later, I play now and then when I have time, and just for fun. I'm trying hard to regain the lost freestyle skills (which were little, but were better than nothing) that I had since my growth spurt, when I stopped playing seriously. In between short time and lack of funding to buy a more capable set, I stand right now as an average 10-footer who can barely handle a max without hitting the danger sign, but never going below a B-grade. I've also never AAA'd something on feet.