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

[0verKill]

Started in 2002 on the boardwalk at Jillian's arcade in Ocean City, NJ. It was a 5th Mix I belive.

Once I got the concept from watching other people play, I tryed it myself a few times because it looked fun, and I tried to get higher scores on the first few songs.

Two things kept me hooked, striving for better scores, and the occasional audience that would clap when they saw two players "dancing" in unison. Eventually I bought the games and started venturing out to arcades, using other players as a reference for how good I wanted to be. I just try to get better thats all ^^. My goals have ranged from getting a C on butterfly light to passing heavy songs to getting on high score lists and full combo-ing 10's
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[sacratoy]

i started about a month ago when nettopia in twin peaks mall got its new DDR machine. i had played a bit when ddr first hit america but i played twice so that doesnt count. any way i started to play w/ friend and was playing on light to start then went onto standard after about 3 days. that is how i started light to standard when i started to play.
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[quote:053ff83133="PBoy227"]I made love on a DDR machine once....[/quote]

[DAF]

OK about 3 years ago i like all the other ignorant losers thought ddr was "gay." I tried it, sucked, and didn't play again. that is, until about 8 months later where my cousin and i played it at the mall on light mode and got B's. I told my friend that I liked playing it, and he surprised me by saying he had it (it being ddr max for ps2 and a pad.) I played it, loved it, and haven't stopped since.


God. Good memories.
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Drink up baby, stay up all night
With the things you could do
You won't but you might
The potential you'll be that you'll never see
The promises you'll only make

[kasuke]

well for me ive been playing for avidly about 4 months i first started well back in summer in 2003

i had always wanted to but never really did and then the Liquid Matrix opened in airdrie and they have an arcade machine and i just started and plus i happen to still be a bit heavy

man it makes me mad i started to lose weight and then the addiction kicked in and so now i play for 1-2 hrs a day im only starting to play 8-9 step songs and ive lost about 15 lbs

first song i compleated as sad as this is "Higher" on light

[maxx freak]

I started playing 8 or 9 months ago. I went to my freind's house once and i noticed he had the UM2+Dance Pad Bundle behind his television. So we both were playing on beginner. My favorite song was Jam On It! by Newcleus. So a while later i got ddrextreme and a crappy pad and started moving up to light. I AAd LOM beginner after a while. then i went to my friends house again tried MAXX Unltd light failed. tried beginner, got stumped by the slowdowns but passed. i gradually advanced from light to light/standard to standard and now im on standard/heavy (can do quite a bit of 8 footers)


still am stuck on MAXX unlimited light

[Wilshire]

I first started playing DDR back in mid-June about 3 months ago. I was on a 10 day cruise to the Caribbean and I had spent most of my time during the first few days in the casino because I just turned 18. After making my way to the arcade which had a 3rd mix korean v2 machine, my 12 y/o sister convinced me to try it out. At first I couldn't even keep a straight face while playing, but it grew on me very quickly. Soon I was spending more time in the arcade than the casino (which didn't make my dad too happy since it cost $2.00 per game and you use your room key to buy credits then play games).
At the end of the cruise I had spent somewhere around $130 just playing DDR. Anyways - I bought Ultramix as soon as I got home and have been playing between 1-4 hours each day ever since. Recently I built a frame for my soft pads which has made it even more fun. I can now A most 9-footers and some 10-footers but I still have lots of work to do before I'm satisfied with my abilities.
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I have nightmares of double steps where chaos fills the air and bars are raped continuously.

[teh_techno_guitarist]

I started playing DDR about a year or so ago, and i'm still playing to this day. My friend, Katie, got me started on it. I was at her house one day, and she was like, "look at this game that i got.." i was like, "awesome...how do you play?" she explained it to me and i tryed it. Well, the pad kicked my butt..lol. So, she let me use the controller. I didn't start on beginner, i went right to light. I played "Castles In The Sky" about nine million times. Lol. I still play to this day, because i juss love techno music and the game. I have StepMania on the computer and DDR Ultramix, DDR Ultramix 2, and DDR Max 2...for XBOX and PS2. I'll soon have...DDR Max, DDR Extreme, DDR Extreme 2, and DDR Ultramix 3. So, yeah. I'm gonna be all set .

[umjammer]

About three years ago I was wandering through the Challenges arcade GA, when I noticed this huge machine with flashing lights. Being a music game addict, I was mesmerized, but when I tried playing it I failed miserably. Not only that but some guy who worked there got on and started showing off on some jazz song.
After leaving the arcade I went over to the nearest game store in the mall and bought "the dance game like the one in the arcade." Turns out that game was Pump It Up, and I bought DDR. Today I'm heavy level in DDR, level 9 Expert in ITG and I still bite at PIU!

[Bigfoot_220]

my friend was on 10 footers for a long time and i finally played one round.from the on every day it sucked me in and took my money. damn you ddr!
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Somewhere in Texas there is a village missing its idiot

[chubbbayaidan]

n00bish way. i saw ppl playing a 3rd mix and i was around 10. jus started playing and i sucked for a loooonnng time, until now.

[Dr. AAA]

Since I was 6-10, I saw my sister do DDR. I wasn't interested in doing DDR until 2004 Summer. My sister got DDR extreme and my first song was Trip Machine. After that, I got UM 1, UM2, and DDRMAX. Today, I can now AAA nine footers, like Kakumei, End of the Century, and Broken My Heart. What keeps me playing is being fit, cool songs, staying out of addiction of Halo 2, and trying to be the best DDR. My first arcade song is Healing Vision.

[Criss the Geek]

When did you first start playing DDR? (and how long have you been playing)
I first tried DDR a little over a year ago. My good friend Nathan was a genuis at it so he let me try it. I failed miserably and never thought of playing it again until the about this past spring.


What got you to start playing? (initial interest)
Nathan was very excited when our arcade finally got a machine this past spring and when he went, he took me with him. I got to meet other people who played it, became friends, and they kept me coming back.


What made you keep playing? (why do you like playing currently)
Many things keep me playing. One, because Nathan and I are dating now and it's a nice commong interest that makes our relationship stronger. Two, because of the friends I've made playing it. Three, because I'm a perfectionist and I won't stop until I'm the best. Four, because I'm a musician and I think this helps me more with accuracy. And five, because I work in the arcade and to see it all day long while I'm working makes me want to play it even more. =]
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[HEAVY MODE.]

[P0Panda21]

I bought my first DDR game a few years ago (it was Max2) simply because it looked entertaining and I'm mostly into it to lose weight. I stopped for a while, having failed miserably as most diets do. I couldn't get off of light. Then I made new friends due to an exboyfriend and they were all into it. Soon enough I was into standard and from then on I've been hooked. What keeps me playing is the constant need to do better. Not to mention it helps to know what the hell my friends are talking about now.
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Me: "Something has shat on my cookie..."
=^.^=

[Waffles]

The 1st time i ever graced the pad was in 2001. that was the time green acres mall had ddr 3rd mix (2nd mix/Step Step Revolution). i never really paid attention 2 it untill i a friend of mine made me play it. im an expert now and have no plans of retiring.

The 1st song i played: End of the century

The 1st Heavy song i beat: Wonderland

The 1st song i AA'ed: Afronova (light)

The 1st song i AAA'ed: Daikenkai (Stepmania)

The 1st 10 footer i AAA'ed: PSMO (Stepmania)

The 1st Song i Stealthed: Exotic Ethnic (Extreme)

Shout outs 2 fellow ddr'ers: Fred (pancakes), ehan, sebastian, jay, kathy, gilbert, matt, Phrekwenci, and whoever else i forgot.

[cartoonhero29]

it was at celebration station, 6th grade band feild trip, and my friends were playing on light and i thought they were the coolest thing ever. So i decided i wanted to be like them and it looked cool so couple years later at christmas i had a big wad of cash so i decided to get a ps2 and ddr, ended up getting me in a huge debt with parents, but now im in high school lovin every minute of ddr. Its still hard to look back at when i was having trouble passing D2R on standard when now im having trouble passing stuff like psmo, lol
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[meowingis4losers]

The first time I played ddr was at my cousin's house. It was SOOO much fun, so my parents bought it. The funny thing was that my brother (AA Bob) played Kick the Can on beginner and got a C. I kicked his buttocks, not anymore sadly
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[AA Bob]

[Atticus]

-When did you first start playing DDR?
Well, technically I've been playing for about a year. However back then I only played like twice then never played again until about 5 months ago. Since then I've been playing almost everyday.

-What got you to start playing?
Curiosity really, I saw some people doing heavy and I was in awe. So me and a friend tried it and we could barely pass beginner. Unfortunetly that arcade is 2 hours so that's why I didn't play for the 7 months. Then we got a machine here in town and I figured I'd give it another go.

-What made you keep playing?
The want to be as good as the people who are playing heavy. PLus the fact that it's really the only kind workout I have time for, so I can keep my slim figure.
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[mthegreatone]

my story is that i happened to see other ppl playing ddr at a fry's electronics. i thought it was pretty cool what they were doing. i wanted to be able to play at home, but i didn't want to have to pay anything to play. i did a lot of my own searching and happened to find the stepmania/DWI sites that provided the DDR experience at home. at the time, i was stuck with only the keyboard to play because my parents didn't want to buy me a dance mat. years went by that i completely gave up trying to get into ddr (playing with the keyboard is frick boring). here's the funny part of my story. i'm now into my third year of college, but during summer vacation my younger cousins needed to stay at my house for a few days while their parents were away. one of my younger cousins told me that her friends were into DDR so while the time they were there i bought a crappy $40 dance mat and ultramix just for the hell of it. it turned out that i really enjoyed playing the game with the dance mat. ever since then though, i've been having to return various dance mats due to wearing out easily on standard difficulties. right now my DDR-ing is on hiatus until i can find a suitable metal dance mat (and no, a CF is not an option; they're too expensive).

even though DDR is on hiatus for me right now, i'm still interested in it because it is a great workout for me and i am striving to do well in every single song possible.

[ddr_master0602]

the first time i saw ddr was when i was about 13 years old(im now 17). i saw two guys playing on heavy, and right then i knew that i would be just as good as them one day. so one day i got a ddr konmix for the playstation and i got one of those POS pads from mad cats and i started playing and i started on light not begenner. but before i knew it i was on standard and i went to the arcade and played on standard and the other people were playing on heavy, and i was getting A's and AA's on the standard and i was like ill try heavy(at the arcade) and i watched other people play "cowgirl" on heavy a bunch of times so i tryed it on heavy and i passed it with a "B" i was so happy. then i started to get better at other songs, and what i would do is i would play hard songs at home on heavy and not do so well but when i get to the arcade something just comes over me and i like the attention when a lot of people crowed around and watch, but when people do that i just get a big burst of energy and do great on the songs on heavy and i guess that how i got started, there is a lot more to it but i paraphrased it.
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"compare your lives to mine then kill yourselves"
- bender (from futurama)