Given the nature of DDR, the majority of research for the paper will be web based. To this end here is a list of relevant sites with a brief description of how useful they were.
This site was mainly based around the retail of DDR equipment for domestic use. It is useful in that it sold the full range, past and present of DDR titles and thus gave a sense of how long the game has been out for and the various style changes over time.
http://www.ddrgame.com/
The wikipedia entry for DDR was useful in giving a god general overview of the game and where it is played. It also gave a good account of the actual play process.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Dance_Revolution
This is a games spot review of the playstation 2 release of DDR. It was useful for seeing how the game was affected by being moved to a different platform.
http://au.gamespot.com/ps/puzzle/dancedancerevolution/
This is a u tube clip of a DDR competition (it actually isn’t DDR but another arcade game very similar to it). This was useful to actually see what goes on with DDR at a larger level than just an arcade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIt-sv6zQZY
This site gives a fairly in-depth and technical over of the various arcade version of DDR that have been released. This was good for getting an idea of what goes into the technical side of the arcade DDR.
http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=4433
Sunday, June 3, 2007
A DDR website analysis
The website used in this analysis was http://www.ddrfreak.com/
This website is a good example of the kinds of DDR sites that can be found. Overall it is one of the better ones that has been used during the research of this assignment. The site has a forum, information on machine locations as well as a large database with songs that can be downloaded for use on computer or just for listening purposes.
The community based part of the website is large, with a very high number of posts and topics showing a wide range of people. The posters range from hardcore players who have been playing for a long time and discuss things like best scores and technique, to beginners asking about machine locations, events and prices for buying DDR equipment. From the forums the most interesting section was the general discussions thread. Here there were discussions on not only the playing side of the game but also more worldly subjects, such as the death of a distributor who was part of the early distribution of DDR machines in the US. This part of the website was helpful in showing the kinds of issue that online DDR community was concerned with.
The media section of the site had some interesting features such as a collection of video footage of DDR tournaments and demonstrations. There is also a radio feature which plays songs specific to the DDR game. This media section is useful as an example of how people can have very tangible identity in the community through videos, pics etc. These kinds of features allow exceptional players to make a name for themselves amongst other players.
The most interesting section of the website was the help and info section. Here people can find information such as song authors, changes made to songs and reviews of songs. This is good for the authors of the songs as it allows the songs to retain their identity and thus encourages players to look up songs by the same author and so shows how fan bases for certain song style can be formed.
This website is a good example of the kinds of DDR sites that can be found. Overall it is one of the better ones that has been used during the research of this assignment. The site has a forum, information on machine locations as well as a large database with songs that can be downloaded for use on computer or just for listening purposes.
The community based part of the website is large, with a very high number of posts and topics showing a wide range of people. The posters range from hardcore players who have been playing for a long time and discuss things like best scores and technique, to beginners asking about machine locations, events and prices for buying DDR equipment. From the forums the most interesting section was the general discussions thread. Here there were discussions on not only the playing side of the game but also more worldly subjects, such as the death of a distributor who was part of the early distribution of DDR machines in the US. This part of the website was helpful in showing the kinds of issue that online DDR community was concerned with.
The media section of the site had some interesting features such as a collection of video footage of DDR tournaments and demonstrations. There is also a radio feature which plays songs specific to the DDR game. This media section is useful as an example of how people can have very tangible identity in the community through videos, pics etc. These kinds of features allow exceptional players to make a name for themselves amongst other players.
The most interesting section of the website was the help and info section. Here people can find information such as song authors, changes made to songs and reviews of songs. This is good for the authors of the songs as it allows the songs to retain their identity and thus encourages players to look up songs by the same author and so shows how fan bases for certain song style can be formed.
DDR Overview: A description of the subculture
Dance dance revolution is a music based arcade game designed in the same style as sing star and guitar hero. When playing DDR the player stands on a dance mat with four arrows on it. A screen in front of them shows a display with arrows moving up the screen. When an arrow reaches the top of the screen the player must place their foot on the corresponding arrow or lose a portion of a life bar. When the life bar is empty the player loses the game. The arrows are displayed to match various songs that the user selects from a play list. The arrow sequences are designed so as to give the player the illusion of dancing.
The kind of music that is played in DDR is primarily techno or Jap-pop, although there are a large number of other songs that would not fit under these categories. Despite the diverse style of songs there is a definite binding theme to them, with all the songs being upbeat and light in nature.
It is primarily the scene and origin of DDR that gives the subculture its identity. Originally made in Japan and later exported overseas, the game has a bit of a stigma of only being played by Asian people. In truth though the game is played by a large range of people from all backgrounds, although the age group seems to range between the ages of about 10 and no older than 30.
Being based around an arcade game, the subcultures scene is of course the arcades. With the DDR machines allowing two players at once and in some cases it being free for the second person to play, thus the machine forms a focus for the DDR players which encourages social interaction through the machine. Because of this catalyst for interaction DDR communities can form based around the frequency that people visit any given arcade. With the presence of informal chat such as MSN, newsgroups and forums, players can easily keep in contact and find out if/when there are gatherings.
While the focus of DDR is usually on the person on the mat and how well they can do on any given song, the music is always there and is essential. Because of this and the fact that there is a binding theme to the music, DDR players either already have or develop a taste for the kinds of music played on the machines. This music is by no means ill-made arcade tunes, with songs from DJs such as “DJ TaQ” being part of the play lists, although the songs are more mainstream in Japan.
Overall the subculture of DDR encompasses a wide range of people, although it has many preconceptions made about it. It is a fairly unique musical subculture as it is not based around any one band or philosophy. The actions of people part of the DDR subculture are not influenced by their being part of it. It is because of this that the subculture is so diverse.
The kind of music that is played in DDR is primarily techno or Jap-pop, although there are a large number of other songs that would not fit under these categories. Despite the diverse style of songs there is a definite binding theme to them, with all the songs being upbeat and light in nature.
It is primarily the scene and origin of DDR that gives the subculture its identity. Originally made in Japan and later exported overseas, the game has a bit of a stigma of only being played by Asian people. In truth though the game is played by a large range of people from all backgrounds, although the age group seems to range between the ages of about 10 and no older than 30.
Being based around an arcade game, the subcultures scene is of course the arcades. With the DDR machines allowing two players at once and in some cases it being free for the second person to play, thus the machine forms a focus for the DDR players which encourages social interaction through the machine. Because of this catalyst for interaction DDR communities can form based around the frequency that people visit any given arcade. With the presence of informal chat such as MSN, newsgroups and forums, players can easily keep in contact and find out if/when there are gatherings.
While the focus of DDR is usually on the person on the mat and how well they can do on any given song, the music is always there and is essential. Because of this and the fact that there is a binding theme to the music, DDR players either already have or develop a taste for the kinds of music played on the machines. This music is by no means ill-made arcade tunes, with songs from DJs such as “DJ TaQ” being part of the play lists, although the songs are more mainstream in Japan.
Overall the subculture of DDR encompasses a wide range of people, although it has many preconceptions made about it. It is a fairly unique musical subculture as it is not based around any one band or philosophy. The actions of people part of the DDR subculture are not influenced by their being part of it. It is because of this that the subculture is so diverse.
First Post
This is the first post for this Blog, which is concerned with the study of the DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) subculture. In this blog there will be posted accounts pretaining to this subject, which are mainkly keyed to help right the final paper for mstu2000.
Thanks for reading.
Thanks for reading.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)