Fifty pounds lighter, an Ohio University sophomore has Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) to credit for his weight loss.
Now, vice president of the DDR organization on campus, Saker Alexander said when he discovered the game five years ago at a Japanese anime convention, he had no idea it would change his life. What started as a cure for boredom -playing the game for one hour each day -kept him in shape. Although Alexander never intended to lose weight, he hopes his story can benefit others who are looking for a fun way to exercise.
The interactive dance game, with more than 60 songs, keeps players moving as they try to synchronize their moves with the ones appearing on the screen. By using a dance pad, players' steps are sensed for accuracy. The game has various levels of difficulty. Another feature of the game is a workout mode that tracks the total calories burned during the session.
While attending a DDR tournament at the Ping Center this past spring, Alexander and a few friends decided that the game needed to be taken to a new level and began organizing an official DDR club on campus.
We realized if we started this club
people would catch onto the trend and be able to meet others with a similar interest for the game said OU junior and DDR club president Stephanie Williams.
The club met for the first time during Fall Quarter and has recruited 80 members since then. Because the club has been unable to receive university financial support, its officers bring their own PlayStations, games and dance pads to the meetings.
I am not asking for a lot of money but I would like new equipment that is specifically for the group
Williams said. According to www.amazon.com, the newest DDR Extreme game and two wireless dance pads would cost $119.97.
The meetings remain very intimate and laid back, even with the intense and sometimes fumbling dance participation. Members chat with each other and watch others play while they wait their turns. But there is no need to be intimidated, Alexander said.
Everyone is at a different dance level
and whether you have played the game a million times or not at all
there is someone in the group who we can match you up against
he said.
But he said with practice, people gradually increase their skill for the dance game.
It took years of practicing to get where I am today
Alexander said, while at the DDR meeting Thursday. He demonstrated his skill by playing the hardest dance on the game.
Williams recalls her first time playing the game in a New Jersey arcade. She had the game on the beginner mode and failed; she was embarrassed because a group of amazing players watched her lose. But she kept practicing and has improved. She plays once a day for at least an hour, either competing with friends or working out.
Senior Luke Doerning said he started attending the meetings because DDR is one of the few video games that gets his whole body moving and makes him energized.
This game may become the newest workout craze on campus because it is more fun than running on a treadmill or exercising at Ping
Williams said.
Williams wants to provide a place for students to hang out, to have fun and to be active. And she hopes to see DDR change the lives of other students, just as it did for Alexander.
The DDR club meets every Thursday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Bentley Hall, room 11.
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