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The University of Maine Recreation is holding a Dance Dance Revolution tournament. DDR is a popular dance and rhythm-based videogame that students either play or watch at E-sports located in Memorial Union.
Dance Dance Revolution took Memorial Union by storm last year like the Allies at the beaches of Normandy. Most support the DDR machine in the Union, but the opposition has its MG34s drawn and ready to fire.
Paul Stern of Campus Recreation said that the DDR tournament is going to promote dancing, physical fitness, the spirit of comradery and above all else fun.
This is the first DDR tournament UMaine has put on, but it won’t be the last, Stern said. He plans to have at least one every semester.
Stern said that few people have turned out to sign-up yet, but Stern believes there will be many onsite sign-ups. He is hoping for at least 100 people to participate.
Players can sign up online, by walking into the campus recreation office or at the door before the tournament.
Mike Gant, a three-year DDR veteran, goes to E-Sports five or six times a week to play DDR. He hopes to improve his DDR skills from the tournament. “I’m looking forward to it, the only way I can make myself get any better is through a little competition.” he said.
Gant said that he is just happy UMaine has finally put together a tournament. He started playing DDR in his native state of New York, where he would go to an all-night arcade after getting off work at Red Lobster on late nights.
Both Gant and Stern noted that DDR helps people with their physical fitness. When researching DDR, Stern realized how many people use it for exercise. “I’d do a Google search on DDR, and half my hits would be on physical fitness and changing people’s lives.” Stern said.
“I’ve used it to stay in shape cardiovascular-wise,” said Gant, who is in the army, a member of the third 172nd Mountain Infantry Division based in Brewer, Maine.
“It’s more just for fun for me,” Gant said. He said that it started out as a competition to improve his game to the best it could possibly be. Now that he is a more experienced player, he plays more for recreation rather than improving his game.
Dance Dance Revolution may not be everyone’s favorite game in the Union. In fact, it may be a lot of people’s least favorite. Naysayers can keep their critical guns loaded for the DDR machine in E-Sports, but one fact still remains: “It is the most popular game. It is the number one moneymaker,” Stern said.
The Dance Dance Revolution tournament begins at 4 p.m. Nov. 17 at E-sports. The entry fee for participants who sign up before Nov. 16 is $7, and is $10 at the door on the day of the tournament. The first 50 people to sign up will receive a free t-shirt. There will be two grand prizes at the tournament, a free night of DDRing for the winner and a friend, and first person shooter games from EB Games.
Bangor Daily News