I am sure all of you are aware of the man below:
I am sure you remember this movie:
And this one:
But have you ever seen this guy?
or what about these guys?
Or what about this nut?
As you can tell all these videos have one thing in common, people with a love of dance in their hearts. I am sure some of you have heard of Dance Dance Revolution before, but some of you may not. So let me explain with the help of Wikipedia.
Dance Dance Revolution (abbreviated DDR), previously known as Dancing Stage in PAL territories until the announcement of Dance Dance Revolution X, a long-standing music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, Dance Dance Revolution is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance genre in video games. Players stand on a "dance platform" or stage and hit colored arrows laid out in a cross with their feet to musical and visual cues. Players are judged by how well they time their dance to the patterns presented to them and are allowed to choose more music to play to if they receive a passing score.
The core gameplay involves the player moving his or her feet to a set pattern, stepping in time to the general rhythm or beat of a song. Arrows are divided into 1/4 notes (base red notes), 1/8 notes (blue ones with a shorter gap than regular notes), and so on, up to about 1/32 notes. During normal gameplay, arrows scroll upwards from the bottom of the screen and pass over stationary, transparent arrows near the top (referred to as the "guide arrows" or "receptors"). When the scrolling arrows overlap the stationary ones, the player must step on the corresponding arrows on the dance platform. Longer green and yellow arrows referred to as "freeze arrows" must be held down for their entire length for them to count. Successfully hitting the arrows in time with the music fills the "Dance Gauge", or life bar, while failure to do so drains it. If the Dance Gauge is fully depleted during gameplay, the player fails the song, usually resulting in a game over. Otherwise, the player is taken to the Results Screen, which rates the player's performance with a letter grade and a numerical score, among other statistics. The player may then be given a chance to play again, depending on the settings of the particular machine (the limit is usually 3-5 songs per game). On some DDR games, there is an option to use two pads at once, making it harder to play but increasing the number of moves to incorporate into songs.
So you got that, right? Good, now I can begin to tell the tale of two Gentlemen with a song in their hearts and flames on their feet.
As we all entered Tenpin it was immediately noticeable that the place had undergone something of a revamp. But the main thing that caught my eye was the banging music and flashing lights of a new Dance Dance Revolution arcade game that had been installed. I turned towards Mr Shaw and hinted that he should have a go later on, but he immediately crushed my dreams with a solitary two fingered salute. With my dreams crushed and my hopes hanging by a solitary thread My Shaw relighted that fire in me with this statement,
"Wouldn't it be great if we could get someone to do it though?"
To be honest my hopes weren't high but we can all dream.
As we all changed into our stylish bowling footwear Mr Richards had already changed and was ordering his first beer of the day (a man after my own heart). We all soon followed his lead and I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a pint of Guinness which Mr Richards had already ordered for me.
As we all took our beers and entered our names into the computer I noticed one of the Gentlemen was missing. I did a quick head count:
Me: CHECK
Mr Shaw: CHECK
Mr Higgins: CHECK
Mr Richards: CHECK
Mr Roberts: CHECK
Mr Politanski: CHECK
Mr Sloan: CHECK
Mr Waryszak: CHECK
Mr Radeck: CHECK
Mr Smith: CHECK
What the hell was going on? Who was missing?
Then it hit me. Like a silent fart it overwhelmed my senses. The stench of fear was so strong it could only mean one thing. Mr Hollis has once again chickened out. I immediately whipped out my mobile and phoned him. It went straight to voicemail. His phone was either off or he couldn't get a signal. Maybe he was in a tunnel rescuing victims from some disaster. I imagined him dragging bodies through raging fires with no thought for his own safety. I pictured him arguing with police/firemen as they told him it was hopeless as he once again ran into the blazing inferno to rescue another baby. But lets be honest HE HAD ONCE AGAIN SHIT HIMSELF AND NOT TURNED UP. The chicken is strong in you Mr Hollis.
I am going completely off topic. Mr KFC, I mean Mr Hollis has distracted me long enough. I will waste no more time on this little boy.
I will continue my original blog here.
Several games of bowling had passed and many beers/whiskeys (I only mention whiskey for Mr Shaws benefit. He's not common like the rest of us) had been sunk. I found myself needing a toilet break. Its a lonely walk from the alley to the toilet but it was one I needed to make.
As I approached the toilets I saw Mr Shaw, Mr Roberts and Mr Smith on their way back from the latrines. This was my chance. I looked at Mr Shaw and pointed towards Dance Dance Revolution. His face lit up as as he realised what I meant. I screamed
"Barry, Stuart you have got to go on this"
Mr Shaw chimed in with this statement
"Go on. It will be a right laugh and we will pay"
Then it happened. These two upstanding gentlemen took up the challenge. My jaw dropped, I looked at Mr Shaw and the look of glee on his face reminded me of Christmas morning.
As we heard the money drop my heart pounded and my blood raced.
Gentlemen I present you with the greatest gift known to man.
