By Dana Williams
The DDR craze found its way inside of Malverne Public Library last Wednesday at the library¹s Dance Dance Revolution summer event for teens.
With the help of DJ Chris Doyle from 2 X-treme Entertainment, kids were able to compete against each other in an eight round contest in order to be crowned the DDR champ. The object of DDR is to follow the arrows and hit the dance pad to increase your points, but teens at the library showed that there is much more to the game. It seems that it takes patience, and a good sense of timing to excel at DDR and defeat your opponent-two skills that many kids said can only be achieved with practice.
³I have had this game for over a year now and it¹s a lot of fun,² said 14-year-old Malverne resident Steven Gee, who earned the DDR champ title at the library event. ³You have to be really focused on the arrows because they can become confusing, but I think you keep getting better if you keep playing it.²
Librarians on Long Island are now using DDR¹s popularity as a way to get teenagers to visit the library during their summer breaks. Malverne Public Library included the DRR activity for teens, along with two movie nights, a chess workshop and an illusion show, among others, as a part of the activities in its Teen Summer Program.
³DDR and the electronic game craze has really hit the libraries, and we feel that it¹s not just a social event because it also encourages coordination and thinking,² explained Cathy Wellikoff, the young adult librarian at the library. ³I think its great to offer teens something like this that they can attend while they are here getting their summer reading books, and the teens really do enjoy it.²
Doyle said that since school ended, 2 X-treme Entertainment has been receiving non-stop requests from libraries on the Island for its DDR service. ³I¹ve hosted this DDR entertainment service at about 50 different libraries in Nassau and Suffolk Counties so far this summer,² he said, while he was leaving to host a DDR event at North Babylon Public Library. ³The libraries can¹t get the teens to come to the library, and that¹s the problem. Now, the libraries are getting a big turnout with teens because they are offering them DDR, and other fun activities for them to enjoy.²
The DDR mania has also spread across the Internet with fans creating Web sites such as DDRFreak.com, which provide gamers with DDR game codes, news, step charts and forums. One resurfacing question that parents and other adults at the library asked is why is this video game so appealing to young people? The answers from those at the DDR event varied, but the common consensus was that the music video game offers young gamers something different.
³DDR gives you a chance to show who you are because dancing really is about expressing who you are,² Gee said, adding that he broke his DDR dance pads at home because he played the game too much. ³It¹s a different kind of video game and it¹s fun and you don¹t have to be a good dancer to be good at this game.²
Malverne resident Patrick Conner, 12, said that DDR¹s interactivity is what makes it successful. ³A lot of people don¹t like regular video game controllers, so DDR gets alot of people into the game with its platform,² Conner said, adding that he is waiting for the game to be available on the Nintendo Wii video game console. ³It¹s more fun when its a group of people playing and this game gets you involved because you have to move around and it¹s just alot of fun.²
Commack resident Michelle Cidorac, 12, said that she believes kids enjoy DDR because its ³difficult and fun at the same time.² That combination, she said, keeps gamers excited about playing.
Doyle said, however, that he believes DDR¹s popularity stems from a number of different reasons. ³This game is beyond popular and I still haven¹t figured out the exact reason why,² Doyle said. ³Maybe because it¹s a fun way for kids to exercise, or if you don¹t know how to dance, you think you can because you can figure out the next move in this game. I don¹t know why but the kids love it.²
Wellikoff said that officials at Malverne Public Library plan to have more activities that help teens to learn and have fun. The library will continue its Teen Summer Program by showing Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker at its Movie Night on July 30.
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