If you’re ever in the University Union, perhaps waiting for your latte at Julian’s or heading into your bowling class, you might have seen the “Dance Dance Revolution” machine and the stylings of the Poly Bemani club. With flying footwork and unconventional moves, the members have mastered the game in a style all their own.
Among the flashing lights in the arcade located on the ground floor of the UU, the members of the club practice their skills. Games can get pretty intense when members play on both sets of footpads in a double game, or when they face off in a match. The machine is equipped with fans on either side to keep players cool during “DDR” games, which can turn into intense workouts after a couple fast-paced songs on expert level. The club officially meets once a week, and members practice throughout the week.
“We take pride in being good at our games,” said club president Eric Fong, a software engineering sophomore.
Fong said Poly Bemani is not your typical gaming club. He emphasized that the club is a music and rhythm gaming club, which sets it apart from other video game clubs on campus. Poly Bemani members specialize and excel at “DDR,” “Guitar Hero” and the new “Rock Band” games, which involve music, dance, rhythm and movement skills. “Dance Dance Revolution” scores by gauging the player’s synchronization of stepping on the left, right, up and down footpads with the arrow cues on the screen to the beat of a song. The game then categorizes the player’s steps as perfect, great, good, boo or missed.
While Bemanis rarely miss steps, don’t be intimidated. Fong said the club is open to new members and is always willing to challenge new contenders in the UU.
“You don’t have to be good at any of these games to be a member of our club,” Fong said. “Just come in and play, even if you’ve never played before.”
Fong said the game can turn into somewhat of a spectacle at times, drawing crowds of curious watchers, which a lot of players find intimidating. Fong, however, encourages people to just go for it.
“You’ve gotta just get on the pads and try it out,” he said.
Cal Poly’s “DDR” machine is one of two local machines; the other can be found in the Pismo Arcade, located at 175 Pomeroy Ave. in Pismo Beach. Playing on campus has been more economical for the club, according to club secretary William MacCabe. While it costs just 50 cents for three songs in the UU, the arcade in Pismo charges 75 cents. Most other machines charge $1.00 per round.
“Dance Dance Revolution” was first introduced into Japanese arcades in 1998, but didn’t really pick up in the U.S. until 2000, according to the club. Popularity of the game has since died down, but Poly Bemani keeps it alive on the Central Coast.
MacCabe, a math sophomore, said there is another dance gaming machine located in Paso Robles called In the Groove, which is the American version of “DDR” released by Roxor Games. However, the members prefer the original version.
Fong said most of the members practice in the UU rather than using the mats for the at-home versions, mostly because of noise. With the stomping and music involved in their games, Fong said many neighbors would be unhappy if they were playing “Rock Band” at 3 a.m.
The club was created at Cal Poly seven years ago and is named after Bemani, the music video game division of Konami, the developer and publisher of the “Dance Dance Revolution” series.
The club also hosts an open “DDR” tournament every quarter. Each tournament is different, Fong said, with a new twist each time. In previous tournaments, they have seeded competitors by playing the same song for the first round. In other tournaments, they’ve split into winner and loser brackets, and paired losing players with newcomers to help the newbies increase their skill level. The tournaments are held on a Saturday toward the end of the quarter.
MacCabe said the game takes a lot of practice, just like any other game or sport.
The members also incorporate freestyling – their own special moves – into the game. Players have been known to switch sides mid-song, called a crossover. Single players can also incorporate slides, spins, slidesteps, gorilla jumps, drops and knee drops into their game.
“Sometimes we just get on the pads and mess around,” Fong said.
Fong said that a spin is a difficult move to do, and you can use slides to avoid spins.
“I would not recommend doing spins unless you don’t care about the score or you know the song inside and out,” he said.
The club is not all competition, though. Members are generous and courteous during games, and often, one member will change dollar bills for quarters in the arcade and pay for the entire club’s matches that day.
The club meets at 1 p.m. Wednesdays next to the “DDR” machine and plays “Rock Band” in the Bioresource and Agriculture Engineering building near the entrance with the glass front from 5 to 10 p.m. on Fridays, when there are no classes scheduled in the building.
So the next time you pass through the UU and can no longer resist the temptation to rock the “DDR” machine, or if you just want to show off your stellar skills and happen to have a couple quarters in your pocket, challenge the Poly Bemani members to a match.
“You know where to find us. We’re here all the time,” Fong said.