Word, Tada. I've been struggling to try and play ITG even once a week anymore. I think my problem is that I'm not going to arcades to play anymore, and so that social aspect of bemani (for me) has disappeared. I always enjoyed meeting new faces at the arcade, but I feel financially obligated to play on the machine in my garage. Also, I'm older now and I feel like I look older. This discourages me from playing in most arcades near me because I'm beginning to feel like the creepy guy around a bunch of children.

Regarding any suggestions on how to enjoy rhythm games again, I can only offer suggestions for dance games, as I never really fell in love with any of the other bemani games as much as DDR/ITG.

-Try doubles mode. When it's been a while since I last played I usually start back up with doubles. I suck at it compared to singles, so I'm not so self-concious about my scores, and I haven't come close to mastering it. I feel like I did playing DDR Max on my PS2 back in the day. I'm flailing, doing crappy, but having a BLAST just trying to survive most songs.

-Challenges and Oni score competitions are also fun. More-so, I'm thinking of the Marathons in ITG2, but even Trick Oni or Random Nonstop could be a fun challenge/distraction.

-As I mentioned above, the social aspect is a key factor in my enjoyment of these games. Try being more active about meeting with people at arcades, or going when you're sure a crowd at least 1 other player should be there, and you will probably have a much more enjoyable time than if you play solo.

Good luck! I hope you can find your passion again.

For me, Power Play is free (at least for twenty games ).

They've got Pump Pro 2, one of my favorites.

Put two and two together and you've got one happy patron!

The "creepy old guy" aspect is not there for me (yet), but the social aspect has dwindled with people owning their own machines and forming their own cliques, leaving only about 4-5 people that go to ACME anymore.

I have tried this (and in the past, sometimes, with blender). It's fun for a while, but then it starts to feel like single-player DDR/ITG.

Tried this too... Like Doubles, it's fun for a while, but then it loses its novelty pretty quick.

I pretty much only exclusively went when I knew there was a good chance of people being there, since being at ACME alone with fighting game players making it impossible to hear the music, people who ask stupid questions ("How long have you been playing?" "Are you a real dancer?"), and a non-trivial chance of serious injury (I haven't slipped on the basketballs from that basketball game, but it's only a matter of time before it happens) or death (There's been at least one incident of a murder near ACME) is quite depressing.

Money is hardly the issue here; even if I had a machine in my own apartment I doubt I'd be playing much.

It could be just that I need some time off from rhythm games, as I have done several times in the past. Still, I often wonder how some people can have the same hobby/play the same sport for their entire lives.

I keep the fire going by simply just playing with others (like Allan, Moses, Travis, James, and many others that come by). Also, for me, I like the competition we have at ACME about beating each others score, or trying to beast 15's. I have many goals still to fulfill, and so that keeps me going for awhile. And since I only play dance games 1 day out of the week (because of my busy schedule), I play for hours to try and accomplish something that day, before I get back to the real world. I mainly still play because I love music, and finding new songs to play that gets me pumped. In addition, it's also the social aspect - I love watching others play. Competition, goals/improving, love for music, and friends is what keeps me going.

My motivation to keep playing dance games (this doesn't work for the other music games) is exercise.  It's a form of exercise that is actually fun for me, rather than "I think I'll run on a treadmill for a while" or "I think I'll lift pointlessly heavy objects".

Also, I'm 44 years old and still play at Acme, so I don't think Suko has anything to be worried about in the age category. 

ACME's got a bit of a different atmosphere than, say, Evergreen Lanes. Then again EL has plenty of other creepy people around, so you're right, I probably shouldn't feel so weird.

@Tada: Have you tried playing through DDR Extreme no-bar? Playing the game no bar is a completely different experience. Take it from a guy who has played it both ways. Learning to do the spins, crossovers and other moves without the use of the bar is a blast. Sorry if you already play a lot no-bar, I don't remember your preferred play style.

When you put them that way, "I think I'll rhythmically stomp on square panels" is not much better.


No bar pretty much is/was my signature play style. I've passed some 12s and a few 13s no bar, as well as have done a set of all three MAXes on Extreme no bar.

I just think I need a way to de-emphasize the "competition" aspect of it in a way, since playing songs that will leave me absolutely winded by the end is not really too enjoyable, and at that point it feels more like traditional exercise (yet far less socially acceptable than running or lifting weights) than playing a game. Whenever I play songs that are a rated a single digit, I keep thinking "How the hell am I getting Excellents/Great on that?"

It is to me.  Moving to music is more fun for me than moving heavy objects or running (even with headphones).  Maybe it isn't for you.  Or maybe you aren't overweight like I am, so you don't need the additional exercise.   

Per what you said earlier, the key for me is absolutely to play for fun, which (for me specifically) means a few things:

1. Don't worry so much about score.  Part of the fun of the game for me is hearing how the rhythms sound stomped out, so I care about timing to that extent, but it SUCKS to worry about every little great.

2. Play what you want to play how you want to play it and screw everyone else.  Do I get a lot of crap for playing primarily 7s-9s?  Yes, but who cares?  I do not find stamina 11s + fun - not even the ones I can pass with consistency.  To me, it's about moving my body to rhythm and should feel more like dancing than sprinting.  (I enjoy sprinting, but I'd rather, you know, actually sprint at that rate.) 

Hopefully something in there might help you, too!  

Traditional forms of exercise actually have become pretty enjoyable to me. Sometimes I will just go outside, start running, and get lost in thought (though remain conscious enough to not get run over by a car or crash into things) and before I know it, I've ran five miles.

Maybe the issue is that playing to one's limits just eliminates the "fun" aspect. When you are struggling with every ounce of your stamina to either hold on, get Fantastics/Marvelouses, or both, you don't really "hear" the music that well and honestly, thinking about it just sounds like I'm more of a machine than human at that point.

I have fun when I forget that I want to AAA everything and that greats are bad and just do my best. Then when I get 2 or 3 greats I don't feel like a total failure. I think I do better that way anyways; when I care too much about whether or not I AAA something, I get choke greats.

ITG has never really been that much fun to me anyways, I just play it since other people play it and it is a dancing game. If I have to play ITG, I like playing fun customs. Writing charts makes ITG customs like 10x more fun, but I'm pretty lazy most of the time. IMO for ITG to be fun, USB customs need to be enabled, otherwise I'm just playing the shit people felt like putting on the machine and I can't just wake up in the morning, throw together a stupid chart, and play it later in the day (unless I'm the one maintaining the machine, but I don't think I would ever maintain an ITG machine).

I'm considering having a DDR or ITG card tournament if anyone is down. I ran one on DDR in New England when things were getting too serious and I thought we needed a break. There were cards with a bunch of ridiculous things on them (great/good attack, holding hands, mirror mirror, one foot, beginner stealth, and so on) and you would pick a song and then draw a card. Third stage for each round was a preset combination of song and card. I'm pretty sure everyone who played in that tournament enjoyed the fuck out of it, plus we had a bunch of random "mystery" prizes to give out.

I always enjoy well-run DDR/ITG tournaments regardless of how I do, so for me tournament play is a good way to have fun. But I guess that doesn't work for sore losers and for people who don't like when things become competitive. I got my ass kicked by an ex-boyfriend this weekend on X2 by a single great on each song we played and I still had a fuckton of fun. Actually X2 upgrades are just fun, period.

double post but


i love you and please divorce tony and become a lesbian and gay marry me

I'll admit, "challenge" tournaments where the goal isn't straight-up "get the best step rank/grade possible" every time and you are aiming for odd requirements are still pretty fun to me.

I wish we had a "LIKE" button.

*LIKE*

Did you participate in that silly tournament we had at my place last year? That was a lot of fun because of how dumb it was. (Reading off a sheet of paper for the stepcharts = OMG Hard)

I remember having that as one of the challenges in a Challenge Mode at a "DDR Magic" tournament (at Illusionz, years ago).  Yeah, it's a lot harder than it seems it has any right to be.  A nice printout of all the arrows, and the song set on Stealth.  It can be pretty tough.  I think the song we used was only around 5-6 feet in difficulty.

If it was in the first third of the year, the answer to that is definitely "no".

And yes, I remember we had a "printed stepchart" challenge at DDR Magic, and I think also at one of the Narrows tournaments.

i stopped playing most bemani though i still play ddr once every 2 weeks for a round or two.  i mostly play pop'n and the ipad versions of jubeat and reflec beat.  nothing else is really fun anymore but that is mostly because i dont have anybody to play with.  I went to play ddr last night and played one round because everybody left after the first game :/.  at least with popn i dont have a chance of playing on the same level of anybody in the area... maybe even southern oregon altogether which is sad.  i need a community to play with!

e:post 100  

double edit:  @tadzilla:  start playing popn and we can be rivals.

I actually looked for a like button too, ahahahaha.  Not planning on divorcing Tony, but if I ever do leave him and switch teams I'll keep u in mind babe!~

In all seriousness, Tony, Daniel and I have been playing Extreme a lot here in Texas and it is SO FUN because we're the only ones who play and we're not judging each other for getting huge numbers of greats.  I freestyled to We Will Rock You, straight up threw some hands in there for no reason.  It's just a blast. 

I didn't play for a very long time, but now my rediscovery of itg (leading to a consistent 2-3x per week) has been based on considering it exercise (wearing running clothes and having dedicated shoes probably helps that perspective).
Also a few hours of ITG involving 12s will cure any bad day.

I feel everyone has piped in so I may now as well.

Everyone is different. Period. A lot of people said that the social aspect is a big factor, others have said that playing for fun as opposed to score helps take the monotony away, and still others are saying to see it as exercise.

All of these are very viable points, but the fact is that you're going to find your own reason to play or not realistically. 4-panel has been one of favorite video games since 2003, and rhythm games in general are definitely one of my favorite genres. Some days I push myself and break scores which makes me happy, other days I put on pants and notice that they're baggier than normal which makes me happy, and still other times I get excited because I can chill with a bunch of goofy rhythm game peeps like myself and just kick it.

But honestly, as fun as all of these games are and as much as all of us have invested countless hours into them, they ALL have one thing in common whether you use your feet, hands, or what have you..

Music.

Pure and simple, I believe that the way you enjoy any game in the short term vs. the long term is different and we may all have our short term reasons, but I can't believe that music isn't a MAJOR factor in rhythm games. Play songs you absolutely love. Discover new artists. If you get tired of the same old songs/genres, play other songs or MAKE other songs. Enjoy the music and enjoy the game. I don't think that point is talked about enough

As for the social aspect, not really to me, since there are maybe only 4-5 regulars at ACME where really the only thing in common is "we play ITG", not to mention the social implications of explaining DDR/ITG to people who don't play. Sure, most people know what DDR is, but I really do not like explaining ITG or any other rhythm game.

Scoring aspect, just... as Laura said, really takes away from the fun of the game I feel, yet unfortunately as a perfectionist it's hard for me to ignore. Playing for score is fun when you are improving significantly from month to month, but it certainly does become monotonous and even frustrating if you focus on it and just don't improve for months or years.

As for being exercise, ITG sort of feels almost more "restrictive" than other forms in a way since there is a very restrictive set of steps you have to play. Instead of running where you can just pretty much take whatever path you want, go slower for a while whenever you want, stop whenever you want, etc.

Maybe playing different music will put some enjoyment back into the game, but I think simply the concept of panel-based dance games has just really worn thin to me, as I'm not pumped at all about playing the SPERGIN 2 pack.

maybe play some other rhythm games not based on arrow stompan :V

burger smashing is still cool right?

Other music games have even less of the social aspect, are even less generally socially acceptable, are not exercise, and seem even more frustrating when you stagnate. I have not advanced past 35s or so on Pop 'n for the last several years. :S