DanceDanceRevolution XX - THE END - FINAL PHASE: THANK YOU FOR PLAYING. (2023/02/25)

Yeah, I always thought that if it was going to be about disasters then Kobe Evolved would have been one of the first ones.

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Nothing but helicopter samples and people shouting "Kobe" while throwing their paper balls into trashcans.

...please play COVID, we worked hard on it. 😭

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Hey so there's lots of teasing in this thread and a little bit of flaming and I am sort of against internet mobs and more for like, calm rational explanations of why things are problems so I'm going to attempt that here.

This tribute, well-meaning though it may be, does things that ostensibly make light of the COVID-19 pandemic vs. standing in solidarity with those who have suffered from it. Calling a song COVID is not effective and is also a bit flippant. Making the difficulty "19" almost seems to be done in humor. The visual language you used for your poster looks like something that could be advertising jockstrap night at the local gay bar.

There are a few other things, but what this comes down to is tone. Tonally this is not reading as nor is it hitting people as being sensitive. It doesn't seem to take it seriously. It also comes down to impact vs. intent. You have to consider how these things hit the people who have never seen them before for the first time, vs. how it looks to you as you work on it day in and day out. The final product is different to us than it is to you, because you've been swimming in it since you started production.

This looks like "YEAH COVID!" and not "Oof, Covid "

Also: intent is still noble and good, even if you miss the mark sometimes. None of this means you're a bad person, it just means you made an oopsie, which is like, fine. It happens to everyone.

Evan articulated everything I wanted to say about this much better than I actually did last night. I know you all meant well with this tribute and I can tell it's a labor of love, but I couldn't help but have the knee-jerk reaction that I did to the actual song due to the samples that make the tone of the song much darker than I think it was intended to.

@Irxevan

That's the fairest criticism anyone wrote about the song. So I thank you for taking the time to write that. We'll see what we can do to get the right message across in the future.

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Reactions in here reek of cancel culture and overly PC culture. They put hard work into this song and file, it's made with good intent, they are not taking the pandemic lightly.

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lrxevan very nicely communicated how I feel about it. Perhaps it was done with good intentions, but it doesn't come across that way. Throwing around words like cancel culture and overly PC culture deflects from what people are saying. I don't see any comments here that attempted to cancel or silence anyone. I think people just found this insensitive. I can appreciate all of the effort that has gone into this project, it's a huge project that people worked hard on. No one has been cancelled. Perhaps people have been a little snarky, that's fine to say. But, I think it is valid feedback.

Anyway, at this point, the feedback has been stated and there's probably not much more discussion to be had. I apologize for being snarky about it, it isn't the best way to communicate, but understand there is genuine feedback here being told. I haven't played DDR XX, but from what I've seen a lot of effort has been going into it and it looks pretty good. No cancellations here.

You see, I like constructive feedback like what Irxevan wrote because then we can think about how we can work on things differently in the future if need be. To tell you the truth, I don't feel like anyone in the thread acted like the announcement was the worst thing in the world or attempted to cancel anything or anybody. The other comments, snarky they may be, aren't unwarranted, and we're not going to sit here and pretend they were never written. It definitely helps, however, when everyone takes a moment to calm down and write about what exactly it is they felt and what could have been done differently, and we're willing to learn from each of you as much as you're willing to take the time to do that for us.

Thank you to everyone who supported the project thus far. We're always proud to represent Zenius and the DDR community!

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I was kind of avoiding downloading this for the reasons stated above, but I tried it anyway, and I'd like to discuss the song itself.

Guys, it was genuinely triggering. Incredibly hard to play through. The beginning with the news clips? Felt like I was reliving the start of the outbreak when I had to evacuate campus and all of the chaos that came with things shutting down. That's just my personal experience with COVID, but hearing those clips just brought it directly to the forefront of my mind. The rest of the song was fine, and pretty cool honestly, but the beginning really ruined it for me.

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Dully noted. That's very distressing to hear; I'm sorry that you went through that while listening to the song. Perhaps a content warning should be in order for the future.

I'd also like to point out, partially in response to all other feedback, that there are two tribute songs in this event. If you disliked COVID, I would recommend checking out "we" as well, as it carries a significantly different tone.

Hey look, I'm glad that you guys are taking a second look at this song. But I think this discussion should be had out in the open and not through a middleman. If the team isn't interested in removing the news clippings or making any changes, that's fine.

However, I'd like you guys to reflect on what the point of a tribute song should be. A tribute song shouldn't summarize a crisis, especially not an ongoing one. Would you make a 9/11 tribute song that starts with radio or tv clippings from when the towers came down? No! Of course not! And I struggle to understand why something like this is any different.

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Okay so I played the song in question and I don't think It's disrespectful In any way. It's not like the bg video is showing anyone suffering/dying of the virus or the song making fun of the pandemic (It even says "Stay Safe" at the end.) It just shows random news footage covering the pandemic. That's It.

On another note, I think this song Is very well made and very catchy for a boss song, and I usually don't like boss songs. Thanks for making these free simfiles for the community to enjoy. Keep up the good work!

And if you had read my first post instead of talking past me you'd understand why my issue was with the news clips and only the news clips.

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Just wanted to say that I liked both the song and the charts a lot. Especially the DSP chart is really fun on pad (and I can actually pass it).

Keep up the good work.

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I would formally like to apologize to those people who were offended or jarred by the recent DDR XX update.

We really meant no harm and we didn’t mean to come off as insensitive. We just wanted to create some kind of event that encourages DDR and StepMania players to stay at home and play songs from our project, comparing scores on our server, and creating a little friendly competition to help get through this difficult time where we can’t be out doing so in the arcades. We also just wanted it to end with a lasting message that this pandemic shouldn’t be taken lightly, and to remind everyone to stay safe and remember those who have passed due to the virus.

We also do understand why exactly you all found this to be offensive or tone-deaf. Some of us haven’t been affected by this epidemic as directly or as deeply as some of you, and we failed to keep that into consideration when creating this song and chart.

The team is currently discussing our plan of action to address these concerns to the best of our abilities, starting off with small changes and working our way from there. Please bear with us and be patient. Also, please try to understand that as artists it can be difficult to change or take away aspects from something that you’ve put a lot of time and care into creating.

With all of this in mind, I would like to apologize again on behalf of the DDR XX team, and we hope this situation didn’t discourage you all from continuing to play our content in the present or in the future. We really want to make a project for all of you guys in the community to enjoy.

Thank you.

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Main post updated.

Update 16 has been released! Check the main post for the download link.

This update contains:
Brain Power (Ver. Shufflin') / Remixed by Akira Sora - 3/9/14/16 - 9/14/16
Gayatri / leeium - 1/5/8/13 - 5/8/13
marble / DJ Vortivask - 4/6/8/12 - 6/9/12
MINDBREAK / xRGTMx - 4/10/13/16 - 10/14/17
POSSESSION (Wavelength Remix) / Wavelengthλ - 7/10/14/17 - 11/15/17
PSYCHE PLANET-SYNTH1 / funkyzukin - 5/9/11/15 - 9/11/15

Some important fixes were also made. Please read the following patch notes.

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Seriously, at least give marble a listen. It's pretty damn great.

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Main post updated.

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Note on the charts: The first 16 measures are intentionally left blank, so enjoy the spectacular video that is the treasure created by silverdragon754! The next 16 measures are borrowed from Your Angel's respective official charts.

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