Best and worst type of DDR Arcade players

So I'm curious, what kind of players do you guys take kindly to and what kind of players get on your nerves? I'm saying this because growing up in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas you had a mix of players from around the state. Some were nice, others were elitists who took the fun out of playing at the arcade and some were just common.

Honestly, I tend to like the common player. When I say common I'm really talking about those who play at home and just enjoy playing for fun. They seem reasonable and easy to join in with. That may be because I'm a common player myself and don't necessarily aim to be perfect when I play but instead just have a good time.

There is also the mentor player. (The guy who is ridiculously good but allows you work in with him/her. Even offering little tips along the way.)

The worst to me are what I consider the elitists.. No, I don't mean the players who take DDR seriously and get really good. I mean the guys who sit around the arcade and bully those whom they see as either non serious or not as good. This hasn't been a problem for a long time but I remember going to the arcade and having a good time when suddenly a group of elitists essentially took over the machine. Initially I didn't mind until I went up to play, they would consistently criticize and taunt common players for the songs they picked, talk down to people and pick on some of the younger kids who wanted to play. Even going so far as pressing the select button if they felt they were taking too long. I even remember one guy yelling at a kid over the fact that he liked playing certain songs more than once (I think he was playing Sakura a lot...either that or Bag.) and honestly it not only took the fun out of everything but ruined the experience. Ironically enough the arcade this use to happen at is no longer open. I think the part that bothered me was that the guys doing this were in their 20's and they were mostly picking on teenagers.

The other type of players I dislike are the ones who are new to the game....but rather than learn and practice start thrashing the machine or mocking the good players. This is still a bit of problem and the reason why a lot of arcades are broken.

Today, I think most players are fairly common and I don't really see this happening as much as most of the players now are my age (26) and older.

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doubles players when people are waiting

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Anyone that complains about this is who I consider some of the worst.

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leave us be, dammit.

I never actually ran into any elitist players, although that is perhaps because I didn't start playing in the arcade until long after the scene died off. The only kinds of players that did really annoy me so far were these:

1) Players who would jump on next to me in the middle of a song
2) Players who refuse to take turns picking songs
3) Players who sit or stand too close to the pads, that I end up worrying about possibly kicking them during gameplay
4) New players who do not understand that I cannot just stop playing in the middle of a set and refuse to wait for the five or so minutes I need to finish the set, even when I tell them I'll give the machine to them after that time

And then there was this one dude who constantly got in my play area while we were playing together and hit me in the leg a few times... that wasn't fun. This is when I was about to start a round on Double and he jumped out of nowhere and told me to play with him, forcing me to do Versus. He picked all the songs without asking me, either. Did I tell you I paid for his game, too? Yeah, I've never met someone quite like him before.

I enjoy the company of just about every other player, whether they're more or less skilled than myself. Yes, players that understand that we're all here to have fun and respect each other as players and individuals. Players who would get water for other players while waiting. Players who would watch for others' personal belongings. Players who would make sure little kids stay away from the pads while others are playing on them.

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I've never met an elitist player. Most of the players I've met are either friendly elites, or newbies who have no idea how to not step on the center panel. Mostly the latter. I'll be honest, I've never really met any really toxic players. I'm sure I'm the only one who actually plays my local DDR machine, though.

I guess I got lucky with all my sessions. Back in the pre-Extreme days, when I played the most extensively, people who were around to play were generally polite - they knew when to wait for their turns, and cheered when others got full combos while aww’ing if they messed up. Generally good atmosphere.

Players who never let you pick a friggen song.

man guys are jerks with the no picks
we usual split em or just let the person pick the songs.

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If you pick the same song twice in a set, and it's not because you're aiming for a combo/score, or if it's by accident, you're getting kicked in the head.

I've had to deal with people hogging the machine and playing the same song 12 times in a row. A 2 on Basic. Playing Doubles accidentally for two players. Getting a D every time. It hurts the man.

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There were players that put some kind of sticky material on the panels, like chewing gum for better grip, which was very annoying for me. It also makes the pads look messy.

And there were some asshole players that kicks/uses his foot to press the menu buttons...

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I don't care if you're waiting, I want to play alone. It's my goddamn money and I want to play the songs I want to play. People who tut at those who play Doubles in an arcade are assholes, too.

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I dunno what qualifies as elitist, the worst I've met were some cocky jackasses here and there but they're never actually that good, more like ITG 9-10 or DDR low Heavy players. This was back in 2011, mind you. The best players and learning players have always been cool to me, and thankfully by now its hard to find any dance game elitists.

The worst players I see sometimes are impatient, heckling couples, but this seems to be more of a PIU thing with the party in question always containing an obnoxious Asian or wannabe Asian chick and her loser boyfriend screaming "YOU SUCK!! I WANNA PLAY!! THESE SONGS SUCK I WANNA HEAR SOME *insert K-Pop artist here*" (the non-Asian (I'm Asian, BTW) K-Pop fans I've encountered have also been really cool people). I usually respect the token line but last time I had to listen to that there were 9 credits already in the machine so I told them I paid all 9 and to fuck off.

I prefer to play in the privacy of my own home, or at least without a lot of other people around to watch. I'm not big on showmanship and get nervous in front of crowds, please just let me run my set and leave me alone thanks

That said, the last time I was at D&B I went to check out the Pump machine (no DDR cab sadly) and there were three high-level players just tearing it up. I don't know anything about PIU's difficulty scale but the charts were definitely close to a DDR 17 or 18, and they were barely breaking combo. I'd maybe played PIU like once before so I was super intimidated when they let me have a turn, but they turned out to be super chill. I complimented one guy on his spin game and explained that I'm more of a DDR player and they responded "Us too, actually!" They showed me how to operate the menus and activate mods and the like, politely applauding between songs. I got a 4-Great FC on a fairly easy song but it was one of the best scores I'd ever gotten on an arcade machine, and they were really cooperative as they let me take a photo. It was such an awesome experience the way they were so supportive and patient with my mid-tier dance game, and it really showed me how cool the rhythm game community can be.

I walked by later and there was a group of two people playing on one side, with one person on the front two arrows and one on the back two. I don't know who was responsible for the center pad. I tried really hard to contain my laughter

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Kicking someone for making a mistake is sort of harsh, don't you think?


I always figured an elitist is someone who harasses, belittles, or otherwise outwardly discriminates against a player or players of lower skill, basically the opposite of this:


But, then again, I've never really had the misfortune of encountering a real elitist (although I do recall a kid that said to another "You suck" during or after the latter played a little, but that was it).

Not liking people playing doubles while others are waiting is understandable since waiting time could be reduced a bit if everyone played versus, but keep in mind doubles games cost double (as long as doubles premium or joint premium isn't set), so people are honestly entitled to play the way they want when they spend money fair and square.

I personally don't mind any players that don't cause significantly troublesome disruptions, and I've been fortunate enough not to have encountered any of those (although I once saw a kid swat a player with a strap or something -- he ran off as I made a move to prevent him from interfering further -- fortunately, it didn't seem to interfere with the player's performance although he did say he felt something hit him).


Is it possible they were doing a double performance?

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^a double performance vs noobs trying to "cheat" is pretty damn obvious just by watching. That being said, thr latter is exceedingly rare these days, bc any time I see it happen either an experienced player usually ends up helping the both of them or its obvious they're just taking the piss

The worst player I've encountered just got banned.

They have severe anger issues. By that, I mean... really, really severe. He has played longer on doubles than I have yet he still doesn't know how to do basic crossovers on it, reads songs at too high of a speed (like 3x on a 250BPM song kind of speed) that he can't read at all, and best of all? He blames the machine.

To the point of punching and kicking it. A few months ago he cracked the P2 side of the plexiglass in rage but we had no proof he did it other than he's the only one to ever be THAT angry. A week or two ago the plexiglass got replaced (it takes months to receive stuff from Japan) so all was good.

It's cracked again this week. Guess who was playing it?

Good riddance.

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There was a story of another guy breaking a machine out of anger. Would be hilarious if it was the same guy.

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good riddance indeed
people that do that should be banned from all arcades.

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Man, you guys have some terrible arcade experiences. My local D&B is pretty chill outside of drunk dudebros on the weekends and the endless birthday parties. The regular players are all super friendly and we tend to let the other person pick the songs the majority of the time. It also probably has a lot to do with the fact that there's a second D&B and 2 R1's about 20 miles from the one I frequent, so most of the "better" players are pretty spread out.



Sounds like you got baby powder'd, my dude. Find whoever keeps doing that and inform them that Windex is the better option.


This. Fuck you, and your wait time. It's really shitty to judge doubles players as well. If that's how they play then that's how they play. They have just as much of a right to the machine as you.

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