Dance pad

A dance mat is a special game controllers for the control of dance games. There are various designs for different gaming platforms ( game systems, personal computers and arcade machines ).

Dance mats were known primarily by the arcade game Dance Dance Revolution ( DDR abbreviated - is marketed in Europe under the name " Dancing Stage " sold ), which was brought in 1998 by Konami on the market.

Construction

Dance mats for single players are usually divided into nine (3x3) pressure-sensitive fields, where the external fields with arrows in the appropriate directions are provided from the center. The middle panel is used as a starting position for the player, the other fields must be of the players during the game in progress touched or be entered. Some dance mats also relate the average field by means of sensors into the game. In addition, there are often a "Select" - and a "Start " field, corresponding to the respective buttons on standard gamepads and serve to control the game menus.

Use

The games for Tanzmatten follow almost all the same concept: On a screen arrows appear at the top of the screen that correspond to those on the dance mat. While music is playing, up arrows to move from the lower part of the screen to the top - these are ( the rhythm of the music) congruent with the above, the player must enter the appropriate field. Pull the arrow a "tail " being taken, the player must keep the box pressed correspondingly long. Depending on the temporal accuracy points are awarded. If too many fields are not entered correctly, the game is lost. Usual difficulty increases are increasing the steps to be performed and the occurrence of more complicated combinations.

Kinds of dance mats

Dance mats (rather dance platforms) of arcade games are made of metal and have as arrows fields that light up accordingly. It is also often a way railing available, where the player can hold.

Dance mats for home use are made in contrast, usually made ​​of plastic mats ("soft pads" ). The lower price segment starts at the least expensive versions at about 15 euros. For regular players but these mats are ill-suited since they easily slip during the game or fold down and wear out quickly.

Slightly higher quality mats are from the mid-price segment ( starting at about 30 euros ), which are lined with foam.

For the ambitious dancer there eventually metal platforms, similar to those which are found in the arcade machines. This ( "hard pads" ) have a significantly higher price, which starts at about 100 euros.

Dance mats for home use are designed mainly for consoles, but can be connected by means of a converter eg via USB to PC. However, particularly older converters have problems with the axis assignment here. Some newer converters allow an explicit switch to a mode for dance mats, by holding down for three seconds, for example, the key combination " high, Start, Select." Other models for PC are equipped with a USB port or with keyboard PS/2-connector.