From Arcadia Issue 32 (1/03), Producer Yoshihiko Ota and Music Director Naoki Maeda discuss the recently released Dance Dance Revolution Extreme, and the DDR series as a whole.
Part 1
It started from a dream
What was the concept behind the production of this version of DDR?
Ota: It’ll sound kinda lame when I say it out loud, but the idea with this title was to fill it with “dreams.”
What do you mean by that?
Ota: The dreams of the players, the staff… everyone’s dreams. I believe our players dream of being able to play a definitive version of DDR, and us staff dream of the extent to which we’re able to fulfill player requests in our games.
The original concept behind DDR was “how much can we make players look cool and stand out?”. The birth of DDR came about as a chance encounter with Beatmania. The first time I played it was a huge shock! Having a game that actually made players cool was a totally new concept. Had there ever been a game where just playing it made you look as cool as in Beatmania?
From that day on, I racked my brain every day trying to come up with a cool and fun game that could surpass Beatmania… until eventually, DDR was completed.
How pleased were you with the final product?
Ota: I thought it was beyond fun (laughs). But just because something is fun doesn’t mean it will catch on, and especially when you’re making something totally new, there’s never any guarantees. There were some voices around me going “is this really going to work out?”. And I would tell them “it’s alright! It’s definitely gonna catch on!” as I poured my heart into development.
Somehow, I wanted to create a new movement among players, and send a different message than Beatmania… to fully “captivate” players, and we poured all our effort into achieving that goal.
We returned to that original vision when working on DDR Extreme, and from that viewpoint, aimed to make it the “DDR of our dreams.” Our intent with this title was to bring back the excitement of first playing DDR, and make it cooler than ever before.
Ties through DDR
The social movement caused by DDR continues to grow, so from what standpoint do you try to follow and react to that movement?
Ota: The strongest feeling I get, and the one I’m happiest about, are the huge communities that have been established in game centers through DDR. I’ve always felt that the most important thing about game centers is the communication that connects players to one another. Fortunately, I think DDR is a title that fits perfectly with that idea.
No matter how much things like home gaming and online gaming gain popularity, game centers are the only place where players come together in person. Being able to provide a place for that kind of communication makes me extraordinarily happy.
How do you think DDR helps with communication?
Ota: Of course, there’s the sense of unity between spectators and players, but I think the game systems also have big communication benefits. The original plan was that in DDR’s two player mode, as soon as one player’s life gauge dropped to zero, their game would end. But, we deliberately decided to add a system where as long as one player still has life gauge, even a player whose life gauge had run out can keep playing. With this, even a beginner can play with an experienced player, and not have to worry about their session getting cut short. We want new players to reach out to experienced players, and ask to play together. We affectionately call this the “shall we dance?” system (laughs).
Starting with asking to play together, communication between players, wanting to strengthen the ties with others… this social component is one of the major pillars of the DDR series.
And, the meaning behind “Extreme”
So in addition to the feelings the DDR series has conveyed to the players, the goal of this game…
Ota: Right. This title is a culmination of all of our energy. Normally, we work on a game while considering what ideas to save for the next one, but this time we gave it all we had without considering what comes next.
We haven’t been able to do any minor changes to the parts of DDR that had been complete from the beginning. There was almost no room for improvement. But in order to keep up with modern needs, we have to keep adapting. Because of that, DDR is also reaching a turning point.
Does that mean this is the last DDR game in the series’ current form?
Ota: Right now I haven’t thought about the next title at all. In order to create a title full of players’ love for DDR, we had to meet players’ expectations, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that every single need has been met in this version. But true to its name, this is meant to be the Extreme DDR, the height of the series up to now. First, we put all our energy into this game, then we look for the foothold that will take us to the next step for DDR.
Even beyond forecasting the future of DDR, it seems like this is a momentous title.
Ota: At any rate, please give DDR Extreme a try. I’m certain you’ll enjoy it. And please experience “everything DDR has to offer”.
Part 2
The weight of “Extreme”
Along with its specifications and content volume, DDR staff take pride in reaching a new level of perfection with DDR Extreme compared to the rest of the series. But as part of the development team, you can probably speak on that better, Maeda-san.
Maeda: It’s truly extreme — this title can be summarized by that single word. There’s nothing average about it, every aspect is outstanding. The production staff joined together to aim to make the ultimate DDR.
Of course, we didn’t want to make something that we would later have regrets about. But the true foundation of this game was fulfilling the wishes of the players who love DDR, and delivering them something great.
This applies to the music as well. We filled this game with the elements that DDR has fostered over the years, brought to a perfect form. It’s not just your average “version up” or “remix”; this is the peak.
We’ve crammed everything great about the DDR series’ music into tracks like “1998 ” and “HYPER EUROBEAT”. And this time, “PARANOiA” has once again returned. I have a feeling these are tracks that DDR mega-fans won’t be able to do without.
Even when I’m out at location tests, I’m always hearing “so, what’s up with ‘PARANOiA’ this time?” (laughs). And it doesn’t seem like it’s just a local thing. When we scan the landscape of DDR fans, it seems like people are constantly keeping a close eye on “PARANOiA”.
In the past, “PARANOiA” has been reborn in new forms with “Rebirth” and “ETERNAL”, but this time I wanted to try to make the definitive “PARANOiA” — the final “PARANOiA”. I felt like I had to try it. This wouldn’t just be an extension of ideas from previous “PARANOiA” songs; it would be a track that produces a new feeling… that’s the enthusiasm I had going into this version’s “PARANOIA survivor”.
On the topic of “PARANOiA”, I have this scene burned into my memory:
The very first time “PARANOiA MAX” made an appearance at the 2ndMIX location test, everyone in the room went “whooooaaa!”. I’ll never forget that reaction. Players hold a special emotional attachment to “PARANOiA”, and that attachment became a tangible feeling there.
I would be really happy if we could provide that feeling to players again with “DDR Extreme”. And so, that’s why we’re trying to allow many factors that have been incorporated throughout the DDR series to reach their perfect form.
That being said, we don’t want to recklessly increase the BPM and difficulty level. We need to keep balance in mind so players don’t find it unfair. I think that with DDR Extreme, we’ve been able to offer a level of perfection that lives up to its name.
The soul that raised DDR
There’s no doubt that you helped steer the direction the DDR series has taken, Maeda-san. So, what dreams do you have for DDR, and what stances have you taken with the series?
Maeda: For starters, the reason I was chosen as the sound director of DDR was “because he’s the biggest normie”, or that’s what I hear. It’s mainstream-ism (laughs). I like hidden gems too, but I feel that there’s always value to be found in things that sell well. But it’s not just a vague “because it sold well” sort of thing, it’s where there’s a direct cause of it taking off. I’m drawn to that kind of thing.
From the beginning of DDR’s planning phase, choosing songs and the overall musical direction was a hard road… It all started one day when Producer Ota-san suddenly came up to me and said “Hey Maeda, you pick the songs” (laughs). [According to Naoki, “At the time, he would give us advice on how to get things to sell in addition to overseeing the project.”]
Because the biggest thing in the dance scene at the time was “Dancemania” (from Toshiba Emi), that’s what I recommended. As a result, we worked on having the game reflect the energy of “Dancemania”, and it set us in a good direction.
My personal image for DDR is “very flashy and ecstatic”, like Kabukichou or Nanba (laughs). Though I don’t want people to think “jeez, that NAOKI guy sure is bouncy” (laughs). So, I tried to incorporate breadth into the song selection, taking the approach of “they don’t all have to be high-energy songs, these calmer songs are okay too”, and I was able to find balance (laughs).
Of course, the foundation of DDR was “a game that conveys something to the player”, so the sentiment was it would appeal to “something” within players, and then see if that “something” could spread.
DDR — and the Bemani series, may be games, but the music component is so strong, it becomes a cross-media sort of thing. These two forms of media and the feelings each convey intermingle, and something new is born… that’s my strongest memory from working on the DDR series.
Games as a medium have their strengths, and music as a medium has its strengths. Even if someone isn’t particularly interested in one of them, if they experience this kind of cross-media expression, I think they will certainly feel a kind of enjoyment they haven’t experienced before.
Of course, if you approach DDR from just a game standpoint, you’ll work on the game-y components of it with discretion. But, if you factor in the essential element of “music”, you can reach for an unmatched level of perfection. To equate it with normal music… If you look at it from the music side of things, there’s the desire to develop it into a high-quality work. So, the song’s lyrics may be difficult to hear in a game center, but you still work on it with the same diligence and discretion, for the sake of it as a piece of music. So, if you approach the game from the standpoint of “I want to constantly deliver good things to the player”, I think that approach will be reflected through all those small details.