Friends of ours told us recently that they had put together their own Dance Dance Revolution game area in their house using the Step Mania software on a PC. I contacted our friends a little while later and installed the game on our laptop and bought the dance pads and USB converter for my wife for Christmas. We’ve been playing for the last two days and it’s been a blast. What a great way to exercise and have fun! I have to admit that I love the new set up in the house. We can watch a movie, TV, hook up the iPod video, or the laptop to watch TV/movies, and now play Step Mania with the laptop. A simple S-video cable and a two composite to 1/8” stereo jack is all I needed to connect the laptop up to the stereo receiver and to our TV.
Now we can get some aerobic exercising in after our son goes to bed. Just step away in playing the game and we can sweat the calories away. Back in the summer time I put up a picture of me playing DDR in an arcade on the boardwalk. Sure the home setup isn’t anything like the arcade version, but I kind of like the setup at home the way it is. The goal is to paint and get new carpets for the basement and then we’ll move all the equipment down there, but for now, the setup is fine.
So if you’re looking for some fun that’s fairly cheap, you can buy the USB adapters and some pads for about $60-$80. That’s not too bad. For the cost of an Xbox 360 game, you can put together your own DDR setup in your home.
Step 1: Download and install Step Mania on your computer.
Step 2: Connect the USB adapter to your laptop or PC.
Step 3: Connect your dance pads to the USB adapter.
Step 4: Connect your PC to your TV via S-video and then change the input selection (Video 2 or 3) on your TV. (If your TV doesn’t have an S-video input, then simply use a computer monitor.)
Step 5: Connect your laptop to your TV or receiver for sound. (1/8” stereo to Composite.) Apple sells a 3 composite cable (Yellow is video, red is sound, and white is sound). But you can go to Radio Shack (or a similar gadget store) and ask the salesperson for an adapter that will allow you to connect a set of composite (red/white) wires from the back of your stereo receiver’s TV/Video jack to a 1/8” stereo jack from your laptop headphone jack or a PC’s sound out jack on the sound card.
Step 6: Follow the instructions for Step Mania to configure the dance pads.
Step 7: Play the game and look like a fool in the beginning!
Once you give it a try and need some more help, be sure to check out the How to Play Instructions on the Step Mania site. There’s a lot of useful information there.
I believe that there are over 200 songs available for the game (lots of fast tech music—not my favorite type of music but it’ll get you moving!). If you’re bored (or just don’t like) those songs, you can import your own mp3s and then create your own song for the game. Very cool.
Thankfully this one Christmas present went over very well. It’s an activity that we can do together and both initially be horrible at. I’ve been having lots of fun, we’ve been getting all sweaty, and little by little we’re getting better at the game. Yes, it’s great to watch movies and TV or play other games, but I also like having the option of being able to play this game and get some exercise in. It’s a good way to burn off stress and let loose. A big thank you for our friends for teaching us about this home version.
Have fun!
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