Disturbing
Browsing the "internet," my brother points me in the direction of sheer cruelty.
What is wrong with the North Koreans? Apparently these children are chosen by Kim Jong Il to appear on KCNA, I'm guessing a North Korean television network, in their New Year's special programming (it was New Year's according to the lunar calender a while ago). They have been dubbed as "genius kids" but I prefer to call them "tortured to near death amounts until they get the timing perfectly and learn to smile an eerie smile while always looking at the camera kids." There are a total of three videos on the linked site above, but the clip I've linked is in my opinion the creepiest. Don't get me wrong I am all for the arts as long as the kids doing them enjoy what they're doing; I'm an animator myself. But think about everything they could have been doing while training to be like that. You know, enjoying their childhood running around playing with friends like any normal kid. It's just plain disturbing.
What's even more disturbing is the fact that I've started to play DDR once again. I played in high school and I even went so far as to get two dance pads for my brother and I to strut our "revolutionary" moves. Sorry dude, I had to tell 'em. It was fun for a while until the pads started to fold in on themselves and move all over the place. It got worse when the buttons for left and right turned into up and down or just didn't work. And it wasn't just me either, no matter what fans did, it just wasn't the same as going to the arcade and dancing your troubles away in front of complete strangers. So someone finally took action and made the RedOctane Ignition 2.0 Pad. I had seen the pad available before, but didn't believe in the hype that surrounded the pad for a good number of years. Now that I'm 22 with some form of income, I decided to try it out. I got it in a couple weeks ago and I am hooked once more. I have no shame when it comes to this game. After some reasonable thought I found no reason to be embarrassed for having a dance pad and playing a brilliant game. I dunno, it isn't a simulator for dancing or anything, everyone should know that. People aren't going to be dancing in a four-directional manner in clubs any time soon. It's just a fun and addicting experience that also gets gamers to get up off of their couch and move.
That said, DDR is not all fun and games for some, there is a dark side: DDR competitions. You'd think that the competitions would be based on how well you can play the game, you know like whoever gets the best score in the game wins, but no. DDR players are so good at getting perfect scores on songs that they are judged on their performance! Like figure skating, people are judged on how slick they are on the dance pad not only with their feet, but with the movements of their arms, head, you name it. And when a competitor makes a small mistake I wouldn't be surprised if the audience went "awwwww" in disappointment just like in those skating competitions. Hopefully it won't come to that. Hopefully . . .
But DDR can be very inspiring. Or not. Or if you don't feel like moving your feet to the beat you can always use your fingers. Either way, I'm having fun, and you should too. Who knows, with all the rhythm games I'm getting addicted to I might even go out of the way and get myself some Cha Chas while I'm at.
Your friend in the NYC
Genuine Otaku
What is wrong with the North Koreans? Apparently these children are chosen by Kim Jong Il to appear on KCNA, I'm guessing a North Korean television network, in their New Year's special programming (it was New Year's according to the lunar calender a while ago). They have been dubbed as "genius kids" but I prefer to call them "tortured to near death amounts until they get the timing perfectly and learn to smile an eerie smile while always looking at the camera kids." There are a total of three videos on the linked site above, but the clip I've linked is in my opinion the creepiest. Don't get me wrong I am all for the arts as long as the kids doing them enjoy what they're doing; I'm an animator myself. But think about everything they could have been doing while training to be like that. You know, enjoying their childhood running around playing with friends like any normal kid. It's just plain disturbing.
What's even more disturbing is the fact that I've started to play DDR once again. I played in high school and I even went so far as to get two dance pads for my brother and I to strut our "revolutionary" moves. Sorry dude, I had to tell 'em. It was fun for a while until the pads started to fold in on themselves and move all over the place. It got worse when the buttons for left and right turned into up and down or just didn't work. And it wasn't just me either, no matter what fans did, it just wasn't the same as going to the arcade and dancing your troubles away in front of complete strangers. So someone finally took action and made the RedOctane Ignition 2.0 Pad. I had seen the pad available before, but didn't believe in the hype that surrounded the pad for a good number of years. Now that I'm 22 with some form of income, I decided to try it out. I got it in a couple weeks ago and I am hooked once more. I have no shame when it comes to this game. After some reasonable thought I found no reason to be embarrassed for having a dance pad and playing a brilliant game. I dunno, it isn't a simulator for dancing or anything, everyone should know that. People aren't going to be dancing in a four-directional manner in clubs any time soon. It's just a fun and addicting experience that also gets gamers to get up off of their couch and move.
That said, DDR is not all fun and games for some, there is a dark side: DDR competitions. You'd think that the competitions would be based on how well you can play the game, you know like whoever gets the best score in the game wins, but no. DDR players are so good at getting perfect scores on songs that they are judged on their performance! Like figure skating, people are judged on how slick they are on the dance pad not only with their feet, but with the movements of their arms, head, you name it. And when a competitor makes a small mistake I wouldn't be surprised if the audience went "awwwww" in disappointment just like in those skating competitions. Hopefully it won't come to that. Hopefully . . .
But DDR can be very inspiring. Or not. Or if you don't feel like moving your feet to the beat you can always use your fingers. Either way, I'm having fun, and you should too. Who knows, with all the rhythm games I'm getting addicted to I might even go out of the way and get myself some Cha Chas while I'm at.
Your friend in the NYC
Genuine Otaku
posted by Genuine Otaku @ 8:03 PM
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