DDR Interfaces - February 2001

One of the earliest engineering projects I helped with was in conjunction with a childhood friend. Together (ages 14 and 16) we designed, and built a pair of controllers for the then immensely popular game Dance Dance Revolution

The game pads featured several things that weren’t available on the commercial market:

• Sheet metal finish. This was substantially closer to the texture and feel of the arcade (competition) controls.
• Modular design. Each pad could break apart into 3 pieces for greatly simplified transport
• Welded base. This was essential to meet the durability and longevity needed for this grueling application.

In retrospect this was quite a challenge from a human interface design perspective. Building a interaction surface that interfaced with existing console gaming systems while simultaneously meeting needs for transportation and durability was quite daunting.