Long post about DDR 20th anniversary

DDR20th.txt

It's the 20th anniversary of Dance Dance Revolution. DDR has changed my life quite a bit:

Back in 2000-2001, on the AMV editors mailing list, I saw mention of this crazy little project. They were taking the DDR 3rd mix non-stop mix CD from the soundtrack and divided it up among a number of different editors, one per song. They would edit the song, with some leader and trailer of adjacent songs. These separate videos would then be edited together into one long, 60 to 74 minute video. (I'd never heard of DDR before this project)

This video was to premiere at Anime Weekend Atlanta in 2001. It sounded so awesome, I had to check it out. So I made hotel reservations and booked flights, attending my first convention EVER, all by myself.

I wound up meeting some of the other editors. I also wound up helping out, first by running interference for Quu so he could finish editing it together, but also holding down the fort in the VAT overnight Saturday.

I made friends and caught the volunteering bug. I've volunteered at every AWA since, this year being my 18th. I've made many great friends as a result, and eventually started volunteering at other conventions as well.

I also started playing the game, as well as other rhythm games, as a result of that first multi-editor project. I've met many great people through the game itself as well.

If it weren't for DDR, there wouldn't have been that first MEP, and I have no idea what my life would be like today.

#DDR20th #DDR20周年