'Dance Dance' for charity

This weekend, Lazerlite amusement center will be invaded by dozens of dancing fools from all over the state, but they aren't so foolish as to not support a good cause when they see one.\nLazerlite, located on East Third Street, will be holding its third "Dance Dance Revolution" marathon Friday and Saturday.\nFor $10, participants get to play as much "DDR" as they can handle and help support Riley Hospital for Children of Indianapolis. Riley Hospital for Children is one of the nation's leaders in pediatric medicine.\nJim Halliday, who works in the IU music library, has organized the event for three years now to give something back to the hospital that has helped both of his children.\n"Both of my children were at Riley's after they were born because of a blood disorder," Halliday said. "I've got nothing but positive things to say about them. This seemed like that natural place to help out."\n"DDR," which is made by the Konami Digital Entertainment was first released in Japanese arcades in 1998. A U.S. release followed in 2000, but many arcades prefer the Japanese version because there is a wider selection of machines from which to choose.\nHome versions and pads are also available for the Sony PlayStation game consoles and Microsoft's Xbox.\n"Most of the songs are in English, but you read the lyrics in Japanese," said Adam Abel, a "DDR" enthusiast and employee at Lazerlite. "It just looks better."\nA "DDR" arcade cabinet consists of a platform made up of four arrows on which a player stands. Meanwhile, at the top of the screen are four stationary arrows. Scrolling arrows pass over these, and as they do, the player hits the corresponding arrows on the pad to rack up combinations.\nHalliday discovered the game about two years ago when he took his daughter to Lazerlite.\n"We went there to play some other games, and I saw 'DDR,' and I said, 'What's that over there?'" Halliday said. "I was almost instantly hooked. Soon, it was me dragging her to Lazerlite instead of the other way around."\nLazerlite currently has two Japanese "DDR" machines -- one Fourth mix, and one Eight mix.\n"They're our most popular games with the older kids," said Lazerlite owner Susie Wolfgong.\nHalliday has been playing video games since the days of Pac-Man but said he hasn't found a game like "DDR" in a long time.\n"I'm a video game fan from way back in the golden age," he said. "But I probably hadn't been really addicted to a game for years until 'DDR.' It's addictive, but in a good way."\n-- Contact senior writer Chris Freiberg at wfreiber@indiana.edu.