 "Photo: David Macesich")
David Seltzer, a nationally ranked "Dance Dance Revolution" (DDR) player, has won more than a high score through the popular rhythm game. Seltzer has been competing in "DDR" tournaments for several years, and according to GrooveStats.com, Seltzer is ranked as the sixth best "DDR" player in the nation.
Seltzer, an arts and technology junior, said he started playing "DDR" in high school.
"The first time I ever saw the game, I was at a friend's house. He had just gotten back from Japan and brought a copy back with him. I went back and played it a lot until I eventually got my own copy," said Seltzer.
It wasn't long before he started going to "DDR" tournaments, Seltzer said.
"I started competing about six months after I first started playing, and I started getting really good about one-and-a-half to two years afterwards. In August 2005, I won a national tournament," said Seltzer.
He received a $400 GameStop gift card and a new dance pad for winning the tournament.
The competitions play out in brackets, Seltzer said.
"Everyone plays a seeding song, and whatever you score determines your position in the brackets. It's the first person versus the sixteenth seat person and so on," said Seltzer.
"Usually one person picks one song, the other person picks another, and the tiebreaker song is random. Whoever wins two out of three wins the match."
Seltzer said he's been to several tournaments across the country, including a national tournament in San Diego.
"I've made a lot of friends through the tournaments, and I know pretty much all the top players in the nation," said Seltzer. "I also sometimes hear from random people in Europe that are fans of the game. Evidently, in Norway it's a national sport."
Seltzer said he plans on competing in a national tournament in January with rewards worth up to $1,000.
There's one in Oklahoma that I might go to as well. It's a smaller competition, but I can still win there," Seltzer said.
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