• Dance games allow players to show their moves both at home and in gaming arcades.disco image by Danielle Bonardelle from Fotolia.com
  
  A step pad---often referred to as a dance pad or mat---is a form of video game controller used both with home game systems and in gaming arcades. The step pad features square panels, which when pressed allow the player to interact with the game shown on-screen. These step pads are highly suitable for use with simple dance games, which require players to step onto the correct squares to match the action in-game and thus score points.
  
  

Dance Dance Revolution

• Dance Dance Revolution (or DDR) machines are a common sight in many gaming arcades. Possibly one of the most well-known dance games, the game's popularity has reached a point where a DDR slang language has been created by the game's players, as noted by the DDR Freak fan website (see References).
  
  Play is simple. On screen are four stationary directional arrows that correspond to the four squares on the DDR step pad. During the game, flashing arrows appear from the bottom of the screen and move upwards toward the arrows at the top. When a flashing arrow overlays with a stationary arrow, the player has to step on the matching arrow on his pad. Hitting the arrow at exactly the right time scores the most points, while missing it entirely scores none. The speed and complexity of the flashing arrows grows as the player masters DDR's earlier levels, with new dance tunes becoming available if players succeed.
  
  

StepMania

• While many dance games appear on arcade gaming machines or as titles for game consoles, StepMania is a dancing game that plays on a user's PC or Mac, using an adapter to connect the step pad to the computer. Like other dancing games, StepMania typically uses four panels on the step pad, though players can opt to use "double" mode, involving two step pads, or challenge friends, a mode which again involves two pads.
  
  In addition to various difficulty settings, StepMania features special game modes including "Endless"---in which players dance until they fail to complete a song---and "Magic Dance," a tug-of-war contest between two players who battle to increase their share of a bar at the top of the screen. Dancing well expands a player's share of the bar, with the player with the most share of the bar when the timer runs out being declared winner.
  
  

In the Groove

• A dance game very similar in form to Dance Dance Revolution, In the Groove was released in gaming arcades and on Sony's Playstation 2 console in 2005. The game was developed by the software company Roxors and, like DDR, features a step pad made up of four directional arrows. The game allows play across five difficulty levels; each song is rated with a number between one and 13, based on how difficult that song is on each setting. In the Groove features popular songs including "Mouth" by Rochelle and "Torn" by Natalie Browne.