Strollerderby

Browse by Tags

• A Video Game That Refuses to Acknowledge Your Sucky Dance Moves

  Perhaps you have heard of "Dance Praise," a video game in the spirit of "Dance Dance Revolution," but with Christian music and no negative vibes. That's right -- if you mess up a step, the game won't snicker at you or boo. Do the worst version of the Cabbage Patch in the history of mankind, and "Dance Praise" will still love you. Evidently the game, created by Christian company Digital Praise, has sold well enough to spawn a follow-up, "Dance Praise 2: The Remix." This video guide -- featuring a lot of people who make the white man's overbite look postively gangsta -- explains the whole concept, but doesn't address one important question: What's wrong with a little light-hearted negative feedback? I understand why religious families dig on the Christian messages. If that appeals to you, that's totally fine. But the notion that the game should be celebrated because it won't damage a child's self-image, as a press release recently sent to Strollerderby suggests, seems a little goofy. Obviously we should not go up to our kids and say, "You know something? You couldn't find you way to Funkytown with a GPS system and a detailed roadmap." But I think we sometimes tiptoe too gingerly around the whole notion of self-esteem. Read More... Posted Apr 02 2008, 11:32 AM by Jen Chaney with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: video games, Dance Dance Revolution, self-esteem, Dance Praise

• Exergame Trend Continues Rise in Schools, Gyms

  It's too soon to say whether the trend of including games like Dance Dance Revolution and stationary bikes with game screens at home and as part of school physical education programs is going to help kids get fit. But the trend is picking up anyway at schools and gyms. As with everything though--some experts aren't too sure. Experts from the Mayo Clinic and the University of South Florida have tracked children's physical progress while gaming, and it's been shown that gaming burns calories, but other factors like heart rate and motivation are still being studied. And at UCSF, the Pedatric Obesity Clinic's study, where children kept diaries of their progress, showed that the kids got bored playing Dance Dance Revolution on a daily basis, and eventually quit all together. Some gym owners are excited about exergaming and are shoving cardio and weight machines aside to make room for gaming mats. But at one children's gym that uses such games only as a reward for completing a traditional workout, the owners are skeptical that a gaming-only workout limits strength and flexibility. Their goal is "to get the kids away from the screens and make them aware how exciting exercise can be". Posted Feb 20 2007, 01:05 PM by Patti with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: health, childhood obesity, fitness, exercise, Dance Dance Revolution

• Dance Dance Revolution! West Virginia Puts Dance Game in All Public Schools

  For many years, my wife and I have considered ourselves to be karaoke rock stars.  Pre-child, we'd often be sitting on the couch on a random Friday night and suddenly spontaneously decide that we needed to do some singing.  The two of us would head up to NYC's Koreatown, get a private room, and belt out songs to one another.  Many times, we'd leave the karaoke room only to be greeted by the sun rising over the East River.  About 5-6 years ago, we noticed that the young kids weren't into karaoke anymore.  They were into Dance Dance Revolution, a video arcade game played on a metal dance pad with four arrow panels. These panels are pressed using the player's feet, in response to arrows that appear on the screen. The arrows are synchronized to the general rhythm or beat of a chosen song, and success is dependent on the player's ability to time and position his or her steps accordingly. Read More... Posted Feb 03 2007, 01:32 PM by MetroDad with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: health, exercise, Videoo Games, West Virginia, Dance Dance Revolution