"Presentation matters. Have a good sound system and let it be loud."

~Eli Neiburger,
Ann Arbor District Library
Ann Arbor, MI

Dance Dance Revolution/Guitar Hero Tournament

Ann Arbor District Library, Ann Arbor, MI

Ann Arbor (MI) District Library is a medium sized urban library with a service population of 160,000. To convince trustees/board, administrators, staff members and patrons to provide a gaming experience at your library, the youth department obtained approval through the Associate Director of Public Service and the Library Director.  Staff were brought on board through gaming events at staff training days and then just walking through the room during an event.

The goal of the program is simply for members of the community to have fun consuming content at the library and socializing with staff and each other.

Running the Event

This event can be run with two people: one youth or teen librarian and oneevent producer/production assistant. The Dance Dance Revolution/Guitar Hero Tournament is marketed to all ages with an emphasis on teens, through the website, a youth brochure, and free event listings. The program consists of simultaneous Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and Guitar Hero events for players of all ages.  Players can enter one or both events.

The Guitar Hero, tournament is based on ‘Open Qualifiers’, where players just wait in line and then play one song at any difficulty in Faceoff mode. To keep things moving, staff ask players not to choose overly long songs, and to come to consensus on the song with their partner. Players can then report their score to the MC who will record it on a scoring spreadsheet.

Players have the option of waiting in line again to attempt to improve their score.  When 30 minutes are left in the event, the top four scorers advance to single elimination finals including a consolation round if time allows.

DDR is more structured because the performance aspect is a significant part of the appeal of the event.  Players register with name, nickname, level (beginner/light or standard/heavy) and partner, if desired.  The host runs through the list of players twice.The first time through, the person on the left gets to pick the song, then the person on the right gets to pick.

This way, players get two dances, about 45-60 minutes apart, at their chosen difficulty level, and they get to pick the song once.  The number of Perfect steps for each player is totalled.  The best beginner/light players get t-shirts, the top eight standard/heavy players advance to a single elimination prize round, and we give a small prize to the best adult/child team.

Equipment

This event includes 2 PS2s, 2 dance pads, 2 guitars, 2 sound systems, a projector and screen, and a TV.  For the host, have a laptop and handheld microphone on hand. Ann Arbor uses DDR Supernova or Supernova 2 for PS2 for the qualifying rounds, then switches to DDR MAX2, still a fan favorite, for the finals. Guitar Hero II it’s the kid’s preference.

Facility

This event works best in a room of around 500 square feet, but can be adapted to smaller spaces by using less furniture. Our setup for this event includes a ceiling-mounted projector and screen in the front of the room, a television on a counter in the back of the room, a table for scoring and registration, and a food table. Chairs and bistro tables are scattered around the room for waiting players.

Literacy Connections

To play DDR or Guitar Hero, players must be able to read, to set up the game, and choose a song. There is on-screen reading during the gameplay, as steps and progress are rated.

There is evidence to suggest that rhythm games like DDR and Guitar Hero improve reading skills of ADHD students. Matching movements to visual and rhythmic auditory cues, DDR may strengthen neural networks involved in reading and attention and thereby improve student outcomes.

Outcomes

The total number of participants for the event was 70-90 people; gender breakdown was 60% male, 40% female. At the DDR/Guitar Hero Tournament, library users had fun and got to know staff, the library, and each other better. Success is measured through participation numbers, repeat attendance and feedback from evaluation forms, which are very simple and average 4.7 out of 5 for program rating.

Funding

AADL Gaming Tournaments are funded by the library’s programming budget. Prizes come from a undesignated gift provided by the friends of the library. Equipment and software purchases come from the IT hardware and software budgets.

Gaming Materials: $1100.00
2 DDR games: $100.00
Guitar Hero with 2nd Guitar: $100.00
2 PS2s with accessories: $300.00
2 Cobalt Flux Dance Platforms: $600.00

Support Materials $1215.00
Laptop for scoring: $1200.00
Event Feedback Forms: $5.00
Golf pencils: $5.00
1 milk crate: $5.00

A/V Equipment:  $5050.00
Projector: $1200.00
42” LCD TV: $1200.00
2 Fender Passport Audio Systems: $1600.00
Ceiling-mounted Screen: $800.00
Handheld wireless microphone: $250.00

Refreshments $115.00
Cooler of Ice Water
Bananas: $10.00
Grapes: $10.00
Goldfish / Cheezits: $25
Pretzels: $20.00
Cookies: $20.00
Paper products (plates, cups, napkins): $30.00

Prizes: $202
$40.00/$30.00/$20.00 target giftcards for GHII
$40.00/$30.00/$20.00 target giftcards for DDR
AADL-GT t-shirts for top 3 beginners: $12.00
$10.00 gift card for best adult/child team

Resources

For more information, please contact Eli Neiburger at eli@aadl.org.

Ann Arbor District Library. AADL.TV. www.aadl.org/video/. January 5, 2009.
Repository of video from Ann Arbor District Library, including gaming events.

GT System. Ann Arbor District Library, 2008. gtsystem.org/. January 5, 2009.
Free online gaming tournament software from Ann Arbor District Library.

DDR Freak. DDR Freak LLC. www.ddrfreak.com. January 15, 2009.
This support website for the popular music videogame franchise Dance Dance Revolution features playlists, cheat codes and more.

McGraw, Tammy et al. The Effects of a Consumer-Oriented Multimedia Game on the Reading Disorders of Children with ADHD. DIGRA, 2005.
Study confirming a positive relationship between the number of DDR sessions completed by sixth graders with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the gains made on the West Virginia Receptive Coding and Finger Sense Recognition subtests that are part of the state's reading and writing battery to measure reading impairment.

Neiburger, Eli. Gamers at the Library: The What, Why and How of Videogame Tournaments for All Ages. ALA Editions, 2007.
A definitive guide to gaming tournaments in libraries.

DDR/Guitar Hero Scoring spreadsheets (excel)

• Blank Template
• Completed Sample