Power Plant

Steps created by: Krazy_guy

Song by: Youhei

   This DWI was made in Notepad completely from scratch. It's the 9th DWI I've began but only the 3rd I've finished. It was intended for use with Dance With Intensity but also works in Stepmania.

   Power Plant is from the Bemani game Pop 'n Music. It was originally just over 2 minutes long but I cut it to 1:43 in Acid Pro 4.0 so that it didn't get boring. The BPM of Power Plant is 156.456.

   I found the background at http://www.claycrystal.com/3d3.htm. I don't really know what that site is about as I found the image on a Google search. I claim no responsibility for it. It was completely made by the owners of http://www.claycrystal.com. I added text to it, which is about the only thing I know how to do fairly well in Photoshop 7.0. The sleak lightning bolt behind the text was obatained from http://tubes.ominix.com/art/a/fire/lightning-bolt.png. I once again claim no responsibility for the lightning bolt. After adding the text and bolt to the background I blurred everything a bit and made it a bit lighter so it didn't seem so depressing. And that was that.


Steps:
        Max               # of
       Combo  Difficulty  Freezes
Light-  221       4        37
Stand-  349       7        45
Heavy-  453       9        19
Chall-  622      10        11

   The Light steps are mostly quarter notes, however I threw in a couple of 8th notes in between 2 quarter notes in a couple of places to make it interesting. Rhythms are obviously simplistic as the steps were made to be easy. A couple of the freezes are only an 8th of a beat in length, and I realize that makes them no different than normal steps. The reason I included them however was to make them symbolic with a sound that was just represented by a freeze. I hope that didn't sound too confusing. Just play the steps to find out what I mean. The few jumps that I included were all either left+right or up+down, which are jumps I would consider to be non-confusing for new players. Most of the jumps were placed at notes that were more pronounced than surrounding notes.

   I would consider the Standard steps to be the worst of the 4 sets. I'm not sure why, I just don't like them as much. They are the most freeze intensive also. All of the freezes represent some kind of extended noise in the music. The steps generally aren't that hard except for the middle part. First there are short runs of eighth notes, and then there are freezes with strange rhythms accompanying them which makes it sort of confusing. Because of this I rate it 7. I'm really not sure if this is accurate or not because I don't play 7 footers often anymore. There are also more jumps in the Standard steps than in the Light or Heavy steps. However, similar to the Light steps, all of the jumps represent a note that is more accented than the surrounding notes.

   The Heavy steps are meant to be difficult but still fun on a pad. There are some complex rhythms and offbeat notes that may cause confusion, but there are not many freezes or jumps. If I had to say what inspired me most to make these steps I would have to say Lupin the 3rd, my favorite song on 4th Mix. Many of the rhythms in these steps are similar to those from that song. They are also somewhat similar to the well known So Deep rhythm, but only in a couple parts (both in the middle of the song). All of the rhythms do go with the music though. These steps are much easier if you know the song already. There are a few Exotic Ethnic style turns also, so be prepared. Most fall at points where the steps would otherwise be simple, though. The hardest part of the Heavy steps are the part with the quick gallops followed by the 3 16th notes almost at the end of the song, so if you can do that you can probably do the rest of the steps. 

   The Challenge steps were made for all those people that like hard step sets. I tried to get every little bleep and pop to be represented by an arrow. Once again all jumps represent accented notes and most freezes represent long held out notes in the music. In order to pump as many arrows as possible into the step set, I had to use arrows to represent sounds that are barely audible if you have your volume low. Even with all the steps pumped into this, many people could probably do it on a pad. There aren't very many complex turns, and even those that are complex are at parts where there aren't an illegible number of arrows. The 32nd note almost immediatly after the 2nd freeze was there to represent the very quick bleep in the music. If you listen carefully you can here it. I'm actually not sure if it is a supposed to be a 32nd note after or a 64th note after, but whatever.

   The theme of all the step sets was to try to make steps that would make you change from left to right and vice-versa often, and not turn you away from the screen for more than half a second. Overall I would have to describe the steps as gallopy (is that even a word?), especially in the Heavy and Challenge steps. Both freezes and jumps were used sparingly, but complex rhythms were used extensively (except for the Light steps). Overall I was just trying to create something that _I_ found fun on a pad, let alone anyone else. I feel I have completed my goal.

About the Author:

   I live in Connecticut and I have been play DDR since July 2002. I am 15 years old but I am less stupid and less immature than most people my age. I have entered two Tournamixes previously. The first was Tournamix 2. I entered Light Force in it, which sucked horribly in my opinion. But it was my first original and I had only been playing DDR for 2 months so whatever. In Tournamix 3 I entered Cheer Train, which was loved by some and despised by others. In my opinion it sucked, just not as bad as my other originals (at the time). Now I am entering Power Plant into Tournamix 4. After listening to tips from other DWI creators I have finally made something that I truly enjoy and I hope others can enjoy too.

   You can contact me in many ways. My email address is krazyguy123@cox.net. My AIM name is GDF51988. My account name on the DDREI forums is Krazy_guy.

Hope you have fun.

