This would be friggin' sweet, if they actually have the logistics down. In the picture above, there are only four trip lasers, which wouldn't really work. The detection needs to go off for any location within the "buttons."

well it sounds really good, but it would not be good if you step in a laser wich may be very possible...

What would happen if you overshot and stomped really hard on one of the protruding laser points?

Yeah, but I wouldn't spend more than $20.
Somehow I doubt that would be a reality.
Still it looks pretty cheap to make.

Really, you play DDR?

Hmmm. As the first comment said, you need a wider detection area. A pinpoint area makes it much more difficult to hit accurately.

Poor people without hardwood floors. I have a feeling that carpet thickness would become a major concern with this, not to mention if any of the laster points got smudged one way or another.

I see no problem with the device...
It only maps 4 buttons, by detecting which beams you have tripped, so unless you have feet like Pinocchio, stepping in the 4 squares will cut the beams.

sasuntsi, actually there are 8 fields you can step in the controller would recognize.
the corners work by cutting off two beams as opposed to just 1 for the middle squares

The protruding laser devices look like a disaster waiting to happen. They should be inside the frame.

@cheez & CyricZ:

Agreed. While I might be able to shuffle and slide, will I be able to bunny hop or tap (heel, toe)? I would also be worried about kicking the thing around if I tried to freestyle. I can see this working out like Dance Maniax or ParaParaParadise, but until I can try it for myself, I'll stick to the metal pads at the arcades, thank you very much.

Isn't that an array?

Yeah man I would buy it, but .... how much would it cost?
And yes the lasers would get stomped on hard and get crushed. The thing would have to me some kind of metal or alloy to withstand a hard beating. And they can't be sticking out like that.

Actually, if they used high powered green lasers, then you could see them without tons of dust.

@Luziphir: Agreed - the lasers should be inside the frames, but if this would work with my PS2, I'd be interested in a set.

In DDR style games, do you only ever have to press buttons opposite each other simultaneously?
Because If you had to press, say the front left and the front right buttons, then the lasers wouldn't be able to determine whether you were pressing front left and front right or front left and middle right etc. because exactly the same lasers would being cut off.

This has to be made made for a 4-panel game (aka, DDR or ITG). As in, the only arrows in standard single player DDR are up, down left and right. So, you wouldn't have to worry about any 'diagonal' arrows.

Actually, I know a lot about DDR. Being a active player in the DDR community for years, I can see this being... very different from the standard game. Normal DDR requires very accurate timing, and there's a difference between putting your foot in a location and actually pressing to activate the button. Arcade DDR pads actually have 4 pressure sensors per arrow (one on each side). So, many people play by stepping on the inside edges of the arrow. (less movement = ability to handle faster arrows). This pad would require you to 'step' so that you break the beam going across the middle of the arrow. Also, it would register the instant your foot broke the beam, not at the point your foot physically pushed down on the arrow... so you would have less tactile feedback on your timing precision. I'm not saying you couldn't get used to it, I'm just saying it would be different.

Of course, comparing it to a cheap plastic mat that most beginners use... yeah, it probably would be great. You'd have to be careful not to step on the lasers, and beginners can get far off their intended targets. If you're a more advanced player... well, you probably would have a better pad already anyway, or just play in the arcade.

Maybe I'm unnecessarily skeptical. I can't see myself using one, but I'd love to hear any feedback from high-level players on the pad. It'd be interesting to see how they like it.

I played DDR for a number of years, and I completely agree that this would change the game more than I would like.

The pad is going to quite inconsistent in measuring your steps. You've got horizontal beams measuring up and down steps, and vertical beams measuing left and right steps, rather than identical square buttons for each foot. I can imagine a lot of scenarios where you stick out a heel or toe and just miss the laser.

Also, as Ninjafetus mentioned, the timing of this pad is going to be very different to that of the arcade, with no tactile feedback. These things are important when you start playing harder songs.

I actually remember seeing a concept for this on DDRUK.com a while back. I didn't really like the idea then, and I still have my doubts. There's nothing wrong with the arcade system.

It's a cool idea... but with a few possible issues

1) Cost... no way am I spending over $30 for a DDR "pad"
2) Will I know where to step if I can't see the lasers? It would be like playing Super Mario Bros with a controller that was all touchpad... it would suck.
3) The thing with the carpet. This thing should be usable for ANYONE if it fulfills the above two requirements

This thing is already better than most soft pads on the market. With these, at least you're stepping on something firm, instead of a giant controller-marshmallow-thingy. And these are considerably better than those cheap crap diaper pads they give you with the bundles.

I was a big DDR player, bought decent soft pads to prectice with at home, and almost completely ruined my arcade game because of it. Because of the give of the soft pads, I was no longer used to stepping on something solid at the arcades and expended too much energy moving and stepping to pass harder songs that I could easily pass on soft pads at home. Also, not wearing shoes at home let my slide my feet a lot easier, something else I had become accustomed to.

So the heirarchy goes metal pads > these > soft pads > diaper bundle controllers. Get yourself a nice, cheap cut of linoleum from a tile store if you've got carpet. It's what breadancers do ;)

But, I agree, those protruding sensors will get broken if they are not put inside the casing. And two per corner would increase the step area considerably.

People keep talking about the fact that they're never going to pay more than 20 or 30 dollars for a pad-- have they ever bought one?

The moderately nice of the crappy soft ones are about 40 dollars, and many people buy the nicest ones that run 200 dollars or more. If you're not paying more than 20 or 30 dollars for a pad, you're only buying a MadCatz. Good luck with that.

People who take little steps (especially repeating ones) would have a hard time with this. It's a neat idea, though.

@Torusan: Exactly, people who "tap" by relieving pressure off the pad lightly (while still keeping their foot on it) will find this impossible. Having to remove your leg from the lasers field then putting it down again fast will make this useless.

Then there is the fact this is ONLY for 4 direction games only, so that limits its use (its 4 directions, not 8. If your playing DDR and it asks you to step on 2 arrows at a time, the pad would register it as a diagonal instead)

I've also been playing DDR for a couple years and could no way see myself buying this pad. I actually built my own metal pads just last year for about $100 and the sensors are ITG quality or better (ITG >> DDR). Plus, I like being able to feel where each of the "arrows" are. Doesn't look like you can get much of a feel for the arrows on this thing.

But if they actually designed it with the player in mind, I could see them including something that would make up for the time in between crossing the laser and hitting the floor. But lets get realistic and realize that won't happen.

The one thing this pad will be good for: Hands. The one thing this pad won't be good for: Mines.
And what? No bar? What about all the bar rapers out there ;)

Looks ghetto, but I want one. Long live the Sega Activator!

Agree, I don't think this will work. It's basically another variant on touch-sensitive controls - you know how those are always worse than real buttons because you don't get any feedback from feeling them press down? Yeah, like that. Imagine when you're trying to hit the same arrow repeatedly, fast; at the arcade or on a normal pad that just involves putting your weight somewhere else then 'press press press press' on the required arrow. With this pad you'd actually have to lift your foot noticeably off the ground in order to make it work.

On the plus side it should be entirely durable, which isn't true of any commercially-available dance mat that's cheaper than a Cobalt Flux. Even that probably needs repair from time to time if you use it heavily. (I haven't had to repair mine, but I don't play that much. Enough to kill everything else I tried though...)

By the way, when I got my CF it shipped with a special sheet of gridlike rubbery non-slip material that you were supposed to put under the pad if playing on a smooth surface such as a hardwood floor. Looked to me like this would probably work fine, so I wouldn't give up on the traditional pads just yet.