COMMENT / ATOGAKI
The 10K Commotion started as my personal project to improve watercolor, lighting and lettering. Before I bought this domain, I had been participating on some drawing forums, in random online challenges, and saw many artists I like prepare comics and graphic novels for Comic Con San Diego.
Separately, I was obsessively addicted to DDR, playing everyday, posting on ddrfreak and bemanistyle every night, and joining local competitions on weekends.
Then at the end of 2002, some really influential friends encouraged me to organize my effort into a graphic novel format. I was drawing everyday anyway so instead of one-shot jokes, I started documenting the overall feeling I got from competitive DDR. I decided at the start not to use any ink in 10K Commotion so I could focus entirely on improving my watercolor and lighting approach.
Through most of the comic, (2001-2005), I had moved back and forth between Los Angeles and Fukuoka; I was working freelance, plus lots of random jobs that weren't stable enough to stay in one place for long. Within California, I moved every few weeks between really great friends & roommates at the time, still gaming, crashing in and out of relationships.
This was deeply personal. The Intermissions are based on specific conversations that occurred and impacted/stayed with me.
Some people tried to guess which one was "me", but in the comic, I was BRE@KDOWN all along: from the first trip to Denny's after skating at the beach, sharking on Disney Rave mix, holding a few AAA catas/9foot but I was still always the lowest PAer of my team. Even at the end (2005) I was hired by an IP agency in Japan, after meeting the inspiration for Andrew Kondou in EXTRA Stage.
Now this website is like a yearbook -- everyone has changed so much, but I have this ridiculous record. That's why I'm keeping it here :)
I didn't expect anyone else to relate to or really care about this site, but was happily surprised that it helped me meet other DDR and graphic narrative fans elsewhere in the world.
I'm really grateful for the friends who encouraged me to put it out in public. All my thanks to everyone who read and commented. Take care until next time!
Below was the description on the original site in 2004.
10K Commotion = Reality TV (minus a real TV) + Dance Dance Revolution + University of Hawai'i at Manoa.
The sum of which + 10 kids on spring break + good food + weird dreams + an unusual phenomenon...
In short, Perfects x 2 + Greats + Okays = $10,000
This site is for the graphic novel, 10K Commotion. YUKON is illustrating the entire script and it's become a personal project.
As the tournament progresses, each chapter will be uploaded to the main page (in sections of between 10-20 pages) and readers can follow the story of these ten ambitous players through an event that changes all of their lives.
Except that it's really not that serious. Through college, everything in life changes so this manga is really just about 10 characters who have one thing in common and are destined to collide in front of thousands of people. They meet dozens of other players, both allies and enemies but it's no secret that The Platinum Mark and Team Psyclone will face off before it's all over.
Who will win in the end isn't as important as how they will get where they all end up. If you want to know where they all go from here, the rest of tenkay mo yoroshiku. :)
--yukon (2004)
The 10K Commotion is a Dance Dance Revolution™ Tournament held in Honolulu, Hawaii. Sponsored by the creators of the original game, this promises to be the biggest tournament ever in the USA.
Thousands of players will register and hundreds will win prizes ranging from cash & in-store prizes, modeling contracts and music video agent consultations, to endorsement agreements with clothing and merchandise sponsors and prizes from local sponsors.
The ultimate prize: $10,000 USD and the contract to model and motion capture for the yet unreleased DDR10K Mix.
Each team of 5 players will compete for top scores in Maniac and Trickster Divisions -- The most athletic, charismatic, and stellar-scoring team will rise to the top and be immortalized as the newest DDR All-Stars in the International Version of DDR10K. But over the week long competition, exactly who is the top team may not be so clear.
DDR terminology in 10K Commotion.
(Terms could change over time, but these are what was meant when TENKAY was illustrated.)
Stepping on the arrows in time with the music yields one of these responses from the machine in accordance with your accuracy: (in order)
- Perfect
- Great
- Good
- Boo
- Miss
- Okay: is a Freeze arrow held properly. It's just "okay" because that doesn't reference if you hit the arrow at the right time, simply that you held it without breaking (as opposed to NG).
- Marvelous: is a step hit with absolute precision-- better than Perfect but only awarded in certain modes.
________
Foot Rating: How difficult a song is depends on many factors. The foot rating gives an indication of how tough a song is before you start it, but there are five basic elements people discuss in the manga:
Stream: How much time you spend moving. The more stream there is, the less time for catching your breath.
Voltage: The maximum intensity of the steps in a song. Sometimes a song starts out tame and then gets insane... This rating lets you know.
Chaos: Just like it sounds, sometimes songs make you step to the beat, other times you step to the lyrics, the bass... or to everything or nothing!
Air: Also like it sounds, this rating tells you how much you can expect to jump. The total number of jumps determines how much air you'll get during a song.
Freeze: Sometimes you have to hold still. Managing your weight is essential to handling high freeze meters. If you can't stay still on the stage, then your freeze becomes an NGfor "No Good"
________
Modifer: they're used to alter the difficulty of a song. There are mods which alter the speed and direction of the arrows as well as the pattern of the steps and the way the arrows look on the screen. Mods can make a song easier or harder depending on how familiar you are with them.
Modifiers on the DDR 10K Commotion Mix are:
Speed= changes the speed at which the arrows scroll: 0.25x - 8x
Boost= start slow and speed up,
Brake= start normal and slow to almost stop,
Expand= flux in the middle
Hidden= appear normal then disappear before the mark,
Sudden= arrows do not appear until just before the mark,
Blink= arrows disappear and reappear
Dark= target arrows are not visible
(Stealth is NOT a selectable modifier at the 10K Commotion)
Mirror= step patterns played the exact opposite of normal
Left= normal step pattern turned to the left (eg. UP becomes LEFT, LEFT becomes DOWN)
Right= step pattern turned to the right
Shuffle= randomly chosen between 5 different patterns
Special Shuffle= arrows are randomly chosen within any of the 5 randomly chosen patterns
Reverse= arrows scroll from the top down
Flat= all arrows skins are the quarter note color, regardless of rhythm
Vivid= all arrow skins are the half note color
Solo= arrows skins are the same as DDR Solo Mix (This mod is only available if both players agree)
________
Catas: When the game first came out, the most difficult song anyone could play was 9 feet. So those songs were called Catastrophic, although now there are so many they can't all be listed here. Players call them catas for short and often take pride in how many they can master.
Boss Stage: A song that combines all of the most difficult elements into a routine that not everyone can clear. Some 9 foot songs are considered intensely hard but it's generally excepted that boss stages are songs with 10 feet. Flashing 10 Feet is an Extreme Boss... or so it seems. Max300, Maxx Unlimited, Legend of Max are the most famous boss stages.
Extra Stage: On Heavy/Maniac Mode, if you pass your whole game and score a AA on the last stage, then you get an Extra Stage. The Extra Stage is usually a Boss Stage as well (except with DDR 8th Mix, which allows you to choose any song you want for Extra Stage)-- the stipulations are, 1.5x Reverse. If you play the song with those mods and get another AA then you get an Extra Extra Stage or Encore Stage but that's a LOT more rare.
_______
Pump It Up: A comparable dance game, with a k-pop playlist, different from DDR because it has 5 arrows instead of 4 and can involve stomping 3 or more at one time.
In The Groove: A DDR emulator with a less j-tech playlist that incorporates new obstacles. Popularly played with Stepmania or at home.