Listening to: Ya Ya Ya - Baby Vox


I've been addicted to AuditionSEA recently, and I guess that's pretty much of a dream come true since I'm a DDR fan! Well anyways, if you have no idea what AuditionSEA is about, you should get a slight hint when I said I'm a DDR fan. Well, that's if you actually know what's DDR which I think everyone SHOULD know what the heck it is. For the mountain turtles, DDR is a dance game found at arcades, which unfortunately has disappeared gradually over the gloomy years and has been replaced by idiotic ParaPara machines.. *swears*


Getting back to the main topic, AuditionSEA is really fun, and the clothes offered covers a huge variety, which of course is much better than MapleSEA in a way. PLUS, the characters look WAY much better. So anyway, what really in the world is AuditionSEA [finny isn't really helpig much by adding unneccessary details]?


The game consists of several modes of each category - 'single' and 'team'. For example, choreography mode [my fave!]. You'll be given a set of arrows, which you have to type in using the directional keys on your keyboard before the next beat of the song. In a nutshell, you have to follow the beat as you enter the arrows by pressing the spacebar at the end of the completed set. If you happen to miss a beat because you can't type very fast, or your computer lags, you get a miss! Well, it means you have to wait for 3 beats before you can continue with the rest of the arrow sets. As you progress through the song, the level of the arrow sets increase, meaning the number of arrows will increase in each set gradually [It's the same with all modes]. Then finally, you'll reach a 'finish move', where you have to type super fast. It's the most brilliant move in the whole song obviously since it's the finishing move. It'll also give you a lot of points if you manage to pull it off. You'll come across a red circle in the 'finish move' set. If you see that, DON'T type the arrow in the given direction, instead, key in the opposite direction!


An easier mode for the single category, and also recommended for beginners, is the 'normal individual' mode. It's obviously much easier because unlike 'choreography' mode, you don't have to enter every set at each coming beat. So basically, it's impossible to miss, unless you hit the spacebar at the wrong timing that is. However, if you DO miss [or miss a beat], you'll go back a few levels and you'll find yourself typing level 1 sets, which are sets of 1 arrow each. The good thing is, you don't have to wait for 3 beats to continue [unlike choreography mode]! The bad thing is, if you keep missing, you won't have the chance to do a finishing move, nya nyaa~! Also, 'normal individual' mode offers a 'freestyle' mode, where you create your own moves! For beginners, at the level 6 set, you can basically type 'right left right left right left' or stuff like that. The levels do increase, and you'll find yourself doing pretty neat level 9 freestyle moves which include breakdance moves or other somersault stuff!



Other modes in the 'single' category are 'freestyle battle', 'dynamic-4', 'dynamic-8', and other less important ones. To find out more, go play yourself! But I'll just elaborate slightly on 'dynamic-8'. The mode is for experienced players, people who think they're very pro already. Other than the normal 'up', 'down', 'left', and 'right' arrows, there are also diagonal direction arrows. Of course you don't use your directional arrow pad anymore. Instead you use your number pad, where 1, 3, 7, and 9 are for the diagonal arrows. The normal arrows can be keyed in using 2, 4, 6, and 8.



Of course they're optional add-ons during the game itself, like '8-key' and 'chance'. '8-key' is like what I've explained earlier, and this add-on can be achieved by pressing the 'insert' key. When doing normal modes like 'choreography' or 'normal individual', pressing the insert key will ONLY affect your arrows, meaning you'll be the only one using the number pad unless the other players you're competing with are also using '8-key'. 'Chance' gives you red arrows, which I mentioned earlier, you key in the opposite direction. This mode can be activated by pressing the 'delete' key. Both modes can be used at the same time, and that's if you're REALLY pro. Obviously you'll get more points if you use these modes [either 1 or both] and manage to succeed.



The 'team' category consists of 'dynamic-4', 'sync-8', 'couple dance', 'expert couple dance', 'b-boy battle', 'dance all night [or whatsoever it's called since it's a pretty long name]', 'choreography', and other less significant ones.



The 'couple dance' mode is pretty sweet, and it serves as a pretty good destresser. As the name of the mode suggests, it's for teams of 2 only, and 1 room can only have a maximum of 2 couples. You CAN'T partner with someone of the same gender [the game won't let you, and you'll pretty much won't intend to when I elaborate further later]. The game starts after you pick a song [people normally pick slow songs since it's pretty hard to look at arrow sets with gaps in the middle (the gaps are the faded arrows which your partner has to follow)] You only key in the non-faded arrows! Keying in the faded arrows will only result in you having to retype the whole set of arrows again. If you miss, you'll implicate your partner as well, and he/she can't dance for 3 beats. The mode is not all too bad despite the pressure which will increase since you can't afford to miss [it'll save you adverse remarks from people, especially your partner, if you don't miss or miss too much] The cute part is, if your partner and you manage to pull off a perfect move at the same time, you two will get a heart in the middle. If 3 or 5 [I can't really remember] hearts are achieved, you two will hug! If more than 5 or 10 hearts are achieved [I can't remember this either], you two will kiss~! Well, there's also an 'expert couple dance' mode, which will include '8-key'.



I'll do my last elaboration on 'dynamic-4'. This mode is included in both 'single' and 'team' categories. It's like a mix of 'choreography' and 'normal individual' mode. You must key in each arrow set by the next beat like 'choreography' mode, and there's a freestyle stage like 'normal individual' mode. The differences between this mode in 'single' compared to 'team' are that in 'team' category, you do two freestyle stages when it's your turn instead of one in the 'single' category. Also, if your team wins, you get more dens [AuditionSEA currency]!!



Well, that's pretty much of what I know since I only started 2 weeks ago. Currently AuditionSEA added two new modes - 'Dance All Night [or whatsoever it's called]' and '1,2 Party' mode. The former is like 'normal individual', where you don't have to wait for 3 beats if you miss, but like 'choreography', you have to finish each arrow set by the next beat and the level of arrow sets won't decrease if you miss. It's also pretty neat in a way because after the last level 9 arrow set, you can freestyle all the way and end with a finishing move. The bad thing is, the songs are freaking fast and the slowest is a freaking 128bpm!! Ok, so maybe 128 bpm is slightly boring, but it's definitely NOT encouraged for beginners.



'1,2 Party' mode is one of my favourite modes too, because you're required to follow closely to the beat and memorise the actions the npc demonstrated. The keys required are only 2, 4, 6, and 8, and add ons like 'chance' and '8-key' can't be activated [even if you do activate them, you have no use for them]. At the end of some number sets [the npc will say some numbers], he/she will say 'yeah' or 'go'. For 'yeah', you have to press '5' or 'insert'. For 'go', you have to press 'spacebar' or 'plus'. That's basically about all, fun eh?



Anyway, I got to go!! Have to level until at least level 50 before I spend my remaining time in AuditionSEA, wahah! Ciao!