‘Just come play.’ Philly’s rhythm gamer community wants to help you get a perfect score.

On any given weekend, Jacqueline Ott-Tran can be found on an hour-and-a-half commute from her home in Macungie in Lehigh County, to Round One at the Fashion District in Center City. Donning her custom Dance Dance Revolution sweatshirt with her name and favorite Hello Kitty character printed on the back, she’s ready for a full day of rhythm games with her friends.

“On weekends, I typically spend five to six hours [here],” she said. “Because I live far away … I come here, play a little, hang out with friends, and then we go out for dinner. Then we come back here and play some more.”

Ott-Tran has been playing Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) since 2019, when she joined the DDR club at Pennsylvania State University. The pandemic slowed her down, but she has now been playing consistently for two years.

While Round One offers several different types of rhythm games to play, she prefers and has built her skills in DDR.

The second she steps on the dance platform and selects the song she’ll be dancing to, she gets in the zone. Ott-Tran’s focus completely dials in on the arrows on the screen, and her feet start moving faster than what seems possible for the human body.

“For DDR specifically, you have to focus on timing,” she said. “Rhythm games are very precision-based. There’s a lot of people who are on the neurodivergent side. I myself have ADHD, and I’m really, really hyper. Playing dance games helps me to get some of that excess energy out.”

When she’s dancing, Ott-Tran is cheered on by the folks in her group, Fashion District Philadelphia Friends (or FDP Friends). Their matching T-shirts are drenched in sweat, and they won’t be drying off any time soon.

“I’ve made a lot of friends here. The community’s great,” said Justin Santos, who lives close enough to Round One that he can play rhythm games several times a week. “Once I started coming back here a little bit more often, I see a lot more of the usual faces. I befriended them and found out there’s a community involved.”

Santos has been playing DDR since its early days, having gotten his start on DDR 3rdMix, which was released in 1999. Now, he enjoys several 1v1 rounds against his friends, with scores generally tending to be neck and neck. After a few songs, his sweatband struggles to do its one job. But he keeps going, and says he loves “the challenge of it.”

The bonds forged on the pink and blue arrows has, for many members of FDP Friends, been a reason to keep coming back.

Ott-Tran finds that because she sees the same people so often, it gets easier to make conversation and plans outside of Round One. Through DDR, she has found friends to go with her to Shady Maple, Hersheypark, and anime conventions.

She says playing with the group also makes her better at DDR.

“When you see someone playing so good, it inspires you to play better,” she said.

Jeremy Senh has been playing DDR since he was much younger, having been introduced to it by his older sister. But he felt nervous when he first started going to play at Round One. Now, he says the rhythm game community has been welcoming and helpful when it comes to tips on how to be a better player.

“Even though I started out really shy and didn’t know how to start a conversation with them, I slowly just warmed up and now here I am,” he said. “I actually made friends with people who have the same interests that I have. We get to play the same game together and have fun together and cheer each other on.

“When you start out low, you build up a skill. Don’t be scared to ask other people for tips.”

Ott-Tran agrees, and is hopeful that those new to DDR at Round One wont be intimidated by their large group.

“We’re not scary at all. You might see a bunch of people going so hard on the dance floor … but I only started playing two years ago,” she said. “Just come play. We promise, we’re not judging you.”

To find out when FDP Friends will be meeting up next, join their Discord channel at FDPfriends.com.