Where should you look when playing?

[Outer Force]

I have horrible timing and can't even get an AAA in a 5-foot song. I've started to wonder if I'm doing something wrong. So, where should you focus your eyes? Should you look at each individual incoming arrow? Should you fix your eyes to the middle of the screen? Should you fix your eyes exactly at the arrows on the top? Should your eyes be fixed to one point or should they move around? Any help is appreciated.

[DAVE101]

You should look at the keyboard

[kisehappan93]

Well, I'm pretty much like everyone else: I just focus on the arrows and try to press the keys in-sync with the music.

Unless of course, the arrows are off-sync.

[dille_21]

i actually find it harder to AAA or quad star (whatever theme you have) anything below a 7...

i usually keep my eyes focused on a fixed position in between the arrows at the top and step rating (fantastic, excellent, great, boo, marvelous, etc) or sometimes on the step rating... its all about preference, im sure you could get use to looking right where the arrows come up (or down) if you really wanted

[Akira]

look at the screen of course, it's as long as you're familiar where your foot will go (if you're using a pad) or your fingers (on KB)

familiarize yourself spatially to the input first.

[John Jorell]

Akira's right. If you want to achieve a high score in SM or DDR arcades, focus your eyes on the screen and learn to familiarize the position of each and every arrow.

[Bantroth]

I find that if I focus at the top of the screen, where the arrows are, I get better timing, but if I move my screen back so the screen is smaller and then look about 3/4s up, I can read the patterns better.

[TougaKiryuu]

this is totally gonna sound weird, but here goes. I look here:



You're ALL probably like ..wtf? Lemme explain why. I start reading from there so that I can anticipate what's coming up rather than what's in my face right then and there. Sounds odd, but that's how I roll.

[Gordina Brown]

i look about 3/4 of the way down the screen on overhead, and about halfway down the screen with distant/hallway

[delrio]

I generally watch 1/3 to 2/3 down the screen. Any higher up than this, and I have trouble reading streams, and any lower than this, I have trouble remembering what I saw by the time it gets to the top.

Of course, if I were to use xmods, that would change things a bit here.

[NintendomaniacUSA]

I'm the same way, I generally look halfway to 2/3rds of the way down the screen, however, songs that I'm extremely familiar with (Healing Vision, DXY! Holic) I can play with only glancing at the screen once or twice for a general refresher of where the steps are...the more you familiarize yourself with your music, the better a player you'll become, and eventually, you'll be able to play without looking at the screen at all. Good for players trying to master the hardest songs...because there are just some gallops and crossovers that require you to turn circles.