How to Build a Dance Dance Revolution Game Pad

The Dance Dance Revolution game is available for almost all game consoles and has the player jumping up and down on squares on a game pad to match colored arrows on the screen. Metal dance pads can be quite expensive and tend to break down easily, so if you have the time available you can build your own by using items available at any hardware store.

Things You'll Need

• Plywood Sheet Metal Fiberboard Peg Board Screws Corner Braces Wood Glue Game Controller Soldering Gun Plastic or Lucite

Instructions

1. Get a single large piece of peg board in the exact dimensions that you want your dance pad to be that will serve as the base of the pad.

2. Cut out several squares of sheet metal and plywood that are all about one foot long on each side. The number of squares you need will depend on how large you are making the pad, but a standard size pad would need five of each.

3. Attach the sheet metal squares to the plywood with screws and then connect strips of fiberboard to the bottom with wood glue.

4. Use the corner braces to connect the squares together in an alternating pattern, so that you will have a 3 by 3 "X" shape when you are done.

5. Strip out the cables inside a game controller and solder them to the bottom of the sheet metal squares, but leave enough cable hanging out so that you can still connect the controller to a game console.

6. Screw the metal squares onto the base pegboard and then affix equal lengths of either plastic or Lucite into the four empty spots.

7. Connect the pad to the game console and play Dance Dance Revolution.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to have a large and sturdy workspace to build your pad on and wear safety goggles during the entire project.

Resources

• Official Dance Dance Revolution Website
• Hardware Supplies