attention: i'm now officially a certified EXPERT at korean dance game "pump it up". for context, this required clearing 37 step charts at D23 difficulty (D = doubles, which uses all ten panels), i've never filmed myself playing but here's a youtube video of somebody playing what i consider one of the hardest D23s i cleared (though he's one of the world's best so of course he did a LOT better than me)more context for those curious: i still have plenty of room to get better because difficulties in pump go up to D28 (singles caps out at S26), though the difficulty curve is so steep that there's probably no more than a thousand players in the world who can clear a D25, and that number drops precipitously with each successive level until you get to D28. there are only two D28 charts and they're probably be the hardest official charts ever released in a mainstream rhythm game, only eight players in the world have passed a D28 and at most only a handful of times. when the first D28 (paradoxx) was added it wasn't even known if it was possible to pass it, it was months before the world's best player pulled it off right after winning a tournament.. this is almost certainly the longest and hardest i've ever worked on anything, it's taken me about 4 years of regular playing to get to this point. i've played fairly consistently throughout, keeping to it like a gym routine and steadily ramping up over the years from two days a week to three and now five-six days a week, though i might've been able to do it faster if i hadn't had to take a lot of monthlong breaks here and there for various work trips, vacations, and illnesses.

i'd say it's had a lot of positive effects besides Difficulty Number Go Up, i think my discipline has improved by doing something regularly for so long, pushing through so many seemingly-impossible plateaus has showed me the value of perseverance, and of course i'm probably in the best cardiovascular shape of my life now. it also helped me get over my video game addiction, ever since i started i've played nothing else that could be considered a video game besides dabbling in some other arcade rhythm games (mostly ddr, sdvx, and pop'n). it's even helped me a bit with real dancing, the few times i've been at clubs i've impressed people with fancy footwork that i pulled off by imagining i was executing certain pump chart patterns. there are some dubious social benefits too, i can show up to any city in the world with an arcade that has pump and immediately make inroads with some of the locals, though they do tend to be of a certain "type" (in my experience pump players are the most well-adjusted out of all rhythm gamers, however).

anyways, this isn't all i have to say, stay tuned for an outrageously long essay coming up once i've had some time to write it, featuring more reflections on the journey, an outline of my Unified Theory of Pump, pad modding/maintenance tips, beginner advice, and some (extremely niche) advice for advanced players that i haven't seen anyone bring up before. i was considering calling it "What I Talk About When I Talk About Pumping" but that's probably a little much...