The FGC, EVO, BB, and my traveling binge.

Ever since 2007 I've been part of what we call the "anime" fighting game community. The first fighting game I picked up was Guilty Gear Accent Core (for reasons I'll cover in a later post) just a couple months after the US release.

Ever since my first tournament I've been helping run them. It's because of this community that I've met so many cool people and made so many awesome friends. It's because of this that I care for the community so much and what goes on it it. I like it when people enjoy themselves at events and, in turn, I enjoy making that happen. Whether it's helping run brackets, buying someone lunch, or just being the loud-hype-white-guy, I like to make events enjoyable. It's just who I am. This is a tight knit community that I care a lot for.

With that being said, you can safely assume that I don't like it when the community I am part of is alienated, shunned, or cheated. I care too much for the people in it, as well as the events that make it what it is.

People hate or alienate certain games in the FGC is because it's split. As much as most people don't like to admit it, the FGC is split. Some people say it is split up by genre, and I say that this holds true a majority of the time. The categories you usually end up with are: Capcom, 3D, and Anime. You could split it up even further to the point where you're putting a community to each respective game: Marvel/SF4/KoF/MK/BB/SC/Tekken... etc (and for the point of this article I will float between the two different types of splits for different topics). But it's not just people that treat games unequally: it's the events.

So now it's time for me to be blunt: EVO 2012. You're not helping... at all.

We wonder why the FGC is split and there's so much hate on different sub-genres and certain games. We wonder about what we can do to make things better. Well, here's a good start: don't make shitty decisions that slap a community in the face. This year's EVO roster is fucked up for one reason, and one reason only: Street Fighter X Tekken. Let me explain...

1). Street Fighter 4: This is the flagship of the FGC even though some people will disagree. This is the game that started to grow tournament numbers and it's also the reason the FGC started to grow in exposure. SF4 brings in the most international players which makes things much more interesting. I do not personally play the game because I don't like playing it, but I will admit that the game is extremely hype at a high level. Whenever someone drops a combo or hit-confirm that could've turned the flow of the match you can hear the whole crowd react. Whenever you see someone put their balls on the chopping block, roll the die, and then WIN, you can feel the amazement from the people around you (not to mention hear their yells of excitement). The game is hype. I respect it. As much as I don't like playing it, I will admit that it's a fun game to watch. This game deserves to be in EVO.

2). Marvel vs Capcom 3: Some would say that MvC3 is taking over as the most popular fighting game in the US. It attracts players of all skill levels and has a huge cast. This is another game I don't like playing but for different reasons than SF4: I can't deal with the chaos. It's too much for me. Combine this with X-Factor and you're turning the game into Mario Kart (if people don't get this reference then you've never been in last place in Mario Kart before). I see lots of players get robbed and the salt pouring from their face is amazing. The game is hype to watch because of the passion that players (and spectators) have for it. A lot of people say this is our game. This strong feeling towards the game brings about strong emotions around matches (see: Final Round). This makes the game hype and enjoyable to watch, whether you like it or not. This game deserves to be in EVO.

3). King of Fighters XIII: Let's be real, KoF XII was a joke. It was broken to the point that no one took is seriously as a fighting game. At Chinatown Fair (RIP) we called it the HD coatrack because no one played it. This version really stepped it up. The game is competitive, clean and very solid. It's a good fighting game. It has that SF4 kind of hype where you can follow decisions being made and you can count the errors that decide the match. It deserves to be in EVO.

4). Soulcalibur V: I never played SCIV, but from the people I knew who played it, they always said the game was unbalanced. I have to say though, the SCIV top8 at EVO 2009 was really hype to watch. KDZ burning through all the Hilde players was fucking godlike. The community is there when it wants to support a game, and SCV definitely has a majority of the community behind it. The game deserves a chance to be in EVO.

5). Mortal Kombat: This raised a lot of eyebrows when it was announced in the EVO line-up for this year. In some sections of the US the game was a shadow of it's former self a year prior. The game had a lot of hype around it and it seemed to slowly die (and it 'died' in some regions faster than others). I'm not going to talk crap about the game or it's community though because I've never played the game and I have a lot of respect for the community. I don't play the game because I don't like the mechanics and that fact that the game is rebalanced too often (a common gripe I hear). I respect the community because they waited forever for a new version and the die-hards have held true. I love the shit-talk and hate in the MK community. I won't come out and say the game is omgwtfhype, but I won't say it's complete garbage and boring either. Did it deserve to be in EVO? Maybe… I would've liked to see BB put in before it (because it's a game I actually play), but there's one game that I hold both MK and BB above...

5). Street Fighter X Tekken: You've got to be kidding me. This is some sort of sick joke? Back when SFxT was announced for the EVO line-up I only had one question: Why? I kept asking myself this for one reason: no one has played the released version of the game competitively yet, so how can they put this in the world's biggest fighting game tournament? There are a couple things you do in life to make sure you don't fuck up and one of them is you drive the car before you buy it. I don't care if it's a brand new car and it's been road tested on some secluded track out in East Bumblefuck. The same thing goes for this choice: why are you going to put this game in a tournament without knowing it's a tournament viable game? The answer came out soon after: money. Capcom put up the money and got their unreleased game put in. The fact that the game has turned out to be complete and utter shit does not help their cause. The fact that EVO had to disable gems (one of the bigger selling points of the game) and change the format to 2v2 just goes to show how bad of a decision it turned out to be. The game has many underlying flaws that have been covered by many other people, so I won't list them here. This game does not deserve to be in EVO.

So why do I think BB deserves to be in EVO when put against the line-up?  I could list reasons, but the damage has already been done. You chose SFxT over it and the game is slowly dying in some regions because no one has a real reason to play anymore except for love of the game. EVO has a huge play in how popular a game is and how seriously people take it. If you're game isn't in EVO, there is a good chance that your tournament turnouts will be less than if the game were in EVO. This is why a lot of people were angry with the game choice this year: It's a factor in tournament turnout. I think EVO should've at least held off on the final game and held a poll. I'm sure BB would've lost anyway, but you know what? Any other game would've been better than SFxT, and Skullgirls would've been great. It's not too late EVO. Switch it up!

So what do we do as a BB community? Hold an awesome side tournament to show that we really care? Let me tell you about my side tournament experience at EVO: they shut off the TV during grand finals. They walked up and shut the TV off. Thanks. I really appreciate it. You can't spare a couple minutes to let the set finish? It's that big of a deal? I don't care if you had to setup for Bang the Machine: I came to support Melty Blood and Guilty Gear. Later Hellmonkey and Wuku decided to split the pot (I think) since no one had a CRT to play on. Lame… just fucking lame.

I'm sure James Xie will come though this year and throw an awesome side event since BB didn't get in, but I wouldn't hold my breath betting people will show up. It'll just be another SCR in terms of BB turnout.

I cover why there aren't huge turnouts for BB here. This was a post I made to try and get people to start supporting their local major to prove that we have at least some sort of presence in the FGC. I wouldn't say it's done much of anything, but it has gotten some people a little more motivated to make it out to at least 1 major a year if they like competitive play.

So where does this leave me now? I made a commitment this year to travel to each region that has a strong BB scene to see what goes on. I already knew a lot of people from WC, but I had never been to a tournament there; the same goes for Texas, Canada and Florida. I'll be writing about each event I went to as I feel necessary, but I went on my traveling binge this year for one reason: promote my own message. If I told people to travel, I had better set a good example right? I had better to go every event I possibly can, have a good time, introduce myself to players I've never met or known about and tell them that I hope they travel more. Support the scene. Go to your local major. If tournament numbers are what determine our presence, then we better put up or shut up. I know it's selfish, but I want to have my game in EVO. It gives the scene a reason to really show up, play, and give it their all. In order to do that, over the next year we need good turnouts.

Now, with all my hate on EVO, why say I want my game featured in it? Now let's get one thing straight: I may be a stubborn angry old man, but I know when to admit things, so let's just get this stuff straight:

1). The EVO staff (mainly the Cannon brothers and Mr. Wizard) have done more for the FGC than I ever have, and ever will do. I hold them in the highest regard when it comes to stuff like this. The fact of the matter is, I think they've made a pretty poor decision this year with SFxT.

2). I understand that Capcom put up the money for SFxT, and I also understand that they probably needed that money to run the event we all care about so much, but that doesn't mean I agree with their decision. I might be 100% wrong with how this all went down and I might be hating on them for a reason beyond their control. If that's the case then I apologize.

3). I think the community should come before money. I think they should have held off and had a vote at least. Let the FGC step up and seal their fate. If people hate BB, are sick of Tekken, and Skullgirls ended up being a flop, THEN I would've yielded completely.

I know that this article was kind of long, but it was the only way I could describe my feelings and how I arrived at my current opinion. If you've read everything thus far: thank you for taking time out of your day to read this. It means a lot.

Expect more stuff to come. I will be writing about my trips to Japan, Montreal, BB Revo Qualifier, Texas Showdown, CEO, and ECT. I will be writing about my plans for NEC and how I expect to break 100 entrants in GG, BB, and P4U. I will also be writing about important decisions I've made in my life, college adventures, and maybe even my job.

Follow me on Twitter @St1ckBuG to get any updates on this blog or when I decide to stream. Thanks again.

TLDR; EAD.

Until next time, stay godlike people.