Category: Uncategorized

  • My Place in the Fighting Game Community

    My Place in the Fighting Game Community

    Fighting games like Street Fighter and Tekken have been a part of my story ever since I was a kid. I remember mashing out E. Honda’s hundred hands slaps on a Super Nintendo controller and slamming buttons on a PlayStation controller to get Eddy to perform capoeira flips on my older brother’s clearly inferior Jin Kazama. Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Street Fighter 3 combos captured my imagination later on in life, then the release of Street Fighter 4 changed everything. Fighters were no longer just a genre I messed around with on occasion; I had found a near infinite well of self improvement and game design to feed my hyper-fixations.

    After years of cutting my teeth in competitive gaming and game design with various ARTS developed in Warcraft 3, I felt disillusioned with the whole ordeal. Riot Games and Valve gave me ample reason to no longer feel I had a place in their communities, leading me in search for a new community to call my home.

    My interest in fighting games expanded rapidly and soon spilled into my personal life. I began  converting friends to Marvel 2, Mortal Kombat 9, and Tekken 6, before finding a place I felt welcome in the fighting game community (FGC) writ large.

    Skullgirls, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, and King of Fighters XIII were where I laid my head as I found out more about the smaller, more niche segments of what fighters had to offer. In collaboration with a life long friend of mine, Angry_Lil_Tuna, we began hosting fighting game events at his college dorm. The attendees were mostly fresh faced Smash players who didn’t know a pixel from a polygon, but we still had a fun time and I was inspired to keep exploring what tournament organizing had to offer.

    I ended up befriending a local TO, a old head Marvel 2 player from California who moved to the East Coast for work. Working with them, I was able to watch their events grow from small local gatherings in an old warehouse to slightly larger tournaments with multi-state representation, albeit still in a dingy warehouse. Unfortunately, the organizer ended up moving again for work, leaving behind a void in the southeastern MA scene that wouldn’t be filled for at least a decade later.

    As my interest in Skullgirls grew, I was able to find a post on the game’s forum about folks looking to gather and make the ride up to Boston for a tournament at Game Underground (GU). This would happen to be a very fortuitous decision to ask for a ride, because it led to me meeting two of the nicest people I’ve been fortunate enough to know in the fighting game community: Zidiane and Sharpie, aka the artists formerly known as FGC Dad & FGC Mom.

    Meeting folks like Zid, Sharpie, Lucky D, Alex Smith, and others in the New England scene made me feel incredibly welcomed and lucky to be introduced to such friendly community members.

    After getting scolded on Twitter by a prominent Skullgirls player for replying to one of their posts about finding a hotel despite not attending said event, I realized I might not need to spend more time looking for people I might vibe with in the Skullgirls community. I thought, “I might as well cut my losses.”

    And I’m glad I did because one of main pillars of that community happened to (allegedly) be a racist turd. Oof.

    At this point, I decided to take a break from organizing and going to events. Tuna and I learned Under Night and Granblue, before stumbling upon Virtua Fighter V thanks to the release on PSN. These newer games put a fire under my ass to get back into playing in person instead of just lagging combos in training mode.

    I didn’t exactly enjoy my time playing Under Night against higher level players, but I loved playing against friends at a similar level and learning together. Granblue wasn’t my cup of tea, but Virtua Fighter captured the attention of the old man spirit inside me.

    Tekken has always been my vibe, but Virtua Fighter cut out all the crap that I found distracting and left me with the pure unadulterated feeling of not being very good at a fighting game with clear instructions on how to improve. Tuna introduced VF to our new local as well, so the future is looking bright for in-person Virtua Fighting.

    In 2018, I had a heart-to-heart with myself on whether games and game design were going to be a healthy part of my life going forward. I felt I had spent enough emotional energy and money on games just to have them and the people associated with them disappoint me. I ultimately decided that games were a part of me despite the negativity that they’ve brought me throughout life. The caveat was that I would only focus on game design as a hobby and not let any one community dominate how I feel about the hobby as a whole.

    I began working on a new project in 2019 that aimed to combine the hectic fun of tag team fighting games with the strategy of board games. Creating a Discord community and promoting the prototype got me thinking just how little experience I had managing a community of gaming enthusiasts. I figured given my project wasn’t in a rush to publish, I might as well get some practice in managing the expectations, communication, and promotion of someone else’s game.

    A Twitter post by Mattrified Games caught my attention in 2019. It showcased an online rollback net code prototype he had created called MerFight. The game had roman cancels and street fighter ex-style chain supers, so I was hooked from the get-go.

    Then COVID hit and all the positivity from going to locals and meeting people in person was over… For a while at least.

    Eventually, I befriended Matt and helped him manage his Discord community, run tournaments, and promote Merfight. This included driving from Massachusetts to DC to help Matt demo Merfight at MagFest. I slept in my car overnight due to the rain and showed up a few hours later than expected, but it was a great time overall.

    Besides play testing Merfight, I was also allowed to contribute my voice to the game’s announcer. This marked an item off my bucket list and helped inspire me to work on other voice over projects, including the trailer for MegaKnockdown.

    I was in an awkward position as Merfight’s unofficial community manager, mainly due to both not being part of the actual team for the project (Matt is a solo dev and I respect that) while also putting myself out into the internet to absorb the negativity and vitriol from gamers. Negativity from within the Merfight community was rare, but it hurt even worse knowing that I was exposing myself to it for the love of a community that seemed to have grown tired of me as a person.

    I tried playing both sides of the equation; unfortunately, being both an avid fan and a community manager mixes as well as oil and water. If I made a suggestion for the betterment of the game/community, folks would accuse me of overstepping my role or wanting to turn the game into my own rather than respect it for what it was. If I gave half-hearted joking suggestions from the perspective of a fan, many folks would act as if I was trying to be the Wormtongue to Matt’s King Theoden, whispering untruths into his ear.

    This made engaging in the Discord outside of an administrative role feel like a lose-lose situation. The fact that I would often be the most active person on the Discord only made me feel more like a loser who wouldn’t shut up about something no one really cared about. Mattrified’s games are worth fanboying over, but I didn’t feel good about myself either being or being perceived as that fanboy.

    The straw hit the camels back during a stream when a combination of folks associating me with Merfight and me wanting to talk about the game led to both streamers scolding me for bringing it up when another game was meant to have the lime light. My comment was intended to be light-hearted and to my opponent, but instead it was read aloud on stream as if I had wanted to upstage the broadcasters

    The reaction to my comment made me realize I didn’t need or want to spend time playing games with folks online if I’m going to be perceived, justifiably or not, as an obnoxious fan. I try not to let folks’ opinion of me bother me, but I am tired of being online where everything can be misconstrued willfully or otherwise, even with folks I generally vibe with.

    ComboBreaker will be the last event I travel for out of state, and probably the last event I attend for a while. I don’t know how I’ll be getting there or even if I will still have a hotel room when I get there, but I want to at least see the people I appreciate in person before spending more time at locals and with other hobbies (This was written before the event, but since it’s been a while, I’ll mention that ComboBreaker was great).

    Will I still be playing fighting games? Absolutely! But I don’t think I need to expend much more money or energy on trying to contribute to the fighting game community. I’ll be glad to contribute to individual projects, artists, or niche communities; it’s just the capital F. G. C. that I’m done with for now.

    The fighting game community will do just fine without me. I’m glad I was able to meet such kind and lovely people, work with some of them on incredible art, and make lasting friendships, but I am disappointed that I’m once again in search for a gaming community where I feel welcome.

    I’m hitting the age that could easily be the middle of my life without being technically middle aged. With the world how it is especially, I’ll be spending more of whatever I have left on my partner, my pets, what remains of my family, and on my loved ones near and far.

    Part of that redirection of energies includes me streaming more on Twitch and uploading the VODs to YouTube. Having a routine outside of my professional work has been incredibly fulfilling, as has being able to talk to my close friends each week, and share games with folks in chat.

    If you’d like to be a part of the experience, feel free to stop by whenever I’m live.

  • Simple, Fun, and Engaging – The Fall Guy Review

    Most of what I heard about The Fall Guy before seeing it myself was folks pondering on Twitter, “who is this movie made for?” It turns out the movie is made for folks who love movies. Whodathunkit?

    Rarely do I get to watch a movie that feels so jam-packed with passion and love for the art form. Not only is The Fall Guy a movie about movies, it’s a movie about the people who make movies. Emily Blunt plays a stunt coordinator turned director playing opposite Ryan Gosling, a stunt man forced into early quasi-retirement who is brought back for one more gig. Winston Duke excels as the movie-within-a-movie’s stunt director; he’s a great addition to an already stellar cast. What was marketed as a nonstop action romp turned out to be much more of a romantic comedy through the lens of film making, which was a pleasant surprise. The writing was witty, the actors looked like they were having a blast, and the visual effects were stunning.

    Compared to the director’s other similar project, Bullet Train, The Fall Guy kept me engaged throughout and was more polished overall. I usually find myself nitpicking dialogue or special effects if I’m not really into a movie. Besides leaving to get drink refills and a quick bathroom break, my partner and I were stuck to our seats, nearly forgetting to eat all of the snacks we snuck in with us.

    The question is, was this movie worth watching in the theaters instead of catching it on streaming in the comfort of my own home? I guess that depends on your living situation, but The Fall Guy was worth watching on the silver screen. Health concerns notwithstanding, the theater feels like the right place to see a movie that is a celebration of the industry as well as the art. TFG may not have a gimmicky popcorn cup like Dune 2, but it was worth seeing in the theater for the sake of talking about it on the walk to the parking lot.

  • Player Psychographics in Warhammer 40k

    Player Psychographics in Warhammer 40k

    Everyone is different. Thankfully, tabletop wargames offer a great case study of the various player psychographics that help designers categorize different types of players and what makes them tick. Timmy, Jimmy, Spike, and Vorthos are all equally valid and developers should be cognisant of their wants, needs, and turn-offs.

    The Tau Empire is well known for its devastating ranged firepower and not much else. This polarizing design offers players who are drawn to that play style a comfortable and familiar place to get into Warhammer while leaving a sour taste in other players’ mouths who prefer meeting their opponents in face-to-face combat. It is often more effective to create a game that some people love and some people dislike than a game that everyone thinks is so-so. Focusing on the various types of players your game will attract will help you create unique experiences that will resonate with different types of people.

    Orkz are as simple as it gets: march forward, charge, and clobber your opponent. Timmy prefers showing up to the game table with a few beers and a bowl of peanuts and appreciates the lack of complexity, while Johnny would be bored before the game even started.

    Johnny wants to express something about themselves, and thankfully, tabletop gaming offers plenty of opportunities. Not only does the act of hobbying create a sense of ownership, but the Johnny will also be happy as a clam with a list building app or a codex with all of the options and combos they have at their disposal laid bare.

    Spike isn’t looking for a specific aesthetic or style as much as they enjoy the experience of learning and perfecting their gameplay to be the best that they can be. Skill expression isn’t as much of a concern, as long as they have the best chance at winning. This player will be more focused on the minutae of gameplay rather than anything else and pushing specific values in certain areas will give them plenty of clues to discover.

    Vorthos are often more difficult to design for, given they are specifically drawn to the storylines, characters, and background lore. Tabletop wargaming offers a unique look into potential gameplay hooks for these types of players; fundamentally tabletop gaming is about shared storytelling and these players will be most drawn to that aspect of the game. Artwork, stories, and the miniatures themselves will do wonders towards catching a Vorthos’ eye.

    These basic player psychographics extend far past tabletop wargaming, but they can be especially useful when designing a multifaceted miniatures strategy game. No player will love every aspect of your project, but when each feature is designed to be loved by someone, you’re bound to have left a memorable expression.

  • “Us” – Review

    “Us” – Review

    First of all, I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy despite everything going on. We’re all in this together. In an attempt to distract from some of the horrible things being committed on U.S. soil, I recently decided to watch Jordan Peele’s second film, “Us.” For your sake, I’m going to do my best to avoid spoiling anything that isn’t clearly apparent in the trailers. Like Peele’s breakout hit, “Get Out,” this film is worth watching without knowing much going in.

    The existence of evil doppelgangers is splattered all over the marketing for “Us,” so I feel no guilt in starting off by saying that the actors who were tasked with playing two versions of themselves did a phenomenal job. There’s a magic to the juxtaposition between the two families when you realize that each of the four actors had to play twice as many roles, often without a scene partner.

    Lupita Nyong’o’s performance was specifically astounding given she has admitted to not having been a fan of horror movies prior to joining the project. The protagonist, Addy, is a fantastic stand-in for the traditional horror movie-going audience; she ‘gets it’ more than the rest of her family and is cautious from the moment she senses something is off. This is offset by Nyong’o’s depiction of Red, Addy’s evil doppelganger, who is terrifying yet surprisingly sympathetic. If her Oscar wasn’t enough to convince you of her talent, “Us” allows Lupita to show off her range and expertise in front of the camera twice as much as normal.

    In regard to the plot, pacing, script, set design, musical choices, and cinematography, it sounds silly saying anything other than that they perfectly match the tone and themes of the film. Jordan Peele as a remarkable way of taking iconic songs and making his audiences appreciate them in a new light. It goes without saying, given his storied careers in comedy, Peele captures the exact amount of laughs that a horror movie needs to break up the tension. Interestingly, Winston Duke’s comedic timing is able to steal the stage frequently throughout the film regardless of whether it’s Peele that helps provide most of the power behind the punchlines.

    It’s important to mention that, although it’s easier to describe “Us” as a horror film, I really wasn’t scared at any time throughout the runtime. Peele is able to capture a spooky tone and atmosphere dripping in tension and dramatic irony but falls short of actually making me want to avert my eyes. This isn’t a critique of the film as much as a warning for those who expect a pants-staining murder fest to temper their expectations a bit. Instead, you’ll be greeted by a remarkably paced suspenseful thriller about murderous doppelgangers. Given I’m not a huge fan of schlocky horror, I was glad to see Peele decide to take a different approach while still nailing all of the telltale marks of an effective horror film.

    If I was handcuffed to a table by my evil doppelganger and forced to criticize the movie, I’d say that Jordan wasn’t able to craft as a believable world to set his supernatural horror-thriller in as he was with “Get Out.” Most viewers will have to make large logical jumps in their head to excuse some obvious issues with the world-building and explanations behind the premise. However, if you’re able to excuse having to suspend your disbelief more than usual, you’ll have a blast with Peele’s sophomore horror outing.

  • Return of Reckoning – Warhammer Online Follow-up

    Return of Reckoning – Warhammer Online Follow-up

    With the United States not looking any closer to figuring out it’s response to the coronavirus than it has the past few months, it’s been a great time to get back into the Warhammer Online private server, Return of Reckoning.

    The rogue server just recently ran a Twitch Drops promotional event, which caught my attention and had me back in the world of Warhammer all over again. This time, however, I took a more PvP focused approach. During my first attempt at trying the game out, I spent a lot of time on group quests and open world PvP without touching organized PvP. Since objective oriented PvP is available from level 1 onward, it’s easier than any other MMO, except perhaps Guild Wars 1, to jump straight into player versus player.

    Warhammer Online suits this play style perfectly, allowing me to experiment with new classes in PvP while ranking up. I decided to take my engineer out for a spin and ended up at the top of the damage charts multiple times. My attempts with my Witch Elf did not go as well, however. Being able to immediately scale up to the rank of the PvP content you’re doing is handy when you want to be able to start ganking other players right from the get-go.

    Return to Reckoning suffers from the same issues that many PVP-centric MMORPG run into, namely that team coordination is a must. There will be some games where your team is just not matching up to your opponents. You can get completely locked out of a contested zone or get your base camped by enemy players through no fault of your own, which is a deal breaker for some folks. If you have an even modestly coordinated team, however, you should have a blast.

    My main focus during my last gaming session was scenarios, an instanced PVP variant that players can queue for. Many scenarios share similar mechanics: carrying a flag, capturing control points, or carrying flags while capturing control points. That being said, the straight forward nature of combat allows players to focus more on their individual positioning and role on the team rather than fulfilling some arbitrary gimmick.

    Once again, I would whole heatedly recommend Warhammer Online: Return to Reckoning to anyone who has even a passing interest in PVP MMOs or the Warhammer franchise. For a rogue server, RTR offers some of the best player versus player content on the market with plenty of extra fluff for everyone else to enjoy as well.