Hi guys, we aren't well known in KOF but my name is Chris Hatala, and my co-director, Harmon Tam, and I run Season's Beatings. Long story short, KOF got us back into actually competing at fighters (I play 3s, MvC2 and ST at high level but do not actually enjoy SF4/MvC3) and not just running a large tournament, so we really respect the game and are trying to do what we can to make it sucessful.
Also lol I'm posting the DC thread soon -- I'd like to have a couple key KOF announcements confirmed before we do but I will post it in the next few days.
Bala and MadKOF's grand finals really were a gift to the scene. They were the talk of EVO to attendants AND stream watchers, and it proved that not only is KOF a great game, it's a fantastic, fast-paced spectator sport as well.
I think KOF has a great chance to be a solid tournament game across the country for years (hopefully until KOF14 comes out and KOF blows up even bigger!), and I saw this thread on twitter and wanted to hopefully help with some thoughts and advice.
Positive reinforcement IS the main key IMO, great point. This starts at the top. Communities have been ruined because its top players/leaders were jerks -- elitist, unreliable, unfriendly, unsharing, and shit-talk crossing the line to childish feuds and total disrespect.
KOF seems to have a great community and strong leadership. If you're a leader on DC, in your local community, or a running KOF at majors, your behavior sets an example to your own players and also players from other game communities. Stay positive, support your game, encourage new players, and please don't shittalk other games. I really am impressed with the community and hope to count us apart of it after what we're trying to pull off at SB. I've seen a number of good games fall out of favor since 2004 when I started traveling to majors, and these were the main factors.
You guys seem to be doing that and as long as people love the game, it will continue to get supported at majors, which sustains the community. Keep going the extra mile to rep your game and travel for it! Trust me that major TOs will run whatever gets bodies to his event. So keep traveling and encouraging players of all skill levels to compete in person!
And yeah, keep streaming it and bug your local or major events to give it strong support on the main stream. Organize long sets or even MMs if you're down with that so people can watch and get hype and see strong players going at it.