KOF Community Growth and Outreach

[choysauce]

i think we need to teach those who are more reliant on netplay, how to start building a community in their own areas.

i spoke with a dude from norcal who said he REALLY wanted to start playing kof, but the closest place where people play is STA which is an hour and a half away for him.

so this guy really needs to start something in his own backyard. so the question is:
how do we help guys like these find a more accessible group to play with?

i'm sure he's willing to hold sessions at his place, the issue is where to advertise so that people will see that this guy is holding sessions. what can we do to alleviate this problem?

[desmond_kof]

When people are really reliant on netplay that either means two things:

1.) I virtually know NO ONE in my area that plays or is interested in playing KOF

2.) I'm shy and not very social-able to try get the local scene interested or to join the local scene at all

The first reason can come from either distance or not knowing if other players exist in the area. It can be difficult if other players arent very internet saavy to try to hunt for other players locally. Sometimes groups can fall apart from players becoming busy, not motivated anymore, drama, etc.

The second reason can come from people just being shy. Anti social players who don't care about playing in person, or may not have the means to do so.

Back in the 1990s before netplay, the only way to find people to play with in fighters was to play people in your own family. Brother, nephews, cousins, or close friends. So I think for people who are having trouble starting offline communities of your own, it's best to try to start within your family, then much later reaching out to the local communities (by searching on SRK or here, etc).

It's always tough if you are in the middle of nowhere and can't find no one to play with or is interested in playing a certain game. It's sorta like that for me with Melty Blood (even tho I can count on my hand the people who HAVE played in the past), sometimes it's just tough getting people to really commit and want to travel locally and make the time to play.

[Malik]

When people are really reliant on netplay that either means two things:

1.) I virtually know NO ONE in my area that plays or is interested in playing KOF

2.) I'm shy and not very social-able to try get the local scene interested or to join the local scene at all

The first reason can come from either distance or not knowing if other players exist in the area. It can be difficult if other players arent very internet saavy to try to hunt for other players locally. Sometimes groups can fall apart from players becoming busy, not motivated anymore, drama, etc.

The second reason can come from people just being shy. Anti social players who don't care about playing in person, or may not have the means to do so.

Back in the 1990s before netplay, the only way to find people to play with in fighters was to play people in your own family. Brother, nephews, cousins, or close friends. So I think for people who are having trouble starting offline communities of your own, it's best to try to start within your family, then much later reaching out to the local communities (by searching on SRK or here, etc).

It's always tough if you are in the middle of nowhere and can't find no one to play with or is interested in playing a certain game. It's sorta like that for me with Melty Blood (even tho I can count on my hand the people who HAVE played in the past), sometimes it's just tough getting people to really commit and want to travel locally and make the time to play.

Yeah, having family that plays FG definitely helps because they may know someone who plays & they'll tell them about you & that you play "X" game, thus spreading the word, the terrible netplay does affect the growth of the game, but that shouldn't stop people from try as you said, in their backyard, be willing to host in their or someone they know's place. I honestly think the biggest step now is to get people how to "deal" with their netplay issues & try to get people near them to play because I'm sure & confident that there are two people in a city in every state within a reasonable traveling distance that can connect, communicate, and share strats together, even if it's just two dedicated people to the game, I honestly think it's enough.

[souf]

I honestly think the biggest step now is to get people how to "deal" with their netplay issues

dang, nobody was into my idea about a "persona 4 got patched in week 1, what about us?" petition?

the problem isnt going to fix itself, but quite the contrary its ruining the hype evo created and forcing one of SNK's best to miss out on a growing community. shouldnt we speak up?
hell, even people who arent interested in playing kof would jump on board to speak up and support this. im sure nobody in the FGC wants a solid game to be hindered because of something that has nothing to do with gameplay/balance/engine

sorry to go on like a broken record, i just think trying this should be given a shot rather than telling new players "get used to it" and settling for a fraction of the scene that this game has the potential to build.

[desmond_kof]

dang, nobody was into my idea about a "persona 4 got patched in week 1, what about us?" petition?

It wont work.

The patch didn't even improve the latency it just made the bars more accurate.

[souf]

The patch didn't even improve the latency it just made the bars more accurate.

do you mean the P4 patch?

[desmond_kof]

The patch didn't even improve the latency it just made the bars more accurate.

do you mean the P4 patch?

The KOFXIII patch.

[choysauce]

I agree with desmond, i'm pretty sure we won't be able to get our way with a new netcode patch, I'm under the impression that snkp is not capable of making a patch that will help make it as good as p4 or street fighter (whether it be a budget issue or just simply talent/ability).

on top of that our community isn't as big as the capcom community. it's harder to make any motion for ourselves.

sorry to be a downer about this, but we can't rely on snkp/atlus to help us in this matter. we need to take action and figure out how to get past this barrier.

like desmond said, i like the idea of bringing in family/friends you already have. it definitely helps alot. i used to play with my little brother and my friends all the time.

i just got an idea, i might try to enact it myself or maybe someone could volunteer some ideas?

the idea is, i think we can help shy gamers somewhat if we can give some testimonials about people in the community that were super shy, but once they got into the community they opened up and became more social and made lots of good friends.

I, for one, am one of those people. if we could provide a platform to tell our stories, it might inspire some people to try meeting people. who knows =P

[souf]

oh okay, yeah you guys are right. i remember that patch. i went online afterward and i was like "hrmm, same shit different toilet" lol

but yeah, it was just a thought. the way i see it, even if it didnt get patched or fixed properly a petition would still show curious/new players and tournament organizers a few things: it would prove how well our scene is united, it would show just how many people desire to play the game enough to jump on board, and it would show how many non-kof players recognize this as a legit game enough to be looking out for kof's best interests despite not wanting to play it. so in a way even if the goal isnt reached it will still represent us well and may still attract more interest and keep the game alive in that aspect...? hah, i dunno just trying to think positive

but at the same time, the fact that a game needs a petition in the first place (and furthermore if the petition was unanswered) that may discourage new players...so its a bit of a catch 22.

i like the idea about encouraging shy players about opening up though...coming to the arcade definitely helped me come out of my shell. this game has introduced me to tons of people and helped me befriend some who i otherwise would have never even met

[Tyrant292]

As I said, I play with my brother and friend only. My other family members, they like the game but they think it's hard. As hard as I tried to get them to play, it's just they dont want to invest time into it. Personally online play is Important for me because of the lack of players here.

[Malik]

I agree with desmond, i'm pretty sure we won't be able to get our way with a new netcode patch, I'm under the impression that snkp is not capable of making a patch that will help make it as good as p4 or street fighter (whether it be a budget issue or just simply talent/ability).

on top of that our community isn't as big as the capcom community. it's harder to make any motion for ourselves.

sorry to be a downer about this, but we can't rely on snkp/atlus to help us in this matter. we need to take action and figure out how to get past this barrier.

like desmond said, i like the idea of bringing in family/friends you already have. it definitely helps alot. i used to play with my little brother and my friends all the time.

i just got an idea, i might try to enact it myself or maybe someone could volunteer some ideas?

the idea is, i think we can help shy gamers somewhat if we can give some testimonials about people in the community that were super shy, but once they got into the community they opened up and became more social and made lots of good friends.

I, for one, am one of those people. if we could provide a platform to tell our stories, it might inspire some people to try meeting people. who knows =P

You're definitely onto something because the only FG's I've wanted to taken to this level of passion & seriousness were 3rd Strike, Melty Blood series, and CvS2 & I've been playing FG's seriously since 2007. I just love this game so much & everything that it's enabled me to do, become, and allow me to see, not just in game, but with my life as well & it's very special to me which is why I'm willing to do everything I can to get people to see ALL of the shades of color in this game. Although this is my first KOF I've ever played seriously, I spent a ton of time playing 95 on PSX with my cousin back in the 90's & did a ton of KOF 98 & 2K2UM research before console version was released. Anyway, my point is that I think, everyone that plays this game, as a community, we should all have some sort of video collaboration or someone record at majors & ask the people that enter quick questions such as "What made you enter the competition for this game" or "What is it that makes the game appealing to you" type of ordeal to get the message around worldwide that we really love this game & it's not just the game, it's the community, adventures you have getting to play with various people, etc.

[solidshark]

I know I'll sound baised as the guy that runs the DC online matchmaking stuff, but I think the online should be supported as much as the offline, under favorable circumstances if possible. I'd expected to be running on-and-offline KOF XIII stuff in Michigan before an overseas job offer came along; I tried to get both going from over here but right now, online is the best way I can offer to help the scene.

I doubt anyone in this thread will totally forget about using KOF XIII online as bad as it is for a lot of people, but to use it less or focus on offline only still leaves a lot of people in the dust. If no one was getting any kind of decent connection, I wouldn't support the online at all, but people should at least still try. At worst it doesn't work with who you find or you find one or two people that you can use as training partners. If I had a choice between the offline and online getting bigger and better, I'd choose offline, no question.

It is hurting us that SNKP can't improve things now, but it looks much worse when no one uses it. Like Desmond said in an older podcast (I think about MB), even a game with great online can be sacked if no one is using it. I might support an idea for submitting something as a fanbase to SNKP, at least to try, but execution is also important. As I'm learning here, there's probably a wrong way to approach a JPN company when asking for something.

[desmond_kof]

At this point of time I feel that we have reached a point where there are games which have much better netcode (P4A, VF5 FS) that people would rather play than KOFXIII. To be honest, I have even went back to playing 02 on GGPO because I'm tired of the KOFXIII latency.

The easy way to get people to play fighters is hype and education. If people are seeing others are enjoying the game and there is much excitement around it, while there is help and educational materials to help new players, they will most likely be interested in trying the game out and becoming interested in learning.

[SPLIPH]

i think we need to teach those who are more reliant on netplay, how to start building a community in their own areas.

i spoke with a dude from norcal who said he REALLY wanted to start playing kof, but the closest place where people play is STA which is an hour and a half away for him.

so this guy really needs to start something in his own backyard. so the question is:
how do we help guys like these find a more accessible group to play with?

i'm sure he's willing to hold sessions at his place, the issue is where to advertise so that people will see that this guy is holding sessions. what can we do to alleviate this problem?

this would mean a lot to me >_< im in norcal as well and i think about how i could get something going on locally just about every time i want to play some KoF... i just have no idea where to start and wonder if its even possible where i am...

its pretty much one of the situations that desmond described. im definately a shy and not very sociable person, but i dont see that as the problem and being around other gamers is probly one of the easiest things socially that i can imagine. im definately not scared to join in on anything. i just dont know of any FGC near me or even a single stray player of any FG, or even how to reach out to any if they exist.

im about 3 1/2 to 4 hours from STA and hoping to get my ass down there soon. maybe its cuz im further out and already really into KoF, but if i was just an hour and a half away i would be completely stoked! wow! that guy is in a way better situation than i am. get this guy playing asap!

[LouisCipher]

The difficulty in starting a local scene is if there's no interest. Hype-ass Evo finals didn't seem to inspire much in the way of local scene growth. The online is tolerable but yeah, SNKP really dropped the ball on that one.