Hello everyone! I NEVER post on any type of forums given the, shall we say, less than civilized manner that most folks conduct themselves with. After many weeks of reading these boards I was impressed with the manner in which folks here present themselves so I thought I would give it a go!
So a little about myself...
I've been playing fighters since SF1/Karate Champ days, but never thought they were truly great until SF2, like most folks. I grew up in Davis, and with the amount of foreign students (chinese, korean, japanese) that populated it, at the age of 14(15?) I knew where to go and played against folks who already knew a lot about the game. The spot where most folks played (a crappy little Safeway across the street from campus) ended up getting Fatal Fury before anywhere else in the area and thats where my love affair with Terry B. started (no homo)
. I enjoyed AoF as well, but not as much as playing a guy who could punch the ground and make fire come out of it. It was just something about that and the Burning Knuckle that really spoke to me as a kid.
When an import version of KoF'94 arrived, most of the exchange students started playing that and I had no qualms whatsoever. I actually became much better at that game than SF2 and was quickly respected as "not free" at that game (i.e. the guys would actually pay attention while fighting me, rather than disgrace me by ignoring the match as they talked to their friends). A little later my family moved to a different part of town and I began to inhabit the local arcade. I spent lots of time there, ended up working there when I was old enough and stayed there until its unfortunate demise.
KoF'98 became my favorite, go to game.
I fell out of fighting games when the arcade scene died out; making your own stick was a nightmare and there weren't any affordable options for someone who barely had enough money to keep his ass from being homeless. Playing on pads just didn't cut it, and without arcades to keep groups together the pool of available players fragmented and eventually became so limited that I gave up on the genre. I would buy the latest version of KoF or SF when it would come out, have fun messing with new mechanics and such, then get bored of the CPU and never play it again.
Well fast forward quite a few years, and now there is a dedicated, flourishing scene and the internet for us to coordinate meet-ups. Netcode in-game to me is a joke. Take no offense, but growing up in arcades has soured me to any kind of online play for fighting games. It really feels entirely different and not being in the same room with your adversary compounds the difference. The socialization factor is yet another difference. I realize that there are those of you that live in areas where there is no scene, and online play is essential for you to enjoy the games and I honestly empathize for you. If only all of us were connected by a 20 minute train ride like Japan is...
Since Street Fighter 4 has been such a boon to the community, it really pleased me to see the response. I've been going to tourneys in my local area when time permits. I'm still shaking off the rust as its been so long since I've played competitively and my now-old-man reflexes really are NOT helping.
Even though I am not a fan of online play, I am always willing to help folks in the community who want to work on match-up experience. This area has a community called Salty Peanuts that I will be participating in as soon as KoF13 is released. I will be bringing my setup exclusively for that game, attempting to hype it up at the local area and help folks who are willing to learn.
So I guess thats it! I look forward to learning and sharing with the community here at DreamCancel.
