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Avid reader and supporter of iPW, Rodney aka Avatar2 dropped by to tell us a bit about his entry into the Street Fighter 4 tournament scene. After the release of SF4, not only is he a tournament player, but he also organizes local tournaments in Columbia, South Carolina. Hopefully this article will inspire some of you to throw your own tournaments in your local area no matter how small you think your scene may be.
Check out Columbia, SC's Tournament schedule at http://sctourney.wordpress.com.
;)
I have been playing Street Fighter since Street Fighter II: World Warriors hit arcades in the early 90s. I still vividly remember as a small child hanging out in the mall arcade while my parents shopped. As a kid I never had much money, so I usually watched the action on one of the long rows of SF2 machines. I watched others play and watched the game’s demo reel, all the while imagining that someday I’d be able to play against others. One day I’d know what it is like to show off my skills and to beat another live person.
Fast forward to late last year. The release of Street Fighter II: HD Remix with its excellent online code gave me a taste of that dream. The lobby system in particular really brought back those arcade memories. Six people would be in the same lobby room and players would take turns trying to knock the winner out while the other players who are not in the match watched and chatted. It rekindled that childhood desire to not just play, but to be competitive.
All the while Street Fighter 4’s release loomed and the more I learned about it the more this competitive desire grew. Through blogs, podcasts, and YouTube videos I watched the small but fascinating SF4 scene in California and wanted to be part of something like that. Like most players in this country (no local arcades), I had to wait for the release of the console version to play it but I knew that once it released in February 2009 the Street Fighter scene would explode nationwide. I also knew that since only a handful of SF4 arcade machines are even in this country that virtually everybody would be starting over with this game. The playing field would be level enough for me to finally get into the tourney scene and to experience the thrill of playing against others live and to meet other players.
Before Street Fighter 4’s release I had never been to a tournament but soon after I got my copy I took my first steps into the scene. I played in the first round of the nationwide Gamestop tourney and got first place in my store. I started looking at tourney threads in various forums and discovered that SF4 tourneys were happening all the time, even though they were mostly in a neighboring state. I missed Final Round XII in Atlanta because I was ignorant of the fact that it was *the* tourney to go to in the South-East and instead opted to go to Impact Clash IV, which was also in the Atlanta area. It was here that I experienced a real tournament setup. It wasn’t an optimal experience (it started really late) but the number of players that showed up inspired me to not just be a tourney player but to perhaps even be a tourney organizer at some point.
It’s fortunate that SF4 has pretty good online code, aside from glaring problems in its player matching search capabilities. Since there was no local SF4 scene to my knowledge at this point, I was forced to use online to hone my skills as best I could. I thought I was getting pretty good. I remember when I ran into Dave Sirlin, a known talented SF4 competitive player (who even wrote a book about playing to win) and the excitement I had after that very narrow victory. Sure it was online and lag is an issue with tourney players, but it was still huge for me.
There came a point where I hit a wall in my progress as a player and here is where the game’s online really helped. I had discovered iPlayWinner at some point and was a frequent visitor. One day I noticed the training section and gave it a look. They offered a training session with pro players and I was thrilled. I got to play for over an hour picking the brain of Magus1234, one of the best Blanka players out of California over Xbox Live and that experience was invaluable. I also got to play against Haunts, which was also amazing. That experience lifted not only my play ability but also my desire to play in tourneys.
I noticed that there was a very small tourney happening in Mid-May right here in Columbia SC. I had plans to travel to Augusta for another tourney which was happening on the same day but decided to go to this one just for the sole purpose of hopefully meeting local SF4 players. I’m so glad I made this choice. The tournament was much larger than I expected it to be with 14 players. That does not sound like much but I knew that this was primarily a Smash Brothers tourney with SF4 thrown in at the last second to see what interest there was. Even with no advertizing we got 14 players and I got to play against and to meet many local players.
I got 3rd place in the tourney but that was not as important as the people I met. I found that there were really good players right here in Columbia that are just as excited as I am. At that tourney I think the Columbia SF4 scene began to take off as we all talked and planned after the tourney about how to grow. This tourney not only inspired me as a player but also as a tourney organizer. I learned that you really did not need to go to a large tourney to find competition and to have fun. Not only that, but I learned that running a tournament, while it does require some know-how, was not as daunting a task as I envisioned and really could be a lot of fun. When the next tourney in the same venue was announced for the 6th of June I quickly volunteered to organize and run the Street Fighter 4 portion.
I threw myself into the task with excitement. I put up and maintained the tourney thread and tried to get the word out. I found that the traditional method of advertizing tourneys in forums was daunting and confusing to casual players so I created a small blog website dedicated to tourneys in our state (http://sctourney.wordpress.com) so that organizers like myself can point new players to one place for tourney info.
When this tourney came I was as excited about the tourney as I was about running the tourney as I was about playing. This time 20 people came for SF4 including 5 players from Augusta, GA. There was a lot of really great talent at this tourney. SonGohanX from Myrtle Beach, SC won the last Columbia tourney and has a strong Blanka. Battle Walrus won the recent Atlanta Revival tournament and shows you why Rufus is top tier. Dr. Hat from Columbia is one of the best Vega players I have ever seen (in online play or in videos) and takes a bottom tier character and makes you wonder about that placement. Druseph, one of the Augusta players, has a wicked Balrog.
It was an amazing experience. I got to see the new friends I made at the last tourney and made some new ones. The matches that occurred as we got towards the Grand Finals were epic and it really made me wish I had some sort of video equipment there so that I could show the world the caliber of players we have down here. That was my big regret but I’ll fix that next time. The Grand Finals between Druseph and Battle Walrus were particularly exciting as character switching was utilized. In the end, Battle Walrus took the win in a lengthy back and forth struggle.
I know I’ll never be known nationwide for being a Street Fighter player like an Alex Valle but I already cherish my tourney experiences. You cannot match the experience of playing in a tourney by playing random names online. There are likely tourneys happening in your area and you may not be aware of it. Visit Shoryuken (insert appropriate link) and browse their tourney sections as well as their regional matchmaking sections and see what’s coming up. The biggest thing I’ve learned is that you don’t need to go to a huge tourney like EVO to have a great tourney experience. Even a very local one out of some house somewhere can be an awesome time, but you’ll never know if you don’t try.
As for the growing SF4 scene here in Columbia, SC we are excited about the foundation that was built and are eager to build upon that. We’ve scheduled SF4-fests at each other’s houses to work together to improve our skills and are actively planning future tournaments for our town. We’re planning to have the upcoming home releases of BlazBlue and King of Fighters XII, the re-release of Marvel vs Capcom 2, and possibly even UFC: Undisputed at our next one. As a newborn competitive player and tourney organizer, I can only imagine the good times that lie ahead.
haunts
This is an updated version of the previous article. Apologies to Avatar2 for posting his rough draft! Oops!
Reader Comments (12)
great read. wish there was any "scene" in .eu :(
@Dex
How would it sound if members of the iPW team are willing to actually help you build a community in your area if you're up to the task?
Thanks Dex.
@Crackfiend. I think the idea of some sort of "consulting" to help other people build the scene in their own areas is a good one. I mean there are probably tons of players out there who would get involved if only they knew how.
@Crackfiend
people already tryed that. very very little feedback ... in germany they get together like 20 people every few months.
Inspiring story, gl to Avatar on building the scene, it usually seems to start with a group of players who get together to make themselves better through competition and then start looking for bigger and better things.
Hearing about one guy who just made it his mission to create a scene from nothing hopefully inspires others.
Its too bad that Capcom can't be expected to do more to help emassaries of the game the way that CCG or Table Top game companies try to.
Great article Rodney! Reminds me of when I lived in Athens GA and we were working on building a Third Strike scene down there from nothing.
@Hoax415
Can you expand on how CCG/Table Top Game companies help their communities?
@Hoax415
Thanks man! That's the reason the article was written. I used to think that if you didn't have a scene it would be too much effort to start one but that's not true. You just need to start small, establish a small base, and slowly build. It's working well so far and it seems like we've been getting noticed more by players with strong communities like NC and GA.
It's my hope that my story helps others to give it a try. I'm still very new to this but Ive made lots of new friends and wouldnt trade my experience for the world.
Props to this site as well for being a major inspiration for doing it as well.
@Dex
Check out http://forums.shoryuken.com/forumdisplay.php?f=231
I just casually browsed the forums and found multiple European threads talking about gatherings, arcades, and tournaments. A scene doesn't necessarily mean weekly or even monthly tournaments. Find out who is into the game as much as you and have sessions. BAM there is your scene.
Sorry all. There was a slight mixup and a previous version of this article was posted. Only a few words were changed when I edited but in the early version (that was accidentally posted) it implied that I was behind the birth of the SF4 scene in Columbia when I really meant it was the birth of the scene *for me*. LOL. Sorry if anybody got offended by that!
I was heavily offended. It's clearly obvious that I was the who behind the birth of the SF4 scene in Columbia.
Hey, are there any copies of tournament rules that I could get a look at...
Like umm...how many games, rounds, character switching etc..what's the basic setup, do people get "byes", round robin, draws...stuff like that..
Any he;p would be appreciated.
@DH. Sorry for the late reply! The Blog site has links to the official threads for every tourney that I know about in SC. Each tourney usually shares some rules but it's always best to consult the official forum post for the tourney you want to attend for the official rules for that event, just in case. http://sctourney.wordpress.com