These past two months have been particularly busy for me in many ways, so I've naturally had to put off a lot of things. I've been in San Diego for the past month and will be back in Norcal next month, which will give me all the free time I'll need to finally get around to finishing the articles I've had stirring around in my head.
First up is an article that explains not only why 2D fighters are still superior to 3D fighters (Seth Killian would be proud, though I do end up correcting a fatal mistake of his), but why Guilty Gear is, undoubtedly, the best 2D fighter there is. This one is going to be good, I promise.
After that, I will be relentlessly destroying whatever remains of David Sirlin's credibility. No punches will be pulled, and no stone will be left unturned. If you've yet to read his laughable tripe, you should do so only so you can come in to my article fully prepared. The more seasoned among you will probably be able to point out at least a few of the more serious errors he makes. That is only one of many articles I will be destroying, though that one is the most important.
Last, but certainly not least, I will be discussing something that I have touched on in the past; ego, and how focusing on winning actually prevents you from doing so. Only this time I will be hitting a little closer to home by directly comparing the attitudes of fighting game players in America against the attitudes of Japanese players, and why our mentality of so-called "competitive" play is anything but. If you want a hint as to what my final conclusion on this is, refer to this tweet.
I may finish the other articles I've had sitting around once I'm done with those, though I don't want to make (more) promises I can't keep.
Changing gears a bit, just because I've left Japan for a bit doesn't mean I've stopped playing. I've entered every weekly Xrd tournament since I arrived in San Diego, and I have to say that I am overall impressed with the scene here. For having such limited access to the game (a little over a month now), a lot of newer players are picking it up and doing pretty well. There's even some people still playing +R, which is always nice to see. I've made grand finals twice, once against Ky (02:02) and once against Potemkin (02:38). Perhaps this week I'll finally win? Not that I'm losing sleep over it either way...
I'd like to briefly extend my thanks to everyone who still occasionally checks in here. I really don't have the time to write anymore, but rest assured, I am still alive and very much living. Japan has so much to offer (outside of games, even!), and I'd like to think I've found a nice balance between the aspects of my life that matter most right now. At some point things will settle down a little, and then I'll be able to sit down and properly reflect on all these experiences I've had over the past two years.
It's already been that long? Time does fly...
Hi, I found your blog tonight and I read through it in one sitting. Did you by any chance save that Sirlin tripe? It's 404 now. I want to prepare for your article!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog and I agree with your Xrd opinions.
I think the URL changed, since I was able to find it on Google last night. I'll update the link in the post to reflect that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. There is a pretty serious void in fighting game criticism and theory these days, which is why I do my best to fill it.
A large part of the issue is that, particularly in the US, this has become an increasingly monetized hobby. Nobody wants to step on anyone's toes in a public forum, so nobody is allowed to call things as they see them (until it's too late). Since my income is independent of videogames entirely (unlike guys like S-Kill, who would never write any of those Domination articles today because it would affect his career), I have no restrictions on what I can say. Most fighting game forums don't subscribe to this, which is why I started this blog back in 2011.
As for Xrd, I am cautiously optimistic. ArcSys seems to be taking a more methodical approach to updating the game compared to say BlazBlue or Persona, so I think they have a plan in mind. I know they got a ton of feedback from the original loctest, which they've probably already gone over and considered how they're going to implement some of the suggested changes.