For a greater part of my life I considered video games to be just that, video games. Video games were always fun to play, very challenging, and visually awesome. I never thought to take video games serious or to devote a given amount of time to them. I played them as long as I felt content to and once I had my fill I moved on to the next thing that peaked my interest. I never thought of video games to be anything more than that until one day a little title named Street Fighter II landed its gaze upon my then competitive video game virgin eyes. Little did I know that it would be games like this that would change my outlook on what I felt video games should be.
Fast forward a couple years into my adult hood and I'm in awe at the fact that I'm unable to lay a finger on my friend Sho. At this period in his life he had been leveling up in Tekken with other friends and his knowledge of the game was so superior to my own that all I could do was just be amazed at the fact he had gained this ability by continuously playing. Over the years, my friend dominated our little circle with him beating us to the point that we no longer had the want to play anymore. To this day another friend of mines admits his disdain for fighting games as a result of playing with our very competitive pal. I'd like to believe to Sho playing fighting games was the most enjoyable video game challenge anyone could have and I think in his own way he encouraged us to continue to keep playing(taking beatings) so that we could see this also.
Years past, we all got older, and our focuses changed. We no longer had the time to gather together and play and my friend no longer had the ambition to play fighting games like he once did. For any of you familiar with my story, you know online playability has been the sole reason that my fighting game spirit has become reinvigorated, but I haven't really spoken much about some of the negatives I've experienced since I've become more involved.
These days it seems like its all about the competitive nature of the game. Its about having the complete knowledge of your character due to the vast amount of information that is at your fingertips because of the internet, making it out to local events for your community to keep your favorite fighting game alive, and most importantly not being a scrub(noobs are ok). Often times, I feel jaded by the super ego thought process of certain individuals whose skill level towers my own. Online I am bombarded by off handed comments, over criticized about what I'm not doing, and ultimately disowned by individuals who feel I'm a waste of time to play with. This is far from the fun challenge I expected to be apart of and not as enjoyable as I would have hoped it to become.
None the less, I'm still a little bit hopeful that I may be able to one day make top 8 at a major tournament but in all honesty my level of commitment is far from what is needed to get there. Despite the harsh realities of the competitive nature of games these days, many of the younger generation seem to stand by it. I personally still want to enjoy the game for what it is despite the competitive nature of the game. The thoughts that I've expressed was brought on by a new DOA5 trailer entitled "I'm a Fighter" a call to arms for those players out there who have taken up the banner for competitive gaming. It is intriguing to say the least knowing that times have changed a great deal from those days of just playing a few pick up games with friends. There is a whole new playing field and it is centering around the competitive spirit of what I used to just call a video game.
