I initially had something else altogether planned for this week, but some recent discursive trends in our happy little corner of the Internet make me think I should intercede with everybody for a moment and make a few things crystal clear. I’ve said in the past, both implicitly and explicitly, that this is a very exciting time to be a fan of Soul Calibur.
We’re just weeks away from the release of what looks like it will be an amazing game, we have a solid infrastructure in place as a community that will help people meet up, compete, and improve, and plenty of folks seem legitimately interested in SC5—even people who’ve never picked up any prior SC game seriously.
Given all of those good things and the potential they represent, those of us who have been around for a long time have an obligation to maximize the benefits of all that hype to the best of our ability. Or at least we shouldn’t torpedo everything. Sounds difficult? Never fear, I’m here to share some simple rules which will help immensely.
Rule #1: This Is Not The Maury Povich Show . . .
. . . or Ricki Lake, Jerry Springer, Montel Williams, or even Tyra. A little over a decade ago, as a freshman in college, the only TV option I had was whatever network crap I could get through the half-busted antennae of my thirteen-inch entertainment powerhouse.
Unwilling to admit defeat and, you know, actually go outside, I found myself watching a hell of a lot of daytime talk shows. A common enough topic for episodes of these shows is “You Dissed Me Then, But Now I’m a 10!” or something equally insipid. The premise: people who were once fat, awkward, or thought showering was a prissy activity reserved for the folks living on the rich side of the trailer park confront their former crushes and show off a little spandex, a lot of skin, and often plastic surgery best described as ambitious.
"So what does this have to do with us?" Well, Soul Calibur used to be a little awkward, and maybe a bit shy, too. I’m fairly certain SC3 wore braces, and we’ve all heard about that time SC4 accidentally called its homeroom teacher “Mom.” Now, however, Soul Calibur is looking kind of hot, and it seems to be generating real interest, which means we’re at a crossroads. We can either drag our old crush in front of Maury and dance around talking about how goooooood we look, how sorry everyone should be for having ignored us, and how sorry they’re going to be when we turn it around, or we can choose instead to be gracious and welcoming.
Rule #2: Be Barry Sanders
In a sense, this is an extension of the principle outlined above. Barry Sanders, one of the greatest NFL running backs of all time, wasn’t much for touchdown celebrations. He’d never score, spike the ball, then go completely nuts with taunting and chest-pounding. Sure, it’s a show of good sportsmanship, but it really seems like Barry never went over-the-top because scoring a touchdown wasn’t a very big deal to him. He scored a lot, it was easy, and he damn well knew he’d be back in the endzone very, very soon.
I’m a colossal proponent of being a sore winner when it comes to fighting games; I love the taunting, the screaming, and the boundless disrespect of it all, but there’s a time and a place—tournaments, casuals, etc. Being too defensive, too excitable, or generally too much of a jackass outside of actual games is an incredibly unpleasant thing. Many of us in this community are hopeful, and not unreasonably so, that SC5 will be a pretty big game, and there’s no denying that some of the gossip surrounding where that might take us is exciting. As a community, though, we must take it in stride and not use positive buzz as a means to bludgeon other dedicated fighting gamers in response to perceived insults. It’s ridiculously counterproductive. Our game is looking excellent and there’s talk of it going in some very high profile directions, and that’s great. Now flip the ball to the ref and get your asses off the field because it’s not even halftime yet.
Rule #3: We’re All in This Together
It may be an odd thing to see people reference the “Fighting Game Community” as though it’s one monolithic entity, but that is essentially true. Yes, we tend to define ourselves primarily in terms of the games we play, e.g. Marvel players, Tekken players, Calibur players, and so on, and there will always be friction and rivalries between these various constituencies, but look for a moment at the bigger picture. As I’ve said elsewhere, we’re all basically in the business of providing content now. Whether it’s actual tournaments, tournament streams, videos, or even silly columns, these are all experiences that, at their best, are interesting and extremely fun. When we do these things well, we have amazing tournaments, plenty of entertainment, growing pot sizes, and a growing profile. When we do them poorly, people lose interest and ultimately walk away.
The overall success or failure of any competitive game is measured by its number of players. New blood always makes us better players, increases the drama, and provides more storylines, and these same principles of growth apply to the entire fighting game genre. We will never all agree on everything (not even which games are good. . .especially not which games are good), but it’s critical that we recognize the core similarities between a Calibur player and a Street Fighter player, a Tekken player, or even a Melty Blood player are far more important than the differences. The current fighting game renaissance in which we find ourselves, in fact, is directly attributable to the overwhelming success of Street Fighter 4 and its 500 or so revisions**. A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say. Like it or not, we are the FGC, and it’s imperative we recognize that truth.
Looking Forward
Unpleasant as it may be to say, the Soul Calibur community sometimes behaves as though it has a bit of an inferiority complex. Now that it looks like we’re riding high, it’s perhaps tempting to tweak the nonbelievers out there, but I beg of you, don’t. Namco looks to be holding up their end of the bargain by investing a great deal of time and effort into giving us the best game possible—a deep, engaging experience that is fun for players and spectators alike. It’s time for us to do our part by actively reaching out to others, growing our community, and capitalizing on all of the hype surrounding SC5 rather than acting like petulant little children.
Leave the past in the past, and if you’re concerned about how other fighting gamers feel about us, make an effort to bring them into the fold. After all, no one’s as zealous as a convert, and recruitment is the best revenge. All of the opportunities we may have, all of the grandiose dreams, and the like can only happen if we grow as a community, and we grow as a community by bringing people in, not by shutting them out.
Homework
Go get somebody hype about SC5. Seriously. I don’t care if they’re dedicated to other games or if they’ve never even heard of tournaments before. Just find someone you know and share your own excitement, talk about the game, whatever it takes. We win by growing and having fun, not by being insular little pricks.
We’re just weeks away from the release of what looks like it will be an amazing game, we have a solid infrastructure in place as a community that will help people meet up, compete, and improve, and plenty of folks seem legitimately interested in SC5—even people who’ve never picked up any prior SC game seriously.
Given all of those good things and the potential they represent, those of us who have been around for a long time have an obligation to maximize the benefits of all that hype to the best of our ability. Or at least we shouldn’t torpedo everything. Sounds difficult? Never fear, I’m here to share some simple rules which will help immensely.
Rule #1: This Is Not The Maury Povich Show . . .
. . . or Ricki Lake, Jerry Springer, Montel Williams, or even Tyra. A little over a decade ago, as a freshman in college, the only TV option I had was whatever network crap I could get through the half-busted antennae of my thirteen-inch entertainment powerhouse.
Though those times are gone, the golden moments remain fixed in my mind.
Unwilling to admit defeat and, you know, actually go outside, I found myself watching a hell of a lot of daytime talk shows. A common enough topic for episodes of these shows is “You Dissed Me Then, But Now I’m a 10!” or something equally insipid. The premise: people who were once fat, awkward, or thought showering was a prissy activity reserved for the folks living on the rich side of the trailer park confront their former crushes and show off a little spandex, a lot of skin, and often plastic surgery best described as ambitious.
"So what does this have to do with us?" Well, Soul Calibur used to be a little awkward, and maybe a bit shy, too. I’m fairly certain SC3 wore braces, and we’ve all heard about that time SC4 accidentally called its homeroom teacher “Mom.” Now, however, Soul Calibur is looking kind of hot, and it seems to be generating real interest, which means we’re at a crossroads. We can either drag our old crush in front of Maury and dance around talking about how goooooood we look, how sorry everyone should be for having ignored us, and how sorry they’re going to be when we turn it around, or we can choose instead to be gracious and welcoming.
Rule #2: Be Barry Sanders
In a sense, this is an extension of the principle outlined above. Barry Sanders, one of the greatest NFL running backs of all time, wasn’t much for touchdown celebrations. He’d never score, spike the ball, then go completely nuts with taunting and chest-pounding. Sure, it’s a show of good sportsmanship, but it really seems like Barry never went over-the-top because scoring a touchdown wasn’t a very big deal to him. He scored a lot, it was easy, and he damn well knew he’d be back in the endzone very, very soon.
It occurs to me only now that this would've been a more effective reference for my audience.
I’m a colossal proponent of being a sore winner when it comes to fighting games; I love the taunting, the screaming, and the boundless disrespect of it all, but there’s a time and a place—tournaments, casuals, etc. Being too defensive, too excitable, or generally too much of a jackass outside of actual games is an incredibly unpleasant thing. Many of us in this community are hopeful, and not unreasonably so, that SC5 will be a pretty big game, and there’s no denying that some of the gossip surrounding where that might take us is exciting. As a community, though, we must take it in stride and not use positive buzz as a means to bludgeon other dedicated fighting gamers in response to perceived insults. It’s ridiculously counterproductive. Our game is looking excellent and there’s talk of it going in some very high profile directions, and that’s great. Now flip the ball to the ref and get your asses off the field because it’s not even halftime yet.
Rule #3: We’re All in This Together
It may be an odd thing to see people reference the “Fighting Game Community” as though it’s one monolithic entity, but that is essentially true. Yes, we tend to define ourselves primarily in terms of the games we play, e.g. Marvel players, Tekken players, Calibur players, and so on, and there will always be friction and rivalries between these various constituencies, but look for a moment at the bigger picture. As I’ve said elsewhere, we’re all basically in the business of providing content now. Whether it’s actual tournaments, tournament streams, videos, or even silly columns, these are all experiences that, at their best, are interesting and extremely fun. When we do these things well, we have amazing tournaments, plenty of entertainment, growing pot sizes, and a growing profile. When we do them poorly, people lose interest and ultimately walk away.
The overall success or failure of any competitive game is measured by its number of players. New blood always makes us better players, increases the drama, and provides more storylines, and these same principles of growth apply to the entire fighting game genre. We will never all agree on everything (not even which games are good. . .especially not which games are good), but it’s critical that we recognize the core similarities between a Calibur player and a Street Fighter player, a Tekken player, or even a Melty Blood player are far more important than the differences. The current fighting game renaissance in which we find ourselves, in fact, is directly attributable to the overwhelming success of Street Fighter 4 and its 500 or so revisions**. A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say. Like it or not, we are the FGC, and it’s imperative we recognize that truth.
**NO HATES NO! WHAT DOES SF4 HAVE TO DO WITH MY PRECIOUS SOUL CALIBUR!
Looking Forward
Unpleasant as it may be to say, the Soul Calibur community sometimes behaves as though it has a bit of an inferiority complex. Now that it looks like we’re riding high, it’s perhaps tempting to tweak the nonbelievers out there, but I beg of you, don’t. Namco looks to be holding up their end of the bargain by investing a great deal of time and effort into giving us the best game possible—a deep, engaging experience that is fun for players and spectators alike. It’s time for us to do our part by actively reaching out to others, growing our community, and capitalizing on all of the hype surrounding SC5 rather than acting like petulant little children.
Leave the past in the past, and if you’re concerned about how other fighting gamers feel about us, make an effort to bring them into the fold. After all, no one’s as zealous as a convert, and recruitment is the best revenge. All of the opportunities we may have, all of the grandiose dreams, and the like can only happen if we grow as a community, and we grow as a community by bringing people in, not by shutting them out.
Homework
Go get somebody hype about SC5. Seriously. I don’t care if they’re dedicated to other games or if they’ve never even heard of tournaments before. Just find someone you know and share your own excitement, talk about the game, whatever it takes. We win by growing and having fun, not by being insular little pricks.
