Loose Screws – Is It So Hard to Stop Being a Douche Online?

A couple weeks ago, I was reading through my local FGC’s Facebook group in the aftermath of a big local event that was sponsored by the Talking Stick Resort and Casino in Scottsdale, AZ. Two non-Arizona players were in the grand finals of the Street Fighter V tournament, which sparked some discussion in the FB group […]

Loose Screws – It’s Not Wrong to Question FGC Events/People

A lot of people playing fighting games for many different reasons: they may enjoy the complicated execution they require, or like the back-and-forth that can only be achieved when dancing for position, or maybe they just plain think the characters/storyline overall is cool. But to consider yourself a member of the overall fighting game community […]

Run It Back! – Mortal Kombat (2011) Pt. 2

So I should probably apologize for the lateness of this follow-up. I’ve been distracted for a while with some new ventures, including a less FGC-centric series of articles that I have been trying to get up and running. But I’m back, and I want to continue talking about my experience with MK9 and how […]

Money for Nothing – ELeague Knows Exactly What It’s Doing

Before I begin, I’d like to thank each and every person who contributed to the stunning view count for my last article, “What We Keep Getting Wrong about Women in the FGC.” I was completely overwhelmed by the traffic, and I have to thank Kayane, the Combo Queens Facebook, and Tom Cannon for sharing it […]

Fuudo for Thought – How We Judge Skill in Fighting Games

I’m not a huge fan of most professional sports – not for any particular reason, it’s just not something I’m truly captivated by. However, as one of my main hobbies, video games, begins to circle more and more toward partly being a professional sport with big money players pouring in a bunch of time and […]

Money for Nothing – Capcom’s “Stars” Initiative Is Here, and It Sucks

So this past week, Capcom announced all the details to their 2018 Pro Tour, the nearly 12 month long tournament series that culminates in a final, 32-man event in December. And considering we’re talking about Capcom here, it’s littered with poor choices and a system dedicated to making it nearly impossible to actually compete in […]

Fuudo for Thought – The Power of Forums

I had a big post planned this week about the forums of Shoryuken.com, probably the single longest standing competitive fighting game forum, shutting down for good at the end of January. I had a lot of great memories of those hollowed halls, just as full of shitposting and NSFW photos as it could be valuable, […]

Money For Nothing Pt. 2 – Video X Games 2013

“Da Beech.” In two words, I have summed up the extent of the talking points about why I or any other average tournament goer should attend the Video X Games tournament on the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean. Well, that’s being a little disingenuous, but that phrase became an iconic part of the FGC for […]

When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong – “You’re Biting the Hand That Feeds”

As a youngster, I was all over TestYourMight.com. The FGC is full of characters, and forums were the ultimate haven for loud personalities to shine, thanks to the anonymity of the internet. But this kind of digital autobahn isn’t for everyone, and tempers can flare even under the most innocuous of circumstances. Some of the […]

Loose Screws – Discourse in the NRS Community

I was surfing Twitter recently, and I came across a random user tweeting about a game that I follow pretty closely, Street Fighter V. Street Fighter V just released its latest downloadable character, Zeku, and as usual, the circles of the internet that I hang around are on it like sharks on blood. In very much keeping […]