Infiltration Will Compete Again in 2020. He Shouldn’t. Here’s Why.

A few years ago, I was living with my brother and his wife, and it was difficult for me and my sister-in-law to connect. She was born and raised in the Chinese province of Sichuan, living in its biggest city, Chengdu, right up until the prior year when she and my brother moved to the […]

The Slippery Slope Arguments About FGC Issues Are Pointless Punditry

When did everyone become a pundit? I don’t mean the strictest definition, which is a so-called expert in an area giving their opinion to the public; I mean more so in how every argument is longer about defending or arguing for anything on principle, but defending or arguing for what the reaction would be by […]

Fighting the Rot in the Fighting Game Community Pt. 2 – Star Players and Power Imbalances

A couple weeks ago, I published the first of multiple blog posts which looked to examine how the fighting game community (FGC), as a whole, was uniquely served to set up situations of abuse and harassment, largely in response to a wave of incidents that have come to light in the recent month. The initial […]

Fighting the Rot in the Fighting Game Community Pt. 1 – Cronyism

Last time I wrote for the blog, I was covering my trip to the Evolution tournament in Las Vegas and the positives and negatives of that trip. As I was writing that piece, I found myself having to frequently amend it as the days went on because it seemed like there was a new scandal […]

Road Diaries – For Evo, It’s Always a Step Forward and Two Steps Back

Evolution 2019 was, as usual, the biggest tournament of the year so far, and once again I made the trip up to Sin City and the Mandalay Bay resort/casino in order to participate. Ever since I was first aware of the greater fighting game community, I always recognized Evo as it. The I-Ching. The sum of […]

Road Diaries – The Hardcore, DIY Spirit of Combo Breaker

“…This is the place?” As our vehicle pulled up to the MegaCenter of the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois, which has been the site of the past few Combo Breaker tournaments, I have to admit that my initial reaction was less than enthusiastic. I was attending the event for the first time, and I […]

Loose Screws – The FGC Should Be Hostile To Shady Organizations

One of the more heartwarming things I saw come out of the FGC in the past year was the Michigan Masters event that took place back in April. It was a regional event in Farmington Hills that was expanding, after a few years, to a 3-day event. While it was not without the usual trials […]

Fuudo for Thought: FGC Content Needs To Be More Critical

In the past few days, a discussion on Fighting Game Community content was started up on Twitter, which is a pretty cyclical topic that usually makes the rounds every few months. This time it was started by Japan-based commentator and streamer MajinObama: Been saying this for a while now, and it is tight to see […]

Loose Screws – The NRS Community and Growing Pains

I think everyone who has ever been involved with the Fighting Game Community can remember their first time. No, get your head out of the gutter, I’m talking about something else! What I’m talking about is that first time that you feel, whether it’s during a late-night meal after a practice session or in a […]

Politically Incorrect – The FGC IS Becoming a Scapegoat for Daytona Beach to Ignore its Social Problems

I still remember when I first heard that my uncle was homeless. Well, he was “homeless” in the sense of what the hundreds of thousands of those we consider “homeless” actually are: he could scrap together some cash to put his family up in a Motel 6 here or there or stay with some friends […]