Month: September 2015

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General: Tales of a Dragon Con Cosplayer

Tales of a Dragon Con Cosplayer

New York and San Diego Comic Con may garner most of the geek-dom attention from the mainstream press, but Dragon Con is a tradition that enjoys an identity all its own. The con offers informational panels, celebrity autograph sessions, extensive workshops, an enormous vendor hall, art galleries, table-top gaming tournaments, and, of course, the world’s best cosplay.

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Mad Max: Shiny and Chrome, But Repetitive

Shiny and Chrome, But Repetitive

Mad Max, from Warner Bros. Interactive and Avalanche Studios is very obviously a labor of love for both companies. It’s got the lore hooks from the films, it nails the tone and look of Miller’s recent film, and it’s also got some of the best car-based combat in games today. But it’s where the open world RPG-lite tries to do too much that it falters.

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LordKnight: “[A]t a competitive level, people are going to do whatever it takes to win.”

When first starting out as a fighting game player, having folks to look up to is huge. While it may be detrimental to strive for the upper echelons of competition right off the bat, the positives of being able to talk to a veteran and learn from their experiences are immeasurable, granted you have someone willing to give you some pointers. Fortunately, with the advent of the internet, it’s easy to hop on Twitter or Twitch and shoot off a couple of questions to folks like Justin Wong, and they are often more than happy to answer.

Team Spooky’s Steve “LordKnight” Barthelemy certainly fits the bill. Over the years, he’s come to be known as one of the strongest “anime” players in the United States, with impressive tournament showings in games like Melty Blood, BlazBlue, Persona, and, more recently, Guilty Gear. In order to help out beginners, LordKnight recently put out a list of important concepts to keep in mind as you continue through your fighting game career.

While some, like being open to criticism, are just common sense, many go unheeded by even the best players within our community, especially when it comes to character choice. “Tier whore is a concept you’ve created. Understand that at a competitive level, people are going to do whatever it takes to win,” LordKnight says. “People are also going to pick characters they enjoy. At a competitive level, it doesn’t really matter ‘why’ someone plays x or y character. Anyone can play any character they want, for whatever reason they want to.”

That said, he is quick to elaborate, mentioning that you don’t deserve an award just because you forgo choosing the “strongest” cast member in any given game. “You’re not special for picking a certain character. Just because you play a low tier doesn’t make you special, or secretly better, by default.”

What this all really amounts to, though, is fun. At the end of the day, no matter how heated things get, we’re all still playing video games, a source of entertainment, and “you can’t define what’s ‘fun’ for other people.”

For more of LordKnight’s tips, be sure to visit his original post by following the link below.

Source: LordKnight, image courtesy of FGC: Rise of the Fighting Game Community

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Grab Your Anchors, It’s Time to Master More May Okizeme Tricks in Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-

There’s nothing more frustrating than putting in the work to set up an okizeme situation, hitting the timing perfectly, and then having your downed opponent wake up and stuff the attempt outright–well, okay, maybe being on the receiving end of the oki itself is a little bit more frustrating, but still.

2ndState, who recently brought us a fantastic guide to keeping the pressure high on knocked down opponents with May in GUilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, has released a companion video that covers how to deal with opponents who would rather escape these situations with offense than defense. Check it out below and see what you can add to your own May game.

Source: 2ndState