Month: October 2015

Despite the strides that have been made in recent years, competitive gaming communities continue to uphold a few antiquated opinions regarding women in their spaces. Fortunately, Brokentier’s Samantha “Persia” Hancock is a constant reminder that these misconceptions are entirely bunk.

Female gamers can’t play as well as their counterparts? Ask the dudes Persia’s defeated in majors. Women can only contribute to the scene with their looks? Persia releases Marvel podcasts and match analysis after her 9-5 as a baker. Commentating is only for men? Persia has quickly risen through the ranks of Marvel play-by-play, and recently commentated the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 finals at Evo 2015. This 24-year-old San Antonio native’s fastballs of accomplishment strike out any ill-informed and/or hateful opinions folks may have.

We recently chatted Persia up about her early years in the fighting game community, Marvel, and the numerous projects she contributes to on a regular basis. Here’s what she had to say.

Jason Yang: How did you discover the fighting game community?

Samantha “Persia” Hancock: When I lived in San Antonio, I didn’t play fighting games at all. I only competed and played first-person shooters like Halo, [Call of Duty], Gears of War, etc. And I was struggling with [shooters] because, in those types of games, you need a solid team to do well in tournaments. Back then. no one took me seriously, so I wanted to switch to a genre that didn’t require me to have a team to compete. I figured if I switched to a genre that’s all on me, then I didn’t have to feel like I can pass the blame off to anyone else. So I took the leap and joined Empire Arcadia in New York five years ago.

JY: So you moved to New York strictly for fighting game?

SH: Yeah, strictly to join the team and learn fighting games. I was so focused, and I knew I wanted to do something with gaming in my career. At the time, competing was just everything to me. So I was ready to take the jump, and I was crazy looking back. But it worked out. I’m really happy. I’m glad I ended up doing it.

JY: Did you play any fighting game before making the switch?

SH: It was strictly shooters. My first fighting game was Super Street Fighter IV. I remember when I was stuck in Philadelphia for 24 hours right in the middle of a blizzard and all anybody talked about was Street Fighter IV. When I got to [New York] and got involved with the game, I realized why.

JY: How did your family react to your sudden decision?

SH:  I had to move out of my parents’ house a year and a half prior to that. So it wasn’t like I got up and left. I already moved out, so it was my own decision. But when they found out, they weren’t too happy about it. They didn’t understand. It’s very hard for any parents to understand that something can come of video games. Now they see what I’m doing and they are super proud of me. But it took me showing them that this can go somewhere for them to be on board.

JY: What was the New York scene like back then?

SH: It was amazing. [2009] was the perfect time to join the scene. People want to complain about 09ers, but I feel like if I came in at the tail end of Street Fighter IV, it would have been harder for me to transition into the newer games. For instance, Yipes always talks about how [Marvel vs. Capcom 2] transitioning into [Marvel vs. Capcom 3] was difficult, because even though it’s the same sequence of games, the actual gameplay was completely different. They had to train themselves to forget and relearn. It was easier for me to catch onto the game because I came in right at a fresh start when the game was changing and more user-friendly.

I was also surrounded by all these amazing players. As much as everybody wants talk about Empire Arcadia, I’m glad I came into this scene with them because I gained such crazy friendships with everybody. We are all like family now. They took the time to really help me with the games and they didn’t treat me differently. It was a great training ground; I learned quickly and got to learn with the best. I don’t think I would’ve been this far along by now without them. So it’s super dope.

JY: What was the transition from vanilla Marvel vs. Capcom 3 to Ultimate like?

SH: People thought they figured out vanilla. Then Ultimate threw a wrench in everyone’s plans and completely changed the game. It gave vanilla a breath of fresh air and kept players interested. That’s why people now want to see another patch, but it’s probably not going to happen. One thing I can be thankful for is not constantly getting patches like Mortal Kombat X. Their characters will be good this week and bad the next week.

That’s the thing with Marvel. It has been the same for so long now that we are able to get to the point where we can really see who the true competitors are, who is fundamentally sound.

JY: Now, you focus on analysis with Marvel Minds and host a podcast in addition to playing in tournaments. Tell us a little bit about those projects as well as anything else you may be working on.

SH: Recently, I joined up with the Marvelous Central Crew. They go to majors and record pool play that isn’t on stream but always trending on Twitter. Along with them, Kinderparty, and SBK, we are all doing Marvel Lives podcasts. We are here to show that this game still has bite and deserves to be seen. The things we’ve been working on in the background are coming together and growing into something awesome.

So I have a lot of things going on, but I have a good time doing it. I do have a Monday to Friday, 9-5 job. That’s when it gets a little crazy, going to work every day and working on these projects after, because they are what my heart is invested into. It’s an interesting balance with that and going to events and commentating. I really appreciate the opportunity and everyone has been super supportive. I’m just glad I can share it with everybody else, and everybody is down with it.

JY: How do you balance everything?

SH: It’s definitely not easy. I work at a bakery, so luckily it’s slow throughout the summer. Everybody is trying to get their beach body, no one wants cake. Winter gets really tough because that’s the holidays; therefore my tournament attendance is very low. I’m trying to balance that with producing more content. But at the same time it’s going to be harder because I’ll be more drained during the winter. It’s going to be me staying motivated and surrounding myself with people who push me.

That’s why I’m glad to team up with the Marvel Central guys because it puts more motivation on me. No one is slacking. That’s just the person I am; I don’t want to fall behind. The support I always get online is crazy. I never expected to turn into something like this. But I’m really happy that it did. That alone keeps me motivated and on track. So I just try my best not to be bogged down by my job. It’s tough but I feel like it’s worth the grind. I feel like the community is worth this effort.

JY: With all of that on your plate, are you still looking to commentate?

SH: Yeah, I want to commentate more. I’m transitioning more into that type of role. Actually, at Summer Jam, I commentated most of Marvel and didn’t enter because of lack of practice due to work. So I decided to at least contribute somehow by doing some commentary instead of being a spectator – which isn’t a bad thing either. But I just want to contribute.

JY: Ultimately, where do you want to take this?

SH: Ultimately, I’d like a good job with the gaming industry. I actually graduated high school when I was 16, and I started going to the little college near my house when I was 17 for game design, so I knew I definitely wanted to do something game related. I’ve been having such an awesome time doing the podcast and producing content and commentating that I’d love to somehow get an opportunity to do some type of hosting or getting into voice acting.

The gaming industry spreads to many different things you can be interested in, and it’ll all be related whether it’s storytelling or gaming design and things like that. I want to have something within the industry so I never have to stop playing videogames. And I feel like I have what it takes, but I never knew the right way to make it happen, so I just try my best to focus on little things that’ll build to that point.

JY: With all your experience in the fighting game community, what are some of the things you think we can improve on?

SH: The community can be more open-minded about the characters and the game. Being open-minded to learn and not so defensive all the time. A lot of players now get top eight or they win and they feel like their work is God. That’s unfair to other players. I don’t want players to feel like it’s impossible to beat a 9-1 matchup.

I also don’t think the top players understand the community. People can be very impressionable, so [they should do what they can not to deter growth with their opinions]. That’s why I [discuss matchups], because I feel like players are spoiled now; if a character can’t have everything like 100% damage, teleport, or safe moves and strings then they are ass and no one cares. And that’s a spoiled thing to think. You can’t expect the character to be bad because they don’t have one thing.

JY: Any misconceptions you want to clear up?

SH: I think, especially after Absolute Battle, the fighting game community can be something high quality and appealing. On television, they still choose fighting game clips and moments. Even though we don’t have tournaments turnouts like League of Legends, they are still interesting because our passion is stronger. There are strong misconceptions about the fighting game community growing like other big names, which I think is possible if everyone is willing to put in the work.

JY: Want to add anything else before we end?

SH: Shout outs to my sponsor, Brokentier!

For more Persia, be sure to follow her on Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch.