UM|Tyrant is one of Britain’s premier multi-game players, who has recently been seen streaming both Street Fighter V and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. He is also one of the best commentators in Europe, showing off his skills at various Capcom Pro Tour events.
While at Canada Cup, BornFree talked to Tyrant about a wide range of topics. In the interview, Tyrant couldn’t contain his excitement for Dragon Ball FighterZ, but also discusses how Street Fighter IV brought him into the fold of the fighting game community. He also talks about his limited participation in events, preferring to do commentary at larger events.
Qanba|Douyu Xiao Hai had an early exit to Canada Cup this year, where he placed second last year to NuckleDu. That didn’t stop the Chinese God of King of Fighters from sitting down with BornFree for an interview.
Over the course of twenty minutes, they discussed his specific training methods to finally overcome NuckleDu, who had become his demon at the end of 2016. They also discuss his favorite King of Fighters title — and why The King of Fighters XIV is not it. They also discuss the difficulties he faces in China when trying to train up in Street Fighter V, and his determination to prove himself at the Capcom Cup Last Chance Qualifier.
Red Bull Proving Grounds ended this past weekend, with a victory for the Online team. Team PGO, consisting of GAM|Dr. Ray, GAM|Caba, and Nephew triumphed over the other teams from San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and ultimately everyone. There was one team that stood out: Team Chicago, as the home team, welcomed the competition at the Ignite Gaming Lounge, who helped run the event.
Part of the Chicago team that participated at the Red Bull Proving Grounds, BxA|Marcus “THE COOL KID93” Redmond, has been making waves with his Rashid, and lately Abigail. A highly accomplished Midwest player, he’s also a Street Fighter V content creator on YouTube. While at the event, we took an opportunity to chat with Marcus about the tournament, his channel, and what he thinks of the current and future state of SFV.
Luke “Woocash” Siuty: Tell me about the Red Bull Proving Ground matches.
THE COOL KID93: For the most part, Chicago had me as anchor throughout the tournament. In at least two or three matches, I didn’t even get a chance to play because they weren’t paying attention to Tatsuko/Mira, who was just beating everybody. It was a surprise because we’ve been trying to make sure Tatsuko stays level-headed, doesn’t tilt. The first game, RobTV lost, Tatsuko ended up beating the whole team. We had to eventually play San Francisco, and that was the only time I played, as well as against Los Angeles. The other teams didn’t know too much about [my teammates], so I’m glad they got a chance to show how good they are. I beat BushinStyle and Pnoy. We ended up coming short against the Online team, PGO. We really only lost to Caba.
Woocash: Why do you think that happened with Caba?
THE COOL KID93: He plays Guile. I practiced that match in training a lot. I actually really like that match, the more defensive that Guile is, the more I can do with Abigail, because he has moves that stop the Booms and things like that. When Abigail gets in, compared to Rashid, it leaves a lasting impression. They want to play more cautiously, take more risks to get away from him. Abigail is my secondary to Rashid. So what happened with Caba, he was trying to jump, and I tried to Super, but I got a mis-input. That’s why I was so close to hitting the table! It was that close. Regardless if he blocked, it would have killed, but I missed the input while the Boom was coming.
Woocash: What are your thoughts toward the future of Street Fighter? Regarding the Arcade Edition and the upcoming changes, like the new V-Triggers.
THE COOL KID93: I’d say it’s a big turning point because with Dragon Ball FighterZ coming out and AE in January, they need something. Going into Season 3, just looking at pictures of the interface, it looked a bit more, I guess, grand, more esport-ish. You get a game with a different feel. You get new V-Triggers, V-Skills, Supers, it will make the game that much more interesting. Plus with the new characters, and I believe, maybe legacy characters this time around from what I’m hearing, that’s what I want. My main character is Cody, and I hope he makes a comeback. He’s the most Street Fighter character, a straight-up brawler. I feel like everything that they’re doing now is what they should have been doing a year or two ago. We finally get the game that they want to bring out. I’m definitely excited for the future.
Woocash: You brought up Dragon Ball, are you looking to get into other games seriously?
THE COOL KID93: The only other game I’m looking to get into seriously is Dragon Ball FighterZ. I love me some DBZ! I’ve been playing all the games, even the Tenkaichi, the Xenoverses, I played them all. Every game I play, I just always hope that one day we get an actual fighting game with DBZ characters. After a while, I felt like that was wishful thinking, it will never happen. Seeing it actually in reality and how good the game is going to feel, that’s something I’m definitely going to spend my time on. I never really played games in that style, but I’m willing to learn.
Woocash: How was the event for you? Do you feel better being a host this time? Do you think it changed how the event is for you?
THE COOL KID93: It was amazing that I had people cheer “let’s go Cool Kid!” I never had anybody chant my name before like that, that was an all-new experience. My mother and father, uncle were here, they never came before. Them being here was amazing for me, as well as my wife. And so many people here, and it goes to show, how vocal everybody was, how much we enjoy this.
Woocash: Do you still keep up with your YouTube channel? Any content we can look forward to?
THE COOL KID93: I’ve been kind of absent on YouTube, but the plan is, I want to start doing sets with people and put it on my channel. I’m for sure going to be uploading DBZ stuff. That’s really it, I don’t really upload anything silly for the sake of doing an upload. I gotta have a reason to upload. Because the tournament was coming up, I didn’t upload sets. Now, I probably don’t mind doing that.
Woocash: Regarding Street Fighter, you earlier said they have to make something interesting. Can you expand on that?
THE COOL KID93: I’ve been playing Rashid since the beta. I’ve been using that V-Trigger all that time, and I feel like it’s time for a change. We can get some new stuff, spice the game up rather than just a new balance update. New Supers and V-Triggers will take the game even higher, make it even more refreshing.
Woocash: Any final comments?
THE COOL KID93: I’d like to thank my sponsor, BxA, for believing in me. Of course, in my wife above all, because if it wasn’t for her, I probably wouldn’t be doing this. She never steered me the wrong way, to tell me that I shouldn’t be doing this when I lose. My wife always makes me feel better and pushes me to be better than I am today. My family as well for believing in me and coming out here as well. Of course, my supporters, the ones who motivate me, whether it’s winning or losing. I won’t stop! It will be more Cool Kid down the line, and there will be more DBZ down the line. I’ll be sure to take that seriously, and when I take a game seriously, I make my presence known.
All photos, including feature image, are courtesy of Red Bull /Bryan Lamb.
After a break, we’re back with a new episode of Tension Pulse! This is a series of livestreamed and commentated matches in Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2. Not only this is a chance to see some high-quality gameplay live, but the series highlights players that we might not normally see frequently on the tournament scene.
There’s a lot of brand-new faces this time around. We’re going to see B.Z.B’s Chipp Zanuff fight Mystic’s Baiken, as well as ShinSin’s Answer versus LGOD X’s Johnny. It will be quite the exhibition featuring the two newest REV 2 characters.
B.Z.B
On the match: “I think it’ll be a good fight. Baiken is rarely played, so it’s good to give the community a chance to see what this match-up looks like.”
On his opponent: “I played Mystic before at CEOtaku in casuals. He was good at adapting quickly and took the last couple sets from me. I’ll need to be ready to adapt on the fly and have some answers to the general match-up.”
On his growth since the last time: “My movement has changed a lot. I also try to ‘commit’ to my options before I wake-up. It’s made my options (backdash, Blitz, Dragon Punch, etc.) much more consistent.”
Mystic
On the match: “I’m just really happy that I got the chance to go ahead and showcase my Baiken in the exhibition.”
On his opponent: “I actually had a long set with him at CEOtaku earlier this year, and I’m sure he wants to run it back.”
On his style: “I would say a mix of the other two Baiken players, LTL and Vinnie. I’m not as aggressive as LTL but not as passive as Vinnie.”
ShinSin
On the match: “The Tension Pulse exhibitions have been a great service to the US Guilty Gear community, showcasing our top talent and others that may not get a chance to shine. I think what they’re doing with it has been outstanding and its growth has gone on to prove that.”
On his opponent: “LGOD X: He’s one of the stronger players from Michigan that you don’t see too often. He’s jumped around the character select screen but it appears that he’s sticking with Johnny now, which is a good choice. I feel he’s a solid player and is headed in the right direction. We haven’t played an extended set, just met up a few times in the bracket. Now that I’ve switched to Answer, a lot has to change with how I approach him than how I used to with Chipp.”
On his own playstyle: “My playstyle has always focused on movement; that won’t change with Answer. Moving around waiting for the right time to slip in and pounce on the opponent, while using movement defensively to create that opportunity. Johnny’s normals will make this rather difficult but I feel I can find a way to make it work out.”
LGOD X
On the match: “I feel pretty good about the exhibition. I think Answer is a cool character but unfortunately much weaker than Johnny. Despite the power level difference, I think the match will be exciting to watch as some of Answer’s stronger but more inconsistent tools work on Johnny.”
On his opponent: “ShinSin and I have a bit of history prior to this match, but have never had the chance to sit down and play a long set, so I’m excited for the exhibition. ShinSin used to live in Michigan, but moved to Chicago before I got involved with the MI scene. He comes back to Michigan for a lot of our bigger events, so we always end up crossing paths in a tournament. He usually gets the better of me, but our sets get closer and closer every time we play. Even though he isn’t an intimate part of our scene in Michigan anymore, he still usually leaves us with some wisdom after he visits, so this match to me is kind of like a student vs. teacher type deal.”
On his own playstyle: “I try to have an oppressive style utilizing a lot of long-range normals in most games. Naturally, this led me to Johnny in Xrd. I tend to be more of a reactive player and try to avoid scrambles, but I think ShinSin tends to play more rushdown-oriented. We’ll have a good display of differing styles for our match.”
Catch this upcoming episode of Tension Pulse live on Silva_hime’s Twitch channel. The first set, between ShinSin and LGOD X, will begin at 8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT/5:00 PM PT on November 1st. Following that, we’ll see B.Z.B face Mystic in a FT7, similarly. trippinhobbit and Havoc_Noah are going to commentate.
Looking to catch up on the last episode of Tension Pulse? The last episode was a special featuring eight powerful combatants!
Still without a title, Japanese developer ARIKA’s new fighting game is one of the most interesting talking points in the FGC right now. Making an indie game is difficult enough, let alone one in our niche fighting game genre. With that in mind, ARIKA is in a position that other indie devs could only dream of: they are building on brand recognition and hype 20 years in the making.
When you look at the history of how the company formed, though, you’ll see that this “unique position” was part of the plan all along. ARIKA was able to leverage the rights to their own creations by being in the right place and at the right time. This company’s tale of guts and luck is the subject of company president Akira Nishitani’s latest interview with Polygon, which you can read here.
The interview covers how the company managed to create such an amazing deal with Capcom, the malleability of their unnamed project, and their openness to working with Capcom again. The latter point is particularly fascinating:
Obviously, we can publish it ourselves and we’re prepared to do so. But if over the course of time, our connection with Capcom deepens and that happens, we’re open to [making it a Street Fighter game] as well.
When combined with the knowledge that Capcom overtly acknowledged and included ARIKA-created EX characters in their latest character popularity poll, one wonders just how closely Capcom is eyeing the new ARIKA project…
Still without a title, Japanese developer ARIKA’s new fighting game is one of the most interesting talking points in the FGC right now. Making an indie game is difficult enough, let alone one in our niche fighting game genre. With that in mind, ARIKA is in a position that other indie devs could only dream of: they are building on brand recognition and hype 20 years in the making.
When you look at the history of how the company formed, though, you’ll see that this “unique position” was part of the plan all along. ARIKA was able to leverage the rights to their own creations by being in the right place and at the right time. This company’s tale of guts and luck is the subject of company president Akira Nishitani’s latest interview with Polygon, which you can read here.
The interview covers how the company managed to create such an amazing deal with Capcom, the malleability of their unnamed project, and their openness to working with Capcom again. The latter point is particularly fascinating:
Obviously, we can publish it ourselves and we’re prepared to do so. But if over the course of time, our connection with Capcom deepens and that happens, we’re open to [making it a Street Fighter game] as well.
When combined with the knowledge that Capcom overtly acknowledged and included ARIKA-created EX characters in their latest character popularity poll, one wonders just how closely Capcom is eyeing the new ARIKA project…
While much has been written about Mortal Kombat‘s original development team, the actors playing the likes of Sonya Blade, Liu Kang and Scorpion have been left out of the limelight. Hoping to rectify this as Mortal Kombat celebrates its 25th anniversary, USGamer tracked down the original Mortal Kombat cast to find out how a group of friends from Chicago came to work on the industry-changing fighting game.
Working out of an athletics club in Chicago, the Mortal Kombat cast was a mix of fitness instructors, stunt coordinators and film extras based in the Windy City. According to Elizabeth Malecki, the original Sonya Blade, many of Mortal Kombat‘s special moves were dreamed up on set — with Scorpion’s famous “Get Over Here!” being ad-libbed by Shang Tsung actor Richard Divizio. Thinking up moves and fatalities were a collaborative effort, with actors getting inspiration from films like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Jason and the Argonauts.
The whole feature is worth a read, as it covers the cast’s reaction to Mortal Kombat’s runaway success, how they cast certain characters as well as their lives after Mortal Kombat. As a little fun fact, Sub-Zero’s costume was actually a size too small for actor Dan Pesina, meaning it had to be held together by pins during later parts of production.
One of the hardest working Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo Guile players in the US, Markus “Marsgattai” Gibbs, has given a great interview over on fighter101.net. Marsgattai gives his take on a number of subjects — what it’s like to be dedicated to “old-school” FGC games in 2017, the importance (or lack thereof) of frame data in his game-play, and his opinion of Street Fighter V as a SSF2T player.
Marsgattai making it to grand finals at the Super Turbo SBO US Qualifier in 2011.
For Marsgattai, the moment he felt he finally reached the next level just boiled down to actually going to his first offline event:
“For me, I was really addicted to playing back in the hdr days. I would get up in the morning or early am just to fight Japanese guys on ranked (…) After a while, I thought to myself I should try it out and see how I do. Funny, I think going to my first event (NEC 09) was one of the best decisions I made because I met some of my best friends at that event.”
A look behind the scenes of the growing platform fighter.
Brawlout is one of multiple offshoots of the Super Smash Bros. model that are vying for attention as the subgenre grows. As the game has gradually built itself up on Steam Early Access, developer Angry Mob Games has their sights set on bringing their title to the console market, starting on the Switch, with version following for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One afterwards.
We caught up with Bogdan Iliesiu, CEO of Angry Mob Games, to find out some more about both the development and the future of Brawlout. (Responses have been edited for clarity.)
Zavian “mushin_Z” Sildra: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. To start: in what ways does Brawlout distinguish itself from Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series?
Bogdan Iliesiu: While Brawlout is based on the “platform fighter” genre which was established by the Super Smash Bros. series, the fighting game mechanics are inspired from more traditional fighters — like Street Fighter, Tekken or Mortal Kombat. The movement and win rules are really where any similarity lines can be drawn to Super Smash Bros. We’ve focused on more fast-paced battles, faster movement and a lot more aggressive combat style for all characters. Brawlout is combo-oriented, with block and grab buttons totally removed, and this takes away the defensive playstyles found in Smash. Instead of having to read the opponent’s moves, and reacting to them (in the rock-paper-scissor/attack-block-grab style), all you need to focus on is your movement flow and anticipating your opponent’s trajectory around the stage.
We also introduced the Rage Meter. It’s charged by dealing damage, or even faster by taking damage. When half-filled, it gives you the option to do a Rage Burst, which acts more like a combo breaker in Mortal Kombat (you can interrupt your hitstun, or even use it to do several air moves — such as two recoveries — when activated in air). When the Rage Meter is full, you can go into Rage Mode. This lets you deal more knockback, while lessening your own when hit.
The main difference is the character playstyles. They are not duplicates of Smash movesets, but instead all designed around established fighting games archetypes, or fun action games mechanics. For example, King Apu wields a long chain, similar to the main protagonist in Castlevania, while Olaf Tyson combines close range boxing moves with long range freezing attacks (à la Sub-Zero). Whether you’re a die-hard grappler or a rushdown fiend, there is a fighter for you in Brawlout.
The meta game outside the main play modes are a totally unique fighting-platformer experience, likened to modern online games, similar to Overwatch or Injustice 2, with progression mechanics and robust online tools, like: 1v1 Casual matches for low-stress competition; 1v1 Ranked matches; 2-4 player private lobbies where players can practice or mess about to their heart’s content; the Brawlout Network where players can check their fight stats, match history and replays; Brawlout TV, which allows for live spectating and watching of specific player replays; and weekly competitive tournaments for those looking to prove their Brawlout skills.
mushin_Z: Do you have any long-term plans for esports/tournament support for this title?
Iliesiu: We definitely do! As soon as we launch on consoles, we’ll ramp up both our online and offline tournament efforts, and try to host our own tournaments in Europe and North America to foster the Brawlout community. So far we’ve had a great reception at all tournaments we’ve attended; Super Smash Con, PAX, Gamescom, EGX, and many more. We have plans to raise the prize pools as the community grows, and more top players rise up to pro status.
mushin_Z: Which fighter on the current roster is your favorite?
Iliesiu: Personally, I like both Sephi’ra and the Drifter — from Hyper Light Drifter — because they give you so many movement options, both on the ground and in air. That means you can easily follow up on your attacks and chain some amazing combos.
mushin_Z: Let’s talk a bit about the Drifter, the indie guest character — what brought about their inclusion?
Iliesiu: Ever since we settled on the various play styles we wanted to add, we knew we needed an amazing sword fighter. With a sword fighter, you get those disjointed hitboxes, which bring a new experience and strategy. The Drifter from the indie gem Hyper Light Drifter had such an amazing kit, and it was one of the dream characters we all loved. We were lucky that Alex from Heart Machine (the HLD developer) is a hardcore fighting games fan, and really loved Brawlout when he tried it out.
Working on integrating Hyper Light Drifter was a long process, even if we had clear design ideas for most of his moves. In all, it took us over eight months to finish him from modeling, to animations, and then to the final balancing.
mushin_Z: What specific challenges were there in bringing the Drifter into Brawlout‘s game system?
Iliesiu: We always add new features to our fighting game engine, with each new play style. We basically had to add proper support for disjointed hitboxes to accommodate his sword-basedplaystyle, which change their shape during attack animations. We then had to do some special type of hits for his long dash attacks (to keep the opponent moving with him, while staying stunned). You can drag your opponent all over the air, by linking up to three different types of special air dash attacks. [See the reveal video above.]
His Deflect move was another iconic Hyper Light Drifter move, and it made so much sense to turn it into something similar to Fox’s Shine in Smash. The Drifter has been compared to Fox+Marth, with better movement options.
mushin_Z: How heavily has player feedback from the game’s Steam Early Access period affected the game’s current build?
Iliesiu: The main reason why we released in Early Access was to gather player feedback. We try to update the game every couple of weeks, based on our top players’ feedback, and we’re always on discord.gg/Brawlout, open to new ideas.
As soon as we launched, we had a ton of requests for adding Ledge Grabs. That was an easy decision and we quickly added it, as it made the game more fun for newcomers and more technical for the pro players. The aim is to get it to a really fun and balanced place, and slow down on tweaking balance figures after the console launch. This way top players can perfect their skills, and we wouldn’t be interfering with their strategies with new updates. In the near future, we’re also planning to add more advanced gameplay techniques, like teching or meteor canceling.
mushin_Z: What are the biggest reasons a Smash fan would want to pick up Brawlout?
Iliesiu: Smash players would find it easy to slide into Brawlout, as all their experience would easily carry over. We avoided creating a direct Smash Bros. clone in order to make players feel at home, but instead brought in new gameplay mechanics and new play styles, based on the inputs and platforming mechanics they already love.
The Smash community is one of the most amazing communities out there. It’s very personal, and that’s what keeps them attending every single event. It’s rare these days, with all the online games available, to develop close, personal relationships between players. But the Smash community got there from games like Melee, which don’t offer the smooth modern online networking, and instead makes them gather around for fun experiences. We don’t realistically expect the top Smash players to switch over to Brawlout, but it’s super easy to pick up our game as a fun alternative, which they could play in their free time, or join our many friendly weekly tournaments.
mushin_Z: When can we expect to see the game make its way to consoles?
Iliesiu: We’re super hard at work on the Nintendo Switch version. It’s going to be so much fun to battle with friends in Brawlout on the go. The simplified inputs also make it super straightforward to play with the Joy-Cons detached (in Dual Mode). Our aim is to get it out on Nintendo Switch this holiday season (which means a likely early December release). The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions will launch early 2018.
mushin_Z: Any new surprises we can look forward to?
Iliesiu: Yes! We’ll be bringing out a whopping total of eighteen new character variations, later this year! We’re also polishing a brand new guest character this October, with rampant personality and brawler skills; they’ll feel right at home in Brawlout.
Shoryuken‘s own Assistant Editor Sam “Trilby” Foxall also contributed to the development of Brawlout, by writing the game’s story mode — to be added in a future build — as well as providing names for many of the in-game elements. You can check out the current Steam Early Access version of the game here.
During the Mobile Master Las Vegas Esports event held recently I had a chance to sit down and talk to Benjamin Gauthey the lead of the marketing team for Amazon mobile Esports.
THE COOL KID93: He plays Guile. I practiced that match in training a lot. I actually really like that match, the more defensive that Guile is, the more I can do with Abigail, because he has moves that stop the Booms and things like that. When Abigail gets in, compared to Rashid, it leaves a lasting impression. They want to play more cautiously, take more risks to get away from him. Abigail is my secondary to Rashid. So what happened with Caba, he was trying to jump, and I tried to Super, but I got a mis-input. That’s why I was so close to hitting the table! It was that close. Regardless if he blocked, it would have killed, but I missed the input while the Boom was coming.
THE COOL KID93: I’ve been playing Rashid since the beta. I’ve been using that V-Trigger all that time, and I feel like it’s time for a change. We can get some new stuff, spice the game up rather than just a new balance update. New Supers and V-Triggers will take the game even higher, make it even more refreshing.
We also introduced the Rage Meter. It’s charged by dealing damage, or even faster by taking damage. When half-filled, it gives you the option to do a Rage Burst, which acts more like a combo breaker in Mortal Kombat (you can interrupt your hitstun, or even use it to do several air moves — such as two recoveries — when activated in air). When the Rage Meter is full, you can go into Rage Mode. This lets you deal more knockback, while lessening your own when hit.
