FGC Culture: fighting out of the box

This article is made as a rebuttal and discussion to the topics in Ultradavid's article Momentum Matters: A Historical Perspective on the FGC(fighting game community) and Esports Communities.

This fighting game community that we have is a hard community to define and Im not sure we really want to be defined. Throughout my fighting game days I have played in California, Boston, and Las Vegas. When playing at an arcade ,at any random time you can meet a guy in a suit or a guy that needs to take a bath. And physical appearances can vary as much as attitudes. The one constant is the games we play.

We play fighters , 1 v 1 , skill vs skill combat focused on reaction time and patience. No ref. just fair , high level competition for anyone. So I agree with Ultradavid's point in his article about this diverse culture but we are not all loud.Sure some are and you should definitely expect serious heated competition but many different people make up this scene and it doesn't exclude any type.

David's comments about the demographics of the FGC seem spot on and very candid.

" Unfortunately our country has found it really hard to break the link between socio-economic standing and race and education levels. At NASL in Ontario, California, a city where 69% of the population is Hispanic, the racial makeup of the attendees was so lopsided that a poll for audience race would only need three options: White, Asian, and Other. By contrast, fighting games have always had a very racially diverse population, part of the reason for which is likely linked with the low financial requirements for playing. And while I’m firm in my belief that my FGC friends are just as intelligent as anyone I’ve met in college, law school, and the legal profession, many of my friends never graduated college and many of those who did are doing way, way less fancy things than their brainpower might permit."

We are what we are and we like it. We also want to get bigger and better and if our culture deserves to shine in this world then the success will come from the culture regardless of current economic standings.

David's comment on "ESPORTS" as a name is think was very real and more of a warning to the Starcraft community than a insult. David writes,

"But we in the FGC have a hard time accepting esports, and not just because we find the word “esports” such an incredibly sad, self denying, misguided attempt to borrow legitimacy from the world of traditional sports. We all know that esports has solid, tournament viable games. It’s just… how can we put ourselves under another group’s roof after having spent two decades making our own?".

Gaming is bigger than sports , sports does not include everyone in its experiences. In sports guys and girls play separate and the focus is on acts of physical skill. We are gamers , like poker players and chess players but electronic and fast moving. We play EGames, and it doesn't take an evil genius to see that we are broader and more encompassing of a community. Physically pretty much anyone can play , culturally we are very diverse, economically the hobby can be taken up at a high or low cost. This is more than a hobby its a lifestyle, not defined by money , or any material good but by the fair competition and challenge constant in our intermingling stories.If you are a fan of this type of competition I encourage you to go out to a tournament and experience the scene for yourself.

(But we do want the esports money .... and maybe being something a little more familiar will bring us that money, but lets not leave our extra cultural offerings behind.)

The respect or lack there of, and the competition and demeanor of the arcade scene David described as brash and anti feminine.

"You have to understand this about arcade culture: it was all about skill-based dickery. ..The fighting game scene is also the oldest competitive video gaming community, old enough to have its roots in an American culture that clung strongly to the view that video games were the exclusive domain of young men. Arcades weren’t for girls, and they looked like it. "

This is sadly true but I don't think its anti female as much as it is pro vulgar ... which might turn girls off but in reality we are pro free. Free to be yourself and join in on the competition , just put down your quarter. "Free" is actually a bad term in the FGC community which means that a player is bad, its "free" to beat this player, a free turn if you will. So its free to be yourself and its free to get the shit kicked out of you but if you want respect your gonna have to pay. So when your at an arcade don't worry about making friends, be yourself and bring the skill. You will eventually get better and earn your respect. This will lead to more unique hype and energetic atmosphere, which will lead to better games and more ggs. It's also just a damn fun stress reliever.