The following is copy pasted form the thread I made on the Skullgirls Forums, im mainly a skullgirls player but im trying to get something going for the fg scene in the Central Valley and for fighting games in general.
Im going to go straight into this and (not even proofread in the slightest) not sugarcoat it. far as i know the fg scene around here (Modesto, Turlock, Manteca, Ceres, ect) is dead. Ive hunted around the internet and looked at different forums and from what ive seen most meetups have long ago disbanded. And for good reason, any kind of arcade, both modern and old, doesnt last long around here and the ones that are left neither have the nor have they had any kind of fighting games. The most recent postings on events that i can find are about a year old and with no activity i can only assume they are dead.
I want to get something for fighting games in general but in the longrun i want something for skullgirls. I wasnt really sure of where to begin with this kind of thing so i decided to just get a thread going for now, find a location, and get this thread onto other forums as well. I dont want to worry about setups at the moment, at least not until this thread is going in some direction.
I live in Modesto and I drove around today looking for possible locations for an event.
heres what i think would be some good locations (in Modesto):
MJC West Campus/East Campus: Both Campuses have nice student halls but i think west is more preferable since it actually has a game room (ive never seen it open tho) and the student lounge/cafeteria is more spacious. My only problem with it is that they wont be open on weekends or fridays (hopefully thats not the case for events) and im not sure how long they would let people stay, especially since fgc meetups can go all night.
Queen Bean Coffee Shop: Personally i think this place is best for a meetup. Dont have to worry about food since they have food, its already an open lounge, theyre open on weekends, and i know for a fact that they hold plenty of events. My only concern is the kind of environment that it is wont be entirely fit for people getting hype. Its a very relaxed venue and im not sure how they would feel about a bunch of people going nuts in their business. Also its not an easy place to find.
Heroes: Its a restaurant and sports bar but it has room for days. two floors, a restaurant, and other places nearby for food. I think we could make something out of this place but im just not sure if its the right place for an fgc meetup, especially if we try to get something on the weekends.
Empty Buildings: Alright youre probably thinking “the fuck” right now but here me out. This town is littered with all kinds of empty buildings and office parks. The cost for renting out a place is insanely low around here (far as i know) and since most of these places are relatively inactive that makes it even better. But im only a college student and i only want this as a last resort option.
Finally there is one last location in Ceres that ive heard a lot about, its some game shop that sells a lot of old games but ive got no idea what its called or where it is.
So to surmise my goals here:
Revive the fg scene
Spread the word
Find a location
Ensure people can bring setups for core games (SF, GG, Marvel, Melee/smash4 ect) to get the momentum going
Start bringing in other Games Once its going (SG and UNIEL amongst other things)
Ensure the momentum stays and Cen Valley/ Cen cal fg scene stays alive
If anyone has anything to add or tell me like a better location, already existing group, already existing locals, anything that might help to make this task easier then please respond.
Modesto, Lathrop, Manteca, Ceres, Salida, Turlock, Riverbank, Lathrop, (also Tracy and Stockton too since thats not too bad of a drive and its technically the same area). these are the areas im talking about.
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