This is not accurate at all. He hasn’t been kicked out of shit. He isn’t well liked nationally but he still hangs with FGC peeps in his own area every once in a while.
He does? I remember there was a big controversy here on SRK that got him banned and a multitude of people looking out for him at tourneys when he was active. That still doesn’t remove the fact he is generally a douchebag, using him as an example on what turning passions into careers does; not too fussed about the life of the dude.
Hanako, bruh…While it sounds like dumbass idea right NOW, fella did say the pots are bigger than they’ve ever been, which means it’s still growing. Although an 18 million dollar prizepool for a fighting game would make a nigga sweat for days. That would be an incentive for me to give a shit not gonna lie.
Your problem is that you don’t really care about improving yourself tbh. It sounds like you like more things than fighting games.
It sounds like you like manga, fighting games and journalism. It sounds like you got hype after watching haitani whoop somebody’s ass in a youtube video.
It sounds like when you’re frustrated you quit.
It sounds like you need to stick with the things you like even if it frustrates you or else you’ll quit everything.
I think once you get a few years older your attitude will change. For you to say this is what you want to do with life and nothing else motivates you like fighting games, just tells me you’ve haven’t experienced enough of the real world or life yet. Because when I was 17-18. I had the same thought about being able to game for a living, but I had parents that kept me grounded and made sure I had something solid as well. only six years later and my attitude and goals and what not are drastically different. I’m looking to get into the competitive side of fighters myself. Also working on drawing to hopefully do something art related. They’re hobbies now, but should they turn into something I can live off of great! If not that’s cool because I’ll still have it as a hobby and I have a in demand skill set I learned from going to school, so I can find reliable work to sustain myself and my hobbies.
As for your other intrest such as gaming journalism and Manga illustration. I’d say go with the later, If you truly enjoy it then do it. Don’t worry about the next guy who’s better than you or whatever. You’ll just be psyching yourself out and putting doubt in your head. You think that god like artist was just born drawing jaw dropping illustrations? No he or she had to work at it and put the time in. Sure some are more talented than others thus learn or master it faster, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn and get at that level to. Just focus on improving at your own pace. Don’t try to be as good as the next guy, just try to improve on what you do. Then improve on that, and so fourth. That’s how you get better at anything.
I just realized this post is extremely long… So if you want just search for my reply to you.
Well who knows, maybe someday I’d stop liking Street Fighter, but I doubt I’d stop liking all fighting games.
Well I want to be a pro player because I like the game, and I thought if I became one of the best I could find ways to make a living out of being a fighting game player since I need to sustain myself somehow, but definitely not just for money. If I just wanted money, I’d go to medical school and become a doctor, but that’s so boring.
It doesn’t really matter how much I look into it anymore, work is work, and I usually find that shit boring if it isn’t linked to training in video games. The few things I have slight interest in like video game journalism are likely the the only things I’d actually be alright with having as a full-time job.
Yeah you have a good point. I can understand the enjoyment possibly being ruined if you turn your hobby into your job since that’s what you have to rely on to live, but I’d still rather turn it into a job rather than having a job doing something I really don’t like or care for, which is most-likely going to be the case considering I don’t care about most things or just find them really boring and/or tedious.
No it isn’t getting me a top spot in fighting games, but I’m actually willing to work hard in fighting games, and I’ve been doing it everyday. But those pro players would probably be disappointed in what I said in that post.
To be quite honest, that cycle is the story of my life. I’ve always given up on everything because it felt like there was an invisible barrier blocking me from moving forward, and on top of that there were others that could do it so easily. It would be too much for me to handle so I’d quit and go to something else, but for certain things I still look back and think if I would have seriously improved if I had never quit pursuing it.
While it’s true I’ve always had the bare necessities to live and breathe taken care of for me, I’ve never been able to accomplish something I’ve truly wanted to achieve, so I suppose this is just how my thoughts have been forged after going through that “cycle” over and over again.
My decision to just try and become a pro gamer isn’t because I think it’s easier, because I know damn well it’s extremely hard. It’s just what I have the motivation to do. But you’re right, I have to stop quitting things because of getting discouraged from how much I suck and how hard it seems.
I suppose I do share a few other interests, but yes I had quit them all. It’s something I really need to stop doing, or else eventually I’ll run out of options for things to pursue.
If I were to try and get a regular career and just play fighting games for fun, maybe the prize pools would get big enough for a legitimate career someday? That would be nice.
Well I’m just going to say this now. I’ve always been above average for my age when it came to reading and writing. I was always near or at the top of my school classes when it came to reading speed and comprehension when I actually put effort into it, but writing started to feel a bit tedious, which kinda turned me off from pursuing a journalism career. As for art, I had just always found it impossible for me, but I guess that’s just the “giving up” part of me that needs to stop. I don’t know if I will go back and try to pursue one of these careers. Even if I do, I kinda feel like it’s too late… Especially with the art. I’m already 17, and one year won’t get me to the level I need to be at in order to become a professional artist.
Too late??? You’re still a damn minor! What are you talking about? LOL! Talking like you in your 40’s or something. I’m 24 and I’m still gonna start drawing more and trying to make things happen with my art. So I don’t understand that comment coming from you. There’s no deadline that says you must master a craft by the time you’re 18. If you were to get started now and really go at it. I say at age 19 you’ll have a solid set of artistic skill. At only age 19! You could look into works for animation, graphic design, or even be a illustrator for a videogame in which you design game characters.
People aren’t discouraging you because it would take a long time - a doctor’s schooling and licence takes a long time. The difference is, you can probably count the number of people earning their living from playing fighting games with your own two hands, and that is across the globe. And even then the pay is meager. That’s the point. There is no harm in pursuing the career of your dreams if you have the faintest sane prospect about actually turning it into a livelihood. With fighting games, there is none. It’s sad, but it’s the cold hard truth.
IGNORE THESE HATERS THEY KNOW NOTHING
I BELIEVE IN YOU BRO YOU CAN DO IT
SHORYUKEN!!! THE ANSWER LIES IN THE HEART OF BATTLE!!! YATTA!!!
Back when I was 15 years-old, I really wanted to be a great. After all, I played fighting games at Chinatown Fair. I had Wong, Kelly, Xecutioner, Eddie Lee, AK, and more than I can remember there as practice partners. I got my ass kicked a lot before I got somewhere decent and did great at my first major. Not as good as I had hoped, but I survived past at least a hundred others. With that in mind, I thought all I wanted to do was play Marvel 2 until I got good enough to beat Floe, then Ortiz, then Wong.
But I was faced with a dilemma: continue playing Marvel and fighting games in general to get great or go to college. I thought about this for a while because where I grew up it wasn’t rare to finish high school and end your education there. However, I chose college. I grit my teeth seeing people still love Marvel and I couldn’t go to CF anymore due to whatever little time I had going to extracurricular activities like band, writing for the school paper, tutoring other students, and work so I could pay the tuition my scholarships and grants didn’t cover. I never got to be on that stage like so many players I wanted to be as good as. I still remember fucking B3 that’s how old as fuck I am and there are even older in this forum.
Well, I made that decision about 13 years ago. Now, all those years later, I’m financially secure to pursue that hobby even though I rarely do that anymore. I still play Ultra to get good at it, but not as hard as I once did. I’m free to do a lot of shit I wouldn’t have been able to do had I continued playing Street Fighter. I’ve traveled the world, had some great experiences, just because I took my education seriously.
I look at some players who stuck with fighting games, some you might know or at least have heard of, and they’re homeless. Some go house to house, just trying to crash indoors for a night just after pushing buttons. It’s sorta sad to see someone working a job meant for a teenager not because of some bad turn in life, which I can sympathize with, but because that’s all they can do.
Don’t be that guy. That guy has regrets. That guy is gonna suffer a looooooooooooooooong time for the choices he made at your age right now. There’s Daigo who makes money off his name, sure, but that’s one guy out of how many tens of thousands of players? Shit, some players are better than he is and don’t make anything close to what he does.
Well, I’m gonna hop off the soap box now. What you choose to do now is up to you.
play Dota if you want money
Aside from everyone else here giving you a good old shouting I can actually relate to you quite a lot, a ton of stuff you just wrote is literally word for word what I was like pre-16. Let me take this on bit by bit and construct a coherent reply. I’m about to make myself look like an ass and talk about my past life in hopes it makes you make some positive choices for your future, enjoy.
And simply “switching” fighting games isn’t easy, at least when playing at high-level. You’re hanging your entire future life on a single video game franchise, just mull that over. The possibility of disinterest/lack of enthusiasm towards the game itself is such a large possibility, I doubt I’ll like fighters at age 30 for instance. I hope I still do though.
Welcome to the real world man. People die of starvation daily, there is a hierarchy within social classes that most of the time will define how you live, and almost all of the planets population have to work for their livelihood. This is the way the world works, and it is impossible to simply enjoy leisure activities for your entire life without having something to support this - AKA a job.(We’d prefer if you got something you like instead of something dead end that pays terribly and makes you suicidal.)
I’d just turned 16, I’d just lost interest in boxing after realising I just couldn’t break into the sport. At this point I started to let myself go, gained weight, lost my girlfriend, my life at that point had hit such a fucking low note and I didn’t have any purpose in life. I had nothing, the only saving grace was that video games took me out of the world I lived in and let me just forget about it for a while and put me at peace. I thought to myself constantly - “Work is work, it doesn’t matter what I’m doing it isn’t fun and I’ll hate it either way!” and I destroyed all ambition for anything in life. I almost let my education fall out of control, falling asleep in classes, failing my exams(finals in America I believe?) and generally being a fuck up. Dude, I fucking cried myself to sleep multiple times because I was mad about how unfair it all was. Worst year of my life so far.
Fast forward to late 16 about to turn 17, I don’t know where or how this happened to me but I just suddenly manned up. I realised that work is a necessity and even though I haven’t found my passion yet that I will. My life(yours too) are pretty damn short, and I’d like some fulfilment before I eventually pass away. Video games are fun and they kept me sane for a good chunk of my teenage life, but as a career path they just aren’t a legitimate source. My previous thoughts of “Work is just work” turned into “I’m going to find something I love, and go for it” and suddenly my drive and my ambition suddenly perked up a little.
Just because you have nothing now, doesn’t mean you can’t find something. Drawing or journalism, they are legitimate paths to take. Journalism is actually something I’m interested in with the recent goings-on with LGBT rights and the inequality between races/police brutality. Even if it’s centred around gaming, there is actually a legitimate pathway to further that ambition - kinda. It’s still a growing scene I guess.
I think I’ve lost myself at this point. What I’m trying to say is - get your head down from the clouds, take a realistic approach, genuinely think about working options that can support your love for gaming efficiently. We’re similar in the way we think, I got a lot of the things I have handed to me on a plate and whilst I’m happy my parents could do that for me - I’m disappointed I let myself get so detached from the reality of things and nearly destroy my future. I matured and took a realistic approach.
That is just a complete lack of realism “I don’t want to work because it’s boring/tedious” suck it up man, everyone has to do it. You know how you make it more bearable? You work damn hard to find your working passion, pursue it and make something from it whilst making enough money to live the lifestyle you want.(Again I stress Street Fighter is impossible, it’s like wanting to be a professional stream viewer or television watcher) It sucks that it’s the life we live, inevitably needing to do something we’re not fond of to live - but wake up and realise that’s the world we live in. You can make it a hell of a lot easier to live here happily if you go out and put the work in. A lot of people probably think the same as you do, but have to mature and realise that things sadly don’t work that way.
Jeez, I’m 18 and sound like I’m jaded as fuck. I just take a mature approach to things, I swear I’m not normally this cranky.
All of us here can help you get better at fighting games, and by all means try to become sponsored and make some money from it. But please, don’t ruin your life chasing something that simply isn’t going to work. Pick a character, head over to the character sub-forum and read up on that character and how they play etc. If it’s Ken/Cody/DeeJay I can help you. Good luck at fighting games, but even more luck in finding a job you like. I’ll play good cop, I’ll let everyone else verbally abuse you lmao.
/fin
One more note about Daigo. His day job was a nurse. That’s not a bullshit job that you are trying to do to just play fighting games. That’s how he was putting food on the table, while bodying people in SF. Don’t bank on some bullshit job, as you’ll have to deal with bullshit problems, which can distract you from your goal.
One year wont get you anywhere with anything. Even fighting games. It takes years of practice to get anywhere with anything and giving up and hoping wont get you there. The best players have been in the community and playing them shits for over 10 years, and the big names still have actual jobs and just do fighting games as side money.
As @Femto said, Daigo is a nurse. He did that for a living and played on the side. He probably still does his nursing job and it was only recently after like 20+ years of experience and playing that he’s getting money off his name.
Justin Wong has been in it since he was like 14 or some shit and he still has a day job that makes him nice money, and, again, it was only recently like in the last year that he’s been making money from his name.
We’re just trying to tell you not to give up on everything for the Ryu life style.
Quoting this just to tell you to read it again. The bold is all you need to read. Read it and ask yourself “do I want to be this guy?”
Get an education or learn a trade and play games on the side. If you get to the point where you can just stream, go to tournies, get a sponsor and can at least make 50K a year just playing games? Cool, but don’t bank your entire future on it.
@Hanako I’ma tell it to you like this since I feel you may be asking for something that not everyone may realize you may be asking for. I feel people are reading the title of your thread as “I WANT TO BE A GODLIKE BUM” when that’s not really what you’re asking for. People just instantly assume that those that make these threads are looking to throw everything away for a career in games. You haven’t really done anything in your first postto indicate that’s exactly what you’re trying to do. You just seem to know that it’s a current dream of yours.
**EDIT: After reading your other posts it seems you are going down the road of giving up all other possible aspirations for being a pro gamer. Definitely don’t do that. Find at least one other more stable dream or goal that you can use alongside to motivate you into being a pro gamer. ** With that said, still read below.
Soooo…basically the first set of posts tend to be from people who jump in and assume “oh you want to drop your job and school to be a professional fighting gamer, DONT DO IT NOOOOO”. What about all of the people who are professional fighting gamers and have jobs. Didn’t they have a dream sitting in an arcade one day that it would pay off more than just winning tournaments that pay out little to no money? You can have dreams within your hobbies also.
There’s nothing wrong with you having a dream of becoming a professional fighting gamer as long as it’s not your only dream. Being a fighting game pro is still a very new thing and I think in some ways you may have just used very cliche words to suggest that you simply want to be an expert, high placing fighting gamer that gets sponsored and wins events. Whether you make a lot of money at an executive job or not, being at that level of play and sponsored is still something that must be worked for and only select few really achieve. The key is that no matter how it’s worded you have an aspiration to be someone that wins or places very highly at big events often and really deeply understands the meta of whatever fighting game you’re playing.
Make sure you don’t turn yourself into a bum doing it basically…but I’m just letting you know there’s nothing wrong with wanting to become a great, tournament winning fighting game player and get paid and sponsored. Sonicfox is about the same age as you, just barely out of high school (if he even is yet) and has already made more than the salary most people make here in less than a year of playing fighting games. That’s not to say that should be your only goal, but if you do reach the goal that will be one of your perks.
Fight on and go for your dreams. Just make sure you are also pursuing another dream that has more direct income. You can have more than one dream and one goal and make sure you are pursuing this goal and the other, more stable one you should be as well.
It’s like trying to be a gambling pro like poker and baccarat.
Read Check-raising the Devil by Mike Matusow
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51t%2BWqJgSTL.SY344_BO1,204,203,200.jpg
To name a few. I guess being a pro fighting game player is like being a pro at anything, for example, being in the UFC, a chess master, a poker pro, etc.
Join the Marine Corps, when you get out maybe you’ll have your head screwed on straight.
DONT LISTEN TO THIS GUY WTF
the last thing you should do is become some brainwashed ex military asshole
Hands and legs should be enough, fuck armies in general when it comes to that. The discipline is undeniably there though.
But that’s basically what you’re there for, numbing yourself down to the point of if you end up killing anybody you won’t feel it in the future.
And that doesn’t work out well for anybody. The army gives you good and bad discipline. Let us train you, but you gotta do this for us, you gotta sign this contract if you want to be here, and if we need you then you can’t say no or else you’re spending jail time. You do as they say and kill somebody or spend prison time. You don’t listen to them and do what you want anyways, consequences are various.
And that is one hell of a commitment to take.
You don’t know what you want to do with your life yet, and that’s fine, you’re just 17. But you need a job. That’s just how this world works. To have the free time to do what you want to do you need to give up time doing something you may not want to do. You know the people who take your order at that crappy fast food joint? Guarantee you they don’t like their job, or at the least find it boring. Custodians don’t have a burning desire to clean things, that’s not their life goal. They’re taking the temporary job that they don’t like while looking for and/or working towards a job that they’ll like more, whether it’s because of pay, hours, interest, or anything. I’m in the middle of trying to get my college degree, balancing trying to keep a dying local FG scene alive, and having to work enough hours to be able to keep the other two going. I don’t have any ambitions to be the best pizza employee in the history of the world, it’s a means to an end. And if I didn’t need the money I’d quit in a second. But I need the money to sustain myself in life. You do shit you don’t like so you can do the shit you do like. Or you get the shit jobs out of the way when you’re young so you can afford an education to get less-shit jobs when you’re older.
There have been dozens of posts like this on SRK over the last few years. Like you, they watched a stream and thought “this is sick, I want to be those guys in top 8.” Like you, they use this expansive rhetoric about “this is what I want to do and I’ll achieve my goal no matter what.” Like you, they don’t take kindly to people who give them the real talk.
Here’s another thing they have in common: They all make less than 50 posts on SRK, lose a bunch for two weeks, then quit and we never hear from them again. Just go to the Newbie forum and surf through old threads. Every time you see an introduction thread and hear something about “my goal is to win Evo in ____ years” click on their profile to see when they last logged in. Check youtube for footage of them. Think about whether you’ve heard of them. The answers are all the same: they are nobodies. Because it’s easy to write flowery posts about your goals and it’s very hard to actually get to the top levels of FG players. And if you actually manage to get there you’re going to find that being a top player in FGs doesn’t stack up to a whole lot.