Side Update;
366 Views. What the fuck?! Who’s actually reading this?!
~November 2nd Edition~
Mind Games, Who are you really fooling?
There was something I noticed when I was playing the last few nights. Mentality is everything.
Fighting an opponent, no matter who it is, you have to keep a steady mindset. A mindset isn’t saying things like ‘I have to win, no matter what’ a Mindset is a gameplay style. When you have so much riding on a fight, you have to keep in mind ‘What am I fighting for?’ and ‘This is how I’ll take the match.’ If you let yourself get sloppy, your gameplay suffers because of it. Even something as simple as ‘okay, I’ve got the lead’ can ruin you if you don’t keep your focus on the match itself. The fight’s not over until the announcer says you win, not that the round ends.
So let’s explore the topic of ‘Mind Games’ and how to execute it properly. In order to initiate mind games, you have to get your opponent into a highly compromising position. Let them fear your next move because they will be unsure of how to play out their own game. And most of all, keep your mind open. When you think you’re playing a Mind Game, you may just be walking into your opponent’s trap.
I’ll elaborate more on this later. Keep on fighting everyone!
So I’ve decided it’s time I start promoting myself. So…
Here’s my Twitter, just Tweet me whatever @ShinkuGadoken
And search Andrew Fein on Facebook. I’m the [S]Red Haired kid. [/S] Black Haired Kid.
~November 18th Edition~
Money makes the game more sound
Some people make their living on playing fighting games. Those people inspire me to keep fighting no matter how many times I lose, get told its a waist of time, or otherwise try and be discouraged from continuing to play. The very thought that one day, I can make buku bucks because I went out and defeated someone big in a final round in a big name tournament keeps the dream alive. At the end of the day, I really wonder if I can make it. If I’m fighting for myself, to prove a point, or just to make a life from it. It’s to the point where I can’t focus on anything at all that isn’t fighting games. I can’t focus on my college work, I can’t focus on my artwork, hell, I have to muster up the creative genius to write up a decent post here in my own chronicles of combat. I feel so… Involved, yet disassociated all at once. Am I just a big loser? Or do I really believe in myself?
I have a pair of tournaments this Saturday, one local scene, one for actual money. I’m scared I’m going to lose both of them. But only time will tell.
I wish someone would wish me luck, because believing in yourself when no one else does is starting to get weary.
~November 25th Edition~
I’m here to watch a good game
I was talking to my father the other evening while we watched the rivalry game between Texas State and Texas A&M. Ya know. College Football.
Before I go on, lemme just tell you guys how much I hate college football. Or football in general. I only watch it with my father because I love him and its the only time I get any man to man time with him. I take my man time seriously. Seriously enough to watch something I hate.
Anyway, my father and I were talking about how rich people should help others become rich by giving them new jobs and abilities to make money for themselves. Even if they spend some of their money just making jobs so they can make more money, they’re still making jobs for other people. During one of the replays on TV, it shows a game where some starting players whomped a team so bad that the score was 70 to 0 at the end of the game. My dad told me he hates that. He absolutely hates that. He would rather watch a good team use its third seat players against a team like that instead of a good team wail on a shitty team.
Immediately, in my head, and without thinking, I told him about how that’s how the Fighting Game players think too. We would rather watch a good player use a character he’s not good with against a bad player’s best character. Why? Because, it’s just that much more interesting. Say you show up to a tournament, the first person you play against is a 12 year old who showed up today because his older brother is playing too. You main Fei Long or Wesker/Vergil/Akuma for your main team, and this kid picks El Fuerte or Spider-Man/Ryu/Hulk because they look kinda cool. Do you play your best? No, Hell no. You pick Makoto or Dan or you pick a team of random and you play with this person because they’re just here to have fun. Obviously its a tournament, you want to do well, but when you KNOW you’re going to outmatch someone? You should just let it go, and actually just play for fun.
What do you guys think?
Anyway, after that conversation, I told my Dad I want to get sponsored. He told me that, when I start winning big money tournaments, he’ll support everything I do from that point on.
I guess I have a new goal, guys.
~December 4th Edition~
Tired of Losing? Play to win.
So I’ve finally hit that focal point of my career where I’m tired of losing to people in the final rounds of tournaments. I have… Three First Place Street Fighter tournament victories and that’s it. I always had the mentality that ‘If I pick the characters I like and get really good, I can beat anyone.’ As it turns out, you can’t do that. You can’t just assume your character has a fantastic chance at winning a tournament because you like them a lot and you think that’s just how it works; enough dedication to a single style will prove you the better player.
I learned this when I faced off against a team of Zero, Dr. Doom, and Strider, and I was getting destroyed. I couldn’t stop Zero, but I could smash Strider and Doom no problem. Zero’s mobility coupled with such good assists made for a horrendous time fighting them with my team of Wesker, Vergil, and Nova. I just didn’t know what to do. So I switched out Nova for Hawkeye, and suddenly, the whole game changed. Zero couldn’t stop Hawkeye and the Teleport Shenanigans by Wesker and Vergil became almost god tier. I had to stop myself from almost crying. Though my lack of expertise with Hawkeye ultimately mercked me, it still shows how much more you can get out of counter picking with someone.
So, I guess I’m gonna go practice, and learn how to play with every single character in the game. Wish me luck, everyone.
~December 15th Edition~
Traveling at the speed of Hado
Hey everyone, just wanted to make this update before I went out for the weekend and kicked some ass.
So first off, 500+ views? Seriously, I was pretty damned convinced that nobody ever reads this thing. Especially since it’s just one wall of text based on all of the things I’ve been thinking about. You guys rock. Second, college is wrapping up its first semester, and the job hunt is still on. Hopefully I’ll come out on top of it all.
So this weekend I’m heading out to Kalamazoo to take on a group of players from that area. Most of it is just advertising to see if I can draw in some out of county players. My own job at experience points seems to be getting tougher, and bringing people in is always a scary endeavor, especially if we get a low night. My boss is really pushing for me to kick ass and break bank, but I just don’t know sometimes. Though these Kzoo players are interesting. First off, there’s Freddy, and he reminds me a lot of my boss Daniel in that he’s super nice and wants the fighting game community to really flourish. Next is Holden, who supposedly plays a really mean viper, and can hold his own with OctopusOnFire (For those who don’t know, Octopus played against Mike Ross and Gootecks in an episode of cross counter, and he made 'em seem pretty free for awhile). I’m looking forward to the matches. Then there’s this arrogant (or maybe he’s just loud?) player who challenged us to a Five on Five. Now the Elkhart players are locked in a battle with 400 dollars on the line! Let’s kick some ass!
Lastly, I’m going to be doing some traveling all around the area, playing players and spreading my name around. I want folks to realize I’m a serious threat these days, and maybe one day, I’ll have people calling me up, asking for matches. I’d never turn down a fight that way.
~January 5th Edition~
Hopeless Fighter, Feeling Hopeless
So Frosty Faustings is less than two days away from now and my ride is gone.
It sucks not having your own car, or having your friends bail on you at the last second. Sometimes it makes me wonder if the path I walk is a lonely warrior’s road. Eventually I’ll have to subsist on doing things my own, and with prior engagements like the weekends being work days or having to meet with someone taking hold of me. It’s a bit… Disheartening, to say the least. Having learned I wasn’t that good at Street Fighter, I completely dropped it to focus on my Marvel playing, to which extent I know I’m good at that. My goal was to show up, play everyone, win, go home and shove the money in my parents’ faces. Silly, I know, but I like to dream big.
At any rate, as it stands, I’m going to have no ride to Frosty Faustings, and Therefor no way of getting there to participate. I’m gonna stay hopeful though, and try and convince my friend to roadtrip over to Northbrook so I can take these guys by storm. I’m tired of being the local loser, I wanna be an interstate champ.
~January 6th Special Edition~
Fucking Johnny Bananas!
So this is bugging me so much that I have to make a post about it here.
We have this player here in Elkhart who is pretty much my better. I can’t beat him anymore. And it’s pissing me off.
So when I first started going to my Local Scene, Experience Points, I met two new players who go by the names of Black Belt Status and Johnny Bananas. The former is a very strong Street Fighter player, but his Marvel leaves something to be desired. He’s better than the average player, but he’s not better than the upper level players. I usually beat him 8 to 1 in our sets. He’s a really nice guy though, and I love playing him because he has a similar love of the game that I have. He’s cool.
Then there’s Johnny.
Johnny is the bane of my existence, he’s the sole thing stopping me from winning in UMvC3 at the local scene. Johnny and I went at it day one we met, with us going back and forth, constantly trying to outplay each other. The games were always slightly in his favor, but there was nothing to damning about mine or his performance. Fair fights.
Next week? Same thing.
Week after, no biggy.
Today.
I got smashed. There was nothing wrong with my play, it’s just that his was a thousand times better, and I couldn’t DO anything to stop it! He runs a Zero, Doom, and Strider team, and it doesn’t matter which one of those three you’re fighting, the game is always in their favor. Dr. Doom is stupid strong, his Zero is stupid strong, and Strider… God… I just… I’m mad. I’m salty. Whatever you wanna call it. I want to kick someone in the teeth, but I can’t. I had the life sucked out of me by my performance, and If I can’t play right, then I’m going to fail in other aspects. Johnny Bananas is playing my Metagame to the flute of his golden violin, and I feel like I’m stuck dancing to a tune I don’t even like.
Fuckin’… Johnny Bananas…
… One more thing I’d like to say. He’s like, one of the best friends a guy could ask for.
~January 24th Edition~
** I’m ready to X the line**
So with the recently announced Reality Show/Tournament hybrid that is Street Fighter X Tekken’s big hype release party, I’ve come to realize that all of my training and work put into these games has finally come to this. This is what I’ve been putting in all my hard work and effort into doing. Getting Exposure! Ah man, I cannot even begin to express my excitement for this series. I’m going to go out of my way, up and beyond to try and make it into the scene. Until I have a video up, I’m just going to write up why I’d make a great addition to Team Tekken. Here we go!
Name - Who Am I?
My name is Andrew Fein, and nobody will ever forget it in the coming years. Though by day I am a simple college student majoring in the communications and arts, by night I become the legendary SHINKU GADOKEN! With my perfectly ineffective combos, my amazing levels of excitement and hype, and my absolute devotion to perfecting my craft no matter how low tier it may be, I will take the mantle of the greatest Line Crosser the world has ever seen! Shinku for Evo 2012! Shinku for the winner of the 25,000 dollar contest!
Why - What do I bring to the show?
The learner, the cocky one, the young one, the one who’s new, the under dog, the guy who is trying to take everything he learns on the fly, reverse his opponent’s flow of momentum, and turn it against them. I used to be small town champion until I was introduced to the better players, sitting on four Street Fighter tournaments as my major accomplishments, only to fall to 2nd place in the Season Finale. I’m the true underdog, and going into the game with high expectations, bright eyes, and enough emotional baggage to make things really exciting in the endgame is exactly what a good competitive atmosphere needs. Plus since it’s live, all of my reactions will be real, and everything that happens will let those other players out there, who are like me, a nobody with big dreams, feel like they have a piece of themselves with me. I also have a decent record in Tekken, and I said in the video I have a 1 in 4 victory rate, I meant 4 in 1. DX
Etc. - Anything else?
If selected for the show, I promise to open this game up, show people it’s fun and exciting, and defeat everyone in my path using everything I’ve learned up to this point! It’s time to start fighting for real! Now I ask you, Publishers, Players, And everyone else. Do YOU have what it takes to Cross The Line?!
Oh yeah, Here’s my Entry.
[media=youtube]EnQTNaWAHtE[/media]
~February 6th Edition~
The only man I can’t beat is…
So I went through a bunch of games with a group outside of my own. What did I find out? I’m friggen amazing. Nobody outside of my scene could really ‘beat’ me. And you know what? It felt good. It felt really good. If I play outside of my friends, I can beat ‘anybody’.
Then I play our local god and it all falls to shit. Why is this? I don’t understand, I don’t get it. It’s not just because I’m beaten in my own head, it’s because *He really is seriously fucking good!
*This is gonna be a short update, but I want to try and figure out… What makes him so good, and why am I so… 2nd Place?
Well, I can see where one might be confused here. Clearly, having destroyed some casual gamers should have put you in a prime position to take down a god. I simply cannot understand why your logic didn’t manifest into reality. All the pieces were in place, yet you somehow lost. Hell, I’m certainly at a loss! Perhaps this can be attributed to the steady increase in solar activity? Hmmm…
2nd place at what? dont make self proclaims
They weren’t casual, they were fairly serious matches. But your attempt at sarcasm was certainly amusing.
@Daniel: I’ll proclaim what I please.
~February 12th Edition~
Actually…
Never mind what I posted here before, I wrote it in rage and I should react better.
~February 21st Edition~
Wake up and smell the Blood
So I’ve been thinking about the premise of health lately. Not that I’ve been scared by the media into doing anything drastic, just that I’d like to start taking steps towards better health in favor of better gameplay. I see a lot of gamers these days who are doing the same thing and it seems to have a very positive reflection on their overall performance when under stress or when playing for long periods of time. A turning point that told me it’s time to get healthy is when I woke up with my face, shirt, and pants covered in Blood from a Bloody Nose I had over night from improper sleeping patterns. It looked like I ran around and killed people in my sleep.
So aside from that, I figure it’ll be good for me to work towards a healthier lifestyle, instead of being the stereotype of the guy who never goes out, is a basement dweller, and is anti-social. I’m none of those things.
One more thing on my mind is Street Fighter X Tekken. I didn’t get in the show, surprise surprise, but nonetheless the game is looking so exciting that I’ll be playing it until I’ve sunk far enough into my seat that I get assimilated into the leather. Hwoarang in General looks really strong, and Jin’s Projectile Traps look too good to pass up. I’m still waiting for them to reveal Cody, but til then, I’ll be playing the Hworang/Jin team until the cows come home. Wish me luck~
~February 28th Edition~
Forget Fear! You’re not Safe Anyway!
So myself and a friend were talking the other night about the concept of fear and how it affects your game play. Back a couple months ago I had a nasty bout of fear with my local player Johnny, but he actually sat down and explained the whole thing to me. The reason why I can play well against my other friends is I assume that I can fight them and win. That gives me the mental edge I need to play properly, but then I would turn around and play him and get trashed. Johnny’s a great player, don’t get me wrong, but half the reason I was losing was that I was fucked in the head and he noticed it long before I did. It’s like a metagame in which you’re mentally already defeated. I’ve come to overcome that fear, so any time I lose now it’s simply because I got outplayed. But the concept itself is interesting. If it could screw me up that badly, who else could it wreck? Well, I found out it can wreck more than just me, but even huge level players.
An example I saw was of the Justin Wong vs Daigo Umehara match. You know, the famous one. Seth Killian made the observation that in that high level play, even the most mentally prepared players can be destroyed by a moment of Fear or Anxiety. This was Evo after all, and Justin could have just waited Daigo out. Instead he (and this is Seth’s words) cracked under pressure and tried to go for a flashy finish, only to get parried all the way through, reversed, and destroyed. Daigo forsaw a move that you had to already be parrying before the super flash, and so spaced out Justin perfectly, forcing him to act. If Justin had used the Kikoken instead of the Super, who knows what would have happened! But instead he used his super as Daigo expected and the game ended in Daigo’s favor.
Some could argue that it was Daigo’s anger (Not frustration, but pure will to defeat Justin) that saw him through that fight. I personally believe it was a combination of both Daigo’s anger and Justin’s anxiety. I’ve had similar situations while playing Marvel. I had been running a team of Vergil/Hawkeye/Ryu when I went up against Team Trenchcoat. I lost Vergil and Hawkeye to some smart mixups early on, and wound up playing the whole game with just Ryu. Ryu wound up defeating Vergil, Dante, and Wesker without even utilizing X-Factor. Half of that match was due to the fact that I was just playing sloppy. I got mad that this guy was styling on me, so I focused heavily, and turned the whole game around in a moment’s notice with some smart gameplay. So I know Anger is one thing, but I think the guy I was playing became afraid of losing once he lost both Vergil and Dante to someone who’s mobility isn’t even that great.
So going into Street Fighter X Tekken, my friend, Manimal Instinct, and I have decided that we will have a No Fear attitude no matter what. We have a tournament coming up on March 10th, and we plan on winning, no matter what. So Forget Fear, it can only hold you back anyway!
~March 11th Edition~
Time to wind down
Hey everyone, ShinkuGadoken here, coming to tell you I won’t be playing any fighting games for awhile. I’ve decided I’m gonna take a step back from everything and focus on my Social Life and College. Just know I’ll be back after this semester, and that I love everyone who’s ever supported my growth in the scene.
Thanks for reading my updates, and I hope after my break, I’ll be back to kick ass and take names.
~April 3rd Edition~
Giving up the title of ‘2nd Place’
Something I pride myself on (or used to, anyway) was being the second best fighting game player in my area. In recent months, I’ve come to realize that just isn’t the case anymore. Some of it due to tournament results, others due to just the fact that I’m getting out played. But I’m not upset over it, its just a reminder, a motivator, if you will, to try and get better. I’m still shooting for first place, after all, and I figure that if I put enough time, effort, and spirit into the game, I’ll become fantastic at what I do.
Until then, I suppose I’ll just stick to the handle I gave myself. ‘Hopeless Fighter Shinku Gadoken’ instead of ‘2nd Place Shinku Gadoken’. Ha Ha!
Mini-update to let you guys know I’m not dead.