Does it really count when you start from the very first fighting game you played? I mean, for those who are saying they’ve been playing for 20+ years - were you playing seriously 20+ years ago?
I mean, hell, I played SF1 when I was, like, 6 years old or some shit. About the only thing I really remember about the game was Retsu’s background and the pressure-sensitive buttons. And I’ve been playing fighting games ever since.
However, I don’t even really consider myself to have ‘started playing’ until Feb 15, 2011. This was when I went to a local launch day tournament for Marvel 3 and bodied everyone for free. It was my first real tournament, and my first time tasting victory. It was from there that I went out with my new-found confidence to find new fighting grounds…
…and realized that my old fighting grounds did absolutely nothing to prepare me. Slaughtered, completely and utterly. Just fucking destroyed. And I’ve been getting fucking destroyed ever since. I’ve gone from being cock-sure to wondering why the hell I even try anymore.
Point is, I don’t think it’s the same. I don’t really consider a person to have ‘started playing’ until they’ve been to a serious tournament that attracts players from all around. It’s only after this point that I can really consider a person to have started - because, in the end, being the best in your scene doesn’t mean jack shit unless you live in a mecca of fighting game activity.
I ‘started playing’ as soon as I realized that I was the big fish in the small pond - and I simultaneously realized that that wasn’t even nearly enough for me.
I stared in my university’s arcade on CVS1 back in 2003. After that i became friends with the good players and kicked it in their dorm room playing 3S all damn night…
Got my ass handed to me at evo2k5 and decided to pick up CVS2.
Tat same year i got a japa ese roommate and he played KOF, CVS2, and 3S… that is when i picked up my game. Got addicted to parrying and never turned back.
Moved to Japan and played in arcades everyday for a year or two and became one of the ‘locals’.
But oh n SF4 i have like 1500 points because I use my subs more than my mains.
I would have to say that it is not about being good, but having the time of your life.
My sons always mash buttons when i am in the middle of a match and that really pisses me off… but i also love it cause they try to play with me abd even choose my character and stage.
I played Barbarian when it first came out. first FG game with fatalities. but i prefered to watch others finishing it.
the best age to learn fighters (from early teen to early twenties) is long due. Best age to develop muscle memory, coupled with good reflexes.At that time I did learn MK4 on the PC (I wasnt used to arcade controls when I played the cab), but now forgot it completely. Same with Primal Rage.
When I bought Third Strike and Jojo on the Dreamcast, I spent more time playing Soul Calibour 1 since it was way easier.Missed the opportunity to learn those games, though it would have been a pain with the Dreamcast pad.
Now I can learn any fighter easily with all that info available, but unfortunately it is difficult changing my old habits. Besides, I missed 10 years
Im on year number 5, 19 years old, and still not at the level where I want to be in any of the games I play.
Lately, I went to my first major, Season’s Beatings Velocity and got blown up. Then I went to Power-Up and I did ok I guess (top 32). Next major I go to, hopefully I do better.
People in my scene say that you are at your prime around 21. Some people said their prime was 18 and some people say that they didn’t reach their prime till 25. Depends when you start. I guess.
I love fighting games because of the things they teach me.
Every game I’ve taken seriously has thought me something new. Different mechanics on different games make my brain work different areas.
I’ve been involved in the competitive scene for over a decade and I still feel like I got a lot to learn.
If you’re playing to get “good” , you probably won’t enjoy yourself as much since you need to constantly realize that there’s still much to learn.
There’s no such thing as getting to the point where you’re already considered good. You might think another player is good, but I can assure you that most players consider themselves average since they see the whole picture. This feeling will surely never leave you, so you better get used to it, but don’t feel discouraged, its just the nature of having a competitive drive.
One year is almost nothing, just enjoy yourself. Just keep this in mind.
A couple thousand hours of practice will not be in vain I promise you. Learning things will become easier.
For me it’s been like 20 years in the making. But I did not start taking FG’s seriously and playing other people until MVC2/CVS2 days and even then I felt really limited in what I could accomplish. In this past 4 years I’ve really been stepping up my game. Which is funny because that timing coincides with Vanilla SF4 launch and TBH I hated that game and did not play it. I have been a member of SRK since 2002 or something just under different users.