Free.
You probably hear this term a lot, probably read it a lot on forums and on the stream where you watch your favorite pros play. And you’re especially going to hear it on your first year of playing competitively, because that’s exactly what you are. You’re free.
I sure as hell know all about it. Because this is still my first year, and I’m a free as a bird. You can just as well bet your ass that online warriors are gonna tell you that every single time they body you, lag or no lag.
Welcome to the fabulous world of Fighting Games. Stay free.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that a rookie in this day and age of fighting games is way different than being a rookie a decade or so ago. Gone are the times where you needed to wait in line to play one match. Playing Endless Mode online doesn’t create that same atmosphere, because you don’t have to take that walk of shame once you lose. Nowadays, losing a match on Endless Mode just means you got time to surf the web, or take a walk of shame to the refrigerator and grab a cold one. Not losing a dime when you lose a match is also a plus.
You’re probably wondering, “What’s this fool know about the old times? He just got here!” Here’s my experience. When I enter Endless Mode and lose a game, I can take it. Sure, I’m salty. But I can just step back, take a breather, and say to myself that I got this fool next time in the comfort of my own home.
Then I enter an arcade filled with people. It’s my turn in line, and as a newbie, it hits me. There are physical eyes on me. They’re not hidden behind TV screens and the digital universe, they’re watching me intently right behind my back. I want to impress just as much as i want to win period. Because I know that if I lose, not only am I out 50 or so cents, I’m gonna hold that L to my chest, and everyone else is gonna hold that L to my chest and attach it to my face. And considering I just started learning and was as close to getting perfected on as possible, they probably held that F there as well. Don’t get me wrong, lots of guys have no problem stepping up to me and telling me what I did wrong, and that’s just one of the many things people miss out when they play online. A stream and a forum can type out advice, but nothing beats a face-to-face session where the better player can see what you did wrong on the screen and on your hands. He can hear you tap the buttons and move the joystick, and just as simply offer you hands-on advice. That kind of environment is absolutely necessary if you’re ever thinking of playing at a tournament level; it certainly helped me level up pretty quick. I could only imagine how good it felt to be a rookie way back when, because your community WAS the local arcade, and the social scene was so much closer.
But then again, I could also imagine how bad it was. It takes me $9.50 one-way to get to the arcade, and the last thing I want to do is spend more money getting my ass handed to me. Winning never felt so damn important, and that kind of experience is as close as possible as traveling to a tournament far away, paying the entry fee, and NOT winning the entire tournament. You feel like you’re gonna go back home empty handed, and you most likely will. It’s never a good feeling knowing you spent a lot of money to lose, and that’s why I can kind of understand why people choose online over traveling to arcades, and is the big reason why Arcades have begun to decline so much. No one likes losing a match, their money, and their credibility at the same time. At least online, people can’t attach a face to the guy who got manhandled by a scrub Hakan.
But here’s one of the big differences I’ve learned since I began my journey to be a tournament-level player. We live in a generation of technology. All knowledge and information can be handed to us in a silver platter. Gone are the days where you’d have to do some traveling and pay to learn your character match by match. You can learn it at home, for as long as you want. You have frame data, online tutorials, match videos, practically everything in your fingertips to give you the tools to be a monster in the fighting game scene. We as newbies have that distinct edge on the players of the past generation. In return for being unable to learn matches by feel, we can learn matches through theory, data and networking. This kind of stuff is an absolute goldmine for people who quite literally have no money to afford going to an arcade and need an alternative; and the same goes for online play. Things like these make me thankful to live in this day and age while still being a bit envious of not starting out earlier.
I guess you can call me a humble guy. But don’t ever get me wrong. Just because I understand that I’m still free doesn’t mean I have no intention of wanting to kick your ass, online or sitting on the panel beside me. For the first two months, I will admit that I had the mindset of “I’m just a newbie, I’m probably not gonna win, I’m only here to learn new things.” But that mindset is wrong. I WANT to kick your ass. I want to body you free. I want to style on you, and I want to look like the best player in this damn place. But all those things take a backseat to one thing; I want to win. I want to beat everyone who is called down to face me, and I want to be declared the champion, in a tournament or even just at the local arcade. There’s always talk about how the new wave of players are too soft; always acting friendly and shaking people’s hands, smiling and whatnot even when they lose. I do those exact same things, and while I do mean it when I’m nice, you can bet your ass that a part of me is salty to the bitter end, and wants nothing more than to run it back and absolutely destroy you next time. I’d like to call that kind of feeling as ‘Salty Hunger,’ because once you taste that salt, it tastes so good that you have no problem wanting EVERYONE to taste it with you.
Having a soft personality doesn’t make you any less hungry than anyone else, and I’ll carry that to my grave. You can still be a good guy in this day and age and through hard work, practice, and persistence still be one of the best. I can’t help but smile sometimes when someone looks weak and someone else tries to put a hard front to him, only to get bodied. This generation ain’t soft, it’s just New Wave Footsies, son. Step in and put out a nice, weak front, and sooner or later someone is gonna try to hit you strong, not realizing they’re gonna get punished hard. Money match bait 101. Don’t judge that weak front on face level. But what do I know? I’m just a nice guy.
That doesn’t mean I won’t throw out the occasional shit-talk. And nothing is more satisfying that beating someone who talks shit the whole match, and when that KO sign comes out, you can stand up, turn to that guy, look at his salty face and tell him to hold that. Xbox live messages don’t hold a candle to saying that in front of that fool’s face. You can bet that if he ever faces you in the loser’s bracket, he ain’t gonna talk as much shit as before, and if he does, you’re gonna get love handing him the pink slip… right out of the tournament.
Another thing I learned is that basics go a long way. You can’t develop a structure on a weak foundation. If you get the basics down, the sky is the limit. The first time I played Super IV, the first thing I learned were complex combos with no proper use of normals, and just using specials off the ground. I bet half of you reading this just cringed right now. Before I even learned one simple SRK combo, I was already trying to learn how to do a cool-looking EX Tatsu crossup with no reasoning to learn it other than ‘it looked cool.’ I SRKed everything under the sun. I flowcharted Ken before I even knew what flowchart even meant. Everyone’s gone through that process before, and I’m sure it all ended the same way: I, like everyone else, get bodied by the first sensible opponent. Worst part? I act like I’m supposed to win. Stay free, Me.
You don’t learn anything when you’re angry by the way. Or is that just me? I find that when I get angry, suddenly my bnb combos are no longer coming out, and more drastically, I’m trying to land harder combos because I want to even out the life disadvantage as soon as possible. That’s never going to work without a clear head. But again, maybe that’s just me.
But I think that’s one of the most important things in your first year of competitive gaming. Not only do you learn about your character, you learn a lot about yourself. You learn a lot about your own personal style, but also your weaknesses. The mental weaknesses you carry have a lot more weight than the weaknesses your main does. A lot of people play music to pump themselves up, and so I did the same and kept losing. Eventually, I learned that I play my best not when I’m pumped up, but when I’m relaxed and cool. If people heard my music, it’s full of smooth jazz and piano music to calm my already nervous heart. Everyone has their own style of play and their own style of preparation. After all, you always want to face your opponent in conditions best suited for you, right?
I’m not here to give newbies any advice, however. I’m in no position to give advice that I haven’t mastered yet. But rather just give them a glimpse from my perspective about the scene (I love reading stories about this scene’s history. Hours. It’s ridiculous how much it’s grown), how things have evolved, and more importantly, how the scene needs you. Yes, you. Just because you’re a complete noob doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make an effort to go out of your comfort zone and stay right where you are. If you ever get the chance to go to a local arcade, do so. Tournament nearby? Try and make an effort to go. If you make an effort, you WILL level up, and so will the people around you, and the only direction you can go is up. But if for some reason you’re unable to do that, work with what you have, and I bet online is the best bet. Wolfkrone was/is an online player but he studied the matchups intently and used whatever he had to his advantage. You have all this new technology in your hands; don’t take it for granted. Use it and grow. I bet everyone has an aspiration to be one of the best.
You can’t be the best if you don’t put out your best effort.
For now, I’m gonna stay free. All I can do is put out my weak little front. But that’s how it all starts out, right?
New Wave Footsies.
Maybe next year I’ll realize I wrote this crap and it was all wrong. But for now, these are the ramblings of a free man.