Hey everyone -- so with school about to begin again, it's the perfect time to drop a report card for the scene. This isn't going to be the normal kind, with letter grades; but it's an assessment of where the scene is right now, and where we have to go. Injustice has been out for a few months now, and we're a a point where we can take a step back and look at where things stand. So with that said, here we go:
THE LOCAL SCENE
The Good: I'm starting with this because it's one of the true highlights of our game community, and one of the best sources of hope for the future. In cool way, a lot of our local communities have really gotten behind this game in major ways, and the proliferation of reliable local tournaments is proof of that. These tournaments have given people something exciting to look forward to every week. This is great and it's crucial for the health of the scene.
AK Reno_Racks has been doing great stuff down in Atlanta, KDZ DarthArma Riyo and co. have been rock solid in Jersey, WNF has been a treat to watch and has been a marquee event since Day 1, and the new GGA weekly is a total blast. Kudos to you guys. Cat FCP/EMP SCAR I know you guys are still hanging around there somewhere. Sabin has been fighting hard for IGAU, and hopefully people appreciate that. Seeing Denzell MITDJT NightwingDayZero michaelangelo and the rest of Vegas and Norcal travel down to Socal to compete in a weekly was also incredibly cool.
To Improve: One thing we need to work on here is cooperation for promotion. I know everyone wants to get their own Twitch revenue and whatnot, but the fact is that a couple hundred viewers once a week isn't going to bring in much in the way of cash flow. Stream advertising/CPM rewards the higher numbers, and to get them, people on the whole need to be *aware* of what's going on. That means it's no longer enough just to announce your stream and post about it on TYM. Working together and working smart is what will get us from 200 -> 1000 viewers or more.
I have some ideas here, but I'll need everyone's help to implement them. So let's work together to bring the excitement of these weeklies to a much larger audience.
TEAM SPIRIT
A few weeks ago at the Break, a bunch of the game's top players came together to make for a memorable and extremely competitive night. This resulted in over 2000 views and a palpable buzz that lasted for days. But shortly afterward, personal vendettas got in the way, and people began to let their personal divisions split them apart. For this scene to thrive, we need each other, and the more we put aside silly gripes and come together to put on exciting events, the more respect we can command.
We need to stop taking the attention this game receives for granted; it can be gone as quickly as it came. That means that if we want stream time, preferential venue space, good scheduling and equal promotion, we need to demand it rather than assume it'll be given. But to demand it, we need to *produce*. If we are all fighting and flaming each other, the ship will sink.
There is such a thing as a healthy competitive rivalry.. Remember what it's like. Remember what it means to go hard, but shake hands and have a beer at the end of the day.
THE REGIONAL AND MAJOR SCENE
This has really been a banner year so far. We have seen great numbers at tournaments all over the country, a lot of great players playing at a high level of competition, and some memorable storylines. There are great moments in tournament Top 8 involving Doomsday, Harley, Martian Manhunter, Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Grundy, Black Adam, Killer Frost, Sinestro and more. The developers are clearly working to even the playing field, and despite any gripes people have had with game mechanics, we've seen a ton of really exciting matches with crazy nailbiter/surprise endings and unexpected upsets.
Going into TFC the field of competition is looking as strong as ever. Hopefully we can keep our numbers strong
As the year heads into fall and then winter, we will roll over into the West Coast tournament season with SCR and NCR. Those guys always bring the hype and I'm looking forward to seeing what they produce early next year.
THE DAY-TO-DAY COMMUNITY
The most important factor here is patience. At times people have tended to act like every little thing is the end of the world; but every game has growing pains, and yelling and screaming isn't always the best way to move forward. At the end of the day there's nothing that will please every single person; but if we continue to hang in there and support the game, it will make way for whatever comes after it.
We can choose to tear each other down or build each other up; and when guys win big tournaments we can choose to apprecite them or ridicule them. But you live in the house you build, so I'm all for coming together amidst our disagreements in order to win as a team. I'm seeing more and more useful tech posted, and stuff like AK Pig Of The Hut's tutorial series is awesome -- hugely helpful and very interesting to watch. More positive effort like that and less crying goes a long way toward keeping a community healthy.
THINGS WE COULD USE MORE OF:
-Twitch shows - don't be afraid to start one. Right now the On Blast Show is holding it down for partially NRS-based content; but James is about the whole FGC (which is cool), and so it'll be cool to have our own show as well. For those of you who were around for MK, this was a blast and it'd be great to see someone step up and get it rolling again. Podcasts are ok, but there's something about a live show that makes interaction with the audience special.
-Online tournaments - just for the heck of it. Low pressure, but it's fun to have one of these every once in a while. Some of the craziest moments from MK actually happened online, like the emergence of Madzin and the amazing lag-tacular Noob Saibot.
-Event-running consistency - We should get better at starting on time, or at least giving updates via twitter when things are late. We should also work to raise the level of our stream commentary; even at a local, you're presenting the game and your scene to the world. The better you represent it and make it look, the more attractive it becomes, and the more people want to tune in.
-Helping hands - I know that some of you guys like to have your private conversation tech threads, where you only share tech with chosen players of your character. But remember that the community is bigger than just the few of us here; and the more we grow it, the better it is for everyone who loves participating in or watching IGAU events. So don't be afraid to share. It may help someone who ends up becoming one of the best some day.
-----------------------------------
THE WRAP
Overall, I'm really happy to watch everything come together. It seems like events are more and more exciting these days, from the majors all the way down to the smallest locals. Balance changes are on the horizon and level-ups are in the air everywhere. We will need to keep fighting to stay strong; but the future is looking bright and we can push this scene as far as we want it to go.
Above it all; I love you guys; all the people I've had the pleasure of coming across, talking with, playing against or writing about. So here's to you, and to the entire community.
Don't be afraid to come find me if you need help, with anything.
INJUSTICE!
THE LOCAL SCENE
The Good: I'm starting with this because it's one of the true highlights of our game community, and one of the best sources of hope for the future. In cool way, a lot of our local communities have really gotten behind this game in major ways, and the proliferation of reliable local tournaments is proof of that. These tournaments have given people something exciting to look forward to every week. This is great and it's crucial for the health of the scene.
AK Reno_Racks has been doing great stuff down in Atlanta, KDZ DarthArma Riyo and co. have been rock solid in Jersey, WNF has been a treat to watch and has been a marquee event since Day 1, and the new GGA weekly is a total blast. Kudos to you guys. Cat FCP/EMP SCAR I know you guys are still hanging around there somewhere. Sabin has been fighting hard for IGAU, and hopefully people appreciate that. Seeing Denzell MITDJT NightwingDayZero michaelangelo and the rest of Vegas and Norcal travel down to Socal to compete in a weekly was also incredibly cool.
To Improve: One thing we need to work on here is cooperation for promotion. I know everyone wants to get their own Twitch revenue and whatnot, but the fact is that a couple hundred viewers once a week isn't going to bring in much in the way of cash flow. Stream advertising/CPM rewards the higher numbers, and to get them, people on the whole need to be *aware* of what's going on. That means it's no longer enough just to announce your stream and post about it on TYM. Working together and working smart is what will get us from 200 -> 1000 viewers or more.
I have some ideas here, but I'll need everyone's help to implement them. So let's work together to bring the excitement of these weeklies to a much larger audience.
TEAM SPIRIT
A few weeks ago at the Break, a bunch of the game's top players came together to make for a memorable and extremely competitive night. This resulted in over 2000 views and a palpable buzz that lasted for days. But shortly afterward, personal vendettas got in the way, and people began to let their personal divisions split them apart. For this scene to thrive, we need each other, and the more we put aside silly gripes and come together to put on exciting events, the more respect we can command.
We need to stop taking the attention this game receives for granted; it can be gone as quickly as it came. That means that if we want stream time, preferential venue space, good scheduling and equal promotion, we need to demand it rather than assume it'll be given. But to demand it, we need to *produce*. If we are all fighting and flaming each other, the ship will sink.
There is such a thing as a healthy competitive rivalry.. Remember what it's like. Remember what it means to go hard, but shake hands and have a beer at the end of the day.
THE REGIONAL AND MAJOR SCENE
This has really been a banner year so far. We have seen great numbers at tournaments all over the country, a lot of great players playing at a high level of competition, and some memorable storylines. There are great moments in tournament Top 8 involving Doomsday, Harley, Martian Manhunter, Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Grundy, Black Adam, Killer Frost, Sinestro and more. The developers are clearly working to even the playing field, and despite any gripes people have had with game mechanics, we've seen a ton of really exciting matches with crazy nailbiter/surprise endings and unexpected upsets.
Going into TFC the field of competition is looking as strong as ever. Hopefully we can keep our numbers strong
As the year heads into fall and then winter, we will roll over into the West Coast tournament season with SCR and NCR. Those guys always bring the hype and I'm looking forward to seeing what they produce early next year.
THE DAY-TO-DAY COMMUNITY
The most important factor here is patience. At times people have tended to act like every little thing is the end of the world; but every game has growing pains, and yelling and screaming isn't always the best way to move forward. At the end of the day there's nothing that will please every single person; but if we continue to hang in there and support the game, it will make way for whatever comes after it.
We can choose to tear each other down or build each other up; and when guys win big tournaments we can choose to apprecite them or ridicule them. But you live in the house you build, so I'm all for coming together amidst our disagreements in order to win as a team. I'm seeing more and more useful tech posted, and stuff like AK Pig Of The Hut's tutorial series is awesome -- hugely helpful and very interesting to watch. More positive effort like that and less crying goes a long way toward keeping a community healthy.
THINGS WE COULD USE MORE OF:
-Twitch shows - don't be afraid to start one. Right now the On Blast Show is holding it down for partially NRS-based content; but James is about the whole FGC (which is cool), and so it'll be cool to have our own show as well. For those of you who were around for MK, this was a blast and it'd be great to see someone step up and get it rolling again. Podcasts are ok, but there's something about a live show that makes interaction with the audience special.
-Online tournaments - just for the heck of it. Low pressure, but it's fun to have one of these every once in a while. Some of the craziest moments from MK actually happened online, like the emergence of Madzin and the amazing lag-tacular Noob Saibot.
-Event-running consistency - We should get better at starting on time, or at least giving updates via twitter when things are late. We should also work to raise the level of our stream commentary; even at a local, you're presenting the game and your scene to the world. The better you represent it and make it look, the more attractive it becomes, and the more people want to tune in.
-Helping hands - I know that some of you guys like to have your private conversation tech threads, where you only share tech with chosen players of your character. But remember that the community is bigger than just the few of us here; and the more we grow it, the better it is for everyone who loves participating in or watching IGAU events. So don't be afraid to share. It may help someone who ends up becoming one of the best some day.
-----------------------------------
THE WRAP
Overall, I'm really happy to watch everything come together. It seems like events are more and more exciting these days, from the majors all the way down to the smallest locals. Balance changes are on the horizon and level-ups are in the air everywhere. We will need to keep fighting to stay strong; but the future is looking bright and we can push this scene as far as we want it to go.
Above it all; I love you guys; all the people I've had the pleasure of coming across, talking with, playing against or writing about. So here's to you, and to the entire community.
Don't be afraid to come find me if you need help, with anything.
INJUSTICE!
