Success!
I am here to tell you guys a story. I'll try and keep it quick so this doesn't turn into a TL;DR, but here it is...
Some of you might know from my welcome post that I am currently trying to make a MK9 scene down here in Portland Oregon. At first it wasn't going well...
I found this really cool gameshop that had some of the best SF4 and MvC3 players I ever saw, but they never really gave much thought to Mortal Kombat. They said they tried to give it a shot at their tournaments, but no one was interested. They even laughed at the idea of MK9 being a serious fighting game, but yesterday on Tuesday, something odd happened.
A new guy walked into the shop, he was a big fan of MK9, but he wanted more info on how to play it. Luckily I know a LOT about MK9, so I offered to help him with it. Me and him had some awesome matches, and it was nice to see a MK player who was not only nice, but at my skill level.
However him coming in did something else...
After our matches one of the guys who plays street fighter asked if he could play; me and him fought and dude was really good (though he DID pick Kung Lao lol) He said it was a really fun game and he would love to try it some more
Then ANOTHER guy wanted to give it a shot because he was a fan of Kenshi from the 3D Mortal K days, again he was really good at it. Then after some really good MK matches I went out for some lunch, and when I got back I almost cried. More people were playing MK9 with each other, and I was able to help all of them get better at the game
There were more people playing MK9 that day then MvC3!
I did it TYM, I helped make the first step in getting Portland Oregon a real MK9 scene, and I cannot put in words how happy I am!
Now, why do you guys care? Well if you love MK9 you should be happy to hear it's getting a scene, but there's something else.
I just want to extend my utmost thanks to you guys at TYM
If it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't know half of the stuff I do about this game. A lot of people like to critisize me for being such a Tom Brady fan, but screw all ya'll. He works hard to teach us about the game, and he helped me learn so much about this game. Without this knowledge I wouldn't have been able to help the new guys learn the game, and they might have quit it out of frustration.
To anyone else trying to start up a MK9 scene I have some improtant tips for you guys:
1. Find a venue already playing fighting games. This works best because those venues already have people into fighting games, so obviously they already are fans of the genre which makes it a smaller barrier of entry.
2. Ask, but don't force. This is a pretty basic thing, but still it should be said. Ask some of the other fighting gamers if they want to try MK9. If they say no, don't force it. If you ask over and over you could actually turn them off of the game, plus it's not the best impression to give your self.
3. Be open to their games. Again, this seems basic, but sometimes even the basics need to be restated. If you wont even give Street Fighter or Marvel a shot, why should they give your game a shot? You don't have to like it, but at least try it out with them. You might actually like their games. Plus it's always good to learn the other fighting games so that you can teach them what the differences between those games and MK9 are.
4. Know the game! This is a BIG part of building a scene. They know almost nothing about Mortal Kombat, so you need to be able to teach them nearly everything about the game. You should be able to tell them how meter works, how breakers work, what are each characters strengths, weaknesses, and play styles, and what is right and wrong with the game.
And finally:
5. Show, don't just tell. This is something I learned recently, but it's very important. Sometimes people need to be shown how fun something is rather then just told. If it wasn't for that one guy coming in to play Mortal Komabt, I highly doubt most of those guys would have been willing to try the game out. So, try your hardest to find someone who does like the game, and play a few matches. You'll be shocked how many people you can catch with that
I am here to tell you guys a story. I'll try and keep it quick so this doesn't turn into a TL;DR, but here it is...
Some of you might know from my welcome post that I am currently trying to make a MK9 scene down here in Portland Oregon. At first it wasn't going well...
I found this really cool gameshop that had some of the best SF4 and MvC3 players I ever saw, but they never really gave much thought to Mortal Kombat. They said they tried to give it a shot at their tournaments, but no one was interested. They even laughed at the idea of MK9 being a serious fighting game, but yesterday on Tuesday, something odd happened.
A new guy walked into the shop, he was a big fan of MK9, but he wanted more info on how to play it. Luckily I know a LOT about MK9, so I offered to help him with it. Me and him had some awesome matches, and it was nice to see a MK player who was not only nice, but at my skill level.
However him coming in did something else...
After our matches one of the guys who plays street fighter asked if he could play; me and him fought and dude was really good (though he DID pick Kung Lao lol) He said it was a really fun game and he would love to try it some more
Then ANOTHER guy wanted to give it a shot because he was a fan of Kenshi from the 3D Mortal K days, again he was really good at it. Then after some really good MK matches I went out for some lunch, and when I got back I almost cried. More people were playing MK9 with each other, and I was able to help all of them get better at the game
There were more people playing MK9 that day then MvC3!I did it TYM, I helped make the first step in getting Portland Oregon a real MK9 scene, and I cannot put in words how happy I am!
Now, why do you guys care? Well if you love MK9 you should be happy to hear it's getting a scene, but there's something else.
I just want to extend my utmost thanks to you guys at TYM
If it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't know half of the stuff I do about this game. A lot of people like to critisize me for being such a Tom Brady fan, but screw all ya'll. He works hard to teach us about the game, and he helped me learn so much about this game.
Without this knowledge I wouldn't have been able to help the new guys learn the game, and they might have quit it out of frustration.To anyone else trying to start up a MK9 scene I have some improtant tips for you guys:
1. Find a venue already playing fighting games. This works best because those venues already have people into fighting games, so obviously they already are fans of the genre which makes it a smaller barrier of entry.
2. Ask, but don't force. This is a pretty basic thing, but still it should be said. Ask some of the other fighting gamers if they want to try MK9. If they say no, don't force it. If you ask over and over you could actually turn them off of the game, plus it's not the best impression to give your self.
3. Be open to their games. Again, this seems basic, but sometimes even the basics need to be restated. If you wont even give Street Fighter or Marvel a shot, why should they give your game a shot? You don't have to like it, but at least try it out with them. You might actually like their games. Plus it's always good to learn the other fighting games so that you can teach them what the differences between those games and MK9 are.
4. Know the game! This is a BIG part of building a scene. They know almost nothing about Mortal Kombat, so you need to be able to teach them nearly everything about the game. You should be able to tell them how meter works, how breakers work, what are each characters strengths, weaknesses, and play styles, and what is right and wrong with the game.
And finally:
5. Show, don't just tell. This is something I learned recently, but it's very important. Sometimes people need to be shown how fun something is rather then just told. If it wasn't for that one guy coming in to play Mortal Komabt, I highly doubt most of those guys would have been willing to try the game out. So, try your hardest to find someone who does like the game, and play a few matches. You'll be shocked how many people you can catch with that
