In this installment of Rising Stars, we sit down with one of Injustice's most interesting and unique players and personalities. Known for his vast array of unconventional characters, Galloping Ghost Arcade's PimPimJim was one of the best, if not eventually the best Sektor player in the Mortal Kombat 9 tournament scene; and he's parlayed his success into an even bigger series of accomplishments in IGAU.
After taking 2nd place at Canada's Toryuken a few months ago, PPJ claimed the top prize in one of the hardest fought and most hotly contested majors we've seen to date at NEC 14. Using a few of his characters, with a large helping of Hawkgirl, Jim helped open some eyes to the possibilities of the new patch, and helped put his hometown back on the map for Injustice.
So without any further ado, here we go: inside the mind of PimPimJim.
Hometown: Chicago/Naperville, IL
Years Playing Fighting Games: Since he was 2 years old
Mains: Hawkgirl, Lex Luthor, Zatanna
Alts: Raven, Shazam
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1) So tell us a little bit about your background in fighting games as a whole, before Mortal Kombat 9.
I've been a fighting game guy since I was three years old, playing the classic MKs and Killer Instinct on the SNES. I was born around the time arcades started to die out but thankfully I got to experience it a bit when I had to be set up a highchair to play on the arcade cabinets. Fighting games were always my favorite genre, and among them MK was always my favorite, although I also enjoy playing games like Smash and Tekken, as well as more obscure games like Bloody Roar and Fighters Destiny.
2) PimPimJim is a pretty unique name; can you tell everyone the story behind it, and where/when you picked the name?
When I was younger and frequently played MMOs or any sort of multiplayer online game (shoutouts to Gunbound), I used a few usernames which I cannot reveal before I finally settled on pimpimjim. "Pim Pim" was what my parents used as child slang for "nipples"; thus my name essentially means Nipple Jim. As an added bonus, I grew up in the golden era of the Chicago Bulls, and I would often mispronounce Scottie Pippen as "Scottie Pimpim"
3) You were an talented Sektor player who flew a bit under the radar in MK for months; what was it that drew you into playing MK9?
It was in the Summer of 2010 where I was on vacation in Manila. I was using the computers in the lobby of the luxury spa at the Hyatt where I was staying. I hadn't used the internet for two long dreadful days prior to arriving in the Philippines so I was excited to check all the forums I frequented like the loser I am. I went to SRK.com and the first thing that caught my eye was the trailer for a new MK game. It was dope and I got a soy sauce filled boner.
Now I did play MKvsDC on PSN casually and as fun as that game was, it was shite just like the other 3d MKs. When I found out that this new one would be more geared for the competitive player, I was excited at the thought of MK finally being recognized as a tourney worthy game, although at the time I was the furthest thing away from a tourney player. Over the next months/year leading up to MK9's release I kept up with all the news on sites like mk5.org a.k.a MKO. I finally made an account here on TYM in April 2011 and the rest is history.
4) What was it got you into being a competitive player, rather than a casual one?
This is going to be long, bear with me.
As noted before, I was huge on online PC games as a preteen/teen. One of these games was called "Kwonho: Fist of Hero". It was ported over from Korea and hosted by the online game group "IJJI". This game was basically a Virtua Fighter clone gameplay-wise. When you first create your character, you chose between 5 fighting styles, and as you level up you can gain new moves and different customizations for your character. Anyways this game actually got some publicity on SRK and they even had a closed beta tournament:
I was pretty good at the game but unfortunately it was short lived as Kwonho closed down in December 2007.
Fortunately around April 2007, long before its demise, there was a thread on the official forums with videos of another game in closed beta. This game is my first real venture in being even close to a competitor. This game was called Rumble Fighter.
Named "Gem Fighter" in Korea, Rumble Fighter is the one game I spent a load of time and money on as an 8th grader until maybe Junior year in high school. It is sort of a fusion of Smash Bros. and Power stone with influences and references from almost every major fighting game out there. You create a character and chose your gender and class, (originally there were 4, now there's at least 6) and depending on what class you pick you have different stats, avatar customizations, and most importantly sacred scrolls (fighting styles) and ExoCores (transformations with special moves and skills).
Out of its many game modes, 1v1 was the most popular way to flex your e-muscles and shittalk. I ended up inventing a bunch of broken tech and eventually became one of the best 1v1'ers in the game's history:
I met many friends through this game who I still keep in touch with and have alot of memories especially on ventrilo (r.i.p freestyle fridays on zombie artist ventrilo ;_; )
One of these friends was someone named "Yoshi13". If anyone follows Marvel and recognizes that name then yes, that is Norcal's "MC|GCYoshi", one of the best users of Chris Redfield in the world. He was also a top 1v1er and also a combo video/tech god in his day.
(hey look theres me at 6:58)
Someone who I wasn't really close with but was a top player in both Kwonho and Rumble Fighter was the man himself, "Autumn". This guy was flawless in both games and was feared by everybody in his prime.
He is now known as one of the best, if not the best Street Fighter X Tekken player in the world- C.O.R.N|KS|Sethlolol
Around the same time Marvel 3 came out and MK9 was near, Yoshi quit Rumble Fighter and decided to pursue greater things. He ended up making top 32 in Marvel at EVO 2011. Then of course I watched all of MK9 and I was in awe. After PL won I decided to myself - "I gotta do this shit too". I was primarily an MK online warrior on PSN, frequenting both Gamefaqs and TYM, until November 2011. There was a local tourney at Game Pazzo (the host of this year's Frosty Faustings) and it was only 20 minutes away from my house. There was also word that there would be a good turnout for MK, including GGA who would be there.
I ended up getting 2nd in my tourney debut, being undefeated until Dizzy 6-0'ed me (or was it 6-1? didn't matter, I'm looking at you, Zyphox) in grand finals. NRS was in attendance and were rooting for me. I was emo when I lost, but for some reason I got props from everyone and was told to train at GGA. I was busy with school at the time so it wasn't until February 2012 when I made my first trek to GGA. Finally this section is done lol.
5) How'd it feel to beat Chris G in MK at Final Round with a big crowd of people yelling and screaming?
It was awesome, I just wish I woulda landed my swaggy uppercut corner combo against him thus I technically lost to him since I didn't swag all over him enough. The crowd was awesome and when I beat him and made top 16 I was feeling myself hella, only to go 0-2 in top 16 and get 9th. I hate myself - Lil B
6) What was it about Injustice that attracted you to the game?
It's weird, I didn't know much about DC or American comics in general. I guess the fact that it was an NRS game and I wanted to support it was enough to suffice. The gradual character reveals and the Injustice Battle Arena helped hype me alot though.
7) You had some success right out of the gate as a Raven/Lex main, taking 2nd place at Toryuken, and then took some time to shift gears -- What drew you to Hawkgirl, Zatanna and Shazam?
After failing to make top 16, (both me and rev0lver got 17th in mk and 25th in inj lol) myself and the rest of GGA was emo that we didn't live up to our expectations. (ban the testers, wait hold dat i didnt test shit). Most of us decided that our current mains at the time either didn't suit our styles, or wasn't that character that we wanted to use from the start. I remember when INJ first came out and everyone said Hawkgirl was a shitter. Although it wasn't until August where I first started messing around with her, I sort of fulfilled my early promise - http://testyourmight.com/threads/hawkgirl-mains.29275/page-3#post-773551
Zatanna is pretty hot and shes what people call a "PPJ character" - full of gimmicks, so I decided to use her. My Zatanna isn't that good yet but it will be in due time
Shazam was Fill Pops original main. When he decided to sort of drop him and main Lobo instead maybe due to Heroic Legacy having slighly more success than he, I decided to pick up Shazam to just teleport and swag all over the place with his Zangief-like command grabs. Some people say he outzones Joker with his shite projectile but I'm not so sure.
8) Becoming a part of the GGA family seemed like a special moment for you; what does the team mean to you now, and how has it helped you become a better player?
The only reason I became halfway decent was by training at GGA. Even when I was just an affiliate for the longest time, I continued to show up and support the team. I'm super fortunate to have the best training scene for NRS games in the world. Through leveling up at GGA, I learned hard mechanics that Wafflez has trouble on such as footsies and counterpoking and added them to my game, while still maintaining my double edged sword Sektor playstyle of "respect the random instant air teleports".
9) Aside from playing the locals and sessions at GGA, how do you usually train in IGAU?
Sometimes I'll play online but its usually just for fun with j360 guamo and insuperable. I might need to play more seriously online though because I need to somewhat get comfortable with matchups that aren't highly represented at GGA. That being said add me on PSN for games: SlimJimPPJ
10) I heard that you weren't sure if you were going to be able to make it to NEC; is this true, and what did you have to go through to get there?
I wasn't sure until the week and a half before the tournament. I eventually convinced my parents to help me out with the money, I guess that was my X-mas present lol. I spoke to Rev0lver and other NYC area guys about who can host/drive me and pick me up from the airport, all that boring stuff. The flight from Midway to Laguardia airport was pretty fun. I was lucky to get an aisle seat until a cute girl in her early 20's and either her brother or boyfriend asked me if they can sit here. Being the gentleman that I am, I slid my ass down to the window seat.
Unfortunately the miniscule sparkle of game I just demonstrated ended there as I was mostly silent for the rest of the trip. I guess it wasn't all my fault cause I couldn't tell if the dude was her brother or boyfriend. The flight was foggy as hell and we had to detour to Providence, RI for like two and a half hours because apparently all airports in NYC had the same fog problem and we weren't clear for landing.
11) What was the tournament at NEC like for you; and how does it feel to win your first major?
I was sorta disappointed that I didn't get to play as much casuals as I wanted. As 16 bit told me, I "failed as a scout". Winning NEC was awesome. What was even more awesome was the fact that I didn't even know I won. Shoutouts to William Menoutis and the salty-ass french onion soup we ate made of PL's tears at the shite Philly diner across the street on Saturday night. Even Tony's french onion soup is better hold dat.
12) Outside of the tourney, what was your favorite/most memorable experience of the weekend?
Getting a good 5 hours of sleep on both Friday and Saturday night, as well as hot showers. The water was super cold that weekend and everybody was bitching, but I got lucky and managed to snatch a hot shower at like 3 am early Sunday morning much to rev0lver an 7l's dismay. Sleep wins tourneys. I also got impregnated by Blind Ducky.
13) Are you 16 Bit's master now that you've won a major?
No, he is my master in tourney and I've never beaten him in tourney in MK. However I have beat his previous masters such as Pig Maxter and Chris G so it evens out.
14) You've helped to put Hawkgirl on the map; do you feel you've unlocked a lot of her potential, or does her metagame still have a lot of room to grow?
I haven't done shit yet. Wait till next year when Hawkgirl players are doing even crazier shit than what people witnessed at NEC from Tre, myself, Dark Steel, etc. Her metagame has nowhere to go but fly up.
15) Do you have any tips for players who are good, but want to level up to be able to compete with the best in tournament?
You have to think you're the best. Never get flustered in a tourney setting. Even when you're down 0-2 in grand finals you wanna make your opponent scared of what YOU do even when he has the game lead. Then you win 3 straight and you make that clown hold dat bird shit. I would say that is my mentality.
16) Moving forward, do you have plans to travel to or attend any other upcoming majors for IGAU?
Frosty Faustings later this month, KiT in Tennessee in I think January, possibly either Defend the North or SCR, Final Round, Toryuken, EVO... I wanna attend all of them.
17) And lastly, is there anything you want to say in closing; or any shoutouts (or callouts) you'd like to make to guys in the community?
Shoutouts to everybody
@rev0lver and his cats.. and also his cute Australian roommate
@G4S J360
@pherleece
@ImNewbieSauce 's converter for barely screwing up
@G4S Claude VonStroke who helped prepare me for top 16 with kano vs cage, raiden mirrors, etc in MK9. also for taking me through the rough projects plainsboro of new jersey
I also wanna give a negative shoutout to @Insuperable for either dying or oversleeping on friday thus not making the trip to NEC.
Also shoutouts to GGA and the Chicago scene. Shoutouts to everyone who support Injustice and NRS games. Shoutouts to The_PantyChrist Shoutouts to AU Im Digimon and Muffinmuggers. Shoutouts to myself. Shoutouts to my grandparents. Shoutouts to Nelson Mandela who just passed away and was inaugurated as president on my birthday.
18) Thanks for taking the time to do this, and congrats again on your huge win at NEC. You're an incredibly exciting player to watch and I wish you the best of luck in the future.
No problem.
After taking 2nd place at Canada's Toryuken a few months ago, PPJ claimed the top prize in one of the hardest fought and most hotly contested majors we've seen to date at NEC 14. Using a few of his characters, with a large helping of Hawkgirl, Jim helped open some eyes to the possibilities of the new patch, and helped put his hometown back on the map for Injustice.
So without any further ado, here we go: inside the mind of PimPimJim.
Hometown: Chicago/Naperville, IL
Years Playing Fighting Games: Since he was 2 years old
Mains: Hawkgirl, Lex Luthor, Zatanna
Alts: Raven, Shazam
----------------
1) So tell us a little bit about your background in fighting games as a whole, before Mortal Kombat 9.
I've been a fighting game guy since I was three years old, playing the classic MKs and Killer Instinct on the SNES. I was born around the time arcades started to die out but thankfully I got to experience it a bit when I had to be set up a highchair to play on the arcade cabinets. Fighting games were always my favorite genre, and among them MK was always my favorite, although I also enjoy playing games like Smash and Tekken, as well as more obscure games like Bloody Roar and Fighters Destiny.
2) PimPimJim is a pretty unique name; can you tell everyone the story behind it, and where/when you picked the name?
When I was younger and frequently played MMOs or any sort of multiplayer online game (shoutouts to Gunbound), I used a few usernames which I cannot reveal before I finally settled on pimpimjim. "Pim Pim" was what my parents used as child slang for "nipples"; thus my name essentially means Nipple Jim. As an added bonus, I grew up in the golden era of the Chicago Bulls, and I would often mispronounce Scottie Pippen as "Scottie Pimpim"
3) You were an talented Sektor player who flew a bit under the radar in MK for months; what was it that drew you into playing MK9?
It was in the Summer of 2010 where I was on vacation in Manila. I was using the computers in the lobby of the luxury spa at the Hyatt where I was staying. I hadn't used the internet for two long dreadful days prior to arriving in the Philippines so I was excited to check all the forums I frequented like the loser I am. I went to SRK.com and the first thing that caught my eye was the trailer for a new MK game. It was dope and I got a soy sauce filled boner.
Now I did play MKvsDC on PSN casually and as fun as that game was, it was shite just like the other 3d MKs. When I found out that this new one would be more geared for the competitive player, I was excited at the thought of MK finally being recognized as a tourney worthy game, although at the time I was the furthest thing away from a tourney player. Over the next months/year leading up to MK9's release I kept up with all the news on sites like mk5.org a.k.a MKO. I finally made an account here on TYM in April 2011 and the rest is history.
4) What was it got you into being a competitive player, rather than a casual one?
This is going to be long, bear with me.
As noted before, I was huge on online PC games as a preteen/teen. One of these games was called "Kwonho: Fist of Hero". It was ported over from Korea and hosted by the online game group "IJJI". This game was basically a Virtua Fighter clone gameplay-wise. When you first create your character, you chose between 5 fighting styles, and as you level up you can gain new moves and different customizations for your character. Anyways this game actually got some publicity on SRK and they even had a closed beta tournament:
I was pretty good at the game but unfortunately it was short lived as Kwonho closed down in December 2007.
Fortunately around April 2007, long before its demise, there was a thread on the official forums with videos of another game in closed beta. This game is my first real venture in being even close to a competitor. This game was called Rumble Fighter.
Named "Gem Fighter" in Korea, Rumble Fighter is the one game I spent a load of time and money on as an 8th grader until maybe Junior year in high school. It is sort of a fusion of Smash Bros. and Power stone with influences and references from almost every major fighting game out there. You create a character and chose your gender and class, (originally there were 4, now there's at least 6) and depending on what class you pick you have different stats, avatar customizations, and most importantly sacred scrolls (fighting styles) and ExoCores (transformations with special moves and skills).
Out of its many game modes, 1v1 was the most popular way to flex your e-muscles and shittalk. I ended up inventing a bunch of broken tech and eventually became one of the best 1v1'ers in the game's history:
I met many friends through this game who I still keep in touch with and have alot of memories especially on ventrilo (r.i.p freestyle fridays on zombie artist ventrilo ;_; )
One of these friends was someone named "Yoshi13". If anyone follows Marvel and recognizes that name then yes, that is Norcal's "MC|GCYoshi", one of the best users of Chris Redfield in the world. He was also a top 1v1er and also a combo video/tech god in his day.
Someone who I wasn't really close with but was a top player in both Kwonho and Rumble Fighter was the man himself, "Autumn". This guy was flawless in both games and was feared by everybody in his prime.
He is now known as one of the best, if not the best Street Fighter X Tekken player in the world- C.O.R.N|KS|Sethlolol
Around the same time Marvel 3 came out and MK9 was near, Yoshi quit Rumble Fighter and decided to pursue greater things. He ended up making top 32 in Marvel at EVO 2011. Then of course I watched all of MK9 and I was in awe. After PL won I decided to myself - "I gotta do this shit too". I was primarily an MK online warrior on PSN, frequenting both Gamefaqs and TYM, until November 2011. There was a local tourney at Game Pazzo (the host of this year's Frosty Faustings) and it was only 20 minutes away from my house. There was also word that there would be a good turnout for MK, including GGA who would be there.
I ended up getting 2nd in my tourney debut, being undefeated until Dizzy 6-0'ed me (or was it 6-1? didn't matter, I'm looking at you, Zyphox) in grand finals. NRS was in attendance and were rooting for me. I was emo when I lost, but for some reason I got props from everyone and was told to train at GGA. I was busy with school at the time so it wasn't until February 2012 when I made my first trek to GGA. Finally this section is done lol.
5) How'd it feel to beat Chris G in MK at Final Round with a big crowd of people yelling and screaming?
It was awesome, I just wish I woulda landed my swaggy uppercut corner combo against him thus I technically lost to him since I didn't swag all over him enough. The crowd was awesome and when I beat him and made top 16 I was feeling myself hella, only to go 0-2 in top 16 and get 9th. I hate myself - Lil B
6) What was it about Injustice that attracted you to the game?
It's weird, I didn't know much about DC or American comics in general. I guess the fact that it was an NRS game and I wanted to support it was enough to suffice. The gradual character reveals and the Injustice Battle Arena helped hype me alot though.
7) You had some success right out of the gate as a Raven/Lex main, taking 2nd place at Toryuken, and then took some time to shift gears -- What drew you to Hawkgirl, Zatanna and Shazam?
After failing to make top 16, (both me and rev0lver got 17th in mk and 25th in inj lol) myself and the rest of GGA was emo that we didn't live up to our expectations. (ban the testers, wait hold dat i didnt test shit). Most of us decided that our current mains at the time either didn't suit our styles, or wasn't that character that we wanted to use from the start. I remember when INJ first came out and everyone said Hawkgirl was a shitter. Although it wasn't until August where I first started messing around with her, I sort of fulfilled my early promise - http://testyourmight.com/threads/hawkgirl-mains.29275/page-3#post-773551
Zatanna is pretty hot and shes what people call a "PPJ character" - full of gimmicks, so I decided to use her. My Zatanna isn't that good yet but it will be in due time
Shazam was Fill Pops original main. When he decided to sort of drop him and main Lobo instead maybe due to Heroic Legacy having slighly more success than he, I decided to pick up Shazam to just teleport and swag all over the place with his Zangief-like command grabs. Some people say he outzones Joker with his shite projectile but I'm not so sure.8) Becoming a part of the GGA family seemed like a special moment for you; what does the team mean to you now, and how has it helped you become a better player?
The only reason I became halfway decent was by training at GGA. Even when I was just an affiliate for the longest time, I continued to show up and support the team. I'm super fortunate to have the best training scene for NRS games in the world. Through leveling up at GGA, I learned hard mechanics that Wafflez has trouble on such as footsies and counterpoking and added them to my game, while still maintaining my double edged sword Sektor playstyle of "respect the random instant air teleports".
9) Aside from playing the locals and sessions at GGA, how do you usually train in IGAU?
Sometimes I'll play online but its usually just for fun with j360 guamo and insuperable. I might need to play more seriously online though because I need to somewhat get comfortable with matchups that aren't highly represented at GGA. That being said add me on PSN for games: SlimJimPPJ
10) I heard that you weren't sure if you were going to be able to make it to NEC; is this true, and what did you have to go through to get there?
I wasn't sure until the week and a half before the tournament. I eventually convinced my parents to help me out with the money, I guess that was my X-mas present lol. I spoke to Rev0lver and other NYC area guys about who can host/drive me and pick me up from the airport, all that boring stuff. The flight from Midway to Laguardia airport was pretty fun. I was lucky to get an aisle seat until a cute girl in her early 20's and either her brother or boyfriend asked me if they can sit here. Being the gentleman that I am, I slid my ass down to the window seat.
Unfortunately the miniscule sparkle of game I just demonstrated ended there as I was mostly silent for the rest of the trip. I guess it wasn't all my fault cause I couldn't tell if the dude was her brother or boyfriend. The flight was foggy as hell and we had to detour to Providence, RI for like two and a half hours because apparently all airports in NYC had the same fog problem and we weren't clear for landing.
11) What was the tournament at NEC like for you; and how does it feel to win your first major?
I was sorta disappointed that I didn't get to play as much casuals as I wanted. As 16 bit told me, I "failed as a scout". Winning NEC was awesome. What was even more awesome was the fact that I didn't even know I won. Shoutouts to William Menoutis and the salty-ass french onion soup we ate made of PL's tears at the shite Philly diner across the street on Saturday night. Even Tony's french onion soup is better hold dat.
12) Outside of the tourney, what was your favorite/most memorable experience of the weekend?
Getting a good 5 hours of sleep on both Friday and Saturday night, as well as hot showers. The water was super cold that weekend and everybody was bitching, but I got lucky and managed to snatch a hot shower at like 3 am early Sunday morning much to rev0lver an 7l's dismay. Sleep wins tourneys. I also got impregnated by Blind Ducky.
13) Are you 16 Bit's master now that you've won a major?
No, he is my master in tourney and I've never beaten him in tourney in MK. However I have beat his previous masters such as Pig Maxter and Chris G so it evens out.
14) You've helped to put Hawkgirl on the map; do you feel you've unlocked a lot of her potential, or does her metagame still have a lot of room to grow?
I haven't done shit yet. Wait till next year when Hawkgirl players are doing even crazier shit than what people witnessed at NEC from Tre, myself, Dark Steel, etc. Her metagame has nowhere to go but fly up.
15) Do you have any tips for players who are good, but want to level up to be able to compete with the best in tournament?
You have to think you're the best. Never get flustered in a tourney setting. Even when you're down 0-2 in grand finals you wanna make your opponent scared of what YOU do even when he has the game lead. Then you win 3 straight and you make that clown hold dat bird shit. I would say that is my mentality.
16) Moving forward, do you have plans to travel to or attend any other upcoming majors for IGAU?
Frosty Faustings later this month, KiT in Tennessee in I think January, possibly either Defend the North or SCR, Final Round, Toryuken, EVO... I wanna attend all of them.
17) And lastly, is there anything you want to say in closing; or any shoutouts (or callouts) you'd like to make to guys in the community?
Shoutouts to everybody
@rev0lver and his cats.. and also his cute Australian roommate
@G4S J360
@pherleece
@ImNewbieSauce 's converter for barely screwing up
@G4S Claude VonStroke who helped prepare me for top 16 with kano vs cage, raiden mirrors, etc in MK9. also for taking me through the rough projects plainsboro of new jersey
I also wanna give a negative shoutout to @Insuperable for either dying or oversleeping on friday thus not making the trip to NEC.
Also shoutouts to GGA and the Chicago scene. Shoutouts to everyone who support Injustice and NRS games. Shoutouts to The_PantyChrist Shoutouts to AU Im Digimon and Muffinmuggers. Shoutouts to myself. Shoutouts to my grandparents. Shoutouts to Nelson Mandela who just passed away and was inaugurated as president on my birthday.
18) Thanks for taking the time to do this, and congrats again on your huge win at NEC. You're an incredibly exciting player to watch and I wish you the best of luck in the future.
No problem.
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. never met another person who liked that game...
