Starting the Fighting Game "Lifestyle". Advice?

[TylorJockin]

Im at a point in my life where Im questioning investing my time in Fighting Games. The reasoning is that Im 15 and I figured if I am going to be investing money in Travel and Tournaments, will it even be worth it? This is the time where Im going to have to work hard in school as well as get a part-time job, and I realize that going to Tourneys is quite costly. Understand that Im extremely passionate about FG's, its not just a hobby. I dont even now if Im truly good, THERE ARE NO TOURNAMENTS IN MY CITY. None of my friends are into Fighting Games either, so Im kind of a Lone Wolf. The only "True" elaboration I can get in MK is on TYM and doing Online Matches. I guess I just want some advice from you guys, who are actually living this lifestyle. Thanks

 

[Cossner]

I don't know man, between all the drugs and the sex with groupies I barely even have time to play!

 

[Goldi]

You will need a parent or legal guardian to accompany you. Not just for the M rated fighters, but hotels and flights. So you're really going to need their support.

If you can explain why you think this is beneficial (considering a career in computer engineering or programming or something) they may be more inclined to go with it.

As for the lifestyle... Um, I'm no pro lol. I go to all the majors (only missed a few MLGs) but it's more of a hobby. An expensive hobby lol.

You need to enjoy traveling, be willing and able to pay for 2-4 days in hotel (or jump in the kitten pile) and fly, drive, bus or carpool to events with no guarantee you'll be getting any sort of reimbursement on your travel expenses, time and aggravation lol. It isn't exactly glamorous. Sometimes you'll be playing in a bathroom!

 

[Breaker]

Lol dude don't take this shit so serious and just have fun with it, when you're old enough to travel can pay for your own expenses than take it "serious". There are a lot of teens your age who dream of being the next REO or CDjr but not very many people could even come close. If you just want to get involved because of fighting game passion, do REAL triditional Martial Arts man; why waste your youth and talent over a console and a TV/Monitor screen when you can pick up the life-style this game is vaguely based on (Jean Claude Van Damme). That's about all the tips I could think of for more you can ask xSMoKEx he is about 15 or 16 and no question top 3 best player in Canada.

 

[NB Semi Evil Ryu]

You are 15 years old. You are in that one period of your life where everything you do now and all of the choices that you make now will have a tremendous impact on the rest of your remaining life. Focus on your education first. If you have parents that will support you with your FG hobby, then that is fantastic. Enjoy those moments when they happen, but don't dedicate your life to training for those moments. At least not right now.

There is not really much of a "lifestyle" to talk about, when it comes to the FGC. In reality, this lifestyle belong to a VERY select few people in this world. I'm talking about the likes of people like Justin Wong, Gootecks, Mike Ross, etc. People that have heavy sponsors going for them and financing them. Granted, all of those names started off without having any sponsors, but they had to put MAJOR amounts of time into these games. I'm not saying that you would never have a shot of acheiving something like this, but think about the odds of this happening.

You are 15 years old. Get your education and get your career going. Accomplishing this will only take a very minor chunk of your lifetime. After that, you have the rest of your LIFE to dedicate yourself to these games.

 

[SCK ERR0R MACR0]

Whether it is worth it or not will be up to you. If you are asking if you can make a career out of it, the answer is kind of, but not a good one. From what I understand (and seeing payouts for the events), even the best of the best players don't really make a lot by just playing.
The real benefit to going to tournaments is the love of the game. Being around people that share your passion is cool and is worth the money for some people. Others find it difficult to do, and the cost and burden of travel outweighs the upsides.

I would travel to a tournament and see how you like it. Play it by ear and go from there.

 

[Ninj]

You'll be far better off working towards your education. If you're going to dedicate yourself to something, do it to that. I'm 26 with a stable job and college degree and recently started going to tournaments. While fun, it's expensive and if you don't have local, top level competition, it's unlikely that you will be able to become a top player who wins tournaments. Especially not in MK9 where the net code is shit.

Focus on education man. Get scholarships for college from having a stellar transcript. With that behind you, you'll be able to support yourself and have extra money and time to devote to FG's.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[KRYS9984]

You will need a parent or legal guardian to accompany you. Not just for the M rated fighters, but hotels and flights. So you're really going to need their support.

If you can explain why you think this is beneficial (considering a career in computer engineering or programming or something) they may be more inclined to go with it.

As for the lifestyle... Um, I'm no pro lol. I go to all the majors (only missed a few MLGs) but it's more of a hobby. An expensive hobby lol.

You need to enjoy traveling, be willing and able to pay for 2-4 days in hotel (or jump in the kitten pile) and fly, drive, bus or carpool to events with no guarantee you'll be getting any sort of reimbursement on your travel expenses, time and aggravation lol. It isn't exactly glamorous. Sometimes you'll be playing in a bathroom!

Great post,

I like the Texas Showdown reference; when word got out that there were matches played in the bathroom, there was some pretty solid trolling going on in the the threads. Recalling this made me laugh.

TylorJockin

There are variables that can make or break your desire to enter the tournament scene. Since you do not have a local scene, traveling is a must and if you don't have the funds or parental supervision (as previously mentioned because of your age) this can hinder your plans.

Some people do it for the experience; even though is costs quite a bit of money, getting together with (TYM) friends could be lots of fun and motivate someone to make appearances at future events. If you're in it for the prize, than some serious training must be implemented to take on the best high level players. The pay-off could actually be less than what you invested to attend the tournament but you will ultimately gain recognition for your (successful) performance.

I would bring up the idea to a parent, older sibling, etc... and see what their thoughts are on the matter. If they agree to support / accompany you to tournaments, then the ultimate decision is up to you and how you feel your skills will stack up to experienced players.

Go through the events calendar to verify if there are local tournaments within driving distance. If you can attend anything for a reasonable price, it would be a great opportunity and could solidify your decision to remain a casual player or take it a step further.

 

[TylorJockin]

Wow Thank all of you. I get what you guys are saying, it makes a lot of sense. This helps me so much I dont think ya'll even realize it. I truly appreciate it!

 

[ForeverKing]

Wow Thank all of you. I get what you guys are saying, it makes a lot of sense. This helps me so much I dont think ya'll even realize it. I truly appreciate it!

I'm only 18 and I started getting into tournaments when I was 17, so take this from a guy that's also pretty young and in school. When MK9 first came out I probably played it around 4 hours a day, sometimes even more even on school nights. So yeah I got good at the game, but it did take a lot of my time and my grades in school could have been alot better. Fighting games are fun and all, trust me I love almost every FG I play, but it's not worth letting your grades drop. If you can maintain straight A's in school and be good in video games, than fuck yeah do it lol. But if getting into gaming/tournaments and the amount of time you need to put in to become a top player is going to interfere with your education/life, it's not worth it bro.

 

[TylorJockin]

I'm only 18 and I started getting into tournaments when I was 17, so take this from a guy that's also pretty young and in school. When MK9 first came out I probably played it around 4 hours a day, sometimes even more even on school nights. So yeah I got good at the game, but it did take a lot of my time and my grades in school could have been alot better. Fighting games are fun and all, trust me I love almost every FG I play, but it's not worth letting your grades drop. If you can maintain straight A's in school and be good in video games, than fuck yeah do it lol. But if getting into gaming/tournaments and the amount of time you need to put in to become a top player is going to interfere with your education/life, it's not worth it bro.

Haha Seems legit.

 

[Playpal]

I usually tell people that high school isn't important til your final year, seeing as how those are the grades that will matter when applying to post-secondary. Problem with this advice is it may promote lazy behaviour that will fuck you over by the time you make it to your final year.

But yeah, do what you want. At 15 years old, it's pretty easy to do good in school, chill with the people important to you and enjoy FGs. Part-time job isn't a bad idea but not all that important unless you plan on being financially independent in college. I'd hold off on paying for expensive trips to tournaments until you can really afford it. As great as the experience may be, you're better off saving the money for something more important (like college). Where do you live? I'd recommend just going to locals but I guess that's not much of an option for you.

About an hour of online should satisfy your "Fighting game passion" every now and then. You can also watch streams, tournaments, what-not. Too bad MK online can be terrible sometimes. I dunno if I'd call this a lifestyle either, just a hobby.

 

[Justice]

Okay. Hmmm. Where to start...

Well first up would have to be your education. That is your first priority. No iffs, ands or butts. Take a look at the world around you. A good edgumacation is a must.

You love fighting games now, but getting into tournaments is a business. Like anything else, you have to practice and train, study and learn; basically treat it like a job. Like King said, he played 4hrs a day every day to get good at MK. Can you handle doing say instant air fans for hours on end to get your execution down? Believe me, it's tedious and boring. Your love of fighting games WILL be tested.

The community is great. A lot of great people here. It's always awesome to be able to find people that share your love of something and can talk to you on a level that you would like. It's also amazing to see people that you previously only saw in streams or chatted with on forums.

The "lifestyle" you speak of really doesn't exist. I see it as an adventure. Dealing with travel and accomodation arrangements, all the new people you'll meet, etc. It's like a real live rpg. Very exciting

My suggestion to you is, stay home. Especially since you don't have an offline scene in your area, you don't want to go out and get a part-time job just to travel. Besides, you'll risk that part-time job since most likely you'll end up working weekends and guess when tournaments are held So stay home, play the best players you can find online but also spend time offline in the lab working on execution, spacing, etc. Then in a few years, when you have your driver's liscence and are more able to get around, then consider going to tournaments. Also too, I don't know of too many schools in this day and age that doesn't have some sort of gaming club. So when you go off to college or university, odds are you'll start meeting people there to get involved with.

 

[Hanzer0]

I say follow your dreams kid. I'm 18 now going to college and although i know it will land me a good job with a good degree in the future, there's still a part of me that wants to break through into the tournament scene. Believe it or not I feel like i'm taking the easy way out and doing what other people say is good for me. I wish i had the balls to do what i was passionate about