When The Answer Doesn't Lie In The Heart Of Battle

Content originally posted to Instagram on July 23, 2021.

Getting better at fighting games doesn’t happen overnight, so I don’t really feel too bad about online matches I lose. But I’m also just a casual player who’s not heavily grinding, not keeping close track of my improvement, and is interested in other games outside of fighters. “Is there anything more to this beyond just winning and losing?”

This is what I’ve been asking myself lately, and even with the promise of unlockable content, DLC, and brand-new fighting games, I know the hype eventually fades. What’s gonna keep me hooked beyond hype?

Getting over my reluctance to learn a new character after spending so much time with my main in a particular game? Improving at using my controller of choice versus the games themselves? Hoping I can meet other fighting game players in-person in a world where the pandemic hasn’t truly ended? This is something I need to work out for myself.

(Picture from the Street Fighter III: Ryu Final manga. When I think of how amazing fighting game stories can be, I think of this manga; no evil organization shenanigans here, just a pure martial arts journey that touches on themes of personal growth and self-discovery! Too bad there are barely any panels of the manga online)

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1 MONTH LATER: Below are some new additional thoughts that I'm writing on August 23.

After I wrote the original post, I dedicated more time to playing a non-fighting game while experimenting with a few fighting games here and there that I owned but hadn't gotten too deep into. Ironically, after referencing a Street Fighter manga in my original post...I now have my attention on Street Fighter V. I bought the DLC on sale to get a complete character roster, and I've been casually playing it since.

I get a sense of comfortable familiarity because I played Street Fighter games when I was younger, but the gameplay being slow/methodical feels refreshing to me after spending so much time with faster-paced fighters. Though I'm not great at the game and have a lot to learn + improve on, I appreciate how this sort of gameplay makes focusing on being more strategic easier for me.

In contrast, I never felt like I was focusing on that when playing other fighters because they were faster-paced or I could spam my way to victory with certain attacks more easily. Plus, I've come to enjoy the non-gameplay elements that define the game (from the visual aesthetics to character interactions).

Is this what's going to keep me hooked to fighting games, a specific kind of gameplay? I can't say yet. But for now I'm enjoying myself, and all I can really do is walk this path out and see where it goes.