Why I Am Doing This

[This is all just intro and fluff. If you're looking for actual engine info, move onto the next post and skip this.]

Being a fighting game enthusiast is hard enough as it is, with the media convinced we're being raised by these games to become violent, aggressive brutes. [A claim I blatantly deny - I'm sure I'd be just as violent and aggressive if I'd never played Street Fighter.] It's another thing entirely when you live in fucking Scotland.

"Huh? What's that? You want to play a fighting game that isn't Street Fighter IV? Sorry, I can't hear you, I'm busy crouch teching and pulling comebacks thanks to ultra combos! I love how much sense this game makes!"

Needless to say, I am sick of Super Street Fighter IV. I am sick of being rewarded for doing badly, I am sick of games that let you mash throws and get away with it, and I am tired of stupid nonsense like Guile's impossibly fast Sonic Booms and M. Bison corner pressure. I want something different, something new, something that's unlike anything Street Fighter has to offer.

Most of all, I don't want finals of a major fighting game tournament to look anything like this.

And given that it's the biggest competitor on consoles, I decided it's time to try out Blazblue.

+ There are no stupid shortcuts. When I put in a DP motion, I get a DP.
- Blazblue combos are HARD. Let's put it this way - I pulled off Chun Li's trials in SSFIV within half an hour. Pulling off Hazama's Challenge 10 took me about TWO DAYS.

+ The game is so different from Street Fighter that everything feels fresh. There are characters who play in ways no-one in SF does, like Carl - basically, you have to control two characters with one controller, and while it's difficult to do it's both very powerful and immensely satisfying to pull off.
- Because the game is so different, there's a lot of new game mechanics to pick up. Airdashes? Guard Primers? Dead Angles? What are these things, and why do I only have 4 buttons?!

+++ The game comes with its own tutorial to guide you through the system, for one. And if I other people picking up the game alongside me, we can work together to figure stuff out, get stronger together, and build a real scene, right?!
--- ...Oh. Wait. No-one else is playing the game because it's too complicated.

I had a discussion with some SSFIV players after a ranbat ended, asking what it was about the game they couldn't deal with. Most said it was the new mechanics - SFIV was the first fighting game they'd played, and picking up something brand new was too much effort. I also got told that if I were to, say, produce a guide on how to play the game and lead beginners through the basics, I'd have a decent chance of getting some players together.

So, along with trying to start up a weekly fight-club thing at 1LevelUp, I figure that's exactly what I'm going to do. While I'm not exactly a pro at the game myself, I figure that I know enough to give at least a quick rundown of the system, and that's all we need to start a scene. From then on it'll be people getting interested, getting hype, learning characters, and meeting up on a regular basis to play each other.

So, let's do this.

THE WHEEL OF FATE IS TURNING

REBEL 1

ACTION