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Opportunity to Build/Rebuild the Virtua Fighter Scene

Discussion in 'Local Scene' started by MadeManG74, May 25, 2021.

  1. MadeManG74

    MadeManG74 Moderator Staff Member Tournament Manager Silver Supporter

    With a new Virtua Fighter title coming out potentially very soon, I think as a community we should look at this as an opportunity to build or rebuild our local scenes. For everyone who's ever said they wished we had a bigger community or more players, this is a golden chance for us to make it happen. Sega has passed us the ball by releasing a new title after all these years, and it's up to us to not squander the opportunity!

    I want to share some ideas and start a conversation on how we can either build or re-build a scene for the series, and ensure it lasts as long as possible!

    VF Evo Crowd.jpg

    What has worked in my experience in Australian and Canada;

    Bring the game to locals!

    This is probably the most important one that I can't stress enough. Chances are there is a local scene within distance of yourself. I also would wager that there's usually at least one other person in that scene or area that would love to play Virtua Fighter.

    Sometimes all it takes is one person to let the group know that they'd like to play, and most importantly, that they'll bring a set up with the game!

    You can't rely on the organisers to do it for you, just bringing a console and the game will work wonders. People will sit down and try the game, and be thankful that someone brought it so they have the opportunity.

    Obviously this isn't possible for everyone, and of course not everyone wants to play offline. But where it is applicable I encourage you to look up to see if there's a fighting game community near you and then get in touch with some people and ask about bringing a setup with Virtua Fighter. Give the group some notice that you plan to bring it and play, and if at first you don't succeed... try, try again! It took me several attempts to get a few players coming on a regular basis at Toronto. Don't be disheartened, often people can't make it for legitimate reasons and schedule clashes, but if you keep it up consistently, you WILL find traction and get a regular group.
    IMG_20160227_145930 RS.jpg




    Volunteer to DIY the game at Majors

    Similar to above, chances are there is a major within a short travel distance of yourself at some point in the year. People will travel to it from all over the country (and even internationally) to play their favourite fighting games.

    All it takes is a Virtua Fighter fan to offer to run Virtua Fighter as a side-tournament to get it off the ground. We saw it happen in Canada, Australia and USA. When the community offered to run the game as a side tournament, it was always met with open arms from the greater FGC and tournament organisers. Similar to the above scenario, there are probably many players already attending that would want to enter a Virtua Fighter tournament, and all it takes is for someone to arrange a sign-up page and some consoles.

    Don't rely on the event organisers themselves to do it, they often have more than enough work they can handle with the 'main' games that are backed by big corporate money or guaranteed to draw big viewers and attendees. As a relatively niche game, we need to help ourselves.

    The good news is, it isn't hard to bring a setup or two and arrange some other VF players from the community to help you run a bracket. The more we show we can run and be self-reliant, the more tournaments and events we'll see for our beloved series.

    VF Checklist.jpg




    Establish a regular online night/times


    Especially now, with the ongoing pandemic around the world, online play is important, and a super low barrier for entry. Not since 2012 have we had an opportunity to run the game on such an easily accessible and widely available platform!

    While early days will mean we can find players randomly online at most times, almost every fighting game doesn't experience this nirvana for long. What helps keep a game alive and keep a community engaged is organising a regular day and time for online games. It doesn't have to be a 'tournament' or even streamed, just so long as people keen to play the game can know that once a week at least, there will be players online for them to play with and enjoy the game with.

    We've seen this work with Blitzball's VF Arena, the Virtua Revival Nights, and Hotdogs & Sake club regular online sessions.




    I hope that we can really make the game last, and create an ongoing and solid scene in more places around the world. We already have some really strong and well established Virtua Fighter communities all over, but there's still lots of potential to grow! I know that others have done this already, so please share some thoughts or any tips that you might have to help us all take advantage of this opportunity with a shiny new game to sink our teeth into!
     
    JED-VF3, Emptyeyes, b4k4 and 2 others like this.
  2. RayBlade

    RayBlade Well-Known Member

    For current TOS- Keep doing your thing.

    for those who have the time to make every tournament/session/event- Consider becoming a Tournament organizer/content creator. Work with other FGC tournament TOs and get your game into local offline events. With an aging community (many members over 30 years or older), the community should be flourishing with the new release (bad net code aside).

    Don’t wait for events to happen, work with others and make it happen!
     
    MadeManG74 likes this.
  3. b4k4

    b4k4 Well-Known Member

    PSN:
    SoundReason
    Above and beyond playing and community organizing, this is also the first VF title to be released in the full-blown YouTube/Twitch era. This is a really important opportunity for content creators to grow the community, especially during the first few weeks of the release.

    Create guides, system tutorials, combo videos. Stream training mode, discuss system concepts, etc. VF is a deep game, and that's a blessing and a curse. It'll be up to franchise veterans to help onboard the next generation. If we do that right, and show a thriving player base for a quality title, you can grow the grassroots and turn this into a thriving scene.

    To @MadeManG74 's point, we knew each other when he was here in Toronto, and you'd be surprised how many FG members were excited to hop onto VF and crossed over from whatever their "main game" was when they saw us playing. The gameplay is so good that it "sells itself" once you can get a few players to give it a shot. Run a VF online, or a setup (idk fuck COVID amirite?), and players who love fighting games will see the hype and get into it.
     
    MadeManG74 likes this.
  4. RayBlade

    RayBlade Well-Known Member

    Something I noticed on twitch: VF has an extremely small follow base (6k users on VF5:fs).

    This has to change!

    How? Support all content creators, and possibly become one. See a new player? Help them out/offer advice and so forth.

    I won’t mention the follow counts of other games, but trust me, it’s an astronomical difference.

    Inclusion may be the key.
     
    MadeManG74 likes this.
  5. Emptyeyes

    Emptyeyes Well-Known Member

    I was referenced to a local Louisiana tournament scene site through the search engine smash.gg Empowered By Esport Communities. I don't know what the scene is like today, because I've stopped going 16 or 17 years ago.

    The lineup unfortunately was always too safe for my tastes, despite having most or half of those fighters. I'll try to convince them to include Virtua Fighter in it's lineup before the time October comes.

    I may consider revisiting tournaments again, should they choose to add it.
     
  6. b4k4

    b4k4 Well-Known Member

    PSN:
    SoundReason
    I find in these kinds of situations, it's best to step up and offer to run the brackets and do promo. As long as you can draw enough players to make a bracket worthwhile. TO's have a lot on their plate and can't always take the workload to promote a "niche" game. But if you come to them and say "I've got 15 people who want to play, if I run brackets can you get us a setup and include us in the schedule?" I'd be shocked if they didn't take you up on it.
     
    Emptyeyes likes this.
  7. RayBlade

    RayBlade Well-Known Member

    That’s why I’m pushing for players to do more (instead of just showing up, bring a setup or two).

    It’s super easy to want something and expect an event to cater to your needs, but also easy to do something about it (like bringing a setup).

    As an organizer who also loves VF. I won’t dedicate a setup to VF if it’s gonna be just 1 other person to play with. You can do this online. Venues and Tournament organizers also have expectations (goes both ways). If you bring a setup, most organizers will probably allow you to use it (be sure to ask, as space can be limited).

    I see a ton of enthusiasm with people pushing online/parsec events/sessions, but the same enthusiasm should also be met at offline events (when they’re possible to do again).
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2021
    Emptyeyes likes this.
  8. Emptyeyes

    Emptyeyes Well-Known Member

    Good advice, you two. I'm too shy and out of my character to do such a thing, but I'll see if I could get out of my shell.
     
    b4k4, RayBlade and MadeManG74 like this.
  9. MadeManG74

    MadeManG74 Moderator Staff Member Tournament Manager Silver Supporter

    As @b4k4 and @RayBlade mentioned, the best bet is just to ask them if you can bring the setup and or run an event :)

    Tournament Organisers will look after either the most popular games (Street Fighter, Tekken) or the ones they personally love (whatever else). They have a lot of 'admin' work to do and can't often dedicate time to more than a small handful of titles.

    The best bet is just to get in touch and bring Virtua Fighter yourself. If you're not confident in running a tournament yet, you can even just say you're bringing it for casual play and to build some playerbase etc. Just having the game there makes a big difference and 99% of the time the organisers are happy for you to bring whatever game you like.

    As I mentioned in the OP, that's how we started in Sydney and Toronto, just bringing the console and game and having it there consistently. Before long you'll realise there are many like yourself who are waiting for the chance to play!
     
    b4k4, Emptyeyes and RayBlade like this.
  10. Emptyeyes

    Emptyeyes Well-Known Member

    Well, I did register for twitter, instagram, and twitch, recently. I would love to use these more than just future culinary purposes. I guess there's no harm or foul in adding more depth to one's life in content.
     
    MadeManG74 likes this.
  11. RayBlade

    RayBlade Well-Known Member

    Lots of ways to promote your local scene, or in this case - vfdc . This is a label for a bottle opener.
     

    Attached Files:

    Emptyeyes likes this.
  12. HBHR Jelly

    HBHR Jelly New Member


    Hey,

    I'm the Tournament Organizer for SLAM 2021 in October, and while I can't give VF5US a a tourney slot (time limitations/size limitations for us doing a one-day event this year), I can definitely make it a priority that it has a casual station for sure (just message me or one of the other TO's beforehand). Maybe I can try to summon the legends of SanjuroAkira and BigBoi and see If I can get them to come out to NO.
     
    MadeManG74, Emptyeyes and b4k4 like this.
  13. Emptyeyes

    Emptyeyes Well-Known Member

    Very kind of you. Thank you.
     
    MadeManG74 likes this.
  14. Emptyeyes

    Emptyeyes Well-Known Member

    Even though, I would also like for Blade Arcus Rebellion From Shining (Sega) Fighting Ex Layer Another Dash (Arika) for the Nintendo Switch to be a casual gathering for the October tournament, perhaps I'm being a little too greedy. Unfortunately, my tastes in fighting games were normally with much smaller followings.

    For 2d FGs, it was Street Fighter EX series/Fighting Layer, Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting, TMNT Tournament Fighters, Eternal Champions, and Weaponlord. I suppose what I've listed so far, they would have a much better chance for Combo Breaker Tournaments. I'm willing to travel outside of my state, when I'm able to of course.
     
    MadeManG74 likes this.

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