Just a farewall thread

Hi, old frineds and new friends. I am Maddy from Ohio. I have been inactive on the board as of late, so you might not know me. Regardless I'd like to give you props for picking up VF and coming to this board. This is indeed a home of the western VFers.



I have been told from people who I know me well that I will never be able to retire for good. I guess this thread could make it official and hopefully would serve me as a reminder in case I feel an urge to come back to VF in the future.



I have no regrets playing VF in the last 4 years or so in the U.S. I am orginally from Korea and played bunch of different fighting games there at the arcades. I know that a lot of westerners envy of the arcade scenes in Korea or Japan. However, one thing I found remarkable playing in the U.S. scene was that you really make bonds with players and can become frineds through the game.


I'd say that unless you happen to be one of the strongest players in a certain region or some sort, you are just "one of the players" in Japan or Korea. People normally do not reach out to interact with you, and most of time their primary concern would be just not losing to you so that no more money will have to go into the machine.


Here in the western VF scene, as we all know, it's quite opposite. A lot of us go extra miles to accomodate people and encourage people to play VF with us. I guess the size of the scene here attributes the atmospheric difference, and it was certainly refreshing to me when I first came over from Korea.



I feel like I've met and become friends with a lot of people through VF, which indeed was the best part of playing VF. It's a great feeling when I say I can go to many different cities in the U.S. or even different countries like Japan or Aus and have friends to hang out with or without VF. I hope that many people who met me through VF would feel the same way about me.



Special thanks go to..


the NYC people for their hospitality and inspirations(I miss Andy, Nelson and Kazu),

the Socal crew for being in the driving seat for the NAVF scene and the kick ass gatherings,

The Norcal crew for their dedications and contributions to the website,

The STL crew for the early days of fun and training,

The Baton Rouge crew for the laugh and joy,

The Canadian crew for the long lasting interests in the game,

The Boston crew for the comic relief and the support,

The old Florida crew for the memories and the gatherings,

The Aus,Japan, and the U.K. crew for the beating,

The Ohio crew for the friendships.




For anyone who wonders, the reason of me moving on is quite personal. It's not because of the game and certainly not because of the scene or particular people. The past 3 years was the most difficult stretch of my life, and although VF and friends were there, I struggled a lot with life. Recently I've come to a new enlightment with religion and become born again as a christian. Nobody forced me to stop playing VF, and I believe that there's nothing wrong with playing VF as a christian. This just is totally out of my(and His) will. This I believe is me going one step forward by moving on with my old self and become a new self.
Anyway, I'd like to ask you to pray for me, if you are a christian. I'd really appreciate it.




Thanks for reading the long post. =) We all have competitive edge in nature, but don't forget to enjoy the game and especially the "people". I hope that with out without VF, the momories and friendship from playing VF would last, and you guys would think the same way about me. Farewell and be well.




maddy

 

Take care, and for the record, you have the best gif ever.

 

Good luck, friend.

 

Bye Maddy. VFDC will surely miss you.

 

Bye Maddy, all the best. My hope is that you return when life and your new path allows.

Good luck with everything.

GE

 

Competitive games like VF require a huge investment of time and training, very much like competitive sports. It's understandable that you might not feel that you have enough time to devote to VF as you could to other things that you would like to do with your life.

However, there's two sides to this coin. I don't think that totally quitting is a good idea either, because playing VF is something that makes you happy, something that is fun, and I don't think that God would want you to not be happy and not have fun. Pretty soon you'll start missing it, and I don't want you to feel guilty about wanting to play it. I think it was Ben Franklin who said "All things in moderation". Just because you don't have the time to be the world's greatest Akira player, doesn't mean that you can't play casually with your friends from time to time.

And "casually" is a subjective term when applied to you; even out of practice you'd still kick our asses.

I wish you well in whatever you do, just don't alienate yourself from the friends and the scene that has been a major part of your life. Whatever you decide to do with your life, always remember that you are here to LIVE it.

Never forget who your friends are. There is no greater treasure in all the world.

 

Best of luck maddy. It's sad to see such a dedicated, skilled, and likeable VFer call it quits. You are one of the guys I wanted to meet/play, and I never got the chance to. I've heard nothing but good things about you through this entire VF ride...

 

Wish you the best wherever life takes you, man.

 

Hi Maddy,

That was a very touching farewell. We have not met so far, but I've only heard good things about you.

If our paths ever cross in the future for any reason, I look forward to meeting you /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

I wish you the best on your new relationship (with God) and your new journey in life. I am sure it will be full of different experiences and I hope spiritual growth for you.

It is difficult in life to look beyond ourselves and our egos, to reach out and communicate with something in faith. You have found a path of faith, I hope it enriches your life. I have to admit that I, myself, have not gone beyond the self and ego (I am agnostic)--but a part of me admires, maybe envies a little bit (yeah, that's a sin), others who have /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Take care, may life and spirit be well to you, and maybe our paths will cross some day.

-Chanchai

 

When I was in college I had no one to play VF with, and I pretty much played only 2-3 times a year whenever a big gathering/touranment was held. Even when I came back to Singapore and there were 3-5 regular players, I only played once or twice a month. I've been playing a lot more competitively since VF5 came out in Norcal (two times every three weeks), but prior to VF5 last year I barely played at all.

I guess what I'm saying is that playing VF doesn't have to be binary...it's not like full on dedication versus total retirement. I think playing once in a while is very doable, but you have to keep your ego in check and be prepared to lose to others who are more dedicated than you.

That said Maddy every person's situation is different, and I can understand if you feel like you need to move on. You have trained and competed harder than anyone I've ever seen here in the U.S., so perhaps playing off-and-on isn't something that is compatible with you.

Good luck with your studies and God bless!

 

Hey maddy, it was a pleasure to finally meet you and some of the ohio crew a few years ago in Florida and more recently in Socal. In a place like the U.S. those things may be few and far between, but they are generally the most fun.

I think most people can understand that VF must take a backseat to other things in life, so don't feel too bad about it. I hope everything works out, and I wish you good luck in whatever you decide to do in the future.

 

Best wishes to you on your new path, Maddy. It was great meeting and playing you.

Take care, and I hope our paths cross again.

 

Really good read dude. Don't know you but you sound very strong minded. All the best.

 

Maddy, I don't remember meeting (and if we did i really do apologize). As someone who is now having to put video games into a very secondary position, I completely understand. I hope that everything works out for the best in your personal quest.

 

you cant quit yet maddy, im still gonna face you some day.

your presence here taught me alot about this game.


im a christian too.

i believe that playing a game to bring together communities of respect, friendship and equality is something of the lines god would teach. ~ i dont think it's a catagory of immoral standards, and/or unethical groups of socialble activities. you can be who you want to be inside a scene of playing VF.

i'd like to share that as an individual, i've had many problems these past years too. personal, and quite dramatic. but playing VF is like a home. something i consider as part of me, even in every day life.

i never met many people here on the forum before, but it's like i know everybody well. ~ and ive spent many years following your media, and reading events. and i wish i'd get to meet you all some day. that's what VF is all about.

anyway, i feel you (maddy) would be a loss to the western VF community. and i had to post to give my 2 cents.

take it easy, if you have MSN or anything, add me.

 

Man, the Akira in the vids that made me pick the guy up... damn.

Goodluck?

(this kinda reminds me of Minor Threat's "Filler")

----

<span style='font-size: 8pt'>LOL, no one ever found out what my post meant.</span>

 

Maddy... my brother from Korea. I will miss you. Keep in touch dude! Good luck to you!

 

Maddy I had the oppurtunity to meet you last year at the so cal event. You seriously had a really great Akira game. I have seen your dedication to the game and the community with all the threads with valuable game footage. If you use the same amount of dedication to your faith you will be greatly blessed for it. I hope you take the time to read through this thread to remember all the friends and memories that you made.

 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You sir, no matter what the game, will always be top tier. </div></div>

Oh you are so fucking corny. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cry.gif

it's like this:

Jimmy, I love you man. Until life grants us a chance to see each other again in the future.