As part of an interview series with members of the community, I had a short chat with Gerald Abraham (LA Akira). For those unaware, the “Reignite Your Inner Fighter” trailers before VF5FS was released on consoles were made by LA Akira’s company Industry VFX. He also helped organize and run the VF5FS portion of Wednesday Night Fights (WNF), a local weekly fighting games tournament for the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. On December 13th, I asked LA Akira a variety of questions mostly pertaining to VF5FS at WNF, community support, and the upcoming SoCal Regionals on January 18th, 2013.
Modified photo originally taken by Ninjimbo/SamtheSeed
Akai (AK): So to start things off, WNF. The weekly VF events in SoCal had been going on since the launch of VF5FS onto consoles. What were the highs and lows of these events for you?
LA Akira (LA): Well, things started off pretty well. For the first two months, we had between 25-30 people entering every week. A bunch of the resident Tekken players were interested in learning some VF and competed weekly in the events, which was great. That would be one of the highs, I guess.
As for the lows, for one reason or another, the numbers kept dropping to the point where it was just Plagueand myself going to the event. Due to traffic, it generally takes me about an hour and a half to get to WNF from where I live. When there were a lot of new players showing up, the drive was worth it despite how busy I was with work. It was always exciting to see players improve from week to week. By the look of things early on, I felt VF could stick around at WNF for quite some time and I was happy about that.
AK: So currently there is no VF5FS at WNF until further notice? Were you the main person running the VF5FS portion? Anyone help?
LA: Yes, that is correct. At this moment, there is no VF at WNF. I've been close friends with Mike Watson (who owns Super Arcade) since '92 and Alex Valle (who founded LevelUp) since '96. Around April or May 2012, I talked to them about getting VF to WNF when it was released. Mike basically told me, "You can host VF here at WNF as long as you can get a few people showing up." So once FS was released and things started, Plague, Brisal and I ran the tournaments.
(Editor Note: You can read Mike Watson’s thoughts about the decline of VF5FS support in a twitlonger tweet made on December 7th)
AK: From my outside point of view, Brisal set up the stream, Plague did the commentary, and you ran the brackets?
LA: Yeah, that was generally how it went. I ran the brackets, set up the machines, etc. Earlier on, I also did commentary.
AK: So it was disappointing to see turnout dropped significantly and reminds me how much the community needs to remain proactive. Do you think weekly events are still feasible or do you think that burnt out the people that played VF?
LA: Well, for the time I did go to WNF, I saw the numbers for SFAE and TTT2 drop slightly but the core players would show up every week. I don't see that core crew burning out and not showing up for those games. So I don't consider it a valid argument. Perhaps a few more people would show up if it was bi-weekly or monthly events, but I'm going to need to see a bit of interest first before committing to a regularly scheduled event again.
AK: This appears to be something that is happening not just in SoCal but in other regions. Do you feel those that consider themselves the VF core lack the commitments as other fighting game core players?
LA: In my opinion, with some obvious exceptions, I feel that the younger generation of players lacks the desire to be as good as they can or are content with just being mediocre at something. Back in the early 90s when I played SF2, there were a very large number of players with killer instinct and a strong desire to be the best. Beating that type of person just fueled their desire to learn more about the game and improve. That fire is one of the key components that kept scenes alive. Not tooting anyone’s horn here, but VF needs more players like GentlemanThief and Johoseph.
AK: Can you think of any way to help build or nurture that fire?
LA: Well it's tough because who you are inside really plays a big part in it. If you look at everyone in the US who is consider top players, almost all of them have one thing in common—an ego about their ability. Some people might read this and think, “OH MY GAWD,” but it's true. I don't think there is anything wrong with it. The ego is what keeps that fire burning for all those players whether they are outspoken about it or not. And don't read this as having an ego means you have to be a jerk. Nice people can have egos too
AK: Of course
LA: Well, even if we don't have weekly events, it is ok with me. However, it would be great if people here at least had the desire to play some VF at events from time to time. I mean, what was the point of begging for Final Showdown to come home if some of you guys aren't gonna play it
AK: So the next event for you is SoCal Regionals in January?
LA: Yes.
AK: Do you know who has already committed to going? Any specific VF players to look out for in SoCal? I think the top 3 at WNF generally were you, DRE, and GoatCheeseBlues.
LA: Well other than myself, I know that Plague, Brisal, DRE and Goat Cheese will be there. I know some out-of-towners from San Diego and NorCal will also be showing up to the event. Phoenix Death was one of my training partners early on in FS and is pretty legit. I would recommend watching out for him if he shows up.
AK: Phoenix still plays Lei?
LA: Phoenix plays Lei, Jean and Taka in FS. Miles is also an up and coming player that beat me at one of the WNF tourneys and claimed the Rising Star Player award five times. I would say he's probably the most talented new player in Los Angeles. Hopefully he and Phil S. both show up.
(Editor Note: The Rising Star Player award was an initiative of LA Akira to reward new players at WNF)
AK: Miles is also a Lei player, Phil S. plays...?
LA: Phil S. plays Jean.
AK: So I think I asked most of the questions I wanted to...I will end it with it a couple of questions.
LA: Great!
AK: What do you like and dislike about Final Showdown?
LA: My favorite part about FS is the three-choice throw system and yutori (the easy throw escape). The three-choice system makes it easier for new players and at the same time opens up another aspect of mind games for the more advanced player. There isn't anything I really dislike about the game. I guess since I started with cutthroat games like SF2 vanilla and VF2, some of the things that people consider bad in this game really just don't bother me so much.
AK: Any last comment you want to make?
LA: I just really think that people here need to remain active in their community if they want to see it stay alive. Don't just always expect it to be alive. It's the community as a whole that keeps games like VF alive.
-
Hey Guest, looking for Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown content? Rest assured that the game is identical to Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown so all current resources on here such as Command Lists with frame data, Combo Lists and the Wiki still apply. However, you can expect some VF5US specific changes to come soon!Dismiss Notice
Q & A with LA Akira
Discussion in 'News' started by akai, Dec 28, 2012.
Comments
Discussion in 'News' started by akai, Dec 28, 2012.
-
Page 1 of 3Page 1 of 3
XenPorta 2 PRO
© Jason Axelrod from 8WAYRUN.COM
