Surrounded by the veterans

MILPITAS, Calif. – This new generation of fighting games was supposed to bring out all sorts of different players, from young ones to semi-young ones. With that, the newcomers were supposed to take over and start history.

But old history won't go away. There’s the small group of players that won’t let their own game get taken away from by all of these rookies. These guys have arguably been more consistent than most other communities out there. Well, to be honest, they’ve had their game for more than a decade; it was only a couple years ago where their game went through a few tweaks.

Out of all the games that have seen the spotlight in the past year and a half, it’s the Super Street Fighter II Turbo: HD Remix group that has maintained its veteran dominance. At NorCal Regionals 8, it was one of the three games on the main roster. And then it had five of its top eight finalists from NorCal Regionals 7 make an appearance this time around; no other game had as many returning players.

This is not a fluke; it’s happened in a lot of major tournaments in 2010. There’ll be one or two newcomers that edge their way into the top eight, but they’re surrounded by the known names.



Why is this game laced with veterans in the live scene?

“Honestly, there’s a lot of good players, it’s just getting them to come out,” said DGV, who was eliminated in the second semifinals. His comment can be translated to a lot of different games in the new era, be it Super Street Fighter IV, or Tekken 6. Plenty of online players, plenty of online beasts, few people who have a face. Difference is, newcomers find their way to those games and crack a few upsets but not HD Remix most of the time.

DGV mentioned how the veterans playing Super Street Fighter II Turbo or Street Fighter II X could transition easier to HD Remix. “It was like a natural progression for us,” he said.

David Sirlin was the lead designer for HD Remix, and he said the changes in the game are there; the veterans are finding them, but it’s up to the newcomers to find them as well and prove to the veterans they know.

“There’s a lot to know, a lot you can become experienced with over time, and we (the veterans) have that under our belts,” Sirlin said. “With HD Remix in particular, there’s a lot of things different, a lot of things new, a lot of techniques you can explore, and I think there’s a lot of things people aren’t exploring. We are.”

DGV had to endure the New Realm of Explortation during his quest to win the title. Against Alex Valle in a Ryu mirror match, he fired up a super attack, only to have Valle do it a split second later. Both attacks collided and canceled each other out. The crowd went crazy. Minutes later, Valle finished off DGV.

It actually wasn’t the first time these two had that moment of super collision. It happened in a tournament a while back, with similar stakes. Nothing more could be done than look in the sky and wonder what could have been.

“I just have this weird knack of not being able to finish Valle,” DGV said.

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One guy that always seems to find new ways of beating people is Daigo Umehara. He had to endure several tough contests in the HD Remix tournament at NorCal Regionals 8, but eventually prevailed over Alex Valle in the championship match. Whether it’s playing patiently, or wiping out an opponent in 10 seconds or less, Daigo continues to mix his gameplay.

“Even though I can’t play the game in Japan, when I come to the United States, I enjoy playing the game,” Umehara said through a translator. “I really like the game.”

His toughest preliminary match was against Blue Tall Cans – yes he’s a veteran – where he faced two game points and won both to stay alive in the contest. While old Super Turbo footage mostly shows him using Ryu and Boxer, he used Guile for most of NorCal Regionals 8.

“I like Guile because he is a charge character,” Umehara said.

But Blue Tall Cans figured out how to break through the wall of sonic booms and take a 1-0 lead. Umehara switched to Sagat and slowed down Blue Tall Cans’ Blanka that had been a pest all match. Umehara survived his biggest test.

The finals featured Umehara against Alex Valle. Although it went 3-0, the round-by-round tally told a different story. Umehara trailed 2-0 in the first two games before making a statement and winning both. And he never trailed in Game 3, getting the sweep and the undefeated championship. Among the final eight players, Umehara was the only player to be down two rounds and win a game.

“It is always great to play against these players,” Umehara said. “They know the game well.”

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A funny thing happened on the way to rookie tournament competitor ST Playah being eliminated before the top eight at NorCal Regionals 8: It didn’t happen. He was the lucky outcast, the one that proved that a newcomer can survive the virtual cruelty that is the Veteran School of Hard Knocks.

ST Playah came in with a Ryu that grinded out matches and battled past veterans. Against Umehara, though, that was much different. It took nearly 17 minutes for their match to get decided; through all of the disconnects and formats, Umehara’s Guile found a way to keep ST Playah at distances where ST Playah couldn’t deliver any upset.

“I got totally out-footsied,” he said.

ST Playah managed to bounce back from that loss, win two more matches and get to the final eight. However, his run was quickly evaporated by Sirlin. Thousands of tournament competitors would take a seventh place finish considering the stakes. Now realize that this is only ST Playah’s second tournament ever. His only other outing was at NorCal Regionals 7, and he finished in the final eight there as well.

“Anytime you go to a tournament, you want to win, but in order to succeed you have to fail,” ST Playah said. “I’m just gonna keep trying to come out to tournaments and try my best.”

He’s not done competing; being in these two tournaments has given him an interest in competing in more live tournaments in NorCal, and possibly going south to take on competitors in the Los Angeles area.

The flame of two tournaments can do that to any player. As for the fire in him, the second time around gave him a comfortable feeling not personally found in the first tournament he attended. “I’m getting more used to the tournament atmosphere.”

And with the HD Remix scene laced with sharpened claws he was able to put all of that aside and focus on the task at hand. This is his game; he doesn’t play Super Street Fighter IV or Tekken 6. It’s old school fighting games all day, and with that comes some old school players who are still around.

“These veterans have experience -- that 15 years worth of experience helps out,” he said. “What a lot of people don’t realize is that a lot of tournaments is nerves and experience. You can be skilled, but if you’re not used to that atmosphere or that format or atmosphere, you could easily go down. That’s what those veterans have.”