Evolution is necessary. Let's just get that out of the way, first and foremost. Nothing survives in this world without changing, without adapting to the times and the environment that surrounds it. Sometimes all it takes is a simple modification to a behavior, sometimes all it takes is a single tool to do something you couldn't do before, and sometimes it takes a complete overhaul of everything you know to make survival possible. No matter the measure or the reason, evolution must take place in order for survival to remain possible. As times change, tastes change and cultural / technological landscapes change, so too must we all.



With that out in the open, I'm going to switch gears to an idea of mine that I want to flesh out here and now, so that everyone can see it, and perhaps the great powers that be can see it as well. It is an evolution of an icon. It is what must be done, and I'm hoping that this message reaches the ears of those who need to listen. This is not just an evolution, but a potential revolution if done right.


And you should listen to this in the background.
Pardon the image, I think the Splash Woman titty-squeeze is beyond stupid, but it was the best quality version I could find, audio-wise...whatever. Just roll with it.



Megaman is a strange subject for me these days. It's an iconic franchise that has shaped me as a person. I have lived my life according to tenets passed down from its gameplay mechanics, if that makes sense - you tackle difficult situations in order to earn weaponry, items and lessons that allow you to tackle other difficult situations, eventually culminating in your ability to defeat major obstacles in life. I know that's corny, but it is so very true - and it's been the recipe for all of my successes. I also played a fair amount of Metroid when I was growing up, exploring labyrinthine worlds and all of their nooks and crannies, looking for secrets and items, much in the same fashion as I would a Megaman game, but from a different approach if still seeking the same sort of final resolution.

With the Megaman franchise in the most dire of ruts, but the fanbase being stronger now than possibly ever before (and with the fact that they have become more vocal and more united due to repeated tragedies), it's time for a major shakeup. It's time for more than a new coat of paint - it's time for a revolution in evolution. And I'll tell you how I see it, my personal vision for the next step into the future of the Megaman franchise, from a fan who gives quite an awful lot of damn. I can't make this game, but I sure as hell hope somebody can or does, and wants to involve me in the process (I'd be honored).



First, let's talk visuals. 8-bit is great, it's got a retro charm that never loses its spark, but it can wear out its welcome (and has done so). There's so many games out there that have done 2D art some amazing justice in the HD era we live and play in, from simplistic yet clean to complex and frame-heavy, there's no excuse to not move things forward with the Megaman franchise. The one thing that keeps coming to mind is how Arc System Works made their visual stamp on the Contra franchise with Hard Corps: Uprising. The visual style of the game is beautiful to look at, wild, vibrant, colorful and just imbued with a sense of life, albeit a very anime-styled life. An anime-styled life that worked very well in Megaman 7 and 8, actually. So, this kind of look is a natural fit to bring Megaman into the 21st century with the same design aesthetics he was born with almost three decades ago.

You don't have to go all hand-drawn - you can pull a New Super Mario Bros. and use 3D assets on a 2D plane, just make sure that the visual aesthetic matches the tone of the series. Keep it light, keep it cartoony, but don't go too far with that - there's got to be some grit in there, as things definitely blow up in the world of Megaman. Everything blows up eventually. And I would have the final acts be rather dark territory for the series, with Megaman looking beat up and run down...and perhaps acting as a segue from the classic to X series. You never know.



Next, let's talk gameplay. Nothing is as cool as selecting a boss, running a stage, beating said boss and stealing his shit, just to go kick his buddy's ass with it. I love that gameplay mechanic. But what it needs is something new, something larger, more expansive...something that might let you go back and explore an area again, like the X series. Here's where my Metroid-addled idea comes into play:

Let's start with an intro stage, like MM7 / MMX. Let that flow right into the discovery of a massive Wily Compound, with eight sections, and a central hub - this central hub is where you will choose your Robot Master stage, and therefore the eighth of the compound you'll tackle. Exploration of this stage will not be like previous Megaman games, at least, not exactly - exploration is the key word. There will be things to explore, items to find, abilities outside of boss weapons to locate and utilize, and suspicious surfaces that you cannot do anything to...at least, not yet. You'll locate the minibosses, defeat them, and move ever closer to the Robot Master in charge. You'll eventually locate him, fight him, defeat him, and take his weapon. Standard operating procedure, right? That should be expanded on as well, but in new and exciting ways for the player.



What if the weapons are crucial to breaking part of certain walls, opening certain doors, just like a Metroid game? What if there are secret areas between stages, a network of additional sections that connect these stages in strange ways, ways that become integral to the game later on? These are idea that need to be explored in order to make this work, but using the Megaman formula, something much larger and more expansive can be created from it - a Megaman adventure, much like the Legends series, only in 2D and set in the original, classic Light timeline.

What if we take a cue from the X series, and have other locales change because of a system failure in another stage - defeating Chill Penguin causes the lava in Flame Mammoth's stage to harden and no longer be a threat to you, correct? Same rules apply. This also leaves a very cool way to bring back Robot Masters from the past - defeating the fire guy makes the fire wall protecting a certain avenue of approach to another area turn off, but when you come back on the return trip, it's back on? "Fire Man and Heat Man return!" or something like that. The possibilities are endless with that, really. You can make all sorts of Robot Masters from the past make triumphant returns, and their weapons / abilities can give you new ways to traverse the environment. Shadow Man wall-running ability? Top Man ability drills down to new areas? Gravity Man allows heavy equipment to float, revealing a new path? Untapped potential everywhere.



Mega Man Universe had given me the spark for this idea. I always wanted to make my own Megaman game, with my own bosses, my own levels, so on, so forth. But with that canceled, I felt like this idea would never come to be. Maybe, just maybe, with all the attention that they're giving the guy for his 25th, the one gift they could give him and his fans is a brand new lease on life. I think this, while incomplete and obviously reeking of some conceptual issues that just can't be resolved by any sane dev team, this is probably the best way to make something old new again. This is the evolution the franchise needs. This is the revolution Capcom needs to fund. This is the only thing I truly want, really.



And The Megas / Entertainment System / Year 20XX need to collaborate on the soundtrack. Yeah.[/center]

I haven't written a Destructoid Community Blog in over two years. Two whole years. In that span of time, I've changed jobs twice. I've moved twice. I've become a father to a beautiful (and demanding) baby girl. And I have found myself with way less time to play games as a result of all of it.

I used to be the kind of person who would buy a game a week, maybe every two weeks. I'd burn them out as fast as possible, trade in the ones I didn't want to keep, and keep the ones I wanted to archive. Financial difficulties forced me into a situation where I had to sell 90% of my game collection, including merchandise, collectibles, consoles, games...you name it. I had a fire sale where the only fire was the one under my ass to keep my daughter in diapers. I got rid of almost all of it, and it was nothing short of painful to watch all but the most treasured pieces go sauntering off into the world, destined for hands that I could not guarantee would take as good care of them as I had done.

I was not aware of it at the time, as we are always unaware of the future and its events - but that moment was the most positive, transformatively profound event I had ever experienced as a gamer when looking back in hindsight.

There were things I didn't want to let go of - Tengen Tetris on NES, the original Final Fantasy (box/book/map), Chrono Trigger (box/book/map), my Megaman games, my Street Fighter collection, my Saturn imports, other assorted you'll-never-see-this-again-and-if-you-do-it'll-cost-you-a-fucking-fortune-to-reacquire treasures, but after letting go of everything that wasn't those things (both in the sense of monetary worth and emotional ties - my dearly departed aunt's copies of Puzznic, The Guardian Legend and Kickle Cubicle, for instance), I found myself not only lightened, but enlightened.

I had become the thing I believe no gamer should ever become. I can only say this because I've seen the other side of some chasm, some divide where which you cannot see through your own need to collect and hoard all things digitally delightful. You wish to save them from a fate of a used rack in a mom 'n' pop game store, priced far below where they should be, and given to a dirty child to use as a frisbee because they couldn't get the complexity of Grim Grimoire. I had become the video game enthusiast equivalent of a crazy cat lady.

I had promotional standees over ten years old. I had figures from pre-order bonuses still in the packaging from the Saturn days. I had all, and I mean ALL of my system boxes, from the NES up to the PlayStation 3, and that was every Nintendo home system, every Sega home system, every Sony home system, every Microsoft home system. And, I had the systems. And the controllers. And the games. And the boxes for the games. And on, and on, and on, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

I got rid of it all. Well, as I said before, almost all. A good, vast majority - let's put it like that.

I stepped back from games in a big way. I still play, but I play less than I used to. I still buy games, but I buy one every three to four months, rather than every one to two weeks. I choose my purchases very carefully, play the ever living dog shit out of them, then archive it, just as I used to do. And this practice, this stepping down from a mountaintop made of peripherals and plastic monuments to what nobody but myself and those like you and I will consider time well spent, it saved me. It allowed me to enjoy games again. It allowed me to be more patient, to savor the experiences they gave and to not feel the need to "catch 'em all," so to speak. It allowed me to pursue a career doing something meaningful, it allowed me to pursue a life outside of my digital domain, and while her daddy's Spartan Rank currently sits at a hearty SR-96 (130 is so very close now), my daughter gets more quality time with me than she ever would have had I not done this.

This was not a situation I was forced into - this was an undertaking based on a choice, a choice built on thousands, millions of sequential choices undertaken earlier, both conscious and unconscious. But I chose to spend my life playing less and owning less in order to play more and have more, and the "more" that I have now is far less tangible but so much more real to me.

I have no idea why I decided to write a rambling confessional as the first thing I decided to slap on this digital parchment in two years. But I needed to. And I appreciate you taking the time to read it, whoever you may be.

P.S. - I don't recommend parenthood for everyone, but for those who want to take the journey someday, it's the most infinitely rewarding, infinitely terrifying, sublimely beautiful thing you'll ever experience. My daughter changed me for the better, and while I can still clean your teeth with a DMR on Halo 4 or FADC into Ultra 2 in SSF4:AE, the achievements I'm hunting these days feel way better when you get them, and the sound of your child's laughter is the unlock noise.

Okay, you're free to shit on me for getting sentimental.

Obvious spoiler alert: I'm a fighting game fan. My avatar on the 'Toid should be indisputable proof of this age-old love affair. By "age-old," I'm referring to the nineteen years I've spent with the genre, and during this time I've taken the opportunity to play as many of these games as I possibly could. While I'm happy to see that there's a resurgence/renaissance of sorts taking place within the genre and its legion of fans, I've seen a depressing sea change take place along with it, and this isn't limited to my genre of choice - it's pervading every single genre I can think of, at some level.

Hit the jump for your lazy weekend dose of "good 'ol days."

I remember the arcades. I grew up in them. There's a sensory imprint, many of them melded into one unified recollection through the pressure made by the passing of time, of dark rooms lit with the soft glow of multiple flashing monitors. The sound of sticks rolling and buttons clicking, the quarters dropping into slots and the dollar bills being exchanged through machines or at counters for more quarters to fuel the madness. The smell of plastic and carpet, pizza and people, and the sense that this was where life was being lived, although it may have not been a life noticed (or even recognized) by the world outside of that building's borders.

I remember playing Street Fighter II. I remember the learning curve inherent in the game, the special move motions taking diligent practice to use and precise application to master, and the gameplay elements reaching an end at that point. Once there, the only thing left was learning how to play human opponents, seeing how two people could use the same characters with the same capabilities and yet play their quarter's chance in a radically different fashion from each other. Even though you might have seen two players choose Guile, they would most likely have a different way of going about doing things, even if their end goal was the exact same - kind of like Catholics and Protestants, taking two drastically different roads and approaches to their shared version of final rest.

This aspect still remains to this very day, but I'm scared that this core concept, the very thing that endeared me to this type of game for life, being endlessly and repeatedly buried under increasing levels of superimposed complexities in the name of "evolution." I look at SFIII and the Parry System, I look at SFIV and the Focus System, SoulCalibur IV and the Armor System/Critical Finish, TvC and the Baroque Cancel, and anything made by Arc System Works featuring their tendency to name their buttons things like "Dust," "Tortilla" or "Brian." I don't understand it. It's still loads of fun, don't get me wrong there...but it's hard to keep track of all of these things created just to differentiate the title in question from every other title in present or past existence, and harder still to use some of them to maximum effect. Or at least it's harder than it really needs to be.

This is why I still fire up the original SFII every month or so. Not any of the HD Remix, Anniversary Collection renditions, but the O.G. I like to visit the nursing home and visit my dear old digital grandpa every once in a while, I love the stories he tells me, and I love reliving the memories of my wide-eyed youth, if only in fleeting glimpses of reminiscence of a bygone age accelerated by the technological jumps the last two decades have brought to pass. I leave that experience every time with a contradiction-filled sullen smile and yet an aftertaste of bittersweet happiness, as I go back out into the world with a youthful glow balanced by a strangely heavy heart, to go out and play BlazBlue or Super IV with people that are sometimes up to 10 years my junior. I witness them pull FADC tactics with flawless execution while I just try to rely on largely fundamental spacing, specials and normals. I get to see the change of the guard happening right in front of me, seeing the new generation raised on buttons named "Brian," and feeling strangely scared for the future and yet somehow contently assured that they too will feel this way one day...and no matter how much I want to warn them that this very day is coming for them eventually with a vicious vengeance, I really just want them to have fun with their time now without me burdening them with such potentially depressing ramblings about the "good old days."

And then I realize it: I'm the Grandpa now, aren't I? Son of a bitch.

- EL

I don't know what it is about the internet that makes people show their alpha-base nature.

I guess it has to do with the shell of anonymity that encapsulates us all when going online, a shield made of fake names and pictures that represent some sort of aspiration or side of your real self. It allows us to reveal our most honest nature unabashedly, without fear of repercussion or consequence because, well, who's going to be able to do anything about it? It's not like they know your real name, it's not like they know where you live right down to the mailbox and two lopsided trees in the front yard. Why would someone be afraid of something that can't touch them, and if that is the case, why would they not act like an incorrigible asshat, especially if it's more "fun" that way?

This principle, I've found, is no more prevalent and pervasive than in online services on videogame consoles. I seem to find some good folks every once in awhile, and they're not that few and far between in the grander scheme of things. However, just like bad experiences in a restaurant, the repulsives seem to stick in the mind far more than the decent examples of humanity online, whether it's on Live or PSN. It's not like everyone's a rampaging tan/laundry/douche fanatic with a thick northeastern accent talking about "how many sisters have you fucked, you dumb redneck," but experiences like that really ruin the flavor of the entire soup, you know? It's not like I don't talk smack online, but I do try to keep it somewhat civil - there's a not-too-fine-line that you can tread that straddles "saint" and "Satan." You can be a bit of a jerk and still have fun with it. But that line, just like all other lines, can be and most definitely will be crossed anywhere along the way. When that line is crossed, it's a sad look at how many of the population put that attitude out there into the world so willingly and without remorse or even consideration for who may be on the other side of things.

Sure, I'm a southern-born-and-bred American man, but rest assured I'm no "dumb redneck." I'm a fairly articulate 27-year-old Floridian with an IQ hovering around the 170 mark, and that's not a horn I go around blowing at full volume. That's something I largely keep to myself, because I think that one's true character has a tendency to speak for itself without much provocation. This is no less true for the unsavory characters on the planet I may come into contact with, because from their actions, whether physical or auditory, they give away what they're made of inside. It's the little tells - like conversations that can't go 6.37 seconds without dropping the word "fuck" in order to express themselves, that make these avatars of the "lowest common denominator" club as easy to spot as a yellow elephant in a daycare playground. That's not to say that I'm not a fan of dropping the f-bomb, as that word gets a lot of respect from me for being the most utilitarian phrase in the entirety of the English language. But there comes a time where you have to put that aside, and actually pick up a book or two, maybe you'll even learn something about expressing yourself as something that's not a caricature of the culture that spawned you. MTV spend a hell of a lot of money doing a good enough job of that already, and here these dudes (and I use the term lightly) seem willing to do that job for the low, low cost of free.

I never thought I'd do this, but I have to quote a comedian loved by "dumb rednecks" the world over.
"You just can't fix stupid." - Ron White


And that, as they say, is that. You could choose to beat them, or join them. Joining them in creatine-fueled hostility would be really easy to do...but kicking the ever-eternal soulshit out of all of those pricks for daring to waste the air that I breathe with their incessant prattling was so much more satisfying. I hope you guys are reading this...but the likelihood of that is pretty slim. You'd have to learn how to read first, fuckwits. Oh, and Dr. Honda says hello. Bitches. >XoD

- EL

B-KIN Round Three: WAR!

Homepage
www.bkin-ubf.com
Time
Registration Begins @ 12p
Address
Blue Dragon Games, 727 S Nova Road, Tomoka Plaza
City
Ormond Beach
State
FL




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It's time.

February 20th, 2pm, Blue Dragon Games.

Full Breakdown As Follows:


- THE FIVE GOLDEN RULES -

1.) $5 entry fee for each tournament, so $5 to enter into the running for either TvC or MvC2, or $10 for both. These funds go directly to two things: the Prize Pool/Prizes and our setup/administrative costs, which may include venue fees paid in advance by us. ABSOLUTELY NONE of the entry fee money taken directly profits any of our staff, ever. We do not, will not, and will never hold these tournaments for profit - we’re out here purely for the love of the game, the same as you are. The only major difference is that you’ll be able to get paid for your skillset, should you win/place.

2.) You will not be playing a member of staff at a B-KIN tournament. EVER. That’s a pretty heinous conflict of interest in our eyes, and we will not participate as actual bracketed competitors in a tournament that we sponsor, as that would mean that there’s a chance we would win our own prize money if we did play in our tournaments - and frankly, we consider that practice a load of bullshit. However, in the (highly) unlikely event of a total no-show of players except for one competitor, the competitor will have their choice of a member of registered staff to play against for a chance at a 1st or 2nd place finish. If the competitor were to win, the full 1st place payout is awarded to them, in case of a loss, they keep the 2nd place payout and have their entry fee for the next tournament they attend waived.

3.) You are able to bring your own controllers to a B-KIN tournament. Want to use your own custom pad? That’s cool. Want to use a fightstick? That’s cool too. Want to bring a standard controller, just because you trust your own equipment? We’re down with that. Just make sure that it’s unmodified to take advantage of any kind of what-have-you in the game and we’re totally okay with it. In fact, we recommend that you bring your own controller. It's just better that way.

4.) Bracketing and referees will be provided by way of individual members of B-KIN staff. There's no performing two or more jobs at once by any staff member, so we maintain an attentive, professional foundation in which to hold events. The way we see it, you’re serious about having fun, so we’ll be just as serious as you are about keeping it that way. Most of all, we’re about keeping it fair at all times. Pauses are forgiven within the first five (5) seconds of play, but only once. After that, you'll forfeit your match for pausing mid-game.

5.) The prizes are a guaranteed payout. If you’re one of 4 people that show up (because in that case, folks just weren’t cool enough to come out en masse and play for cash), you’re still going to get your payout. We won’t cancel the prize or the tournament. It’s yours, provided you earn it, even if it’s just an automatic 1st vs 2nd place tournament.

UNOFFICIAL RULE #6.) Please, please do not ask when you will play next. We are trying to focus on maintaining the entire bracket, and this kind of constant interruption makes our job a lot harder. When you are called, you will play. Just stay close by, bring a laptop/PSP/DS/iPhone, and you'll never find yourself in a bad or bored situation.




- GAME-SPECIFIC RULES -


Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom
- As the US version hasn't been fully explored/examined as of yet, any discovery of any game-breaking glitches or exploits will be duly noted here.

::EDIT::
As there are infinites in this game that have been found, they are allowed, as two Super Bar Stocks can be utilized to initiate Mega Crash, therefore forcibly breaking the loop. It will all boil down to skill.


Marvel Vs. Capcom 2
---On The Subject Of "Infinites"
MvC2 is famous (infamous, really) for containing infinite combo loops that can absolutely destroy an opponent's ability to fight back, and cause the entire match to become one-sided. These are character-specific, and not all characters have this ability, so rather than ban characters that are considered high-tier (as some have requested) we have decided to force the issue of fairness by instituting a five-one-thousand second-count rule on infinite combo strings. You can perform infinites freely, but can only maintain them for five seconds (referee-counted by scale of one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand...), after which you'll be allowed two seconds (counted the same way) to break and allow sufficient recovery distance. Afterwards, you may reinitiate the infinite string and gain as many consecutive five-second strings as you please, but do try not to abuse this. We are trying to keep this tournament fair from the standpoint of actually seeing a fight rather than a one-sided assbeating repeated by the same selection of six characters out of an over-fifty selection total. So, we're hoping this strikes a good middle-ground between more casual folks wanting to play with teams that aren't Sentinel/Magneto/Storm/Psylocke/etc. while still allowing those with a supreme level of skill and practice invested to show off their skillset accordingly.




That's the long and short of it. Entry fees are $5 for each individual tournament, or $10 for both. Prizes are $75 for First Place, $50 for Second Place, and $25 for Third Place, all prizes on VISA Gift Cards (that can be used as cash anywhere VISA is accepted) for ease of transport and less risk of anyone straight jacking you for a newly-acquired stack. It just seemed easier this way.



All games are played best of three rounds, best of three fights during tournament play until semi-final bracket has been reached. At that time, play will switch to best of five rounds, best of three fights until grand final, which will be fought out best of five rounds, best of five fights. It's war, baby.



Any questions, concerns, fears, hopes, doubts - pose them accordingly, that's why we're here.
- EL (bkinubf@gmail.com)


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Taken from the official announcement @ www.bkin-ubf.com/forums, and posted on the Event Calendar @ Shoryuken.com. Full effect discussion/early registration/asinine shit-talk @ B-KIN's Forums. If you live in the area, do yourself a favor and support your local gaming scene - the best is yet to come, BELIEVE ME, so all of the fellow Central Florida dtoiders need to come out and represent!

It's like your mom used to scream at you when you were causing too much damn ruckus in the house:
GO PLAY OUTSIDE.

Oh, it's on.

Full details @ bkin-ubf.com.