Category Archives: Uncategorized

Time for a Change?

I’ve helped produce combo videos for major FGC events almost every year since Evolution 2004. It’s been an awesome experience overall – with plenty of hard work, sleepless nights, close calls, and moments of genuine happiness along the way.

I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with so many talented combo makers on just about every video concept i could’ve imagined – but i think i’m done. After ten years, this seems like a good time to step away. I might still release short combovids on my own; but without the crazy stressful deadlines and sleep-deprived, near-death experiences of driving to Las Vegas at the last minute with 6-18 months of work on a USB drive in my pocket!

On a slightly gloomy note, each of our last five collaborative combo videos have barely averaged 20,000 views (a huge drop from 140k in previous years).

ComboVid.com DAMAGE exhibition v.one (Evo2k11)

ComboVid.com DAMAGE exhibition v.two (SB6)

ComboVid.com Air Throw Exhibition v.one (Evo2k12)

ComboVid.com style exhibition v.two (TFC2k13)

ComboVid.com style exhibition v.three (Evo2k14)

I know better than to judge the success of a project based solely on view count. Plus i never monetize any of my videos, so views have no financial impact on my life whatsoever (and i still think trying to make money from playing video games is risky business). And yet, it’s difficult to ignore the sense that people don’t seem to care as much about these combovids anymore.

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No More Ads

Last night i removed all advertisements from Sonic Hurricane. They were an ugly eyesore and never made any money anyway. The only reason it took me so long is because i liked using them to break up my massive walls of text without having to search for a relevant picture.

Luckily i figured out how to make ComboVid banners of the exact same size and placement, which load much faster and aren’t nearly as creepy. Sonic Hurricane is now 100% profit-free! (Not that i ever managed to break even in the first place.)

In the process of removing all embedded ads from individual articles, i couldn’t help but notice that some of my old writing is pretty damn weird. Um, sorry about that y’all.

You know, it’s not that i’m trying to sound smart or take myself too seriously. I’m just not that good a writer. I get bored and start trying to find new words i’ve never used before, or substituting longer/shorter words to even out paragraph shapes. Also i like playing around with new grammar tech; occasionally bending the rules for fun. Unfortunately sometimes it ends up sounding inordinately abstruse.

Questions I Have No Business Asking, No. 2

Every single fighting game in the Evo2k13 lineup requires an immense time committment! Playing SF4 or MvC3 simply isn’t enjoyable if you can’t perform ultras or basic combos at will. For a newcomer, that’s already days or weeks of up-front practice.

Then trying to play against human opponents multiplies that minimum committment tenfold. Playing competitively in tournaments multiplies it a thousandfold! Even casually watching tutorials and tournament streams takes up entire evenings.

Considering how much time it costs, what is it about the fighting game community that keeps you connected and invested? Also, what’s your biggest concern/fear about where the community might be headed?

Sonic Hurricane Combo DVD Canceled

For better or worse, i finally decided to take the plunge into a (rather intimidating) game design career, which means three things.

First, the industry is known for demanding ridiculous work hours, so updates will most likely stay slow around here. I’ll try to keep ComboVid.com updated on a fairly regular basis, but no promises there either. And i may disappear completely for three-month stretches whenever a major deadline is coming up. That’s how it goes.

Second, i’ll probably spend quite a bit more time rambling about vague game mechanics. In fact, here’s a new Game Design category intended for exactly that purpose exclamation-point.

Third, i’ll have to cancel the DVD and refund everybody’s money. Any other choice would be inviting legal disaster. It was a dangerous gamble before, but it’s a lose-lose situation now.

I’ll dig up each preorder and issue refunds manually later this week – since paypal doesn’t have an automated option for payments beyond 60 days, which in this case is all of them.

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Questions I Have No Business Asking, No. 1

If you could magically (or scientifically or telepathically) travel back in time to the moment you started liking fighting games and, knowing everything you know now, decide to hate them instead (then instantly forget all your future-knowledge), would you do it? Why or why not?

Please include a few basic background details about yourself: roughly how long you’ve been playing, which fighting game you’ve played the most, how many tournaments you’ve entered, where you racked up the majority of your playing time, etc.