DOA5, Summer Jam, and the Offline Community

[Gill Hustle]

Well, let me start this off with a little history about myself before I get to the nitty gritty.

The DOA franchise has ALWAYS had a special place in my gaming life ever since I read the advertisement for it in EGM waaaay back in the day.

Ryu Hayabusa was quoted in the ad as saying the girls were "Knockouts" and yep, DOA1 had some pretty graphics. From then on with the PSOne game, The two DOA2 machines I found in arcades, Dreamcast version, DOA3 on Xbox and onwards I have been one of it's BIGGEST FANS.

But alas, due to DOA's unique gameplay system, very few around me actually put the effort to learn "how to play" the game versus the saturated fighting game market pre DOA3. It also didn't help that DOA3 was an Xbox exclusive title and most fighting game players were on the Sony systems.

So when DOA2 got it's first remake in the form of DOA2U I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! A remastered version of my FAVORITE 3d fighter?! Yes please!

It was through DOAU2 that I found out that the DOA series ACTUALLY HAS A COMMUNITY!

I did plow my way through the ranks and eventually became a SS player, however I never felt I was that good and eventually ran into those with "true skill" . Players that introduced me to the old DOACentral stomping grounds, the first online forum I regularly posted in and made friendships with people that were states and even countries away from me.

It was there (We will call it DOA's "Dark Days") I guess you could say I made a name for myself creating a lot of "Fanservice" videos featuring many characters from the DOA series as way to perfect my craft and give light to hopeful during what seemed like the end of the series after DOA4's release, factors within our community, and trouble with Tecmo as well.

The fact that a small number of us still regularly checked in even when a lot of us moved on to other games showed how strong the bonds within the community were.

But then came the announcement of DOAD. A NEW DEAD OR ALIVE FIGHTING GAME.

It' s announcement was met with both excitement and cynicism. Partial due to how things were done with DOA4 many were unsure what to think.

It was mad public by the MASTER that TEAM NINJA would be on hand a D.I.D. to witness first hand impressions on Dead Or Alive Dimensions and to meet and greet fans of the community.

While some may not remember it , I and many of those who were not able to attend made it vocal that those players who had been most critical of DOA4's direction, get out there and make their opinions known to TN.

I'm sure there were more but those I remember that were able to go should get special recognition:

Mr. Wah, Raansu, Master, Vanessa, Allan Paris, Rikuto, Awesmic, and Grap3fruitman. As stated I'm sure there were more but I wasn't there .

As many of you now know, this affected the direction of Dead Or Alive 5 GREATLY.

Wow this went further than I thought LOL, so let me post this now, gather my thoughts and continue with Summer Jam in a few

 

[Gill Hustle]

Back to business!

Okay after the events from last post I started to realize that for DOA5's impending release I Gill Hustle had to do what I could within my means to help with games acceptance and approval to the masses.

I guess my first start was finding more offline venues to make friendships with people outside of the internets. Street Fighter 4 and onwards there were titles I made sure I stayed up to snuff to play other players in by competing in offline tournaments. Surprisingly I found a few that liked DOA most notably Dr. Teeth and Final Fever.

I also went through the trouble of obtaining a modded Xbox, getting a copy of DOA3.1 with thanks to Mr. Wah, and began to stream the title from my OFFLINE gaming center Ultimate Gaming Spot.

It was during that time many of you here at FSD watched as Dr. Teeth and I tried to put on show of a game that hadn't been available to a majority of DOA fans. Mr. Wah noticed that we were not playing the game proper due to our DOA4 tendencies and made the trip up to Boston to come "help us out".

He bodied us unmercifully . . . My friends I am not one to take losing lightly, but sodium levels withstanding I realized that if I'm going to rep DOA, I must get my skills up to snuff. So I don't hold a grudge . . . for now.

During his time with us, Mr Wah expressed how important it was for us to head out to Summer Jam . . . At the time I didn't consider myself "high level" DOA material, but felt obligated to make my way to Philly especially considering he took made it out to my neck of the woods.

The days leading up to SJ were getting closer and it seemed only Dr. Teeth were the only players from MA that would be out to represent.

Enter Tap Master C.

I met Tap Master C through a mutual friend a big Tournament near Fenway Park. He himself was a self described " casual DOA fan" but was excited that both Dr. Teeth and I were players of the series and looked forward to DOA5 along with us.

As Summer Jam grew closer it seemed that TMC wasn't going to be able to join us on our venture out east.

At the eleventh hour Tap Master called me and said he was able to go but had no place to stay. Teeth had had friends he was staying with and the room I was sharing with the locals I made arrangements with was filling up.

The group I chose to stay with were really just mutual gamers I played with in tournaments and sans one was not on first name basis with. But TMC wanted to go, I wanted him to go, but it was my first time bunking with strangers at an out of state offline event so I wasn't sure about how to go about adding a 6th member to our hotel room.

I gritted my teeth and asked the one responsible for the room if it was okay for another to join us. Maybe it was our mutual love of Mega Man X or the fact that the room ended up being cheaper for all of us, he was more than happy to have another guest. Thanx Dustin.

I alerted TMC and Teeth literally 5 hours before departure about the "changes" and we worked things out happy to say.

K, that's it for now more in a bit.

 

[Gill Hustle]

Next stop Philly!

This was it! Dr. Teeth, Tap Master C, and I were on our way! YESSSSS!

Outside of my penchant for not being able to sleep in moving vehicles we made it without issue.

Dr. Teeth brought C and I to the hotel where we met Dustin and got checked in. Afterwards Tap Master and I headed to the bar only to be hit with the reality of Hotel Food and Beverage costs ($11 for a Hamburger?! You BASTARDS!)

Anyway while we sat and a waited for our grub, a VERY FAMILIAR face among a group of for walked in.

I thought for a second and eyeballed him hard as he said " Why is that guy looking at me?!" I responded " Rikuto! " as he said yes that's me. "It's me Gill Hustle! "

After to say, an awkward introduction I noticed that CyberEvil was also part of his entourage, as well as a person NOT claiming to be Lopedo with his main squeeze.

I introduced Tap Master to them as he only knew of them through his lurking of the FSD forums while we all ate.

A little while later Mr. Wah and Hubbs arrived on scene and at that point we took it upon ourselves to help move the "merchandise".

One can't imagine the glee I had walking through the hotel alongside a group that were branded with the words " Dead Or Alive 5 " and " I Am A Fighter " labeled all over them .

After we helped with securing the goods, I suggested that those who weren't busy come back to my hotel room for some games of DOA3.1.

Only problem being that I'm a " Stick Guy " and forgot to bring some OG Xbox pads

I wish I got the " rare footage of CyberEvil, Rikuto, and Lopedo playing the game on stick, but what can you do.

Frustrations aside, both Rikuto and CyberEvil took a much needed break leaving myself to to play Lopedo with onlookers.

While at first I got a few wins in, the man Not caliming to be Lopedo started adapting to both stick and my playstyle and hence I needed a break.

As we went outside to enjoy a smoke break. We began to wonder what happened to Rikuto and CyberEvil. Lopedo pulled out his cell and as we suspected they were playing DOA5 in a "private room"

So of course we crashed the party!

Inside Mr. Wah was demonstrating Bass against Cyber's Hayabusa in a level that reminded me of the Ninja Hideout from DOA4 due to being in such an small area. Note: Bass is Very Scary.

Afterwards Rikuto took the controls and began bodying us with a lot of new Bayman Tech!

Next king on the totem pole was Lopedo taking names with Jann Lee. Afterwards more players " heard " where DOA5 was a made their way into the rotation. Surprisingly was one I chatted with in the lobby earlier by the name of "WolfKrone" yeah him.

Other players of notable mention were Blackburry, Demon, Low Sweep, Shakugan, Allan Paris, Chosen1, EMP Rabies, Smithy, Virtua Pai, and Dr. Teeth returned to join in on the fun.

Mr Wah set up the FSD stream and I logged in as UGSLive to give viewers the skinny with Tap Master also lending a hand.

Players walked in and out and I tried my best to get Kasumi down as I would use her as a template for developing my new playstyle alongside Sarah.

For a while Smithy, Hubbs, Tap Master, and myself went through respective move list to get our characters of choice down . . . till more players showed up . . .

Break

 

[Gill Hustle]

Tournament Day

So after what little sleep I got prior I made my way down to the 3D room after registration was taken care of . . . Of course there were already a good amount of players in the room and while I wanted more time picking apart the game I was glad there were SO MANY PEOPLE ready to play the game.

I sat in and got as much play as I could with those around me trying out tech and observing other players grasp of the game.

For a while I was getting my wins in and then started to notice through conversation that a few players last DOA title was DOA2 on playstation/Dreamcast which left me with a sense of guilt.

True this was a tournament and of course with my experience and connections I did have an advantage over the "lesser players".

Examples would be:

1. This build had a base 4 point hold. 6 counting the advanced holds

2. A viable Side Step.

3. And more access to the current build do to " connections ".

So while I sat racking up my wins, I started to make a point to ask before starting a match with anyone if they would like a button check and not to forget to check their SS options.

True I wanted my own place in the limelight, but if a player was struggling against Kasumi's onslaught, I had to remember that DOA5 needs players NOT to be turned off from their first impressions.

would want it that way .

However anyone that could beat me on their own in casuals (Mr. Kwigole and Shade Swifteye we'll meet again ) was on their own.

As time for the event started getting closer Yet more familiar people started showing up on the scene.

Dr. Dogg, Mystic, and Tom Lee from Tecmo Koei showed up !

I introduced myself to both Mystic and Dr. Dogg and was met with open arms.

A short time later this:

Which opened up another level of Hype!

Moving along it was time for the tournament! My first two matches I won fairly easy but once I got up to Shade Swifteye I took my first loss.

My Kasumi was no match for Ayane and my lack of knowledge on Sarah's DOA incarnation didn't help either. I took comfort in that while I didn't know him, he was friends with Hatrify who I did know, and if they were friends it comforted me knowing I lost to someone "good".

But I came to another revelation that I had neglected my favorite DOA character Ayane, after seeing how Shade did with her.

Ah well, this was double elimination so I still had a chance.

I continued through the loser's bracket and held my own steadily . . . until I came across a player by the name of Sonic Fox. A kid who was a little more than half my age but an accomplished player in his own right. Word was he won the MK tournament at NEC and I noticed him playing games like Eternal Champions CD . . . YEAH competently!

I had no idea how much Sonic Fox new about DOA, so I felt I played a lot more cautiously than I should have by taking less risks than I would have casually.

I went with Kasumi as my go to and he chose Ayane. After what happened with shade I was sure it was a little frustrating first match cuz coupled with what he was doing I did not want to lose to another Ayane player.

I won that match (the records are incorrect) and he switched over to Kokoro, another character I used briefly in DOA4 but was not totally familiar with. He seemed to know what he was doing at times however certain situations were questionable to me, needless to say he took two matches from me and I was down to my last game essentially.

On character select screen I began to debate trying out Sarah or going with Ayane. H20 Evil said that my Sarah wasn't ready and Kasumi would be my best bet so I went with her and lost a close match because I hesitated using a Advanced Mid Kick hold TWICE when Kasumi could have turned the tables.

In hindsight I started to beat myself up over the fact that Hitomi, a long time member of " Team Hustle " was at my disposal and I didn't think to consider her with how much people talked about how strong she was in the build. But no use crying over spilled milk. Although saddened I went on to grab some grub and continued casuals at open stations and watched as others in the tournament continued onward.



Break.

 

[Gill Hustle]

Moving right along . . .

So I was out of the tourney and those who witnessed my defeat made their disgust known to me

Defeat has a bitter taste but experience has thought me to pick myself up and root for others and learn more about games I have not mastered by observing others.

Which brings me back to Tap Master C.

For TMC I knew that making it out to Philly was a DOA event like nothing he had experienced before which is why I wanted to get him down there.

While I was busy gathering as much gameplay knowledge as I could, I noticed how much extra effort into helping the tournament run as smoothly as possible. Helping with the brackets, finding players, this guy was everywhere, forsaking what I thought he would have been doing . . . playing games.

He did get some games in and I hoped what little games we did get in with DOA Dimensions on the ride down would help him. He held his own for awhile until he came across Blackburry Chaos (It's cool BC you are technicall New England so I'll let it slide )

About Blackburry too, thanks for rocking Kokoro. Seeing her potential from someone who plays her showed me that I can't neglect her anymore.

I spent some time with my man Allan Paris discussing what Kasumi's downfalls were, mainly her damage output but won't let that discourage me from using her in the final game. I also chatted with Dr. Dogg regarding issues on DOA5's ice level (Slip STUNS) and how it could be addressed personally we had no issues with it and I was reminded about DOA5's level select editor.

I continued to look as Dr. Teeth was playing his matches:

Teeth will say he didn't do much, but in fact bro I could see how much work you put into Tina during our DOA3.1 sessions showed.

Well it was getting late and the pools were wrapping up which ended up leading THE PENTHOUSE SUITE!

 

[Allan Paris]

I spent some time with my man Allan Paris discussing what Kasumi's downfalls were, mainly her damage output.

This is no longer a factor. I spent some very good lab time with her after the tournament.

That is all.

 

[Doug Nguyen]

This is no longer a factor. I spent some very good lab time with her after the tournament.

That is all.

So whats your conclusion about Kasumi? Is she any better?

 

[Awesmic]

So whats your conclusion about Kasumi? Is she any better?

Shh... not while he's downloading.

 

[H2OEvil]

This is no longer a factor. I spent some very good lab time with her after the tournament.

That is all.

Cant wait to get her into the lab dude

 

[Gill Hustle]

Before I go into " After Hours ", I forgot to mention I also ran into Black Mamba at the event along with OMGitzAndre (I hope I did that right) and WINBACK aka Gren Kuts!

Anyhoo, while watching Andre get his game on I noted how he preferred playing DOA5 on pad versus stick, which in fact a lot of players were doing. Although I don't think it will be an issue, but seeing people playing with PS3 does give me some concern. Moving on . . .

So the few of us "in the know" went back to Sean from Tecmo's hotel room for you guessed it More DOA5 fun.

Chosen1 was getting his feel for Brad Wong and Mr. Wah showed him how Brad's new air throw/handstand worked. Rabies, Mystic, CyberEvil, H20 Evil, Tap Master C, Dr Dogg, and Hatrify were there as well.

TMC and I pestered the importance of fanservice to Tom with regards to the DOAX series.

DOAX is a "Hot Button Topic" but among the group I was with I didn't think anyone would bring that game up.

That being said, even though he didn't seem too interested , I told him how important the DOA characters were as much as the series compared to other fighters. Peoples ability to connect with their on screen avatars is something I believe has what kept the series alive for so long after DOA4, and while some aspects may be seen as " creepy " the series did have a fun Volleyball system and Jet Ski part (Which I made clear had NO OFFLINE SUPPORT).

He said that DOA5 was top priority and of course I agreed with but made my point that, if done right in the future it could be Tecmo Koei's Mario Party. He said he'd keep it in mind.

So casual fans I did what I could to make your voices heard.

Now onto DA PENTHOUSE!

As we we made our way in I noticed the room was of course filled the who's who of the fighting community. AG MarlinPie, IFC Yipes, and LI Joe to name a few.

Granted, all were "regular people" but since gaming ha been such a big part of my life, I couldn't help being a little star struck as I began hobnobbing and having drinks.

I found to strong members of the MFC (Massachusetts Fighting Community you WILL be hearing about us in the future ) Lucky D and Weirdo Neo and sat with them for a bit.

I met Neo sometime last winter during my early start with Ultimate Gaming Spot. He was at the Game Underground Tournament the day before hosted by Lucky D. I didn't who he was at the time but the fact that there was another Juri player besides myself (let alone a good) impressed me.

I invited him to my first tournament and found out he was down visiting from Alaska looking to go to school at Berklee College Of Music.

He didn't have a stick when he showed so I was more than happy to let him use mine:

He then went on to win the SF4 portion of the tourney and we've been cool ever since:

Neo as some of you may know is THE BEST JURI PLAYER around, so I asked him how things were going and discussed topics about Juri EVO 2K12, and the scene out in Korea.

Neo is big on trying to make it known the Korea has strong players in other games besides Tekken, which is why he went the extra mile to help his homies Laugh and Infiltration prep for Evo. Which you know how SFxTekken and SSF4AE2k12 turned out ha ha.

Anyhoo, I told what I'd been spending my time at SJ doing and he said " DOA'a a cool game, to bad there's no TKD . . . ha ha MUHAHAHAHAHA!

How that turns out will yet to be seen but time for another break in posts.

 

[Gill Hustle]

For the sake of protecting people's privacy I won't mentioned who and how much alcohol was consumed.

Moving on, I noticed Shidosha was in attendance and reminded him of the time we met previously at PAX EAST earlier this year where I also ran into some other DOA Vets:

At Pax, Shidosha was getting it in with my buddy Kenny on VF:FS and . . . we'll say they couldn't be bothered

Anyway during our talks at the party, I found out not only was Shidosha interested in DOA5, but that he lived near MA and there was a good chance of him showing up at our GUTS Tourney next month!

Later on (Man it was getting late) I went back to my room to find it PACKED with a bunch of people! Apparently one of my roommates "Cozby" was challenged to a "Money Match" and Shidosha was on hand building hype.

The gang said I should stick around and honestly I wanted to, but I had to remember my mission for attending Summer Jam. Obtain as much info regarding DOA5 as possible.

Since the room was full I couldn't get to my Hori in which Dustin handed me his custom PS3 to use as I made my way back to Sean's suite.

When I got there more heads were in than last time and I wasn't sure I was gonna get any quality time with the build, due to the level of skill the room was emanating.

I don't know if Sean (hope I'm using the right spelling) sensed it but, he decided to set up another console in the bedroom. I of course jumped at the chance and snatched up H2O Evil (Kasumi player) to gather more info on the character for about 10 or 11 sessions.

It was getting late, and I felt bad for keeping our host up so I took my leave back to my now quieter hotel room.

 

[Game Over]

Personally, I'd think the DOAX-type fanservice content is best delivered as bonus content part of something like a DOA5:Ultimate later down the line (if they do an updated edition). Having a separate game for it seems like a waste when they could instead put some of that time and resources into further improving the main DOA fighting game.

Especially considering how a separate game like that, particularly in this current market, will likely not sell as well as the main game.

 

[CyberEvil]

Gill is putting up a fairly comprehensive look at what actually goes on during these tournaments, guys. A lot of the cooler moments are being kept in reserve but you get the idea. Good shit bro. Run it through; you're almost done anyway.

 

[d3v]

Neo as some of you may know is THE BEST JURI PLAYER around, so I asked him how things were going and discussed topics about Juri EVO 2K12, and the scene out in Korea.

Neo is big on trying to make it known the Korea has strong players in other games besides Tekken, which is why he went the extra mile to help his homies Laugh and Infiltration prep for Evo. Which you know how SFxTekken and SSF4AE2k12 turned out ha ha.

Anyhoo, I told what I'd been spending my time at SJ doing and he said " DOA'a a cool game, to bad there's no TKD . . . ha ha MUHAHAHAHAHA!

How that turns out will yet to be seen but time for another break in posts.

At this point, I don't think there's any doubt left that Korea has strong players. Heck, Infiltration just took both AE and SFxT at the 25th Anniversary tourney in Taiwan this weekend.

P.S. Go send him videos of Bryan rocking Rig like a boss!

 

[CyberEvil]

Bryan's Rig is STUPID...and he wasn't exactly going all-out either, haha.

 

[Game Over]

I wonder what would be more menacing ...

... a swarm of Koreans rocking Rig?
... or a swarm of Koreans rocking Eliot?

 

[CyberEvil]

Eliot hands down.

 

[Gill Hustle]

The following day I got some much needed rest and decided there was there was less of a priority for me to play DOA5 (SHOCKING!!!) and took a chance to see how a lot of my fellow New Englander's were doing in their respective titles.

Two members of Team Replay'd Weaksauce and Gridman were in Top 16 SF4 along with WeirdoNedo and AG/Madcatz Lucky D, Another member BlueNine ended up taking 3rd in MK.

Cozby got ninth in VF5: FS

And I heard a good friend of mine GDX Vile Vigilante had bested EMP Sanford in their match the day before. So things were looking good for the MFC.

So of course I made my way BACK to the 3d Fighter room.

There Smithy talked to me about helping work "security" for a few sessions of an unnamed game, in a CLASSIFIED LOCATION.

We took our leave with a small select few to "the lab".

While enjoying our games, a few of my roommates found us and I took the time to coax them into getting some games. I told Cozby who was unfamiliar with this title to use a character he may feel "comfortable with".

Of course with his background, he took to the game quickly.

The other two, who were at SJ for Persona took nicely to the games graphics. With things secure I took a brief moment to run out and get myself a refreshment, only to return to find Dustin also showed up and was glad there was a character he was familiar with as well. I was glad familiar faces were around until I noticed as I exclaimed: " Who the hell is this?! "

Well turns out it was EMP Sanford Kelly as he said " Hi I'm Sanford Kelly " and I exchanged greetings (AWKWARD!) Well he looked different for some reason to me and I told how I liked his blast regarding the FGC and telling him to be on the MFC!

After sometime it just ended up being Virtua Pai and myself continuing with our sessions.

Afterwards, I made my way back to the 3d room to view the last of the Top 8 in DOA5 and continue experimenting in casuals.

All in all the matches were as you probably know a high point for DOA5. Meeting the group of individuals I knew only through text on a computer screen and online video is something I will cherish forever. And something I think a lot of you who have been reading should if you've been hesitant to try before, I highly recommend you do after DOA5 comes out.

I sad its over now, but realize that it's something I'll be able to do again soon.

 

[CyberEvil]

Great posts, man. Least flattering picture EVER of me on commentary haha, but that group shot you got is damn good. Had a blast and we'll be meeting up again soonish. My next confirmed tournament is likely to be Winter Brawl but I might be hitting up another tournament in the November/December timeframe. We'll see. Tons of great vibes coming out of this event. Truly exceptional in all regards and we set a community record for tournament entrants. Going up from here!

 

[Matt Ponton]

Great posts, man. Least flattering picture EVER of me on commentary haha, but that group shot you got is damn good. Had a blast and we'll be meeting up again soonish. My next confirmed tournament is likely to be Winter Brawl but I might be hitting up another tournament in the November/December timeframe. We'll see. Tons of great vibes coming out of this event. Truly exceptional in all regards and we set a community record for tournament entrants. Going up from here!

Come to NEC over WB, it's gonna be more hype!