Hour 0: An Introduction
Hello and welcome.
My name's Bug from Skillsmith, and I will be curating the Street Fighter Seminar section here at Shadaloo. I've been in the Capcom beat-em-up scene for some time, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to be involved. My main skill is analyzing game systems as a player, although ironically I don't actually fight that often. There may be some among you who know my real identity, and if so I'd be grateful if you could help me keep it a secret.
I've always wanted a repository of this sort of info, and I'm honored to be able to contribute, especially seeing as this is an official page. While I also feel a little overwhelmed, I'll be doing my best; thanks in advance for your support.
My name's Bug from Skillsmith, and I will be curating the Street Fighter Seminar section here at Shadaloo. I've been in the Capcom beat-em-up scene for some time, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to be involved. My main skill is analyzing game systems as a player, although ironically I don't actually fight that often. There may be some among you who know my real identity, and if so I'd be grateful if you could help me keep it a secret.
I've always wanted a repository of this sort of info, and I'm honored to be able to contribute, especially seeing as this is an official page. While I also feel a little overwhelmed, I'll be doing my best; thanks in advance for your support.
About the content of these seminars
In these seminars I will be going over the rules and inner workings of beat-em-ups, and so they are not limited to Street Fighter V alone, but will cover the entire Street Fighter series and related games.
I hope to be able to explain terms and concepts in a way that makes them accessible to everyone, from things that any seasoned beat-em-up gamer will know, to more implicit ideas that are common in beat-em-ups but are rarely mentioned.
My target audience is both those of you who are interested in getting to grips with the genre but aren't sure about where to start, to those who already have experience but have perhaps reached a point where you'd feel a little embarrassed about asking for more details. If you already have no idea what I'm talking about, then you've come to the right place! Once you're done reading this series hopefully you'll be able to make perfect sense of something like "This character's optimum wake attack is a forward dash, then 2LK, MP with a frame in between, or you can skip the kicks and follow up with a crouching MP if they take the bait".
It's important that I mention that the content of these articles won't automatically make you a better fighter. This information is of course useful when playing, but it's more foundational than practical. To use a chess metaphor, this isn't about studying openings or specific moves, but more about going over the fundamental rules of the game, such as how each piece moves. With that, I can't really recommend you read any further if all you're looking for is a "How to win at SF" manual.
While the information I'll be covering may seem extremely low-level, my hope is that you'll realize you've never actually thought too hard about it before. You should find it increasingly entertaining as you learn more of the terminology and concepts. I'll be introducing terms in between columns, and if there are requests to do so I may write about related topics or provide additional in-depth material.
Before I end this introduction, I'd like to ask you to immediately play the game if possible after reading each column update. This way you'll be able to put into practice what you've learned, and the additional knowledge should make the game even more enjoyable as well. Ideally you'll be playing Street Fighter V, but please feel free to play anything else you might have on hand. Finally, while the main feature of beat-em-up's is of course PvP, they are all action games at heart, and I hope to be able to show you that there are also other ways to enjoy them.
Let's get started.
My target audience is both those of you who are interested in getting to grips with the genre but aren't sure about where to start, to those who already have experience but have perhaps reached a point where you'd feel a little embarrassed about asking for more details. If you already have no idea what I'm talking about, then you've come to the right place! Once you're done reading this series hopefully you'll be able to make perfect sense of something like "This character's optimum wake attack is a forward dash, then 2LK, MP with a frame in between, or you can skip the kicks and follow up with a crouching MP if they take the bait".
It's important that I mention that the content of these articles won't automatically make you a better fighter. This information is of course useful when playing, but it's more foundational than practical. To use a chess metaphor, this isn't about studying openings or specific moves, but more about going over the fundamental rules of the game, such as how each piece moves. With that, I can't really recommend you read any further if all you're looking for is a "How to win at SF" manual.
While the information I'll be covering may seem extremely low-level, my hope is that you'll realize you've never actually thought too hard about it before. You should find it increasingly entertaining as you learn more of the terminology and concepts. I'll be introducing terms in between columns, and if there are requests to do so I may write about related topics or provide additional in-depth material.
Before I end this introduction, I'd like to ask you to immediately play the game if possible after reading each column update. This way you'll be able to put into practice what you've learned, and the additional knowledge should make the game even more enjoyable as well. Ideally you'll be playing Street Fighter V, but please feel free to play anything else you might have on hand. Finally, while the main feature of beat-em-up's is of course PvP, they are all action games at heart, and I hope to be able to show you that there are also other ways to enjoy them.
Let's get started.
