The fighting game community (FGC) has grown from holding local events at smaller venues to occupying ballrooms at four-star establishments with talent from all across the globe attending. Major sponsors such as Capcom, Namco Bandai, and others are responsible for the development of some of the world’s most famous franchises in gaming, and are showcased at a central tournament featuring the top fighting talent from across the world. With major prize pools, fighting games are now reaching a platform that can be compared to traditional eSports.

Every week, I’ll be posting interviews I’ve had the pleasure of conducting with members of the fighting game community. The interviews will touch upon their history in the FGC, where they got their start, and what they’d like to see from video games in general.

This weeks guest is a man who has been catching my attention as of late in tournaments: Tayson Defas a.k.a. GU Tayson.

Kash: Thank you for joining me today, please introduce yourself to the Broken Joysticks readers.

Tayson: Hi Kash, thank you for having me as your guest. I’m Tayson Defas from Miami and known in the FGC simply as GU Tayson.

Kash: A fighter’s tag is like their identity: some would rather use their real name and some their nickname; how did you decide what yours will be?

Tayson: Well this is kind of a big secret but Tayson is actually a nickname, not my real name, my real name is classified :). I’m very proud of how I got the name, in short: as a kid I stood up against some bullies for some friends and fought them off by myself. My friends wrote “Tayson” on the blackboard, in reference to Mike Tyson but they misspelled it and I’ve never corrected it so it stuck :).

Kash: Awesome, good job :). Now I know what you meant by fight them off, want to let the readers know how your skills outside the games are?

Tayson: I’ve been inspired by Ryu from Street Fighter since very little. And since little, I’ve been in martial arts, so as you can imagine a bully will never get his way, not while I’m around. I’m versatile in Muay Thai, Jujitsu and Tae Kwon Do. All in hopes to be like my hero: Ryu.

Kash: Where would you say you got your start in the FGC?

Tayson: I used to dabble in games all the time including fighting games, and I thought I could never be at the level of craziness that I know some people are. But one day, I heard about Tatsunoko vs Capcom and Marvel vs Capcom 3. And I waited and waited for those games. Tatsunoko vs Capcom came out first of course and I took to myself to be the best Ryu I could be. Mostly because of coordination and lack of knowledge of mechanics of fighters in general, but I did it and happily made it to the list of top 20 online on Tatsunoko vs Capcom. Though I never did a Tatsunoko vs Capcom offline tournament, I found it extremely fun. And is what got me hyped for Marvel vs Capcom 3. And that’s how I started. As you can see, I’m very new in the FGC.

Kash: I heard a rumor, which you can tell us if true or false, that for someone who’s new in the community you’re known as the guy with the medal and the black notebook. What’s the medal represent and what’s the significance with the notebook?

Tayson: My medallion and the death note have no connection to each other. My medallion is a family heirloom I received after my mother passed away. It’s my most prized possession and I have never taken it off since I put it on 5 years ago. The death note is an idea I had when I attended my first major at summer jam and in it contains useful information on top players, bad match ups and special tech and how to defeat it. I need to make an update for it since now I gotta gather info for Dante.

Kash: Is it true you make your opponents sign when they lose to you too?

Tayson: Yes but only if they agree to a money match and I consider the match to be page worthy or if it’s against a top player.

Kash: Tell me a bit more about your sponsor GU.

Tayson: Gamer University is an organization lead by Brandon Ferris. In which he sponsors teams for shooters and strategy games. Constantly working to finding good sponsors for his teams like Dr Pepper, which is our most recent one. GU decided to dabble into the FGC, it scouts of talent announced they would look for skilled players in florida so they hosted 3 tournaments for the first spot of sponsorship. Having kind of a Mortal Kombat like theme lol. After wining all three tournaments I was the firat GU member of the team.

Kash: Was it win 3 straight in a row or 3 overall to get sponsored?

Tayson: Well since I won three in a row I have no idea if he had planned for that overall. But that’s how the first spot worked. My teammates got their spots on their own merits.

Kash: Which game(s) are you most known for playing and what character(s) do you use?

Tayson: I only play Marvel, and I’m known for the blonde Ryu, the crazy comeback Nova and of course a top notch Zero. As of recently though to become a more competitive threat, I decided to substitute Ryu for Dante.

Kash: It’s funny you said that. I know you as a Zero Ryu Nova player and you love all three of them. Do you think other people in the FGC like their characters because they like them or because they need to use them based on the current tiers and meta game?

Tayson: I think what really gets you into a game is using what you like. I’ve pushed the limits of what my team can do to the extreme. But it has limitations and I understand them. I am very competitive by nature, and as a fighter, whether it be in the FGC or real life, if you want to win you must understand to adapt and evolve and learn something new. Just like I’ve learned many fighting styles, it is not impossible to learn a new character. The way I see it, is learning a new martial art I can incorporate into my skill. Ryu is my favorite of all, and he will continue to influence my practice and determination. So my advice is if you like to learn a new character, carry on what you like. Most of the time, the character you’re picking up has tools similar to the one you dropped.

Kash: The FGC has been slowly evolving from something small to big as time continues to move. Do you feel the FGC is at the same level as eSports?

Tayson: Hopefully but we’re not there yet. Since there are regions that are still unknown and many players unable to travel. But hopefully Injustice: Gods Among Us will revitalize the FGC to that point. Because it’s a new game that incorporates the popularity of Mortal Kombat and the mechanics of a good FGC game with creating new combos.

Kash: How difficult do you think it is for a new person to enter the community and feel welcomed?

Tayson:  I think it all depends on what your goal going in is. For some it’s to be stylers. For some, it’s people who really want to be competitive. I think a concrete goal determines how well you do and how long you’ll stick around in the community.

Kash: How nervous do you get during a tournament match?

Tayson: Very much, and I love every minute of it. Is like rush, I guess that’s why people say Marvel is like crack lol.

Kash: Now you got into my radar during your match at Seasons Beatings Ascension against the Evo Champion for Marvel, Filipino Champ. What was going through your mind then?

Tayson: Yes that match. What was going through my mind was to always challenge the strongest and he was at the time. The match had its controversy with the ruling on the draw and to this day I still feel that. It happens cause I’m the new guy and he’s the current EVO champ. Any other match, a point would have been granted to both and I would have won. I tried finding you guys the clip as I can also consider it one of the hypest matches but it’s mysteriously missing, but this is a great substitute clip vs DJ Houshen..

[youtube id=”SnCHUpOB5Wc” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Kash: Other than fighting games, what other styles of games do you play?

Tayson: I like survival horror games the most. I’m a big of the genre and I’m so dying to get myself into Dead Space 3 and hopefully a new Silent Hill title.

Kash: What is your current system of choice and which system do you see yourself using for the next generation?

Tayson: I am scared of new things so I’m going to wage war on the machines before they overtake us 😉 just kidding. Trolling aside, the new generation doesn’t have to replace this one yet. Specially with the games that are coming up right now. What I see happening is the new console staying under the radar for a while. I had a PS3 first and just recently got a 360. But I can’t ever switch the comfort of a PlayStation 3 controller so I use a converter :).

Kash: I think I’ll keep asking this question until my face turns blue, how excited are you with the announcement of a 6th generation of Pokémon?

Tayson: Last time I played Pokémon, I had a yellow Pikachu following me around everywhere (Pokémon Yellow Version)and I mean everywhere >_>. But he was a hell of a wingman 🙂

Kash: If you could grab any character from one game and put them in any other game, who would you pick, where would you place them, and why?

Tayson: Hmm I think I would take Tidus from Final Fantasy X and put him in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 lol He would be so fast and stylish to look at lol.

Kash: In this segment, I’m going to name two different characters, series, etc., and just tell me which one you’d pick over the other one.

Kash: I know Ryu is your favorite no matter what so, Zero or Nova?

Tayson: Nova. I like Megaman better lol but the sole reason why I picked up Nova was because he said “Blue Blazes I’m awesome” And I was sold lol.

Kash: One Princess to rule all, Princess Peach or Princess Zelda?

Tayson: Zelda all the way. She can turn into a ninja. And ninjas as we all know are awesome!

Kash: You go into the wrong bar and need help. You see Bayonetta and Trish walking by, who will you ask for help from?

Tayson: Trish all the way. She’s a demon with a legendary sword lol. No questions on that :p.

Kash: You said you loved survival horror games; who would you go along with in order to survive, Isaac Clarke from Dead Space or Chris Redfield from Resident Evil?

Tayson:I would love to say Chris… but Issac is waaaaaay smarter than Chris. And faced shit in space lol all while almost going insane. Clarke has my vote, I’d be able to survive way easier with him lol.

Kash: Super Mario Bros 3 or Sonic the Hedgehog 2?

Tayson: I never played a Sonic game… hope that amswers that question lol.

Kash: What’s your top three favorite games of all time?

Tayson: Legend of Dragoon for being the most awesome RPG experience I’ve ever come across, Final Fantasy X for giving me such a wonderful love story I could never forget, and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 well because it’s the most fun fighting game I’ve ever played lol.

Kash: Any upcoming tournaments that you’ll be attending?

Tayson: Yes I’ll be attending E.C.T. and C.E.O. in the upcoming months and I’ll bring my new Dante team to the full of my abilities.

Kash: With stream sites like Twitch becoming the easiest gateway for people to view the community and players in action, is there any particular stream were people may see you play outside of a tournament setting?

Tayson:  Well here in Miami we’re trying to set up a new scene up north in a sick new arcade that could probably help Miami host a major event. We’re streaming practice sessions Mondays and Thursdays. Not this Thursday since everyone is going to Final Round. You can tune in here.

Kash: Any last words for the Broken Joysticks reader as well as any way for them to contact you with any questions they might have?

Tayson:  Stay focused to the things you want in life, and never ever drop your controller, you never know when the combo will be dropped and you’ll get your chance to come back :D. Anyone is free to add me on facebook since I don’t have a twitter. Thank you so much for this opportunity :).