The fighting game community (FGC) has grown from holding local events to 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 prizepools, fighting games are now reaching a platform that can be compared to traditional eSports.
Every two weeks, 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 week’s guest is PxG’s very own DaytonJ aka BesSeth.
Kash: Thank you so much for joining me today, please introduce yourself to the Broken Joysticks readers.
Dayton: Yo! My name is Dayton, I’m 19 going on 20, I’m apart of PandaxGaming, and I live with a daily struggle called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2.
Kash: Are you currently part of a team and/or currently sponsored?
Dayton: Just PxG, but no sponsors unfortunately. HALP!
Kash: I know about your condition, but please explain to our readers who aren’t familiar about it and how it effects you when playing fighters.
Dayton: SMA Type 2 basically causes me to have scoliosis of the spine and to have extremely weak muscles. Because of this, my use of almost any controller is indeed limited. But I make it work the best way possible!
Kash: A fighter’s tag is like their identity. Some would rather use their name and some nicknames; how did you decide what yours will be?
Dayton: DaytonJ is my main handle. J is my last name’s initial. People online call my Day, some close people in my life just call me D. I’m leaning towards just going with Dayton. That way, if I ever make it in this community big, even my close family and friends will know who it is! Thank goodness Dayton isn’t a popular name. ^_^
Kash: Which fighting game(s) are you most known for and which character(s) do you play?
Dayton: I’m more known for playing with my Seth in USF4, but I also play KI at a high level with Sabrewulf/Thunder.
Kash: What reason led you in selecting you current character of choice?
Dayton: Poongko really inspired me to play Seth because he has long combos and cool-looking rushdown. In KI, I play Sabrewulf/Thunder because they are cheap. :3
Kash: What is your highest placing currently at a tournament?
Dayton: I’ve only been to 1 major (UFGT10). I got top 64 in AE2012 and 9th in KI. So…… 9th in KI. I was happy with how I did considering it was my first major in unfamiliar territory. I got interviewed by RandomSelectTV there which is below.
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Kash: Online play is something that many of the top players in the FGC prefer not to do or do it in secret. Do you feel online play is good and some players just don’t take advantage or do you think online play teaches too many bad habits that won’t help in a tournament setting?
Dayton: I believe it’s how and who you play online. Unfortunately, online is my go-to route of practice, but I make it work. Wisconsin doesn’t have a huge scene, but we have some strong and up-and-coming players. Shoutouts to Footmeetsskull, Madwak, Munny, Yoshi, Umeshoryu, Meng, and everyone else from here. We usually hold local tourneys at a sport’s bar called Romine’s, that’s where I started my “career”. #BRINGBACKTOURNAMENTS
Kash: 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?
Dayton: I think it’s a little bit of both honestly. Seth was considered broken in AE2012 but he wasn’t. People didn’t take the time practicing on how to fight him. But I decided to always go for top tiers in games I play in the future AND I have to like the character model. The reason being is that it’ll make up for my limited ability to play the game to it’s full extent. I believe, if I had full function of my hands, I would be a consistent top player. But, on occasion, my condition turns up and I’m not able to play to my full extent THAT day. It varies.
Kash: Patching fighters is usually on a per company basis and if they currently have the resources with some companies doing it frequently than others. What is your opinion on patching fighters, do we require them frequently or annually?
Dayton: If I had to choose, annually. Frequently can get you lost in all the changes and ruin the game to an extent. I used to play MK9 at a pretty decent level, but stopped when the netcode was ALWAYS bad and couldn’t keep up with all the patches and hotfixes. 🙁
Kash: As of late there’s been this push to get the FGC to eSports level. The community has a variety of colorful personalities as well as hype moments at events. What do you think is currently holding us back?
Dayton: I think it’s people in general. However, the FGC likes to stay as “for-the-people” as possible instead of “selling out” to eSports. I wouldn’t mind either way, just here to play.
Kash: How difficult do you think it is for a new person to enter the community and feel welcome, from your experiences? Also how open are you for people to come to you for advice, guidance or to play a set?
Dayton: I don’t think it’s too hard, be yourself and don’t get starstruck. That’s when people will accept you the most cause you’re being real to them. That’s why I didn’t introduce myself to a lot of top players at UFGT10. I didn’t want to seem like a fan. If we meet, I’d like to be an actual friend to these people as it happens naturally. Shoutouts to Redman, Glitch, Finchomatic, Nice1, Magnegro, and everyone else I made connections with to last. And I’m open, I’m not hollywood nor ever will be. 😉
Kash: While it’s something that’s been going on for a while, what’s your take on pot splitting or throwing matches on stream? With tournament organizers and streamers vowing to work together to stop that, do you think we’ll see less of it?
Dayton: What happens will happen. It’s like flopping in the NBA, even if you make a rule to stop it, you’re still gonna see it.
Kash: With the release of Ultra Street Fighter 4, the game got a boom of fresh air with the new character and balance changes. How did your character transition over with the changes?
Dayton: RIP Seth. 🙁 All his buffs/nerfs were honestly dumb. B tier at even a high level and no longer major tourney viable.
Kash: With the release of Ultra, we also got Edition Select which enables for versus to be played with past version of characters.The mode is strictly offline only. Do you think it should remain as offline only along with how do you think tourneys will decide the rule format now with this added variable?
Dayton: I think they should add it in online into Endless mode as an option, would have MAJOR fun with that with friends. I think Edition Select side tourneys should be a thing throughout the future. Entertaining if nothing else.
Kash: If you could challenge any player to a ft10 past or present, who would you pick and why?
Dayton: #BEEF?? I’d say Broly in an offline set to settle who is the best handicap player. Poongko would be nice to fight for the title of best Seth. And, of course, Daigo because he IS the best SF player in the world.
Kash: Other than fighting games, what other styles of games do you play?
Dayton: Single player games (Assassin’s Creeds, Batman, etc…), entertaining MP games (HAPPY WARS, etc…), free games for the poverty struggle are always good, and I also play on the 3DS. Gimme those friend codes!
Kash: Are there any upcoming game(s) on any platform that makes you scream “I need this in my life”?
Dayton: Halo 5/Collection, KI Season 2, Batman Arkham Knight, Destiny, and AC Unity all look pretty promising. I will also attempt to get into Smash when 4 comes out.
Kash: Next gen consoles are out and the only one with a fighter made exclusively for next gen is Killer Instinct on Xbox One. How do you feel about the game, will it do well being exclusively on Xbox One and will you pick it up for tournaments?
Dayton: I love KI as a game. It has it’s flaws, but what game doesn’t? The fun factor is pretty high when you play it at a high level. I think, in the future, they should make a PS4 version, but Season 2 is going to make people want to play it. Shoutouts to James Goddard.
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?
Dayton: I’d probably put Seth in Marvel, he IS combo city. Then I MIGHT actually play Marvel. 😉
Kash: Any upcoming tournaments that you’ll be attending?
Dayton: The goal is the next Chicago major, which I believe is called Combo Breaker 2015 (RIP UFGT :<), and CEO 2015. So hopefully I can get some support to go to both. However, I am pretty much confirmed for Combo Breaker. 🙂
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?
Dayton: Unfortunately not. My internet cannot handle streaming. 🙁 But I’m going to try and work to fix that because I would LOVE to.
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?
Dayton: Thank you for this opportunity! Shoutouts to Kash for allowing me to do this! Quick shoutouts to my Mom, Stepdad (in the picture next to me) for letting me go to UFGT10, the rest of my close family and friends, the Wisconsin FGC, PxG, and everyone else!. My Twitter is @Dayton_J and my XBL GT is DaytonJ. Again, send me 3DS friend codes! 😀 See ya!
