Monday, October 11, 2010

Alternate's girlfriend... Amber Cannon aka YummiAmbi

Since May 13th 2010, I've been dating a lovely lady named Amber Cannon. Which is kind of fitting because Dogysamich likes to jokingly make fun of her last name when I play Cammy and start spamming Cannon Strikes. Amber is really pursuing central sterilization,  other medical careers in the medical field, and possibly her interest in modeling and fashion. Amber Cannon *does* play games, but she's not exactly a gaming medalist~ *YET* xD

However, and this may sound selfish (and it is, kind of), but I do have reoccurring plans in my head to  change that, making her much more competitive in very particular fighting games. Mortal Kombat 9 and Marvel vs Capcom 3 to be much more specific. I'm very open with sharing my realities to Amber, my attendances to conventions, tournaments, etc etc. So far, she's been enjoying our adventures and is learning more about my worlds each time <3 =]

Not before long, I hope to set her up with her own XBL account and give Amber her very own custom Arcade Stick. I'm constantly thinking about teaching her how to play KOFXIII and Arcana Heart 3 when those come out, but those are just ideas. With this in mind, I do not only plan on taking her with me tournaments, but also to have her enter in tournaments with me~ That is a wish of mine I would like to pursue. And for those of you familiar with Empire Arcadia, I know this may sound like the Valkyrie Project, with them teaching girls to become competitive and competent in fighting games.

Until then though, I'm happy with settling with our relationship and the games we can play for fun~ <3

Friday, October 8, 2010

Most Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Where does your name come from, Alternate?
A: Simply put, I was looking for something different that I've never heard as a name, so I called myself Alternate. But to make sure it was universal through all networks (not taken), I added 3 numbers at the end. The closest thing I've ever heard to Alternate was Altergenesis, who is by the way a really cool dude~ =D

Q: Korean Panda is your other name. Where does that come from?
A: Actually "I" didn't come up with that name. I was on another online community called GaiaOnline and many of my friends there continued to call me Korean Panda, so I stuck with it as another alias. I actually have a friend of mine (Dogysamich) who calls me the FGE which is short for Fighting Game Encyclopedia. That came from the fact that I was very well versed and intimate with a lot of the older fighting games like GGAC, CvS2, multiple KOF games and so on.

Q: You're pursuing your career as a tourney host and as a competent player in the Fighting Game Community (FGC). What is that like and how is it going for you?
A: It's very challenging. I try my best to participate as an analyst as well as player trying to frequent tournaments. It's especially hard when you don't travel around the nation for tournaments like the many pros do. Although I'm now finally capable of catching up with the newer games as my biggest weakness comes from the fact that I never had anything beyond laptop and much too lazy to play my PS2 games. So only fighting games that I could emulate were titles I were consistent at. But now that I have a 360, that's going to change. Concerning my tournament hosting career, that is also slowly developing into a much more consistent activity. With the help of Jewdo Smash and a few others, I've been capable of running several events with no trouble.

Q: What got you into fighting games? What inspired you to play competitively?
A: I started out with NeoGeo coming up in my younger years. It goes without saying I had a lot of fighting games on the NeoGeo to play, so naturally I grew up with and favored fighting games. However, a friend of mine named TC (Terrance Kirkland) is the man responsible for my competitive drive. He would always mock me when I didn't know moves or when he would never teach me how to play just so he could stay the best between me and him; and I hated it. Because of him, I turned over my dedication to fighting games, almost religiously, just so I could defeat him. Not long after that, I found GaiaOnline, which in response, I discovered SRK and EVO.



Q: How do you feel about your very popular matches vs Dark Geese, VDO, and Justin Wong?
A: Unfortunately, the opponent I've closest to ever defeating in matches was against Dark Geese. I'm not exactly well exposed to MvC2, as knowledgeable as I am of the game, so my experience was left much to be desired. AT THE TIME, the same thing will be said about my match with Justin Wong. I will continue to pursue gaining more experience from playing against the pros. That's probably the most influential way of getting better in my opinion.

Q: You're most known for the KOF games. Is it safe to say that is your favorite title?
A: Yes. My personal favorites are KOF2K2um and KOFXI... I'm *DYING* for KOFXIII. I'm also just as in love with GGAC as I am with the KOF games.

Q: Why do you main low tiers?
A: I used to believe that maining low tiers would teach you more about a fighting game than a higher tier character. I've recently discovered that's not true at all. Although, it's ALMOST safe to say that you might know more about low tiers than anybody else xD However, I no longer practice the motion of maining low tiers. I try to play only the most technical of characters. Technical precision is what excites me most in a battle

Q: So you have your own crew? Crew Round 2, how did this crew come to surface?
A: Honestly, it's simply a second coming of CDE. The Reflex Wonder was the founding father of his Smash Crew, CDE (Columbus Does Exist). Reflex, Dogysamich, and several others agreed that CDE died sometime after Brawl was released. In doing so, I received comments that I should revive and make a better crew. Being cR2 (Crew Round 2). What makes cR2 much more structured is that we are more organized, via facebook group and that we're not limited to the immediate location. There is also a PSN and XBL division of cR2 called cR2x and cR2p. So I have members throughout the world, not just the city =]



Q: What are some of the crew's strengths and weaknesses.
A: Different interest in games is our biggest weakness. Only a couple here are into GGAC and only a couple here are interested in SSFIV and this goes on and on throughout the crew. I'm having to become the universal mediator that is capable of playing *ALL* of these fighting games each of the members of the crew are interested in. Our biggest strength? We're worldwide and not bound to a single city.

Q: Overall, what are you trying to accomplish in the end?
A: Competition. I'm trying to be able to help create a strong competition in the immediate area and be able to bring the crew to stronger opponents and better ourselves. It's very difficult to do this if there aren't very many people that share this same passion.

Q: Who are some of your favorite characters?
A: Most of my favorite characters are usually females. Cammy, Chun, Makoto (3S), Makoto (BBCS), Hsien-Ko / Lei Lei, Kula, Yuri, etc etc. If it comes down to only a certain few... It's definitely Hsien-Ko from Darkstalkers and Jhun Hoon from KOF.

Q: You say you don't like SSBM, but you play it almost at tourney level. Why is that?
A: Competition is abundant in the immediate area. I just recently decided to like that game more than usual because I'm now capable of understanding the game much more than I've ever been able to.

Q: What games outside of fighting games do you play?
A: Haha... That's funny. It's rare that I want to play something outside of a fighting game. But on the off chance I happen to be in the mood, you can find me playing Castlevania, Resident Evil, Fatal Frame, Legend of Zelda, and even more rare occasion a JRPG or Strategy RPG. You'll notice it's rare I play a shooting game. I have friends that can vouch for me, my aim is so horrible, that I held a gun at point blank and still missed. This happens in more than one shooter. Guns just aren't my style, although you will find that I play Perfect Dark.



Q: Who in your FG career has influenced you most?
A: Raiden365, I Kei I, and Dogysamich. It was actually a surprising discovery to me when Dogy revealed to me that he's sort of passionate about fighting games as well. Not as much as myself, but more than others that I know of. Before I knew Dogy on a personal level, it was Kei that brought me up to who I am now and was my teacher in combat. Raiden365 was not my teacher in combat, but in fighting game history. He taught me the timeline of fighting games in it's entirety, right down to each game's storyline.

Q: You have a girlfriend. Is she any hindrance to your career?
A: Not at all. I've always feared being in a relationship would slow down my passion for tournaments. But Amber has been good to me and she's willing to learn what my world is like and how it works. I'm currently teaching her how to play SSFIV. Maybe I might try to convince her to play KOFXIII or even BlazBlue sometime. Even in a relationship, I'm still able to see my dear friends and still able to go compete with other players in fighting games. When all is done and over with. I show her how much I love her and spend quality time together.

Q: Why are you so obsessive with shuffling cards?
A: Ever since I was a young lad, perhaps 7 years old, maybe just a little older... I've always collected cards. Started with Pokemon, then Yugioh, then Magic the Gathering. I played these trading card games and during my TCG career, anytime I was sitting idle, I would be shuffling my deck. Now I can't help but shuffle something if I'm not playing a game or typing on a keyboard, then I *MUST* shuffle something. I'm thinking about investing in a rubix cube. My doctor says it's not a disorder, it's a mania.