Let's get some games going!
Well, lookie here, months away from my last update. I told myself I would make good use of this webspace and not let it die out like most of the other player sites hosted here. I even started to use it for other stuff like screenies for the Shmups.com STGT tourney (hope quadz doesn't mind about this, it's not a high-traffic site heh). Obviously, I would owe the lack of updates to my lack of actually playing Q2 aside from the FFA match here and there. I still like the game and would like to enjoy a couple of matches, but I don't feel like playing it for too long. For the most part, it's 'cause I'm trying to play and compete in Soulcalibur 4 and Street Fighter 4. My skill in these games progress really slow, and it's pretty discouraging to hear other fighting game players can compete in multiple games at once. Also, there's other stuff I want to play without competition such as the recent Resident Evil 5 (boring at first but overall enjoyable, hehe).
Anyway I was tinkering with an idea I had that would get myself playing a couple of 1v1 games like I wish to. I know I can always hop on a server and gamble with the players there or hop on IRC, but for some reason I simply don't do it out of laziness probably. Whatever strange dysfunction it may be, I had thought of organizing some sort of weekly or bi-weekly duel tournament for fun. If anything, the major benefit to this would be to get people to play some other maps. I'm sure some people are playing maps other than q2dm1, but this could encourage the others to pick up and hopefully enjoy the other wonderful maps that Q2 has to offer.
With a weekly or bi-weekly event, I'd hope to avoid the problem where people don't play their matches on time. It's best to get the event done with as quickly and cleanly as possible, while everyone's interest is piqued. I know long, drawn out tournies lose a lost of lustre in the middle, so maybe a match once every two days until the finals might work. Or it could be possible with an all-out weekend of 1v1s. The format might just have to be single elimination though, and scheduling might be a pain if there are matches to be played throughout the week. Most likely there won't be a perfect solution but that's the way these things go.
I also want to attract some possible new 1v1 players as well, but I don't see way to gather interest. Of course it's always up to the players to stimulate and improve themselves, it would be nice to have them come out and be recognized by the community. And a tourney environment, even if it's just for fun, would definitely bring the newer players in contact with the older ones so that they can ask questions to get better and the like. Prizes would be nice but I'm not a rich man heh. If there were to be any prizes at all, it would have to be donations from other people.
Speaking of donations, I might be able to create an incentive with donations to Tastyspleen. For every player that participates in a weekly, I'll donate maybe .25-.50 to TS via Paypal. I know it sounds like a weird idea but maybe people will realize that just by participating, they are also supporting the community by helping quadz pay for some of the expenses. I'm sure that'll bring out a couple of people! I've donated a few times myself, so this won't be the first time I've chipped in.
I don't know, I think that the 1v1 players are doing just fine. There's no need to compete 'cause they're all more or less currently static in their skill levels. It's just fun to play a couple of duels, win or lose. But on the other hand, I look at the Europe scene and the EDL. There aren't any prizes, it's strictly for competitive fun. Even if there are a handful of people who will always be at the top, there's always room for an upset or two. And maybe, a tournament or league motivates a few people to up their game.
Lastly, I don't know if I'm the person to do this. From just looking at daelmun, RailWolf and Laurelin's past efforts, it's obvious that a lot of work will be involved. I'm up to the challenge, but for some reason I feel like my status in the community (read: no-name nobody) is heavily against me. Those three people I mentioned weren't just people who came from out of the blue and started organizing these things, they were pretty active in helping the community. Me? Although I may have played for a while, I haven't done jack shit in aiding the community besides toss a few coins toward covering expenses (in CAD of course).
If I knew I had any voice whatsoever, I'd be in IRC right now pitching my weekly idea. I'm sure the donation aspect alone would get people interested. But because I'm me...well, it even sounds like a silly idea to myself...