One of the people I admire the most in the fighting game community is Ryan Gutierrez. Best known as Gootecks, he’s recognized as being a top Street Fighter III: Third Strike player, as well as a top Street Fighter IV player in the game’s early days. While he could have continued to pursue that path, he made a conscious decision to be a content creator with an eye on tutorials and advice for newcomers. Part of that decision probably was because he saw it as a more stable means of making an income from being a part of the FGC. However, he also recognized the importance of growing the community, which he’s most vocal about in the early days of his podcast. Without bringing new players into the scene, the FGC would have continued down the path of being a tiny niche market that was stuck playing the same old games for a decade. Without guys like Gootecks paying it foward, I may have missed out on some of the best and most rewarding times I’ve ever had playing video games.
As a newcomer, I found Gooteck’s content to be invaluable towards my growth. Even to this day, I find that most of the guide-related content online is heavily targeted towards advanced players. What I loved about Gooteck’s podcasts, videos and written guides is that he focused on providing insightful and entertaining content towards newcomers in a way that wasn’t condescending. I felt like I had a friend teaching me how to play on a personal level and it worked. Though I’m far from being as skilled or accomplished as Gootecks, I’ve managed to get so much more out of fighting games than I ever imagined. Getting better has not only helped me reach a number of personal milestones, but it’s also helped me get more enjoyment out of the genre.
After my first year of ‘serious’ fighting game study, my coworkers began getting into Street Fighter IV. At first, they too were immediately overwhelmed by the game. However, I did everything I could to teach them how to play in a way that they’d best grasp. While none of them developed into the next Daigo Umehara, they all got better and grew to appreciate the game at level they were happy with. My coworkers may not play the game now, but they did for a number of years and enjoyed every minute of it.
That experience of helping my coworkers inspired me to create content that I would have appreciated having when I was a newcomer. Through the Universal Fighting Game Guide and other fighting game content, I hoped that I could make a positive impact on others looking to get into the genre.
Though I like to write about all sorts of things, my fighting game guide stuff consistently draws the most traffic. It also seems to draw the most comments, many of which are very grateful for it. I also seem to help a number of newcomers buy the right fightstick for them through my newbie buyer’s guide.
Most people aren’t going to share what they know for the greater good of the scene, though it’s something that I enjoy doing. I love this genre of game and recognize the fact that it’s one of the hardest to get into. If I can make content that’s fun to create and that helps others get more out of the experience, I’ll keep doing it.
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In Third Person 