Pixel Kombat: A New "Hadokumentary" on Competitive Fighting Games (Video)
Posted by Joshua_Kopstein on Monday, May 10, 2010
Street Fighter, Marvel VS Capcom, Soul Calibur, King of Fighters, Tekken. To the average joe, these polygon paragons of the electronic “versus fighting” genre are just videogames. But there are some who go beyond, striving for victory against all opposition, training and strategizing, inching ever closer to their dreams of perfection.
To them, these games are much more than entertainment: they represent the playing field of a worldwide Olympiad that brings together the sharpest minds and keenest wits in an ongoing 1-on-1 battle for global digital domination.
This is the setting of Pixel Kombat, an upcoming documentary that explores the faces and places behind the worldwide competitive fighting game circuit. To players like Justin Wong and Daigo “The Beast” Umehara (Street Fighter 4 EVO runner-up and world champion, respectively), fighting games are just like any other sport: Learn the game, know your opponent and defeat the competition to advance in the ranks and pave your own road to victory and success. “If you can survive by winning tournaments,” says Wong, “that could be your job,” Of course, like most things, it’s not that easy.
Unlike team sports, every player in the world is out to bring you down and win it for themselves. When you enter the world of competitive fighting games, you’re almost guaranteed to enter at the very bottom. But if you’re fast, dedicated and skilled enough, there’s no telling how far you’ll go, as the story behind these championship players no doubt proves.
In the meantime, check out the Motherboard documentary on Donkey Kong adjudicator and arcade game guru Walter Day, and I Got Next, another documentary on competitive fighting game culture._
Filed under:
About the author
Electronic musician and computer culture journalist. Contact: josh ◢at◣ motherboard ◐dot◑ tv
