Esports are on the rise and you don’t have to go far to get a taste of the action. The IU Fighting Game Club is a fresh face among the gaming clubs held on campus. Members battle it out in Guilty Gear, Tekken, Street Fighter and other fighting games in friendly bouts to hone their skills and share the love for their favorite gaming genre.
The club was founded by junior Gavin Henderson last year and has recently increased in popularity following the return of students to campus. Their numbers remain small but the sense of comradery in improving each other’s skills could convince otherwise.
The bulky controllers the members use are called ‘fight sticks’ and are based on arcade sticks used in gaming cabinets. They cost more than double that of a standard controller but many see it as a worthy investment because of the precision the larger sticks give for inputs. With fighting games, every part of the controller is as important as the motions during play.
A match of Guilty Gear: Strive between two members. The game is the most popular in the genre at the moment.
Getting started is easy at the Fighting Game club. While most members are now experienced players, they had to start somewhere. Henderson’s main goal in founding the club was to meet more people to play fighting games with, but also to spark interest in the niche genre.
“The way I see it, if you can’t find other fans of a thing you get more people into it,” Henderson said. “It looks like a steep curve but it’s really not that hard to learn fighting games.”
Henderson compared learning one game to starting a new sport.
“You’re gonna feel terrible if you compare yourself to the pros or the guys that play every day, so just don’t. Press buttons and make mistakes, we all did at the start.”
Club lead Gavin Henderson and member Dan Flemming answer a few questions about why they started playing, and how newcomers can take the first step.
Sophomore Dan Fleming joined for the same reasons the club was founded and says that he wished it was a “thing” sooner.
“Playing during the pandemic was awful. You just don’t get the same energy talking online compared to being right next to the guy you’re fighting.”
Fleming says another issue in pure online competition is the varied internet connection capabilities. While some games integrate systems to prevent poor connections ruining matches, others lack such things.
“It’s like watching basketball on TV and actually being there: the roar of the crowd just hits different when you’re part of it. I feel super excited just watching my friends fight.”
Personal growth is one of the most apparent pillars of the small group. Every match ends with something new learned whether it’s how to fight against a certain character and handle a specific move or how to utilize your own character to their full potential. Frustrations can grow like with any competition but at the end of the day it is all friendly bouts between people with a shared love of the genre.
The club meets every weekend at Luddy Hall in Room 0117. To get in touch with members outside of the club’s meetings or for more information, check out the official Discord.
