Do you still remember your first fighting game? The thrill of facing off against your opponent. The slow reduction of health as the timer ticks on. The feeling of loss as you see the words “K.O” flash across the screen. The determination to get back and win. And then you realise you ran out of coins. Good times hor? There’s still many Singaporeans out there who are still deeply engaged with fighting games, forming the Singapore Fighting Game Community (SG FGC). Today, we have an interview with Jasper Chew, one of the admins of the SG FGC to learn more about the history of the group as well as discuss about the esports scene in Singapore.
Tell us about the beginning of the Singapore Fighting Game Community, what led to the community group being set up ah?
Initially the SG FGC was very arcade centric during the early days (80s to 2000s), people often gathered at arcades in malls nearest to them. Following the slow demise of these arcades, people gathered at Bugis. The main game up until Street Fighter IV was launched was mainly King of Fighters. There were numerous players and Xian himself started out at the arcades playing various versions of KOF. Of course there were other fighting games present like Blazblue, Guilty Gear, Street Fighter etc. There was no one who united them and each Community had various factions or cliques etc. Street Fighter IV sort of “united” the various FGCs in 2009 and from there a new era of the FGC was created and born.
Norms like taunting, aggressive behaviour were abolished and people made friends across with acknowledgements of “good games”. Past rivalries disappeared, instead rivalries existed purely in-game with no disrespect towards each other. From the era of SFIV, a group of individuals decided to band together to form “Round1.sg” hosting tournaments at Bugis Arcade regularly which often had close to 100 participants. This organisation’s aim was to unite everyone, create gatherings like chalets, nurture the community and to ultimately challenge players around the world on a bigger stage. The dream was to have renowned players we could proudly call our own and to put Singapore on the world map. Although Round1.sg is no longer in operations, a few of their members still work in FGC related events today and Round1.sg formed the basis of friendships and the SGFGC as a whole.
Photo Credits: Singapore Fighting Games Community (Jen Tan)
What kind of community events can members of the Singapore Fighting Game Community expect to be a part of?
The SGFGC gathers weekly on Friday and Saturday nights at Versus City (https://www.facebook.com/groups/versuscity/). Xian himself does host tournaments when he is available to ensure some level of competition exists amongst the SGFGC. Perhaps the grand daddy of them all is the annual SEAM which Cameraman (SGFighter) or YungTek produces. Shoutouts to him for his efforts.
What are your opinions on the state of the current esports scene in Singapore?
It is still very much in its infant stage but we see organisations, Corporate entities and Government bodies venturing into Esports which is a good sign. Ultimately it will take time to grow but make no mistake, Esports will eventually overtake all other forms of Sports in terms of exposure, popularity and dominance.
Photo Credits: Singapore Fighting Games Community (Xian Kun Ho)
Got promising Singaporean Pro Players that we should keep an eye on? What fighting games do they play?
There are a few that comes to my mind. Brandon and Bravery (Gavrel) play Street Fighter V, SEO plays Dragonball Fighters Z. I would say Bravery and SEO are young and full of potential, the former epitomises hard work, the latter is a very talented player.
Do you think National Service acts as a big obstacle towards pro players developing in Singapore?
I think National Service acts as a big obstacle towards any sportsman who wants to develop themselves. Perhaps the rules should be re-evaluated because an individual’s talent is likely to be wasted serving NS.
Photo Credits: Singapore Fighting Games Community (Lenn Yang)
If you were in the government, how would you build up the fighting games esports scene in Singapore?
Mindsets have to be changed, people need to understand that sports is not just the only way to achieve glory for our nation. The best way by the Government is to commend and support those who have achieved glory. Joseph Schooling won SG’s first ever Olympic Gold and we also had champions as well albeit via Esports. If I was in power, I would try to make people understand that achieving World Championship glory via Esports is by no means less of an achievement compared to Olympic Gold. The amount of training hours put in by Esports athletes is definitely not less than those full-time training in Sports.
Do you think like got heavier focus on certain genres of games in esports compared to others? If you do, what do you think is the reason?
Definitely there is. This is due to most number of people playing these genres hence more sponsorships, awareness, publicity, popularity etc. It is evident even in Sports whereby everybody was watching the World Cup but nobody knew who won Wimbledon 2018 and how epic the semi-finals were which made history.
Here’s a thinker; the SG FGC is definitely the smallest gaming community in Singapore yet it produced arguably one of the more successful pro-players in our country.
Photo Credits: Singapore Fighting Games Community (William Lim Ku Ni)
There’s a large number of fighting games out there, what defines a fighting game to you? What makes a fighting game viable to be included in esports?
All fighting games generally follow the basis of combos, special moves, neutrals etc. But as long as it’s one person fighting another, I guess one can classify it as a fighting game in the most common sense.
As long as this fighting game has strong support from the game creators and sponsors, definitely it should be included in esports. This applies not just to fighting games btw.
Do you have a message that you wish to say to the Singapore Fighting Game Community?
Grow the community, welcome newcomers, support local events/tournaments and of course support our beloved Xian!
Lastly, controller or arcade stick?
I’m an arcade stick person for sure.
