IPW Scavenger Hunt

This is just for fun, though I'll be very impressed if someone gets them all. Find posts by me on IPW with references to:

• Akon
• Akinyele
• Das Racist
• The DJ Show (from Public Access TV)
• Pee Wee's Big Adventure
• Snap! - The Power
• Laurel and Hardy
• Wiggle It
• Galaxy Quest (Tim Allen movie)
• Yoshinori Ono having his butt violated
• Men in Black 2
• Old Yeller
• Hugo's Gigas Breaker shouts
• Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
• VHS Tape

Bonus: Titles that Seth Killian has held:

• Special Advisor to the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth
• Special Advisor of Risk/Reward
• Special Snapback Advisor
• Special Advisor to Disgruntled Fans
• Special Advisor, Lederhosen Operations

Seth Killian Interview Outtake & Transcription Challenges

As my loyal readers, you get a special look at some behind-the-scenes stuff. OK, this question was actually dropped because Seth basically didn't answer it, but here you have it:

iPW: Let’s speak just a little bit about the story of the game. In the Vs. games, usually the endings are kind of humorous, with a lot of cameo appearances. Are we going to see something like that in Street Fighter X Tekken, or will it have a more serious approach to story?

SK: There actually is a story, and I don't think it's done, but it's pretty far along. I have not read a lick of it. I get random V.O. clips. I get that stuff sometimes. I've seen some voice clips that are part of it, but I have no connection to the story. I don't get involved in that at all. I would imagine they would have some sort of Street Fighter crossover element in there. I'm guessing you're going to see cameos and things like that, but I have honestly not looked at the story one iota. I have it sitting somewhere on my computer, and I haven't even haven't even looked, which is how much of an anti-story guy I am. I'm not hating on the story guys. It's just that I'm all about the game mechanics and the systems. That's where I'm at: I haven't even read the story.

The other thing that I found really interesting about the process was how difficult it was to actually transcribe conversational language. I'm sure everyone realizes that the two are very different, but I assure you that you have no idea how much so until you try to write down what someone is saying. I started by listening to the answers and writing down every last word Seth said. It turns out that there are a lot of words used in conversation that mean nothing. They're just fillers like "Um" or "Uh." Such words are: And, But, You know, Then, So, and some more I'm forgetting. They mean nothing. And, when written, they make sentences seem to go on forever. To translate what was actually said into something that even makes sense when written is really tricky, not to mention that 22 minutes of conversation equate to over 4,000 words. Below is an example (and sneak peek at Part 2) of what I'm talking about.

Literal transcription: So, you’re able to – it’s sort of very much of a – it’ll still work, but it’s a much easier process to just drop it into games like that. But, in terms of the overall feature set, you’ve got to help me in my mission, because, you know, I push for these things once in a while with some success in some areas, but basically, if we can communicate to the Japanese office that I’m not crazy and it’s not just me and that the fans really react to this stuff and that it’s really important to them, we can get more of these features in there.


Becomes: You’re sort of able to just drop it into games that are based on 2D animations and things like that. It’ll still work [in other games], but it’s a much easier process to just drop it into games like that. In terms of the overall feature set, you’ve got to help me in my mission. I push for these things once in a while, with some success in some areas. If we can communicate to the Japanese office that I’m not crazy, that it’s not just me, that the fans really react to this stuff, and that it’s really important to them, we can get more of these features in there.

Cleaning up 4,000 words worth of that stuff is not fun. Sometime after part 2 goes live, I'll post the full audio file here, including the cut part where Seth totally blows up a trash question I ask.

The Latest Post

Here's a little behind-the-scenes on this post on iPlayWinner. Reading through UltraDavid's article on the anti-streaming bill, I knew I had to post something about this serious issue. But, it seemed a little too serious. Frankly, it was kind of a downer. So, the first idea that popped in my head that was a little more lighthearted was Spooky being an outlaw. I asked Haunts if he could whip up a wanted poster, and he did so in about a minute. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw it. So, I basically wrote that whole post just to have a reason to post that picture.

The Medium is the Message

Blogs are a fairly new method of communication, and they require a certain format to be followed. The mark of any great art is that it does things with the medium that can only be done in that medium. A great movie shows something in a way that a still image could not, accompanied by music and dialog that fit just right. A great musical uses not just the lyrics, but also the tone and rhythm of the songs to convey its message. A great game engages the player in a way that no movie could. So what, then, could a tiny blog post on the Internet do that combines form and function?

First of all, I strive to make my posts fun to read. If the post is nothing but a dry info-dump, people will read it because they have to, not because they want to. I also try to make the image at the start of the post somehow striking or subtly humorous in context with the text, like in this post.

As with the images, I try to include jokes in the text that you'll get if you're paying attention. For example, in this post, I tried to pack in as many Seth sayings/memes as possible. In this post I wanted to repeat "Hope you like this!" at least twice, as it is repeated ad nauseum in the video. In that same post I start off with a cliche, which is usually a sign of poor, lazy writing; however, I wanted the cliche to invoke that tired, been-there done-that feeling that is similar to how people already feel about Yun. Form and function united in that lame cliche.

Mind you, all of this is being decided on-the-fly, so I worry that I might run out of interesting things to say. I've been doing alright so far and hope to keep up both the pace and quality of my posts. If you see me slacking, feel free to call me on it.

There's also the problem of plagiarism, although news reporting blurs the line of the fair-use doctrine. As I mentioned, Keits has already copied some of my stuff nearly word-for-word on SRK, without crediting iPlayWinner. Using offbeat wording can help to give a uniqueness that can't be easily copied. I found this out by accident when Keits copied my Tekken article. It would look fishy if he also called Bob a "pudgy pugilist," so he went with "the tubbiest man in Tekken." On the other hand, I've made sure to credit SRK and EventHubs, even when I just found the original source through them. I'd like to think that it will benefit everyone in the end. Be like the Macy's Santa in Miracle on 34th Street: Give your competition some credit, and they'll return the favor.

A Wild Ride

So, as you may have heard, I'm currently writing news for iPlayWinner. You can ready just my posts at this link. I'm supposed to be a news guy, but I can submit ideas for features as well. I just wanted to talk about how the job has been for these first few days.

On this site, I blogged about whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Now, I may have to cover AE or Tekken 6 from time to time. Here, I sometimes tried to get a news story up before any of the big sites, but that was only for my own satisfaction. Now, speed matters. These two little changes mean that I am constantly writing news posts. I think that the original idea was that they'd throw me a link to cover here or there, but I just started searching out the stories myself. A few things happened in these last few days that made me super-proud: Keits at SRK basically cribbed one of my stories, a fan on Twitter proclaimed iPlayWinner the best and fastest at delivering fighting game news, Texas arcade-owner and gamer Fubarduck retweeted one of my stories, and Test Your Might posted one of my stories verbatim.

As soon as I get a chance, I'll post a follow-up about my philosophy as an Internet newsie.

Third Strike: Online Feedback Series

Iplaywinner.com has a series of articles proposing changes for the upcoming online edition of Street Fighter 3: Third Strike. Whether the game needs to be changed or not is currently hotly debated. I feel that while the game does not need to be changed, it could be changed, and this is our only chance to get a new revision. Third Strike is great as-is, but we already have that and can play it at any time. I'd love to see something new and different.

In this edition of IPW's series, Arlieth proposes quite a few specific changes, many of which I agree with wholeheartedly, as well as some that are probably game-breaking.

Change I Can Believe In:

• Elena's c.MK special-cancelable: This is the single change I most want in the game. This alone will make Elena so much more competitive. She's got a great poking game, but it rarely leads to much damage. This will give her high/low guessing game serious power.
• Q and Alex gain at least one low, cancelable normal
• Alex f+HP sets up juggles: Great idea! Combo into Air Knee Strike or Stun Gun Headbutt.
• Twelve having more ways to combo, and his dive move knocking down: I don't know about b+MK launching, but he needs something that lets him combo into more attacks
• Yang's Senkyutai should be safer
• Ryu's command normals improved: Make his f+HP, f+MP more useful
• Dudley's Rolling Thunder damage buffed
• Ken's Shinryuken improved: The solution is to revert it to the New Generation (original SF3) version. It a huge suction radius (like Rufus's EX Galactic Tornado), 2 stocks, and big damage
• Chun nerfs
• Yun nerfs: I think the Genei Jin may not need a longer bar, but there definitely needs to be restrictions on how meter builds during a post-Genei Jin juggle.
• Generally making all Super Arts viable: It would be nice to have options with various uses.

Changes I Disagree With:

• 25% projectile damage increase: This would make Urien and Akuma too powerful. It'd help Remy quite a bit though. Maybe a 15% increase just for Remy (and possibly Oro) would be more appropriate.
• Yun/Yang Tenshin (flip-grab) puts them farther from opponent: This limits follow-ups to Tenshin to nothing but low attack x special, which almost defeats the purpose of using it.
• Makoto stun nerfs: Her crazy stun potential is what makes her a threat.
• Necro's Rising Cobra (overhead kick) throw invincibility: Why take away Akuma's and give it to Necro? Not necessary.