Final

Read the following blog post from James Chen
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2010/11/evolution-2010-season-wrap-up-part-2.html
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Discuss your opinions on fighting games as an e-sport (be sure to address James Chen's 3 points and your opinion on them). If you have any experience with any other forms of e-sports, be sure to draw in those experiences also!
Minimum 250 words.

Week 11

Watch "Run It Back: The Road to Socal Regionals (Episode 1)"
http://vimeo.com/16293297

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Some of the players in the documentary talk about a time when players were secretive about their techniques that they discovered themselves (before the internet and Youtube). How do you feel about this relative to what happens nowadays? Also, how do you feel about the format that Alex Valle chooses to use for the Wednesday Night Fights tournaments? Feel free to also discuss your general opinions about the documentary and anything it covered.

Week 10

Read the following blog posts from Maj.

http://sonichurricane.com/?p=263
http://sonichurricane.com/?p=2930

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At what point do you feel that a game becomes imbalanced? How do you feel about Maj's viewpoint?

Week 9

Read the following blog post from James Chen:

http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2010/09/evolution-2010-season-wrap-up.html

This is a recap of EVO 2k10 (James did not write a recap of EVO 2k9). Street Fighter 4 made its EVO debut in 2009, bringing in a huge number of players. The second iteration of it, Super Street Fighter 4, was released a few months before EVO 2k10. EVO 2k10 brought in over 3000 entrants across all its tournaments, shattering the attendance records of any previous fighting game tournament.

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Do you agree or disagree with James's opinion that smaller communities should embrace Super Street Fighter 4 in order to grow their own community? Do you feel that the fragmented fighting game communities should "act as a whole"? Why or why not?

Week 7/8

Read the following blog posts:

http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2008/08/evo-2008-for-love-of-game.html
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2008/09/evo-2008-season-wrap-up.html
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2008/09/evo-2008-addendum.html

All 3 posts are James Chen's recap of the EVO 2k8 tournament, once again examining each community and its state. After Melee's successful showing at EVO 2k7, Brawl was released in early 2008, just in time for EVO 2k8.

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Respond to the following questions:
How do you feel about James's comments in regards to the Smash community's "god complex"? Does having too much control over your game cause problems? Also, pick a community that James discusses (besides Smash), talk about some of its shortcomings, and suggest possible ways that it could be improved.

Week 6

Read the following blog post:
http://jchensor.blogspot.com/2007/10/evolution-2007-season-wrap-up.html

James Chen is a Street Fighter community veteran and one of the organizers for the Evolution tournament series. In this blog, he recaps EVO 2K7, the first year that Smash was a featured game in the tournament.

(There are some references to specific players and game details which you may not be familiar with, but that's ok. Focus on the more general points that he is trying to make.)

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Respond to the following questions:
James makes a point that certain communities are "watered down" from excess players. Should communities strive to get better if it comes at the cost of alienating newer players?
Also, do you agree with James's viewpoint of a strong community making a strong game or do you feel that it is the other way around?

Week 4

Read the following from Sirlin's Playing to Win:
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/more-on-losing.html
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/how-far-should-you-go-to-win.html
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/what-should-be-banned.html

How do you feel about "soft bans"? Do you feel that this contradicts "playing to win"? Also, how do you feel about the Street Fighter community's decision to outright ban Akuma from Super Turbo? Is this hypocritical? Do you feel that bans are ever warranted?