#gg4l

[gear-project]

. . .

Everyone else: *appreciates the pretty face fanservice of Guilty Gear*

Me: *appreciates the Gears and Monsters of Guilty Gear*

[luvblacklove]

#BlackLove x @glennyyyy :⠀ ⠀ ・・・⠀ Everything feels better with you by my side⠀ Me + You = Everything x More. You’ll give me butterflies for the rest of my life. Find someone who never stops making you smile and happy. ⠀ You make love light. I got your back and you got my front . Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite ❤️ #BlackLove #GG4L ⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ ♥️: @_gstaxx_ ⠀ 📸: @christianpaulstudios x @bigcjeezy_ ⠀ 🎨: @allinthemirror⠀ ⠀ •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⠀ Thank you for sharing your love with us! ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⠀ Want a CHANCE to be featured??⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⠀ Tag 🏷 is in your post or use the #luvblacklove so we can search you!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⠀ Please no DMs or Email submissions. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⠀ ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ⠀ https://www.instagram.com/p/CDZfA8kl7We/?igshid=nq8r1jrsrq7c

[gear-project]

Annon-Guy: Weird aks, but have you ever delt with a friend who's 'harsh' and critical about EVERYTHING you like in regards to characters and their designs?

Say you share your love of the Guilty Gear cast, but when you show them to a group of friends, all but one says they like the characters, personality and desgin alike, when you show them. However, the one friend keeps calling all of the character designs you like trash, awful and/or garbage, showing no mercy.

I know everyone has their tastes, but do you think it can be disheartening to have something you like get critiqued in such a harsh manner instead of a respectful way?

I feel like you've been LISTENING IN ON MY CONVERSATIONS on Discord or something... I've had similar "heated" discussions with my so-called "mutuals" on these topics, especially for Strive recently.

I'll be honest, I've put up with this kind of "trash talk" for many many years... and it is hard to put up with, especially as a fan of the series as a whole.

The longer you invest time in to something you like, the more involved you get... and hearing anyone talk badly about stuff you like feels like torture somedays...

Some people have NO CONSIDERATION for the feelings of the people they vent to, it's like they might as well NOT be fans at all.

But, the truth is, there is some grey area there... so of course they like "some aspects", but it's not like it's necessary to like everything.

Troublesome as that may be, I think it's important to be honest about how you feel towards people... but sometimes it's difficult to "share the same perspectives" if people don't see where you're coming from.

I know a guy who thinks Ishiwatari betrayed him, all because he centered his "fan group" around a specific character that got changed in particular ways... and he feels like they're denying his very existence.

It's rough to feel that way about things... but I also feel like you need to develop a certain amount of "realistic detachment" from the things you're zeroed in on and the things that aren't actually "a part" of who you are as a person.

You can't expect the situation to ever be flawless or perfect, whether it's characters you like, story you like, music you like, or gameplay nuances, or other gimmicks and features... even if one thing is wrong, it can sometimes feel like the whole concept falls apart like a house of cards.

But you know... deep down that's not true.

The things you like, the things others like... while they're different, they're both somehow connected one way or other...

And that's just something you have to face and realize between each other, whether as friends, or as rivals, or just as incompatible people who agree to disagree.

You don't talk about what sets the other people off, and vice-versa... at least if you want to get along for the time being.

But, if they can't agree to at least respect your feelings, it's not like you're obligated to appeal to their thoughts yourself!

But, if there's one key thing I've learned "going out of your way to hate on stuff", is the wrong way to go about things!

I should know... at one point I had a BLOG dedicated to venting my anger... and some people might even remember it.

Being honest is one thing, but hurting others just because you're hurting is also wrong... it's an injustice.

So how do you set things right?

For starters... accept that nothing is ever perfect, no matter how great something is...

After that: acknowledge that the parts you zeroed in on are only "just one facet" of what's really going on... whether it's what you liked, or it's what you disliked.

Thirdly... BE MATURE. Being mature means you respect other peoples' feelings and perspectives, even just a little bit, try to see things from their perspective. Trash talking is out of the question, even if you're not talking about that person directly, you're still trashing stuff they like.

Fourthly, and this one's IMPORTANT: acknowledge the GOOD THINGS: BE CONSTRUCTIVE. No good idea was ever born from bad intentions. That's the truth of this world. No matter what amount of evidence may suggest otherwise.

And even in the cases that it looks like a "happy accident", consider that most ideas are actually born from failed concepts to begin with... Guilty Gear took a bunch of ideas from other stuff too, and is no exception to that rule.

So yeah, technically speaking, everything is an ENDLESS CHAIN of RECYCLED IDEAS.

Doesn't have to stop here either, no matter if you liked the game or not. But especially if you didn't like it and WANT to stop it... that sort of destructive behavior involves hurting other people.... c'mon now... don't be a party pooper!

It's called being reasonable with others... and it doesn't just apply to you, it applies to EVERYONE. Everyone should be reasonable to everyone else... how else are we gonna get along in this tiny world of ours?

There's such a thing as "getting greedy"... and sometimes people who are "angry at stuff" can overdo it and tend to wallow in their own despair.

This is just my personal experience, but... when something doesn't go your way, maybe it's a good idea to look for other ways to be happy?

Not everyone is born lucky. Sometimes you get the short end of the stick.

But taking that out on others isn't going to change things... Instead of hating on the stuff you didn't get... It's better to look for stuff you CAN OBTAIN.

If the path you walk is full of thorns, find a new path. Doesn't that sound better?

Of course, for a guy like Sol Badguy, the path of thorns was a path he just kept right on walking... until he stomped those thorns FLAT.

It takes a great deal of strength and care to be able to do that... not just anyone can do it. Maturity, wisdom, and courage too.

As for YOU, Annon-guy, I suggest you keep walking a path that suits YOU the BEST.

Sometimes you just gotta keep moving. Just be sure to let everyone who likes your ideas know... the more friends you got on your side, the easier it gets.

As for me... like Order Sol (and Sin Kiske), I'll just do my best and KEEP THE FLAG FLYING.

I'm a GG fan... always will be. Doesn't matter what others think. I'm ME. And I won't change who I am.

Same goes for everyone else.

[gear-project]

. . .

The "main reason" I still play STRIVE:

GG is like a Telephone... just with more buttons.

It lets me communicate with my friends and socialize.

Maybe I don't compete per se... but I do connect with people.

And that's the whole point of the Smell of the Game.

[gear-project]

Happy MOTHER'S DAY...

And, Happy 25th Anniversary... GUILTY GEAR.

[gear-project]

. . .

Just spoke with someone who only ever played XX Reload and Isuka and "gave up" after playing those games.

*shakes head*

I don't intend on twisting anyone's arm to enjoy Guilty Gear.... but when it comes to at least appreciating the story, I sincerely hope people make a stronger attempt at checking the series out.

And even if some elements "in Strive" could be considered retcons... that doesn't actually entirely "wash" the story out...

Still, if you *insist* it's not your cup of tea... I'll understand...

But, if you ask me, anyone who makes a point to examine any story derived from a fighting game (or any other game for that matter), should at least examine things like the Drama CDs, Visual Novel elements, books, and other facets of value a game's story has to offer.

I'm aware of people not even checking out BlazBlue's Central Fiction story because it didn't have an English dub.... so sad.

I guess, if it were ME... I'd do my best to at least look up the digestible elements of a game's story... even if I couldn't read the novels or gain full access to some parts.

But, if you're too busy for that, I guess... it's up to you.

I'm just saying though... the reason I know so much about Guilty Gear is because I made the attempt.

[gear-project]

May 14th, 1998

May 14th, 2022

24 Years is how long Guilty Gear as a Series has been worked on and is STILL being worked on!

I feel VERY OLD . . .

Happy 24th Anniversary, GUILTY GEAR!

[gear-project]

I'm going to ask a question that I think some people fear to ask: Why are so many staples of Guilty Gear being stripped and simplified? I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist (because this is just based on emotion than any fact), but it feels like ever since Katano's gotten onboard, several mechanics that have defined GG for ages are being removed or made more generic. If it's not the IKs, it's the lack of personalized rival intros/outros, the removal of Win/Lose quotes, etc.

First and foremost, the 'blame' does not lie solely on Katano's shoulders.

Ishiwatari said in interviews that he wanted a game that could appeal to everyone of all walks of life.

You have to understand the 'logic' behind what that means.

When someone decides to play a game like Guilty Gear (a game they may have never played before), their first expectations might be intrepidation and concern for how difficult it is to get in and play the game.

This, right here, is the fundamental reason why previous Guilty Gear series games were never as popular compared to mainstream fighting games.

Not GG1, not GGX, not GGXX, not Reload, not Isuka, not Accent Core, not GG2, and not even Xrd Sign, or Xrd Revelator 2.

None of these games (not ONE), can be considered a "simple game" to pick up and play.

Even if you explained to a newbie that Rev2 has a "simple 'Stylish' input mode"… that's going to go right over their heads in terms of fundamentals, gameplay concepts, and not only that has a coddling effect on them, meaning they have to learn a completely different way to play the game AFTER they master Stylish Mode.

So, why does a game like Tekken 7 with its "huge movelists" and "complicated inputs" still maintain popularity?

You don't really need to know those things about the game to go in and start mashing buttons and doing things.

That's the primary and fundamental difference.

Take a character like Ky Kiske for example:

He started out with… 5 special moves and 1 Overdrive (excluding his Instant Kill).

But in the transition from GG1 to GGXX, his gamut of normal attack movements (not including his specials and Overdrives) nearly doubled.

Even for a casual button-masher, it was not easy to use him. Some moves required a forward input, others required a jump or a crouch input, and so on.

Now, transition to Accent Core Plus R: looking at Ky's move entries (courtesy of Dustloop Wiki):

43 Entries.

43 moves that a beginner has to learn. For Ky. Not including generic mechanics or matchup knowledge.

Each and every move has their own nuance too.

Most people who play a game like Accent Core play it for "precisely" that reason:

The complexity.

But what do you tell a beginner? Where do you get them to start?

You can't tell them to button mash, because that's not a smart thing to do in this game… it might work on the A.I. sometimes, but not always.

What motivates a player to keep playing, it's usually different for everyone.

For me, it was because I could cancel one move in to another (Gatling combos and Roman Cancels). That was what motivated me.

What Ishiwatari has DONE to Guilty Gear Strive is THIS:

Taken all of the "complexity" and boiled it down to the most "fundamental" things you need to know about a character.

Of course, that's not all he did.

He made it so that Ky could do things and "get away" with things that no other character (but Ky) can do.

The things we need to know about this game are broken down in to smaller, more digestible bites.

And yes, perhaps that has done some "damage" to the matchup meta… perhaps things are lot more homogenized now that 6P dominates the battlefield as a universal anti-air (in most cases), and disjointed hitboxes rule the neutral space.

But let me ask you this:

If you were going to teach someone how to play Guilty Gear for the first time… what game would you pick?

Out of the whole gamut of games that exist… what game would you get them to learn things from?

GG1? Someone laughs every time I bring that game up.

GGX? Maybe for old times' sake, but it's outdated.

GGXX? Even if they learned anything would it apply to other games?

Xrd? There's a ton of people who hate Xrd mechanics.

AC+R? If you have the patience of a saint, maybe.

Let me just say this… in light of everything I have stated… while GGStrive has its shortcomings… some of which are mechanical errors that still need fixing… I do know that a LOT of players are playing Guilty Gear for the first time with this title.

Is it the only Guilty Gear game out there? NOPE!

Can you spend time to learn other GG games? YUP.

Even if the only reason you hate this game is because of Leo Whitefang and his crossups and parries… Leo isn't the only character in the game. And you could even go so far as to counterpick Leo WITH Leo as a mirror match!

So yeah… there's still a lot that needs to be done with Guilty Gear (as a series).

Was ROME built in a DAY? NOPE!

Can ROME still be BUILT? It takes time, passion, patience, and a STRONG WILL TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

GUTS! As Ishiwatari once said.