Wow where did the time go? Can you believe that it has already been 2 years since Free Step Dodge was created? Well for one thing I am extremely proud of the accomplishments that we have done in such a short time. Granted, we still have some things that still need to be worked on. It's amazing that our humble site looks like it does today when it started off like this (see photo below).
Matt (Mr. Wah), Chris (virtuaPAI), myself and the rest of the moderation team want to thank all of you for coming to FSD and doing your best to support the Dead or Alive community. We are still a long ways off from even being as strong as we can be but that is something we are always working on. Strengthing and maintaining our small niche community is a top priority here, as well as providing one of the best hardcore Dead or Alive sites around.
However, it can't just be the website that sets the precedent of the community, but how the community utilizes the tool set provided by the website to grow the community itself. As we know, there have been issues in the past that have given the Dead or Alive community many black eyes in the entire Fighting game community. There has been lots of negativity, arguments, ridiculing and black sheeping in the history of this community. In addition, a lack of support for tournaments where Dead or Alive is present. A community cannot support itself and hope for longevity by continuing to do sugh things. Tournament Organizers don't hold DOA tournaments anymore because there is not enough support from the community itself, and people were leaving the community in droves due to being ridiculed along with the attitude of smugness from other well known players.
Even with all of that coming in check, the future is looking bright. We had a new Dead or Alive game released for the Nintendo 3DS handheld and Dead or Alive 5 is right around the corner. The fighting game community is actually taking notice of it in a very positive light with the direction that Hayashi and Shimbori are taking the franchise. And now comes the time where we, as a community must shine as well. We have to take the lead if we are to even be taken seriously. We have to step up and support each other. That means helping all newcomers to understand our game be it tactics, combos, game systems, or even character knowledge. This also means going to supporting the tournament scene when events are available.
In fact the Tournament scene has been the biggest issue within the DOA community, and with the help of DOA5's release I am hoping we will work on this. Too many times we have seen people express interests in showing up for a major or local tournament resulting in nobody showing up for the event or their community. Even people who are living within less than an hour drive don't make the effort to show. However with Team NINJA's new interest in working with the community I am sure the community can work towards having decent attendance and garnering some respect from tounament organizers again. It's not about competition as much as it is supporting players who want to meet up with others who share in the enthusiasm of their game.
Members who want to help the community have more options available to them than just participating in tournaments. There are features available on this very site. Work still needs to be done on the Wiki and Media Libraries in preparation for Dead or Alive 5's release. Each of these areas of the site are set up for the community to interact and create these areas themselves. Any member can add to each available feature. It's up to the community to take charge of this, as it's not sustainable by only one or two people.
It's a long road and we here at Free Step Dodge are in it for the long haul. Please continue to help us grow and support the DOA community. We are all in this together and have taken the first step by providing a place where everybody is welcomed. Thank you from the bottom of the blackened hearts of the Free Step Dodge staff.
Matt (Mr. Wah), Chris (virtuaPAI), myself and the rest of the moderation team want to thank all of you for coming to FSD and doing your best to support the Dead or Alive community. We are still a long ways off from even being as strong as we can be but that is something we are always working on. Strengthing and maintaining our small niche community is a top priority here, as well as providing one of the best hardcore Dead or Alive sites around.
However, it can't just be the website that sets the precedent of the community, but how the community utilizes the tool set provided by the website to grow the community itself. As we know, there have been issues in the past that have given the Dead or Alive community many black eyes in the entire Fighting game community. There has been lots of negativity, arguments, ridiculing and black sheeping in the history of this community. In addition, a lack of support for tournaments where Dead or Alive is present. A community cannot support itself and hope for longevity by continuing to do sugh things. Tournament Organizers don't hold DOA tournaments anymore because there is not enough support from the community itself, and people were leaving the community in droves due to being ridiculed along with the attitude of smugness from other well known players.
Even with all of that coming in check, the future is looking bright. We had a new Dead or Alive game released for the Nintendo 3DS handheld and Dead or Alive 5 is right around the corner. The fighting game community is actually taking notice of it in a very positive light with the direction that Hayashi and Shimbori are taking the franchise. And now comes the time where we, as a community must shine as well. We have to take the lead if we are to even be taken seriously. We have to step up and support each other. That means helping all newcomers to understand our game be it tactics, combos, game systems, or even character knowledge. This also means going to supporting the tournament scene when events are available.
In fact the Tournament scene has been the biggest issue within the DOA community, and with the help of DOA5's release I am hoping we will work on this. Too many times we have seen people express interests in showing up for a major or local tournament resulting in nobody showing up for the event or their community. Even people who are living within less than an hour drive don't make the effort to show. However with Team NINJA's new interest in working with the community I am sure the community can work towards having decent attendance and garnering some respect from tounament organizers again. It's not about competition as much as it is supporting players who want to meet up with others who share in the enthusiasm of their game.
Members who want to help the community have more options available to them than just participating in tournaments. There are features available on this very site. Work still needs to be done on the Wiki and Media Libraries in preparation for Dead or Alive 5's release. Each of these areas of the site are set up for the community to interact and create these areas themselves. Any member can add to each available feature. It's up to the community to take charge of this, as it's not sustainable by only one or two people.
It's a long road and we here at Free Step Dodge are in it for the long haul. Please continue to help us grow and support the DOA community. We are all in this together and have taken the first step by providing a place where everybody is welcomed. Thank you from the bottom of the blackened hearts of the Free Step Dodge staff.
