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A Glimpse Into The World Of Competitive Fighting Games With Sean Hengchua

 By Christine Marie Vinciquarra

Sean Hengchua is a civil engineer by weekday, but by weekend he is "Gbursine," a seasoned gamer. I sat down with him last week to get an inside look into what it's like to be part of the world of competitive fight games.

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[Photo credit: Robert Paul Gaming Photography]

Christine Marie Vinciquarra: Hi Sean, Welcome to Bleeding Cool.

Sean Hengchua: Hello there. Happy to be here.

CMV: How did your journey into the competitive fighting game world begin?

SH: It all started with my brother Andre and I.  We played anything competitive because we are both extremely competitive people. One day we went to this arcade in Freehold, NJ. They had arcade cabinets and on top of them were TV Screens. People were playing Marvel vs. Capcom and we were standing together amongst the crowd completely inspired to be one of those players.

CMV: How many years have you been playing?

SH: I've been playing competitively since 2002. I've been playing longer than that, but you don't really "start playing" until you play competitively because you think differently.

CMV: How would you define playing competitively?

SH: You're more analytical. Everything you do has meaning behind it.

CMV: What are your favorite games to play? Are there any characters that you favor when playing a specific game?

SH: I started with Marvel vs. Capcom 2. After that, I played Street Fighter 3 Third Strike, Vampire Savior, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, and Capcom vs. SNK 2. Those games are all different, but they're the same archetypes of character play styles. I never really have one particular play style. A lot of times I'll play gimmicky characters, but usually they'll be legitimate characters. There are three types of ways I play. Lately, I've been playing Hakan, who's a grappler. So, he's this big guy who goes in and his mix-up is to either hit you or throw you. The second way I play is, I'll play rush down characters. There thing is to hit you and put you in this ridiculous combo that causes a lot of damage. The third way is, I'll play area control where I'm on the other side of the screen, and I can keep you in one spot. Then, I chip you away until your life diminishes and you can't do anything.

CMV: So, can you narrow it down to one favorite fighting game, if you had to choose?

SH: My favorite is probably Vampire Savior. People know me in the scene for that game because I wrote the foundation of technical articles for it. In that game, it's impossible for me to choose a favorite character because I literally love every character. People keep telling me to choose one character to play as and I can't. Regardless, Vampire Savior is one of my favorite games to go back to and play with a group of great people. It gives me a rush that I haven't been able to experience when playing other games.

CMV: As far as the community goes, what are the differences between when you first started playing and now? 

SH: The internet is different. The way people run tournaments is different. Back then, a big tournament consisted of maybe forty to fifty people. Now a big tournament is between three hundred and a thousand people. It's a huge difference. The meter of success is no longer just about the number of attendees and who is attending, it's also about who's watching your stream. Internet broadcasting is very prevalent. You're almost not a real tournament if you don't have a stream. The downside to that, is stream monsters. There are so many people who will just sit and bash players. We didn't have that back when I first started. Back then, you just showed up, and you either placed in the tournament or you didn't. Now it's just a lot of nobodies who sit behind their computers and bash.

CMV: If there was one thing you could change about the community what would it be? 

SH: I think there should be more emphasis on self-betterment and not worrying about what everyone thinks. People are too worried about the drama. People see it as a popularity contest and I wish I could change that. This guy recently ran a tournament for himself just to prove how good he is, and we were all shaking our heads like "why is he doing this?" People need to be humble.

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[Photo credit: Robert Paul Gaming Photography]

CMV: In the past year, how many tournaments have you been to? 

SH: Not nearly as many as I'd like to go to. I went to the Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament in Chicago, IL, East Coast Throwdown in Seacaucus, NJ, Winter Brawl and North East Championship, in Philadelphia, PA and at least four Red Bank Rumbles, in Red Bank NJ. So, eight.

CMV: Which one was the best?

SH: Definitely the Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament in Chicago. It was the last one of it's run which is a shame because it was one of the best run tournaments anywhere.  Everything was so well oiled that the tournament ran smooth. They were organized with scheduling so it was easy to have fun because you're not worrying about when your match is.

CMV: Tell me a little bit about Red Bank Rumble. How did it get started? 

SH: It's a tournament in Red Bank, NJ usually held at an arcade called, Yestercades. I'm one of five tournament organizers that run it. It's the only central New Jersey tournament we have. We were looking to fill the gap between north and south New Jersey. We used to have the tournaments bi-weekly, but now we try and have them bi-quarterly. Initially we tried to have tons of different games to see what people wanted to play, but it didn't work out. Now we just do Smash Bros. and Street Fighter.

CMV: While you are a seasoned player yourself, do you have any role models in the community? 

SH: I don't think I do anymore. There are some players that I aspire to play like, but I just appreciate top players that set a good example.

CMV: What games would you recommend to someone that's interested in joining the fighting game community but is unsure where to start? 

SH: It depends on how fast they want to play and how many buttons they want to press. Obviously I'm biased and think that Vampire Savior is a good game to start with. The combo system is simple enough that you can go in blind and still have fun because the game has so much charm. If you want to play a fast game try Guilty Gear or Blaze Blue. If you want to play a game where you play intelligently, I would go with Street Fighter or Street Fighter 2 Turbo. There are probably other games I'm not being fair to as well.

CMV: What has been the highlight of your career thus far? 

SH: It was in 2012 after I took my engineering exam. It was an eight hour exam that I finished in six hours. Immediately after I was done, I got on a flight to Ohio to go to the 'Power Up' tournament. I got to the venue just in time for them to tell me to get on stage and play. It was great because I got to play Vampire Savior as a meaningful player and I remember thinking, "Wow, these people are all here because I wrote that guide years ago." I played really bad because I was up all night studying for that exam, but it was still a great moment for me.

CMV: Well, we look forward to seeing "Gbursine" at many tournaments and on many streams in the near future. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me.

SH: It was fun. Thank you.

For more information about Sean and what he's up to in the fighting game community you can follow him on Twitter @Gbursine, or visit the Red Bank Rumble Facebook page for upcoming tournament dates.

Photographs courtesy of Robert Paul Gaming Photography.  Follow him on Twitter @tempusrob or visit his website rmpaul.com.

Christine Marie Vinciquarra is a freelance writer and aspiring author of young adult literature. She has a deep passion for all things creative, and enjoys blogging & vlogging about the process of writing, creativity, and imagination. She is currently working on a young adult paranormal romance novel. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @AWritersWay or on her blog writerchristinemarie.wordpress.com.


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Hannah Means ShannonAbout Hannah Means Shannon

Editor-in-Chief at Bleeding Cool. Independent comics scholar and former English Professor. Writing books on magic in the works of Alan Moore and the early works of Neil Gaiman.
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