Kyle McCarthy wanted to bring together a group of like-minded fighting game fans, the kind where players pick characters and duke it out on screen. Classic titles like Tekken, Street Fighter, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes have evolved over the decades, but to McCarthy the thrill of a head-to-head matchup remains the same.
So the Mattituck resident took to Reddit and Instagram in search of fellow Long Islanders—especially those on the East End—who wanted to battle it out in person rather than just online. On a Long Island subReddit, McCarthy was seeking out others who wanted to join his fighting game community, and that’s where we first encountered him and we asked what he was trying to put together.
McCarthy said he had gotten into the world of fighting games over the last few years and it’s become a love of his. He visited tournaments and says he has nagged his friends to play fighting games but the community that gets together in person to play these types of video games is virtually non-existent on the East End.
“I’m hoping to change that,” he said.
Along with Tekken and Street Fighter, McCarthy’s list of favorites includes The King of Fighters, Guilty Gear, and Virtua Fighter.
“It can go on, but there seems to be a preference for traditional ‘back to block’ fighting games,” he said.
McCarthy believes there’s a market for fighting game fans between the Nassau-Suffolk border and the East End, but with a dearth of local spots dedicated to this specific type gaming, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He began with a plan.
“I started a Discord server (my first) and set out to design some cool imagery that would hopefully attract people,” he said. “I put my post up on Reddit and even went to the local college campus and put up some posters.”
At the time of the writing of this article he has about 20 members of the Suffolk FGC Discord server.
Along with the online space, McCarthy wanted a physical gathering place where players could meet up. Seems like he’s already gaining some ground on his idea. Recently, he connected with the owner of Game On, who offered his arcade locations at the Smith Haven Mall and Riverhead as potential meetup spots for McCarthy’s growing group.
“I’ve been trying to pin down the details with the group, and I am going to be connecting with the owner to iron out logistics,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said it can be lonely for people who have similar interests in Eastern Suffolk and no way to connect. He said that people can hook up online but he feels that people miss interacting with others in a live space and wants to offer that opportunity to everyone in the area.
“I hope having online matchmaking on the server will facilitate local people getting to know one another and hopefully making friendships,” he said. “That’s what this is about honestly.”
Find Suffolk FGC on Instagram at @suffolkfgc and on the Discord here.
Photos: 空練, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons & User:Piotrus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
