Joel's Casuals Writeup: Noah's Arkade

     "It was kind of two by twos".

     That's how the players arrived, in around 10 separate vehicles, parked wherever they could fit: on the street, in the driveway, at the neighboring church.  But what force compelled them to Joel's ark?  Was it survival?  Nope.  Curiosity?  Nah.

     Competition.  And fun.

OverMostHeads...

     Hearkening to a higher call, Joel Condit summoned those 20 players from north, south, and east of West Jordan to converge at 7837 Cool Water Way. Some came with soda, others with In-and-Out, but these paired travellers came prepared for a different activity, something more than tasty delights.  They wanted to play Super Street Fighter 4 AE 2012 and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

     7 monitors, 7 Xboxes, and plenty of room to house it all kept the players busy with enough Capcom goodness to last from 6pm until 11pm.  Coming from SLC, Trevor O'Neal had this to say about the night:  "Casuals were a huge success. It was just like a mini ranbat...a lot of familiar faces. [I] got some great matches in."  Touching on that idea, Joel stated that, "if we had orgainzed it a little better, we totally could have done a mini bat here tonight."  
 
     Casuals have been showing steady increases since restarting just several weeks ago, with 20 being a recent high mark.  When asked for reasons why so many attended casuals tonight, Joel said that, "...it shows that we have people hungry to play games, I think this recent resurgence isn't solely because of Ultra, I think it's due largely to consistent casuals that people can plan for."
 

was not here. But some-
one played Oni!

     Tonight also changed the normal schedule for casuals.  Instead of having the normal Wednesday casuals at Hully's in Provo, players decided to alternate venues between Provo and West Jordan, starting this week at Joel's House.  This switch may have been a good reason for the increased showing, as West Jordan is easier to reach for the majority of Utah's fighting game population.       
     It sounds like a workable schedule, but 20 people every couple of weeks, let alone once a month, can be taxing on hearth and home.  Joel made sure to say: "This is epic, who wouldn't want this to happen?  I'm more than happy to host."

     I'm sure Noah wanted more animals, too.  It's more fun that way.


Thanks to Joel for being my field reporter as well as host.  This article would not have been nearly as colorful without your assistance.  Remember that next week, casuals are farther south in Provo at Hully's Apartment.  Bring your setups, bring your games...it's always a good time, and there should be streaming as well.  We hope to see you there.      -Dana