Disclaimer:
LONG READING, TL;DR AT THE BOTTOM.
Now, don’t roll your eyes or let out a deep sigh of annoyance simply from the title. To be clear, I’m by no means quitting KI, hating on anything, nor saying KI is dead, nothing of that nature. Also, I know how some of you detest the idea of these grand “exit posts” becoming both redundant and pointless. I just figured instead of sending every individual I’ve met and play with a messaged explanation over Xbox, I would much rather post my reasonings here for all to see and presumably understand. That way, you don’t feel like I’ve intentionally attempted to avoid you or create any misunderstandings.
I’m simply validating my end of the line with such an amazing game. What I mean by, “end of the line”, I mean that as it’s time for me to move on and look solely on this game as STRICTLY casual, like I started. No online, no competitiveness, just me and the AI having a good time every now and then. Is that bad? No, of course not. I just want to enjoy other games and not feel somewhat obligated to have occasional matches with members/friends who are looking for fun or to learn my crappy Jago tech. Moreover, I have never enjoyed competitiveness, part of that is because my anxiety. Sometimes I push myself too much because I lose a few sets or so. That kind of stuff ruins the fun for me and makes me feel like a loser because “I couldn’t do better” or “didn’t do that thing when I needed to”.
I know that’s incredibly silly, but believe me when I say I’ve never been fully-competitive, it’s exhausting. The last time I took a game this seriously was Gears of War 2, doing scrims, GBs, being part MLG, etc. Loved it at the time, met so many cool people but it drained me and eventually I let it go. I still love Gears play on occasion, but not to be competitive. KI became that for me, loved it and met so many cool people, but it’s exhausting sometimes for a wimp like me, haha. I’ve been with KI and the community since early Season 2 and the old forums, enjoyed thousands of fights and hundreds of ultras. I am amazed at how much KI has made a comfortable place in my heart.
It’s crazy to think that I HONESTLY believed KI would just be there as a placeholder for something better to come. But, because my low expectations and the hard work of the developers, I was blown away when I came around to it. I was more happy with this game than Fallout and Gears, two behemoths that have a more substantial budget, with every means to “get things right”. Yet, the developers, mods and members have done everything to make the experience memorable, both good and bad. Good because of the characters, music, intensity and direction. Bad because some of the trash talkers, over-competitive players and bags of douche I was unfortunate enough to stumble across.
Nonetheless, I want to thank everyone for the matches, teachings, shenanigans, etc. You guys made every moment memorable and a blast! I won’t bother tagging everyone, but if we played and enjoyed the moment then thanks. To the developers, thank you for dedicating your time to this game. The sheer passion for wanting this game to exceed proved it can cement itself in a gamers favorite games-of-all-time list. To the mods, thanks for keeping the poison out of our community as much as possible. Passing the word of such a sleeper hit, and being there to listen when the developers couldn’t. To the members, thank you for making the fights memorable and intense! I wouldn’t have gotten nearly as decent as I am without your guidance. Moreover, I wouldn’t have enjoyed the time without the enjoyable discussions.
Thank you all for everything, this is the best community I have ever been in, one of the greatest games I’ve played and some of the greatest memories.
TL;DR I’m not saying goodbye, just wanted to inform everyone that I’m stepping away from competitive both ranked or exhibition. If I’m on Killer Instinct, I just want to play single-player, enjoy the new updates and rock out to the brilliant soundtrack. Thank you all for the wonderful experience.
