It’s Wednesday night, and you grab a drink and walk past the many outdoor booths of Big City Gamin’ on 1288 Willamette St. in downtown Eugene. You hear the clicking of buttons and the clamoring of individuals young and old, joking and having a great time. It’s Fight Night at the local sports bar and arcade, and people are excited to be playing whatever the newest fighting game craze is.
As of July 2021, that game is Guilty Gear Strive — the latest and greatest anime fighter from Japanese developer Arc System Works. On one of those Wednesday nights, there were three dedicated setups running the game via small monitors and PlayStation 4s. Two people were always playing, and a couple others hung around, waiting patiently to take a turn once one unlucky player loses a match.
Big City Gamin’ has been home to these casual meetups for local Eugene and Springfield gamers for over two years. With bars and restaurants staying open later, and vaccines being more widely available, Big City Gamin’ looks to be the potential new home for more than just Guilty Gear Strive.
On June 18, Big City Gamin’ hosted Ultimate Mash Gods, a one-versus-one tournament for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch. Attendance was capped at 32 players, but the event was not only one of the first advertised in person tournaments to start back up in Eugene; it was also streamed on the platform Twitch for anyone to watch.
Seth Garrett, member of the Oregon fighting game community and longtime fighting game enthusiast and competitor, is grateful for what Big City Gamin’ has done for the local community.
“We started meeting up at Big City Gamin’ because we wanted to be a more open community,” Garrett said. “Big City Gamin’ allowed minors to play until 9:00 p.m., which was great for making a casual, low stress and community driven environment.”
While Garrett personally believes both the Super Smash Bros. and fighting game scene differentiate substantially due to the core mechanics of the games, he values what both do to develop a sense of community amongst players.
“The crossover of interest is the main thing that overlaps among the communities, even more than tournament support or permitting both games to simultaneously exist at one big event,” Garrett said.
On July 30, Big City Gamin’ will host Eugene’s first ever post-COVID Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament, according to assistant tournament organizer Benjamin Massey. The bracket admittance will be capped at 32 players and has a $5 entry fee, with all proceeds going to street feed programs at White Bird and Black-Thistle Pop Up Medical Clinics in Eugene.
Madi (left), who goes by the tag "era", makes rapid inputs on their controller while competing against Bond, who goes by the tag "goldirocks", in a game of Guilty Gear: Strive. A fighting game club, Eugene FGC, meets at Big City Gamin' on Wednesday nights, one of the thousands of clubs like it that meets across the country.
