If you enjoy playing fighting games but want to play with real humans instead of strangers online or against the CPU, ULM’s Fighting Games Community is for you.
Run by senior toxicology major Vu Nguyen, the FGC meets almost every Friday night from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. It’s a club of about 15 gamers who like to play fighting games like Street Fighter, Super Street Fighter IV, and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, etc. They play many versions of Street Fighter, which is Ben Che’s favorite game.
“Street Fighter is fun because you get to pick characters from all over the world with different fighting styles. It’s fun to compete with other people who like street fighter and other fighting games,” Che said, a freshman pre-nursing major.
Most fighters use an arcade game stick, although using an Xbox 360 controller is an option.
Nguyen also organizes events for the FGC and is in the process of setting up a tournament at Samstown Casino in Shreveport. He sets up tournaments with other FGCs. He said no one from Monroe’s FGC has won a tournament but that their two best players, Fabian Singleton and Patrick Goodwin have come close. Singleton placed second in a Tekken tournament
Students from other schools sometimes visit the FGC’s Friday Night Fights. Meeting new people is part of the appeal for Evan Willett.
“Honestly, it’s just a lot of fun. Plus we have students come from other schools and it’s like an outreach program in a way, just making friends with other school mates and building bonds,” said Willett, a sophomore health care marketing and management.
This is Nguyen’s second semester running the FGC. Previously, a ULM student named Phillip Jordan held “Friday Night Fights” at the Atrium hotel for about a year. However, the hotel closed down and Jordan was unable to hold any Friday Night Fights during the summer. Before Jordan left for San Diego he passed the FGC onto Nguyen, whom he met on Facebook not too long before leaving.
“I’ve always been trying to figure out what I wanted to do and people always said, just do what you love. I love fighting games, and it’s easy for me to talk to people, so I thought ‘why not put it together?’” Nguyen said.
Those looking to join the FGC can contact any of the group’s members for meeting times.
You can search Monroe FGC on Facebook for additional information.
