Wow, I can't believe I haven't done this already. I'm John, I go by Durango, Rango, or OgnarPliskin online. I'm 25 years old and I've been playing Smash Bros. since it came out. While I was semi-serious in Melee against friends, it wasn't until Brawl came out in 2008 that I became a serious, competitive player. I had a background of playing online games like Jump Ultimate Stars to prepare me for online, and it was Smash that became my gateway into fighting games such as Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and other fighting games I play online. Ironically, it was because of those games that I abandoned the Smash scene for several years before making my return.
I'm a college student enrolled in my final year at GRU. I'm a Theater major with a Communications Studies background, and I work as a host at Red Robin (yummm!), which also happens to be my VERY FAVORITE place to eat! I love playing video games, watching anime, reading comics, watching movies, going bowling, and dressing up in costumes for superhero movies and Halloween. My favorite season is winter, my favorite holiday is Christmas, and my birthday is on October 13th. I also enjoy spending time with my friends and girlfriend and cherish them very highly.
My favorite games to play are anything Nintendo. Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros., Metroid, Kid Icarus, you name it. I'm a huge fan of fighting games, as I had mentioned before, and I also LOVE RPGs like Bravely Default, Xenoblade, Tales, Fire Emblem, Mario RPGs, and Final Fantasy. Probably my favorite one as of late is Dark Souls. It's a deep, wonderful game that has really impacted me. I'm a boss at Mario Kart, so if I lose at Smash, come at me in MK! >
Living in Augusta, GA sucks because there is literally
no tournament scene here. Only three people have ever really given me serious competition: Fratos the Mercenary, CaptN Feathers, and best of all, thetruelombardi. These guys have put me away at several local tournaments, even though I managed to win one. I would like to invite more people to play so we can practice offline and not have to deal with lag, but where we live, that'll be the day. We have Level Up, a game center in our area that hosts play sessions and tournaments, so when the new Smash Bros. comes out, maybe the scene will get bigger.
Brawl online is done on May 20th. I may stop being competitive at that point. However, now that I have my own car, I plan to go to tournaments for the new Smash Bros., and most of all, be a serious competitor in the game like never before. I have nothing to hold me back, and I want to be a memorable name in that game. Bring your best, it'll be a whole new world, and if my best friend comes back, we'll be a doubles team like no other.
Funny story time. The first time I won a local tournament, the payout was about $70. I took my best friend and one of his friends to celebrate (this was in 2009). We headed out to Pizza Hut and the service was really bad. The lady was incredibly rude to us, so I told the manager (who happened to be the very person who told me about the Tournament Center in the first place!). Using a $30 gift card I had, I still had $5 on the card, so I didn't even have to pay out of my tournament money.
Lastly, I'm also a writer and have created several characters in Soul Calibur, each with given backstories on my DeviantART page (adrianfarenheittepes.deviantart.com). My main character wields a big sword, has a bandanna, and a disregard for higher authority. With high HP, strength, defense, and speed, I based him largely on Ike.