GTS: How long have you been playing games in general?

Evan: Since my family got our first home computer - a Commodore Vic 20. From there we went to a Commodore 64 and I stayed there until I bought a Super Nintendo for Street Fighter 2.

There was an arcade pretty much across the road from where my Nan lived in Dapto, so I went there a lot when we visited on the weekends. They always had stuff up loud in attract mode and from my Nan's front yard I could hear the attract mode music for Final Fight, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or Street Fighter 2. Our local ‘fish-n-chip’ shop and video rental store also had lots of different arcade games over the years. Ones I remember are Snow Bros, E-Swat, Wonderboy, WWF Wrestlemania, Golden Axe, and finally Street Fighter 2 and eventually Champion Edition.

At home I would play stuff like the Last Ninja series, Turrican 2, Rainbow Islands, Bubble Bobble etc. I love the C64 and I’ve still got my childhood one.

GTS: What attracted you to Street Fighter?

Evan: Probably the same things that drew most kids of my generation to it to be honest. Street Fighter 2 is the highest grossing arcade game of all time after Pac-Man and Galaga, so it was very popular. If you count every version from World Warrior through to Grand Master Challenge, I imagine it must be close to the highest. People talk about the early 80's being the golden age of arcade gaming but for me, I think it roughly starts with Sega-16 through to Capcom CPS3.

I can still play Street Fighter 2 right now and have moments which are epic to me. Fighting Gouki in SSF2X. Seeing and hearing the credit roll after a 1 credit clear. The artwork and the characters are all still beautiful to look at to this day. Compared to a lot of old games Street Fighter 2 holds up extremely well I think. I especially enjoy playing the CPS2 versions with Q-Sound hooked up to good speakers.

GTS: How long have you been playing Street Fighter, and how long have you been playing with the intention of getting Street Fighter records on Twin Galaxies?

Evan: I was twelve years old when Street Fighter 2 was released, and from SNES onward, Street Fighter games dictated what home system I would buy. After the SNES I got a 3DO for SSF2:X, and later an import PlayStation with Street Fighter Alpha 2. After that I got swept up in PC gaming for many years with the Quake series and Starcraft. I never really stopped playing Street Fighter 2 though.

I started to play for high score when a local barcade opened - 1989 Arcade Bar and Kitchen in Newtown. My wife and I had previously seen The King of Kong documentary and thought it was great fun. 1989 had a high score board up on the wall, so I put up a score on their World Warrior cabinet and out of curiosity we looked up what the Twin Galaxies score was - to our surprise we found that I had already beaten it! At the time I owned a Hyper Fighting board and my Supergun. A quick trip to eBay and $80 got me a World Warrior B and C PCB, and a few months later I put up my first score on Twin Galaxies. From there I found that I enjoyed gaming for high score. Having small children, it’s a nice way to game because you can play a game for 45mins or so late at night when everything is quiet and still have a lot of fun with it. I think arcade games are the best kind of games for people like myself who are time poor.

GTS: What are your thoughts on holding the Street Fighter 2 arcade world record score? How did you feel when you got it, and how do you feel now?

Evan: I thought - and still think - it’s hilarious! I doubt I will hold it for too long, but I am also happy that at least a couple of other players are posting up scores too. I feel that Street fighter 2 is one of the greatest games of all time so I would love to see it get the kind of attention that other ‘golden age’ games get.

GTS: Do you have a preferred character in the game?

Evan: I always preferred Guile, Sagat and Ryu, but for high scoring in Street Fighter 2 games, Ken's Dragon Punch with all its invincibility is a really powerful tool when playing to get perfect rounds.

GTS: Is there any particular reason you have chosen to play the older Street Fighter games, rather than the modern ones?

Evan: No reason in particular. I did try to get into Street Fighter IV, it was fun, but it never really felt as good as SSF2T or 3rd Strike to me. Street Fighter V didn't even launch with an arcade mode…

GTS: Do you have a favourite game or genre of games?

Evan: Obviously fighting games are a favourite. I got hooked on Quake, Starcraft and even Diablo 3 more recently with the Rift speed running. I like RPG games too: Diablo 2, Chrono Trigger, Zelda 3: Link to the Past. Super Metroid and the Mass Effect games are favourites.

GTS: And what is your favourite of the Street Fighter series?

Evan: Super Street Fighter 2X: Grand Master Challenge.

GTS: Do you feel you have any particular strengths or weaknesses in your gameplay? A particular play style or approach? Or something that gives you that edge in getting Street Fighter world records?

Evan: My weakness for sure is my execution, years of playing on stiff MCA joysticks has made me quite rough with the controls. I am slowly breaking old habits and getting a bit better - work in progress.

My strength might be that I seem to be able to find consistent safe strategies and I have a tendency not to make mistakes when it matters like on the last few bosses. I like to be methodical and consistent and that works out for me most of the time. In the long run it might hurt me because I don’t have the time to grind out attempt after attempt hoping for riskier lines of play to work out. Maybe I can revisit some games later, as since playing Hyper Fighting I think I have learned some strategies I could take back to Champion Edition and improve my score.

GTS: Do you have any particular highlights or things that stick in your mind when it comes to your gaming history?

Evan: I would never have imagined I could do 24 perfects in a Street Fighter 2 game on hardest difficulty a few years ago. Doing Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition with 24 perfects in 36 rounds with 3 Vega claws was very satisfying at the time.

One thing that really sticks out is the first time - as kids - when we got past the 8th character in Street Fighter 2, and then the 3 bosses appeared on the map. That moment was so hyped up, all of us kids around the machine wondering what was going to happen! I hope maybe my kids will experience that moment one day while I’m watching.

GTS: Do you have any other hobbies or interests?

Evan: Straight out of school I studied in an electrical trade, and lately I have been getting into repairing PCB boards and equipment as a hobby. I recently repaired a broken Snow Bros PCB and a CRT monitor. It's a bit of a challenge as I live in an apartment with very little space. Other than that, I used to do some tabletop war gaming, but I don't really have the time that that hobby demands anymore. Lots of activities with my kids now, I am slowly introducing my 5-year-old son to games.

Other than that, I have a few games I would like to 1 credit clear. I have never been good at shooters but would like to 1CC one as a kind of ‘gaming bucket list’ item. I put in some time trying to get good at Ikaruga but that game was not the best choice for a beginner, even though it’s still a lot of fun. Maybe something like Area 88 or Progear would be realistic. Other games I have on the bucket list to try and 1CC are Strider, Final Fight, and Ghouls’n Ghosts. Maybe Marc from Game the System could run a Ghouls’n Ghosts zero-to-hero program for me one day…

Production, Writing, Art Direction: Marc Bell

Photography, Design, Art Direction: Matthew Venables - http://mvenables.com