Competitive gamers play to win — it goes without saying, really. The desire to come out on top is what motivates almost every conflict, especially among professional and competitive fighting gamers.
But every time there's a winner, there's a loser. And even the best players can't go forever undefeated. Fighting game site I Play Winner has a surprisingly poignant video, "Redemption," interviewing a number of fighting game players about their greatest losses and mistakes, and how they learned or recovered.
You can watch the emotions chase across the faces of every player interviewed for the video, lighting up as they remember their finest moments and quieting as they describe their losses. But every loss is a lesson, and the most touching moments come from watching the players learn to move past their regrets.
"These things happen," Andry Kane manages with a smile. "The game is brutal. Ruthless. Unforgiving, that's a good word for it." But accepting defeat and learning to move on makes winning all the sweeter down the line.
Redemption - IPLAYWINNER: Summer 2012 Promo [IPlayWinner, via Shoryuken]