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However, one aspect of GPOW's success that is easy to
overlook would be fan outreach. Rolento (or Gouki), the site's creator,
was in touch with fans. Unlike most sites, there wasn't a huge star gap
between him and his fans. He replied to message board questions, comments,
and even complaints. He replied to e-mails, too (often with shocking answers).
We never saw the guy, but the few who met him in person (in Singapore
or Malaysia) said he was indeed a male, and was every bit as cool as we
had thought. The salad days of GPOW at its prime were just awesome. There's
no other way to put it. So much for Capcom fans, all in one amazing place
where you'd meet friends for life. Even to this day, I haven't lost touch
with Legendary PurpGuy from PurpGuy's Pothole and the honorably-bound
Ishmael. They're two of the best I've ever seen, and I'd have never known
them without GPOW.
As with all great things, it came to an end. GPOW's creator
suddenly announced an immanent departure from which he would not return.
At first, I thought that because GPOW was largely a provider
of facts that I couldn't have as strong of an opinion as I usually do
for a tribute site. However, thanks to WayBack Machine (who I couldn't
have done this nearly as good without), I saw that even the webmaster
Gouki (Rolent) would slip highly-opinionated bits into his coverage. Not
everybody might have agreed with those things, but that;s how it is; nobody
ever agrees with everything a site says.
The hardest part was narrowing-down what to keep and what
not to keep, both from a content and design standpoint. GPOW was a massive,
sprawling, all-encompassing resource that felt bottomless. I had to recreate
that feeling through illusory efforts simply because the goal of my site
was to pay tribute to GPOW through design - not necessarily to resurrect
or clone GPOW. A task such as cloning GPOW would be incredibly difficult,
considering the immense difficulties that came with making a somewhat-recognizable
design tribute to it! Now, it wasn't easy, and it took way longer than
expected (being made amidst environmental disasters, and full-time work),
but it was important to get somewhat near the quality GPOW was known for.
Believe it or not, every article is, in one way, shape,
or form, related to GPOW. Painstaking effort was put into the selection
of titles, article content, and their relation to that of GPOW. The Gundam
Versus article, in particular, was a difficult choice. It replaced an
article on Final Fight: Double Impact. The reason is that no matter how
much I love Final Fight, I seem to remember Tech Romancer being represented
a lot more (which is what Gundam Versus is like a spiritual successor
to). There were many instances like this one, though. Super Street Fighter
II Turbo for 3DO was not originally on the card, but was added later to
simulate the all-encompassing, timeless nature of GPOW. What I mean by
this is how there were Capcom fighting games from all eras featured on
GPOW, from the first Street Fighter all the way up to Street Fighter Alpha
EX3 (current, cutting-edge technology at the time). I also featured it
because I always thought the game had little-to-no representation or coverage
(outside of EGM, GamePro, and possible GameFan at the time of its release).
It is one of the least-talked-about Street Fighter titles (next to the
rare Street Fighter II Movie game). I wanted to do my best to do it justice
with beautiful, varying levels of screenshots. The Turbo version of Super
Street Fighter II may be one of my least favorite entries in the series,
but I always respected Capcom for branching out and supporting the "other"
32-Bit system at the time. They even brought out Capcom Fighter Pads for
it, which is another aspect of this game I never, ever even saw mention
of in the West. Overall, the game was a cool move on Capcom's part, and
one that I've always admired.
Strider (2014) was one of the first titles I decided to
include (and one of the last finished), and it was largely due to the
die-hard Strider fans that inhabited GPOW's Message Board (forum). Strider
often filled pages and pages of discourse, teaching me tons and tons about
a series I was previously not very knowledgeable about. Their conversations
taught me a lot about Capcom's other hero.
So, why do a website with screenshots instead of a YouTube
video series?
Well, several reasons, actually. First and foremost, GPOW
was a web site. Keeping to that was important. Second, BADCP does web
sites first, and videos (YouTube, Twitch) second. The reason for this
is that web sites are a dying breed. They are a dying art form. We believe
that web sites do have a purpose, though. Moreover, we believe that web
sites have advantages over videos on YouTube, Twitch, or any other provider.
Sure, we have videos on those providers, but it is ultimately for advertising
this site. Another important reason is freedom. We are free to do what
we want on our own web space, whereas YouTube, Twitch, and others have
content restrictions. They even suppress voices they don't want to be
heard (as can be seen by the deletion and "shadow-banning" of
users that don't think the same). We don't have to worry about that here.
If YouTube or Twitch doesn't like what we say, then tough shit; there's
nothing they can do to us because this is web space we pay for.
This GPOW tribute site is a vast departure from BADCP's
other sites.
This tribute was also sort-of a demonstration to show
critics that BADCP's designs are simple by choice. Yeah, we could put
a ton of different things on every screen, but our goal was always to
stay focused on the content. True, what attracted me and many others to
GPOW was the sheer complexity and quality of design; no other site even
comes close, even now in the year 2020. Inspiration doesn't always lead
to cloning, though. Until this tribute site, one would have a hard time
seeing by our designs that GPOW was one of our biggest influences. GPOW
may have had some dark colors and whatnot, but its theme wasn't dark.
GPOW also was never linear. There are several different ways to get to
any part of that site, whereas our design has always been linear; simple
menus and sidebars, with pictures and sections that were all (literally)
the same measurements and size. To successfully recreate the "look"
while still keeping our own style, we had to find a way to condense the
layer-upon-layer-upon-layer design that worked behind the scenes in GPOW.
It took 4 (yes, four) years to make it a reality, and there were times
that it felt like it would never be done (everyone knows how many times
I said it would be launched and wasn't), but it was worth it. If BADCP
didn't do a tribute to GPOW, who would?
Now, there actually are some hidden things here and there
to recreate some of the mystery that GPOW had, but nothing nearly as deep
and complex as what the original GPOW had. Again, this special edition
of BADCP is a tribute to GPOW. It was never meant to be a recreation.
Though we believe we are the best at what we do, and at the type
of content we provide, we humbly hold GPOW far above what we've done.
Plain and simple, few sites have done what GPOW did. I don't think I've
seen a single site that successfully has every element GPOW had - all
in one place. Some sites may have the information, but none of the media
or commentary, or vice versa. A resurrection of GPOW by Gouki (Rolent)
himself would allow me to die a happy man. Until then, this is a tribute
by GPOW Message Board user "BAD", who was forever inspired by,
and continues to make work in honor of, Gouki's Page of Whatever...
CREDITS AND THANKS
 This site is dedicated
in loving memory of Chuck Hoppe, who shared an untimely departure with
GPOW.
This site is dedicated
in loving memory of Hector Navarro, whose unwavering devotion to his family
will never be forgotten.
This site is dedicated
in loving memory of Glenn Hoppe, who was a inspiration for this site since
its inception.
This site is dedicated
to the memory and generosity of GPOW and BADCP member Lord Kieben "PurpGuy",
who we lost in 2019.
This site is also
dedicated in memory of "Toffee" Rudy, whose painful passing
took place during the making of this site, but is finally at peace.
Thanks also to WayBack Machine, whose technology made
it possible for this tribute to be as accurate as it could be.
Special thanks to the Garcia family, who has always been there through
thick and thin.
Thanks also to Jim, whose incredible devotion to retail has made it possible
to offer more GPOW-related content in the future.
Thank you to any and everyone who has helped-out in any way over the years;
you are greatly appreciated!
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