Competitive Philosophy for Super Smash Bros.

BIG WURDS MAK HED HURT.



But wow, you really must have put a lot of work into this. I really need to show some of this to my infected friends.

Your presentation was clinical, and your rhetoric was quite entertaining; however, would editing the game itself to cater to more balanced and "fair" play truly be against the principles of competition? For instance, the development of the 20XX Tournament Edition. This mod has been developed for the reason of eliminating the elements of third parties (stage changes/interferences) from the game to create a more fair environment for competitive play. There have also been mod's that have been used to buff certain characters who are "low on the tier list" or to simply improve the short comings of the cast as a whole. Many modern games use these same mechanics in their patches to create a more balance PvP environment. I stand by the fact that so much of the improvements we have seen in Smash have been due to their static engines and physics, but does that mean we shouldn't strive to create games that are imbalanced, or merely sit on our hands when we have the tools to make a game more balanced?

To me, you just essentially backed up the status quo with your insight and in depth analysis. Seems kinda unnesecary in the grand scheme of things considering how you're not vouching for any change to occur.

The interesting parts were in relation to the scrub disease and nerfing.

Great writing

this is an amazing way of demonstrating what someone's competitive mindset should be. great guide, I'll be taking notes.

This is a great guide to understanding where someone fits in competitive smash, detailed and insightful!

I am glad that you went into depth for writing this piece of work. This pretty much sums up how competitive people play and the mindset that people must have. Although Brawl is at its low and possibly not improving you have inspire me to write my own guides for that game to keep it going. I hope the majority of the Smash community will get a chance to look at this.

Great work! This was a great read and will no doubt be helpful to both players and TOs.

This is a very helpful guide for the competitive idea and mindset of the player. You could also verge another path regarding the mental construction of public appearance and respect for other players. To drift off momentarily, I am currently applying for a Masters degree in Music Performance on Clarinet and have read a very helpful book called "The Inner Game of Tennis." Timothy Gallwey takes the construction and basic principles of the Inner Game in order to demonstrate the best you have to offer in competition. No matter the win or lose, what matters is how the two sides (Self 1 and Self 2) work in harmony to produce a product that you and your opponent can enjoy. Great Article!

As much as I disagree with your stage selection style, I have to admit that this sums up the competitive mindset of Smash perfectly.
Excellent work.

This guide perfectly explains what goes on in the minds of professionals and the way tournaments work. Perfect for TOs and players alike, I love it.

The only thing missing is the Gentleman's Rule, which implies picking a banned stage if all players agree, and Dave's Stupid Rule, which has multiple variations. But this guide isn't talking about tournament organizing (despite having everything else about it), so I'll let it slide.

If only you could give 10 stars........

Well reasoned, somewhat difficult to explain. Has some minor grammar mistakes and better wording could be used in some parts to offer simple explanations. Concludes with a new stage striking procedure that leads to the evolution of better stage-picking procedures for future smash tournaments: I recommend you read it to the very end, it makes sense and is worth trying over the current starter/counterpick system.

This really helped me with understanding the rules , and such. Thaks so much for posting this. :)

This is an incredibly descriptive account of what is and what isn't competitive, it also gives us a foundation on which to decide rules for future games, or even games that are outside of the 2d fighter genre.

This guide is so descriptive, and yet, when it all comes together, it's all so simple. It's inspiring! The distinction between what is, and what is not "competitive" is so clear now, that I feel that I can say that I'm working towards playing Smash Bros. competitively.

Sums up "playing to win" even better than David Sirlin's guide - that one was honestly too wordy, and advised crowding out the also-valid casual style of play. (I love my Chain Attacks, after all) But this one just detailed the philosophy of fair contest, and playing to win. And that is why it is great.

Perfect. Just perfect.

Someone told me once not to over-analyze a kids' game, for there is nothing to be learned. Luckily, Smash isn't a kids' game. This guide changed a lot of my views, thank you.

Wonderful guide. Wish reading this was a prerequisite to making youtube comments on matches.

Thank you. Now can we shut the **** up with using "competitive" as a synonym for "good"?

What an amazing guide, my mind is blown. Wow.