LiteralGrill
Smokin' Hot~
Welcome to the second article in the If I Can, You Can series! This will be a series of articles showing people how to start a local Smash scene. What makes this series unique is that I will be personally following the advice I give to prove what I am saying really works, so we can all learn from the experience.
Now obviously no one literally lives on the internet, so how is hosting an online tournament going to help build a local scene? I discussed in my previous article that one of the best ways to really see if hosting is right for you without getting your hands too dirty is hosting an online event. While there are key differences between online and live events, online events can give you a taste of what to expect as a tournament organizer and teach you a lot of things you'll need to know to going into your live events. So, what are the steps you need to take to host an online tournament?
Naming Your Event
Do not overlook a catchy name for your event. A witty and memorable name with a decent logo can be huge for promoting your event. Pick carefully, as you'll want something you can use for a long time to increase brand recognition. You have the world of Smash related jokes and other bits of creativity to work with; Come up with something awesome!
I found my inspiration in an unexpected way: Youtube Poop. A friend sent me this video recently and I remembered the joke from the beginning of the video poking fun at commercials for Monster Truck Rallies where they yell the day of the event over and over. Since I planned to host on Sundays, SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY SMASH was born!
Can't do art yourself? Ask a friend! Special thanks to @leeeeeeeesports on Twitter for making this for me!
Now I mentioned I had picked Sunday to host the tournament, but what lead me to that decision?
Research!
A good place to start is the online tournament listings thread here on Smashboards to find the days and times people are hosting most. When you host your own event, be sure to do the same; You don't want to host something when someone else is, as it hurts their efforts and hampers your own. There are a number of important things to take into account when scheduling an online tournament: jobs and classes, wether or not there are large tournaments that people may attend or watch on stream, and start and ending times (don't forget about time zones--the beauty of online tournaments is that people from all over can enter, so it's important to make note of your schedule in multiple timezones).
Speaking of time, make sure you choose a start time that allows you to be prepared at least an hour early. You may not need to set up consoles and televisions, but online tournaments still need you there beforehand to help answer questions.
How Often To Host
Another time related question, and it really depends on how much of it you have to put into hosting, as well as how often you think people will want to attend. Don't stretch yourself thin or over-saturate by having too many events in rapid succession. You can always choose to host more later if there is a demand! I personally chose to run a weekly tournament, since I have the time to manage frequent events.
Where To Host/Securing A "Venue"
A venue for an online tournament sounds like a weird concept, but hear me out; You need a place for everyone who has entered to talk to each other, strike stages, be able to contact their TO, and more. There are three options that look very tempting at first--Twitch Chat, Skype, and online clients (like Chatango, xat, etc.)-- but no matter how much you are tempted, DO NOT USE THEM. I have seen tournaments use each, and none of them worked quite as well as expected.
My suggestion? IRC.
With IRCs, private messages are just a click away, so you don't have to worry about your conversation getting buried as players try to strike stages or get in contact with each other. IRCs are very simple to create and use, have good moderation tools, and are usable on multiple platforms (computer, many phones and tablets, and for the daring, the Wii U Internet Browser). I made my IRC through mibbit using their tutorial and it took me less than 5 minutes. You can even see it by clicking here!
Don't forget that you'll need a place to host the bracket as well! My personal recommendation is Challonge, as it is probably the best choice for bracket hosting online. It allows people to automatically sign up, check in, report their matches, and even works as a place for back up communication if your chat goes down as you can post messages on brackets.
Designing A Ruleset
This is one of the most daunting tasks for any tournament organizer; there is a lot of debate and discussion in the smash community about rules right now, especially for Smash 4. The best advice I can give to you is this: do not just copy what everyone else is doing, go and thoroughly research everything and make sure the rules are right for your event. This isn't giving you permission to ignore feedback; if a majority of your potential entrants are complaining about a rules choice you made, it is healthy to give it a second look and be sure it was a sound decision.
Some of the best places to look are right here on Smashboards. For Smash 4 you can look at the Competitive Smash Ruleset Discussion thread, the Stage Analysis & Discussion Thread, and also the Wii U / 3DS Smash Academy, particularly the Stage Research Threads written by @ParanoidDrone Every other game has similar resources on their Smashboards forum as well.
I debate rulesets quite often, so I can say I have confidently studied rulesets in general. This is the ruleset I came up with for SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY SMASH. I had a lot of reasoning behind why I chose these rules, and would be happy to discuss them in the comments, so feel free to ask questions!
Since this article is about online tournaments, I want to focus on the specific considerations involved in an online event within your ruleset.
Online Considerations
Though they are becoming popular in some live events, using custom moves online carries the possibility of cheating by using equipment. While some would say that it's very easy to catch equipment use, a prominent online tournament recently streamed a match with two TOs watching, and only later found out one of the fighters was using equipment. It is difficult not to trust players to be honorable, but I would not personally recommend it, especially if prizes are available.
You'll also need specific rules for when players can't connect; for when lag is unplayable, and for how players will share their NNIDs, friendcodes, or whatever else they need to play. It's important to have a plan of attack for these things going in so you won't be caught unprepared. I personally believe every single tournament should have a code of conduct, as it makes events better for everyone. In the case online events, having a code of conduct to reference is nice if you need to ban a troll.
Promoting Your Event
With your name decided, the date set, a "venue" secured, and a ruleset designed, you now have everything you need to get out there and start telling people about your event! The first thing to do is make a thread in the Smashboards Online Tournament Listings. Make sure to cover the "who, what, where, when, and why" information, and try to not leave anything out that people would need to ask questions about. People will still ask a bunch of questions, as unfortunately you will find that many people either do not know how to or will refuse to read everything in your post. This is why I also suggest keeping things concise. The more there is to read, the less likely folks will be to read it. Still, you'll need to answer questions, so make sure to keep a close eye on your thread so you can answer them quickly. Here is the post I made for SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY SMASH as an example.
Don't forget to ask your friends to spread the word too, on social media and in any other reasonable places. Just remember to think about how much work you are putting in vs how many people will come from those places.
Streaming
Streaming is a HUGE incentive for folks to sign up, since many people like to have footage of themselves to both review and to show to others. Word of mouth is probably the best form of advertisement for your event, and this is a great way to utilize it. It takes a good bit of work to coordinate a stream while running an event, so I wouldn't recommend this if its your first time hosting.
If you have a little experience, or have someone to help run a stream, it's as simple as getting the NNID of the streamer and choosing players to get streamed. As an alternative, a lot of people would be excited to stream an event as well if you lack the equipment, so long as they know it will be well ran. I did some searching on Twitch and found a nice stream from 64bitheroes and, after talking to them a bit, we decided to work together. Don't be afraid to go ask streamers if they are interested! They can enjoy new viewers and content, and you can enjoy having a stream for your players. It's a good deal for both parties.
Keep Them Coming
After you get people to come to your event, give them incentive to return. While you should never stop trying to go out and make the event larger, it is good to get a solid amount of "regulars" to keep your player base strong. You can start this off by just running a solid event; If the event is ran well and is fun, people will come back.
Adding a few other incentives isn't a bad idea either. There are many ways you can entice people to continue to enter; Personally, I took an idea from a Smash tournament series running in the Phillipines where they have normal events with a ranking system, and the top ranked players qualify for a special event with a bigger prize. Try to come up with something cool like this for your own event. This is part of why I made my tournament a weekly event.
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If you want to see all of this advice in action, come to SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY SMASH! I'll be happy to answer questions about hosting during the event, and talk about anything else involving hosting as well. I'd also be happy to answer any questions about online hosting here or in the tournament thread. Hopefully, I've managed to give you all of the basics necessary to host your own online tournament.
If you have any suggestions for a future article, come find me on Twitter and let me know! Stay tuned for the next article: If I Can, You Can: Finding A Venue.
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