Teaching New Players

[\Apples]

I decided to just change this topic to Teaching New Players, because that is what I realized I actually wanted to talk about. The initial post caused a bit of unintended controversy and I'd prefer to discuss only teaching from here on out. Maybe I'll quote those who contribute some useful advice and consolidate them here if anything turns up.

What do you know about teaching new players how to play Smash at a competitive level like many of us here do?
Where do you start and where do you go from there?
Do you ever stop teaching?
How do you detect analysis paralysis and how do you pace your lessons?
Do you recommend any particular characters to teach fundamentals?


The Shameful OP

Spoiler

Now, I know the first thing you're all going to say is that girls just aren't good at Smash. Women have been severely underrepresented in competitive play throughout Smash Bros.' competitive history. Whether it be because they're naturally less competitive creatures or have less sensitive reaction time or less developed hand-eye coordination, girls have just never really risen anywhere near the top.

However, I'm not really here to talk about the reasons why nor do I want to make an attempt at bringing more girls to the competitive scene. We all know that the two genders have their differences to be embraced, but I want to know if any of you have tried teaching a girl how to play Smash and if so, how did it go over? I imagine for most, she probably gave up early on. But for the brave who fought further, how did that come along and what do you think helped? What do you think hurt? Did you teach them differently than you teach guys? Does it make a difference? What character did you recommend she start with? What character did she stick with? What character would you recommend for beginners in order to best teach the game's fundamentals? Would that character be different for a beginner that is a girl?

 

[F. Blue]

Just wait 'till Kirby is released and watch the ladies run to Smashfests like someone sprayed AXE in the room. B-)

 

[geno]

Well, for starters (and I'm sure you didn't mean it to sound like this), "Teaching girls to play like us" is probably the typical male gamer attitude girls tend to stay away from. That just sounds like we're saying 'If we're gracious enough then perhaps some of our greatness will rub off on them.', guys aren't inherently better at games, we just typically spent a hella lot more time playing them. Girls have it rough in the video game world especially legit gamers (what with all the: "**** or GTFO", "Make me a sammich", and generic "girls suck at video game" remarks I constantly hear on the interweb). My girlfriend is legitimately good a Smash, and I love playing P:M with her! She's a great gamer in general too, plays a more diverse array of games than me at least. I didn't have to do much to get her into Smash, we found out about P:M at the same time and have been learning and getting more and more hyped about it together as more releases come. The only thing that's different about her as a fellow Smasher than any of my other fellow bro Smashers, is the she drools over Marth instead of ZSS.

 

[\Apples]

Yeah, that's clearly not the mentality I have toward the topic, but it doesn't change the reality of it. We're better at them BECAUSE we sink the time into them, that much is obvious. I'm very welcoming to anyone and everyone enjoying whatever aspects of games they like, I'm merely embracing the possibility that differences may arise and I'm just curious what kind of experiences others have had.

I've never heard of girls drooling over Marth lol. Why not Falcon? LOL

 

[meow]

They always choose Peach/Zelda/Jiggs/Pikachu

and god when they pick pikachu
only one move is spammed

 

[Chzrm3]

I feel like Falcon is sexier to guys than he is to girls. He embodies manliness, so men love him. 8)

 

[geno]

I've never heard of girls drooling over Marth lol. Why not Falcon? LOL

Hahaha, I think it's the hair. Her roommate last year was way into Link. The GF's definitely hyped about Roy though! I'm more hyped about Mewtwo, so it'll be some fun matches there. I think the main thing WRONG that the smash community is doing to get girls involved is playing too competitively with them. Guys, it's ok to hold back if you're playing against a new girl! Make it close, let them win! I was with some friends and one of my friend girls wanted to try out P:M, so she picked up a controller and played against a guy who I was playing before that (I was a little better, but we were pretty evenly matched). He proceeded to mercilessly 4 stock her and laugh about it. We switched over to Mario Kart after that.

 

[meow]

^ Switching over to mario kart is always what I do (people always get tired of playing smash before I do)
I can't go easy so I give them extra stocks or me starting at 50% each stock

 

[\Apples]

Yeah no, totally, we're on the same page geno. I'm not trying to get her involved competitively, but as I said, she seems to have a genuine interest. I suppose that right there will be enough. But yeah, I hold back and just get really silly with her and it's hella fun in a completely different way than competitive. I think it's pretty funny that her favorite character is Zard. Pretty atypical. Most of the girls I know that play just play Link, Kirby and Pika lol.

Man, extra stocks is a great idea! Thanks to the PMBR for stock control.

So then I guess the only thing I'm wondering now is which character everyone thinks is best to teach fundamentals with? Marth or Sheik maybe?

 

[meow]

I think Mario is p solid start just cause he's all around balanced, and just branch off from there.

 

[geno]

and god when they pick pikachu
only one move is spammed

QAC? Hate when they do that

And yeah /Apples, that's cool that she's got a genuine interest! Don't push it too hard or she'll get sick of it, haha (found out she dosn't like playing for 3 hours at a time like me...)! I'd say Marth, Link, or Mario would be good for fundamentals though. Probably more Link though, mainly because he's got an easier up-B to recover with. Plus his smashes are all really good (so they can just stay on the c-stick) and b for when she wants to spam. Oh, and can't forget every new comer's favorite link combo: a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a.

 

[NameChange]

Don't rub how good you are number one
Play like how a serious player does, but don't rush them into the scene as well.

Not to brag, but the only reason I was the only player at school that actually got a girl interested into Smash because most of the other players were too cocky and/or rude (plus majority of them are either awful or talk s***)

Also, speaking of which, if a girl wins, NEVER try to give them too much credit or talk them down. And if you win, like I said, don't rub it in and also don't try to be too reassuring. You not only lose the girl's interest in going deeper into Smash, but also tarnish your reputation a bit.

i might have said too much but this is just my two cents

 

[Kaye Cruiser]

Now, I know the first thing you're all going to say is that girls just aren't good at Smash.

Several certain members on this forum that I could name, but won't, definitely keep this from being the first thing I'm going to say cause I know it's definitely not the truth. Yes, including P:M.

 

[Wingflier]

Now, I know the first thing you're all going to say is that girls just aren't good at Smash.

Actually that wasn't what I was going to say. The first thing I was going to say is that your attitude concerning women (They need to learn to play "like us") is pretty egotistical. It implies that there are no good female Smashers out there, and that even if there were, the only way to get better would be to learn from the way we play.

I agree with geno, that kind of attitude is just going to steer them away.

At the same time, the second comment of the thread made me laugh out loud because my girlfriend keeps complaining about how Kirby is not in the game.

I've been playing a lot with my girlfriend recently, and I've just been working on the basics with her. She's finally learning how to perform smashes consistently. From there I will try to teach her how to short hop, then DI, then wave dash etc.

The point is though, I'm not trying to teach her to play "LIKE ME", I'm just giving her the tools to make her own style. Her motivation to get better has to come from within, not from my l33t skillz that she has to replicate. Your intentions are good, but your approach is not.

 

[Rikana]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sIOLuK1eBA&t=5m30s

girl dittos.

 

[MookieRah]

Whether it be because they're naturally less competitive creatures or have less sensitive reaction time or less developed hand-eye coordination, girls have just never really risen anywhere near the top.

Wow at the sexism...

...I don't even know what to do with this thread... the premise is ridiculous.

However, I'm not really here to talk about the reasons why nor do I want to make an attempt at bringing more girls to the competitive scene.

Clearly, as you do nothing in your post that would attract any girls to play this game.

 

[Nazo]

Whether it be because they're naturally less competitive creatures or have less sensitive reaction time or less developed hand-eye coordination, girls have just never really risen anywhere near the top.

 

[Giygacoal]

Now, I know the first thing you're all going to say is that girls just aren't good at Smash. Women have been severely underrepresented in competitive play throughout Smash Bros.' competitive history. Whether it be because they're naturally less competitive creatures or have less sensitive reaction time or less developed hand-eye coordination, girls have just never really risen anywhere near the top.

However, I'm not really here to talk about the reasons why nor do I want to make an attempt at bringing more girls to the competitive scene. We all know that the two genders have their differences to be embraced, but I want to know if any of you have tried teaching a girl how to play Smash and if so, how did it go over? I imagine for most, she probably gave up early on. But for the brave who fought further, how did that come along and what do you think helped? What do you think hurt? Did you teach them differently than you teach guys? Does it make a difference? What character did you recommend she start with? What character did she stick with? What character would you recommend for beginners in order to best teach the game's fundamentals? Would that character be different for a beginner that is a girl?

What the **** did I just read?

 

[Vashimus]

This is one of those things were I think about it and say to myself, "Who cares?"

 

[IsmaR]

Um. Pass.

 

[Fortress]

Gr8 b8 m8, truly a gr8 b8.

 

[himemiya]

Sexiest much?

 

[Vashimus]

Sexiest?

10sexy

 

[SunJester]

Guys, I have breaking news!

Women are human beings, and treating them like one makes interacting with them a lot easier!

 

[Vashimus]

But they're not human. They have a mucous membrane that covers their body. Touching them barehanded will cause a shooting pain.

 

[Comeback Kid]

Embrace the differences by not seeing the gender ratio as being a "problem" that needs to be "fixed." The genders are different psychologically, and have different interests generally. Nothing can change that. Don't tell that fact to the usual "we're all exactly the same in our hearts" mentality that the internet embraces unthinkingly because it feels good.

Basically, nothing good can come of this topic.

 

[l3thargy]

I could be wrong on this one, most likely I am, but I have a feeling that there isn't as many Female professional smashers as male ones due to the lack of females in the game and I'm only saying this because as a guy I personally usually only play as a character who's the same gender as me, mostly because I feel I can relate to them better.

only on rare occasions will I play as a female but that's mostly restricted to SF4 Ae where I'll play as Sakura, Cammy, and Rose, my main characters in that game being Gouken and Cody.

and Mvc3 my team usually consisting of Dante, Vergil, and Iron fist, with Trish replacing Iron fist every few matches.

so I'd imagine if I where a female gamer I'd feel pretty much the same way and want to play as another female character, but this could (and most likely) just be me.

And to get back to the topic of helping the OP, Basically just teach her the same way you'd teach another male, or better yet teach her exactly how you learned to play and help her with the things she may not understand right away, just start with the basics then teach her the more advanced techniques as she starts to come along, also get her to watch videos of the characters she likes/ would like to play as.

 

[trash?]

I was kind of going into this vainly hoping for a parody topic



my solution is to get peachyhime to body the OP for several hours every day, and then stream it for the world to see

 

[Deleted member]

Instead of treating them as a female who wants to get better at the game, just treat them as a Smash fan who wants to get better at the game. Help them the same way you would help another guy. It's really that simple. The game functions the same for everybody. It does not care what sex a player is, so why should you?

 

[Jolteon]

Just wait 'till Kirby is released and watch the ladies run to Smashfests like someone sprayed AXE in the room. B-)

Wouldn't that make them all run away?

 

[Papa+Stone]

TIL smashers dont have any girl skills

 

[GHNeko]

TIL smashers dont have any girl skills

I disagree.

But regardless, this thread is in poor taste execution wise. Even if the intent is kinda pure lol.

Sent from my SGH-T699 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Viceversa96]

Now, I know the first thing you're all going to say is that girls just aren't good at Smash. Women have been severely underrepresented in competitive play throughout Smash Bros.' competitive history. Whether it be because they're naturally less competitive creatures or have less sensitive reaction time or less developed hand-eye coordination, girls have just never really risen anywhere near the top.

However, I'm not really here to talk about the reasons why nor do I want to make an attempt at bringing more girls to the competitive scene. We all know that the two genders have their differences to be embraced, but I want to know if any of you have tried teaching a girl how to play Smash and if so, how did it go over? I imagine for most, she probably gave up early on. But for the brave who fought further, how did that come along and what do you think helped? What do you think hurt? Did you teach them differently than you teach guys? Does it make a difference? What character did you recommend she start with? What character did she stick with? What character would you recommend for beginners in order to best teach the game's fundamentals? Would that character be different for a beginner that is a girl?

Girl smashers are always welcome. I love girls... who smash. Oops that came out wrong

 

[a vehicle]

Nobody thought me how to play smash, I learned on my own
Your gender doesn't matter

this thread is dumb

 

[Mithost]

When someone sits next to you for a game, there are only two things that matter. The characters they use, and how well they use them. Everything else is irrelevant. If you end up 4-Stocking them, thank them for the game and ask if they would want to do some friendlies later to try to improve. Got 4-stocked yourself? Thank them for the game, then ask them what you can do better for next time. No matter what social majority/minority they belong to, they will appreciate your courtesy and will feel welcome at the venue. While you feel like you are performing a service for sandbagging or treating them like a beginner, all you are doing is smothering one minority and ignoring the newbies who want your help. Fun Fact: Over 90% of players who don't get out of pools in a tournament are male.

If your motives are to bring more females to the scene, lock/delete this thread. The only way any minority will feel welcome here is if we treat them the same way we treat each other. Treat them like "The [Character] main from [City], not "The girl".

 

[standardtoaster]

their BO matters when you sit next to them to btw. learn this when you get to tourneys

 

[Paradoxium]

whats a girl?

 

[trojanpooh]

That was literally painful to read. I think the sexism may have actually been wafting out of my laptop speakers. The best way to get a girl to play "like us" is the same way you get a guy to play "like us". Treating them like the human beings they are and playing the damn game.

 

[Vashimus]

Mizuki's Pit is pretty godlike. Jussayin'

 

[TreK]

I knew this would be good by just reading the title.

And by good I obviously mean bad.