About Self-Confidence Issues.

[NintendoMan07]

Link to original post: [drupal=751]About Self-Confidence Issues.[/drupal]



I just decided tonight to kinda type out my thoughts about my self-confidence issues with respect to Brawl, and here's what I came up with:

It's like there's a world I live in where I think x=4. And it's clearly the wrong answer. And the people in this world know that x=2, and they, very unhelpful-like, will simply just say to me "You're wrong, and we're going to take advantage of that so that you will stay out of our world where we have the right idea. Go somewhere where the people think x=4, 'cause we don't want you here". So that forces me to take on a problem myself that I cannot solve. I will come up with answers of 3, 39, 54, whatever, but I'll just get the same response again and again and again. And if I do so happen to come up with x=2, I'll never know because I've been taught to always expect the same answer, and so I don't bother checking it.

I really want to just find a group of people (or even just ONE person) that'll say "No, x doesn't equal this, it equals that, and here's why". And even if my search for the right answer has an infinite number of wrong turns, this group of people isn't going to think worse of me because of it. They'll simply continue to correct me, employing a different way of teaching it. In short, this group will, in a way, "fix" me. It's not that I want my hand held all the way through, 'cause no one gets the MOST out of that, but... I just need the help to break out of a trap that's kept me from moving anywhere.

I know I'm not expecting to start out invincible... yet at the same time I want my losses to amount to something besides "what you did here was really STUPID, I don't think ANY ONE out there could've POSSIBLY done anything just that DUMB, now get OUT of my Smashboards". It's just important to me to just... lose instead of lose stupid. I just want to get to a point where every match with me is... a match. Not this SD-SD-SD-game set-"what the heck did ya do that for?" or any variation on that. Seriously, all this technical improvement and stuff goes to waste the moment my nerves get shot.

And with the kind of stunts I've had to put up with from people throughout my life, I'm gonna admit it's going to be real difficult for me to... calm down and lighten up. It's going to be real difficult for me to trust a group of people to not laugh at my playing skill, to trust people to say that I did alright or that I could improve and really MEAN IT. And taking criticism well hasn't been my best area either. My current mood, this self-criticizing part, is just me saying "I don't wanna hear it from other people, so I'll beat'em to the punch", because it somehow stings less. I have to consciously adopt a mood of learning to really learn.

I have to trust that... my mood has some kind of merit, too. That's why I can't just go online with this mood, because... my mind isn't in that mood; it's distracted by the fact that the other person is just "in it for the lulz". Granted, I know every match I refuse is a lost opportunity for learning, but like I said, as long as I'm distracted by the other person's motive, it'll be just as I described above: SD-SD-SD-game set. And no one learns from that.

So... how do I fix this? How do I get to the point in Brawl where I can really fight? How do I get past all this nervous breakdown and SD-because-I-suddenly-just-wanna-get-the-fight-over-with stuff?

 

[MuBa]

I've had the same problem like you did man. But really the best way to get confident with your skills is to just keep on practicing until you get better. Eventually that sucker will kick in and you'll start ****** other people like no other, or at least prove yourself to be a good contender.

Heck, there are times where I act like an idiot (Like detonate a C4 on myself) but it's all good and fun man.

Also I understand that you want friends who will give construct criticism on your style, or anything in general. But whoever thinks you're wrong and leave you out like that is just plain stupid and ignorant. People like them should just get hit by a car and die a painful death. It just shows how immature they are. I'd say avoid morons like them at all cost or just tell them to suck a fat one and turn the other cheek.

Oh yea and another thing...Practice makes a man perfect, or at least very good >_>

 

[8AngeL8]

Dude, you've got everything you're asking for right there at Dphat's and the Dallas community as a whole. All you have to do is take it.

 

[AlcyoNite]

I most definitely understand where you're coming from. Unfortunately, I do not symphathize with you for a few of reasons.

You're going to have to get over the pressure of other people criticizing you. You are on the internet. The internet is driven much by hate (people do things forthelulz), and this will always be true. Getting emo on the internet never helped the victim and always gave plenty of lulz to others.

You can't depend on other people to help you "learn how to learn" how to play Brawl. For independent study, I recommend recording your own matches in which you lose. Analyze every instance in which you lost a chunk of damage; consider: Why did he do that move? What could I have done to predict that he was going to do that? What maneuver could I have performed to 1) dodge that move and 2) punish him for doing that (the answer to this will not always be "roll away and F-Smash" [although we are talking about Brawl here; I'll get to that in a second])? What was I trying to do (It's bad, at this point, for your only answer here to be "I just did the move without thinking about it" because that means while you're sitting there "not thinking," the opponent is contemplating the regularities of your play style [which are extremely obvious because you are not thinking] essentially doing what I'm telling you to do without you knowing it [because you are not thinking])?

Take the above series of of questions and apply it to maybe one or two instances of mistakes on your part during a match (while you are watching it having been recorded, of course). Progressively apply the advice that you are giving yourself to your gameplay. Hypothetically, by this method, you should realize ALL of your mistakes and thus become the PERFECT player who does not make ANY mistakes. No one is perfect however. But why are some better than others? They have done the best jobs at minimizing their mistakes as well as reading their opponents and punishing them with the best choices of moves. No one (without lots of time and boredom) will go through each of your matches and point out every little thing at each point in time you should have done differently (provided some will do that...). However, that is not to say that people will not do as you have requested and stop being inter***s; that leads me to my next point.

Brawl. You are the smart guy who chose Brawl. Do you see the above text? I have written loads more per post just talking about Brawl. Not only is Brawl (imho) a bad game unworthy of a serious competitive following, its shallowness of play has drawn into Smashboards a FLOOD of newcomers (Do you see all of the people who joined in 2008?). This in itself is not inherently bad, but these newcomers have brought the mean level of intelligence on SWF down drastically; the Brawl community is a mess. A quote from M2K:
"The Brawl community sucks overall. Most people are just a bunch of whiners. I remember back in the Melee days when most everyone was cool and matches were fun and interesting, since Melee is actually a good game. You could also constantly improve in Melee and it had good replay value, due to many things not being automatic and tech skill being a much larger factor. While considered alone Brawl may be fun, by comparison to Melee it sucks, and even though I constantly won tourneys with DDD, it was boring, because it was too reliant on camping, and the approaches with him are "run and shield", or do spaced aerials that you have to autocancel otherwise it sucks, making it very limited. I hated it, and only really used it for money, and put almost no time into actually playing the game outside of tourneys."

If you, sir, are seriously interested in picking up a game that actually has depth and offers virtually the sky as a limit for your improvement along with a community that will help you with your individual struggles, I highly recommend picking up Melee. Many pro players, like M2k, are only playing Brawl for the money, and some (i.e. NorCal) are already dropping it to "revive" Melee. Again, If you are serious about wanting to improve to meet your potential, play a game where the top players actually play for the fun and competition of a game at high level play and not because they know they will win money.

 

[Immortal_One]

Crystalnite explained it all perfectly, couldn't have said anything better.

Remember, you're on the internet, there's no sympathy for anyone no matter what. Another thing, don't think too much of it. You are worth more than getting frustrated over the internet

 

[8AngeL8]

I REALLY don't want to get into a melee vs. brawl debate, but I think Brawl is still worthy of competition, even if it isn't quite as deep as Melee was...

 

[ZeroFox]

Crystalnite explained it all perfectly, couldn't have said anything better.

Remember, you're on the internet, there's no sympathy for anyone no matter what. Another thing, don't think too much of it. You are worth more than getting frustrated over the internet

Agreed.

And Crystalnite, well said.

 

[Blooqkazoo]

Just ****ing ignore whatever **** Crystalnite said in the last 2 paragraphs. It all depends on the community. The Pika boards are very nice.
So what do you find offensive or stressful? Is it the flaming or the constructive criticism like "You could have done QAC more" cause if you find that offensive, you're not going anywhere. If you think you're really that bad, play some people from Meet & Greet on WiFi.

You have some serious issues maybe. Then, you should stop playing for awhile or something.

 

[8AngeL8]

I don't know what you're so worried about, dude. You were there at the last Smashfest. We accept everyone no matter how bad they are. You could suicide three times in ten seconds, and we'd be your friends anyway. As long as you love smash, you'll be accepted.

The way to NOT be accepted is to do what you've been doing. Distancing yourself from the community will not work, you have to just jump in and start participating.

 

[NintendoMan07]

I most definitely understand where you're coming from. Unfortunately, I do not symphathize with you for a few of reasons.

I have a problem that needs to be solved. Obviously, symapthy does not solve a problem. I'm not asking for "it's okay, it'll get better blah blah blah", because that doesn't fix the PROBLEM. So if you're going for the shock effect here, it failed to hold.

You're going to have to get over the pressure of other people criticizing you. You are on the internet. The internet is driven much by hate (people do things forthelulz), and this will always be true. Getting emo on the internet never helped the victim and always gave plenty of lulz to others.

I understand this. At the risk of sounding incredibly stupid here, I'll just say that an attempt on my part to get counseling for the emotional/mental control issues I have has come to the conclusion that what I have is deeply rooted. And I don't mean to imply that I have a mind of a 4-year old. I might have a weak mental constitution, but not THAT weak. But this has been brought to the forefront due to the following chain of events:

1. I purchase Brawl, and go through the 1P modes
2. I find an online group, lose a bunch. A friend from this group decides to help me out in terms of improving. This allows me to come to every match with him with a mindset of learning, and I improve.
3. Summer hits, I go back home from college (yes, I'm in college), I find bad dial-up internet, I'm unable to play Brawl online. The aforementioned online group disbands with the disappearance of the forums.
4. I find SWF over the summer, learn all the fun stuff about how I was actually with a group of scrubs, am a scrub myself, and internal confusion and turmoil appears. I finally go back to college, go online, still lose a bunch.

I suddenly find myself in this state, unable to learn, unwilling to back off. I have only recently begun to look at it as a self-confidence issue.

You can't depend on other people to help you "learn how to learn" how to play Brawl. For independent study, I recommend recording your own matches in which you lose. Analyze every instance in which you lost a chunk of damage; consider: Why did he do that move? What could I have done to predict that he was going to do that? What maneuver could I have performed to 1) dodge that move and 2) punish him for doing that (the answer to this will not always be "roll away and F-Smash" [although we are talking about Brawl here; I'll get to that in a second])? What was I trying to do (It's bad, at this point, for your only answer here to be "I just did the move without thinking about it" because that means while you're sitting there "not thinking," the opponent is contemplating the regularities of your play style [which are extremely obvious because you are not thinking] essentially doing what I'm telling you to do without you knowing it [because you are not thinking])?

Independent study has shown that I AM the MOST unhelpful person on earth. I can pretty much nitpick everything I did to the point where, in the end, I've done more harm than good to myself. Really, it becomes about picking out the parts because "I hate who I am" instead of "I'm trying to figure out what went wrong". Nonetheless, the questions are at least something to work with WHEN I can review on my own in a HELPFUL manner, so I'm not being an ingrate about this. And the explanation for the last question didn't exactly make sense to me. And that's the part where I'm tempted to write that off as me just being dense.

Take the above series of of questions and apply it to maybe one or two instances of mistakes on your part during a match (while you are watching it having been recorded, of course). Progressively apply the advice that you are giving yourself to your gameplay. Hypothetically, by this method, you should realize ALL of your mistakes and thus become the PERFECT player who does not make ANY mistakes. No one is perfect however. But why are some better than others? They have done the best jobs at minimizing their mistakes as well as reading their opponents and punishing them with the best choices of moves. No one (without lots of time and boredom) will go through each of your matches and point out every little thing at each point in time you should have done differently (provided some will do that...). However, that is not to say that people will not do as you have requested and stop being inter***s; that leads me to my next point...

I sense that you read the part about not wanting my hand held through the entire thing, yet it seemed to fade as you typed this paragraph.

Anyway, I'm hoping I'm not infinitely dense, so there will EVENTUALLY be a point where something clicks and independent study becomes helpful instead of harmful. Really, all I'm just looking for is just a push to get me started. Now... if by the small chance I WAS infinitely dense, then I would have realized it by now and would have dropped Brawl entirely. And I probably wouldn't exist period to begin with.

Stuff about Melee and Brawl that really has no place in what NintendoMan07's talking about.

Yeah, I have Melee, and it's sat and collected dust for a while now. Oddly enough, my incredibly poor Melee experience is pretty much the only thing that's inspired me to actually do something with Brawl besides pit Lvl. 1 comps against each other and watch'em SD all over the place (and occasionally join in).

Immortal_One, Zero Fox, since you agree, I guess I'll refer you to the responses above.

Blooqkazoo, it's more the flaming than anything. And, as I described above, I've even taken criticism as a bit... harsh, if the person's impatient about it. What you just quoted is fine... but suppose the person got terribly impatient about it in the comment after my 8th vid or so... that's when I'm tuning him or her out.

I don't know what you're so worried about, dude. You were there at the last Smashfest. We accept everyone no matter how bad they are. You could suicide three times in ten seconds, and we'd be your friends anyway. As long as you love smash, you'll be accepted.

...No offense meant, but if this was mentioned before... HOW on earth did I miss it? No really, HOW? If you're really not pulling any pranks here, I'll be SO much more inclined to try to play the next time.

Seriously, I kinda understood that you guys were friendly and great at Smash and all this stuff... but I'm just really afraid to... ruin that just because of how I play being incredibly nervous around people. I'd just assumed that there was some kind of... limit to how friendly y'all could be.

Granted, I'm going to have to struggle to get past the self-perception stuff, but this'll help a LOT to know that.

 

[Hyper_Ridley]

If someone gives you a resonse like "that was stupid!", I'd suggest asking them for an explanation of why it was stupid. If they insist on not giving you constructive criticism, then they're not worth your time.

While there are a lot of jerks on the web, there are plenty of nice people as well. You just need to look.

 

[ZeroFox]

Oh, and never give up by SDing all the time.

I think there are several "rules" that every Smasher should follow:

1) Always have fun with the game, if you feel like you are not having fun with the game, don't play. Fun is, of course, relative to the person. Person A could have a blast playing with items on in 4 player FFAs. Person B could have fun being competitive and proving his worth in a tournament. I'm definitely a Person B type. I love the competitive nature. Aside from SSBM and SSBB, I've played other games on a highly competitive level (Call of Duty, Pokemon RSE, Pokemon DP). I absolutely enjoy it. Sometimes I feel as if there's a lot of work involved in improving myself in these games, and there is, I won't deny that. But I think about the fun I'll be having when I beat other people and win tournaments =P

2) Don't give up. People who put forth effort are more respected than those who just give up. It doesn't matter how good your opponents are, always give them your best shot. You learn, and they learn. By giving up, you are denying not only yourself a chance to learn, but your opponents, and anyone watching you play.

I mean, I understand why you might be nervous in a tournament setting, but don't give up ever. I was nervous when I first attended tournaments. But I tried my best, and developed my skills, until I was able to win multiple tournaments for every game I played competitively.

If you get nervous to the point where you just SD in a tourney match, maybe tournaments isn't what you should be doing to have fun. Remember, you have to like what you're doing, because if you don't, you start giving up and not caring.

 

[DDM]

I find myself in the same boat as you. I've gotten myself so twisted around about Brawl and Smashboards sometimes that I honestly get kind of depressed if I don't "measure up". It's the addictive quality about games, and the addiction I have to getting people's approval. I've spent way too much time and energy trying to impress people that I've never even met.

The point is, don't get caught up in the stuff here. It's all in good fun, but unfortunately not everyone realizes that and will try to make you miserable just to feel better about themselves. Don't put too much stock into how good you are at Smash.

Kumbaya, my Lord...

 

[NintendoMan07]

Oh, and never give up by SDing all the time.

I know.

I think there are several "rules" that every Smasher should follow:

1) Always have fun with the game, if you feel like you are not having fun with the game, don't play. Fun is, of course, relative to the person. Person A could have a blast playing with items on in 4 player FFAs. Person B could have fun being competitive and proving his worth in a tournament. I'm definitely a Person B type. I love the competitive nature. Aside from SSBM and SSBB, I've played other games on a highly competitive level (Call of Duty, Pokemon RSE, Pokemon DP). I absolutely enjoy it. Sometimes I feel as if there's a lot of work involved in improving myself in these games, and there is, I won't deny that. But I think about the fun I'll be having when I beat other people and win tournaments =P

Unfortunately, I feel I slip through the cracks here. Really, playing the role of Person A didn't... fit for some reason. Of the few times I won against a scrub I knew, I really didn't feel justified in taking the win. In those cases, it WAS FFA with items. And this was BEFORE I came to Smashboards. Yet, as you can see, I'm incredibly uncomfortable trying to play the role of Person B. So... where do I fit?

2) Don't give up. People who put forth effort are more respected than those who just give up. It doesn't matter how good your opponents are, always give them your best shot. You learn, and they learn. By giving up, you are denying not only yourself a chance to learn, but your opponents, and anyone watching you play.

But is there a point where... your skill is just so... horrid to the point where giving up is actually the better option? I know that some of the jerks out there will say something to the effect of "I should've spent my time on better people than you," but is there really some merit to that statement?

I mean, I understand why you might be nervous in a tournament setting, but don't give up ever. I was nervous when I first attended tournaments. But I tried my best, and developed my skills, until I was able to win multiple tournaments for every game I played competitively.

If you get nervous to the point where you just SD in a tourney match, maybe tournaments isn't what you should be doing to have fun. Remember, you have to like what you're doing, because if you don't, you start giving up and not caring.

The sad truth is, it's not even tourney matches where this is happening. This has just happened in some shape or form in regular online matches (although I'm not so bold as to just home in on the blast zone from the start of a match).

 

[ZeroFox]

But is there a point where... your skill is just so... horrid to the point where giving up is actually the better option? I know that some of the jerks out there will say something to the effect of "I should've spent my time on better people than you," but is there really some merit to that statement?

I don't know why people would say that. There are kids that I can easily go 5-0 or 5-1 against, but I don't think that playing them is a waste of time.

I don't know what to tell you to be honest. Just keep plugging away at it.

 

[AlcyoNite]

Before I offer a response, know that by my addressing your original post, I was not intending to directly respond to every single issue you express. I aimed to offer my point of viem backed with the humble experience I have in this competitive community. Moreover, SWF is not necessarily where I would recommend seeking advice geared to solving mental health issues (which you mentioned) that could be specialized to the competitive gaming field.

I have a problem that needs to be solved. Obviously, symapthy does not solve a problem. I'm not asking for "it's okay, it'll get better blah blah blah", because that doesn't fix the PROBLEM. So if you're going for the shock effect here, it failed to hold.

I wasnt going fo any effect. It was more like a thesis; an introduction if you will.

I understand this. At the risk of sounding incredibly stupid here, I'll just say that an attempt on my part to get counseling for the emotional/mental control issues I have has come to the conclusion that what I have is deeply rooted. And I don't mean to imply that I have a mind of a 4-year old. I might have a weak mental constitution, but not THAT weak. But this has been brought to the forefront due to the following chain of events:

1. I purchase Brawl, and go through the 1P modes
2. I find an online group, lose a bunch. A friend from this group decides to help me out in terms of improving. This allows me to come to every match with him with a mindset of learning, and I improve.
3. Summer hits, I go back home from college (yes, I'm in college), I find bad dial-up internet, I'm unable to play Brawl online. The aforementioned online group disbands with the disappearance of the forums.
4. I find SWF over the summer, learn all the fun stuff about how I was actually with a group of scrubs, am a scrub myself, and internal confusion and turmoil appears. I finally go back to college, go online, still lose a bunch.

I suddenly find myself in this state, unable to learn, unwilling to back off. I have only recently begun to look at it as a self-confidence issue.

If you have any doubts about the ability of the SWF community to procide you with quality advice for your growth in Smash, let me just say that you won't find any better, more experienced community anywhere else (not to say that you have had doubts).

Independent study has shown that I AM the MOST unhelpful person on earth. I can pretty much nitpick everything I did to the point where, in the end, I've done more harm than good to myself. Really, it becomes about picking out the parts because "I hate who I am" instead of "I'm trying to figure out what went wrong". Nonetheless, the questions are at least something to work with WHEN I can review on my own in a HELPFUL manner, so I'm not being an ingrate about this. And the explanation for the last question didn't exactly make sense to me. And that's the part where I'm tempted to write that off as me just being dense.

You will not improve by psychologically limiting your abilities and offering yourself excuses for your unwillingness to try. If you cannot think for yourself, then who will think for you? You say that you do not want to be spoon fed, yet you are insistent upon your inability to help yourself. Where do you plan on drawing the line? If you did not appreciate that series of questions, fine, but it was an attempt to help you learn how to learn, which technique you said you wanted for yourself. As for you "hating who you are," as much as I would be tempted to write that off as a personal issue, I can only say that you should not hate yourself. There is no reason for anyone to do that. Do not dispute that, for I am correct on that matter.

I sense that you read the part about not wanting my hand held through the entire thing, yet it seemed to fade as you typed this paragraph.

Anyway, I'm hoping I'm not infinitely dense, so there will EVENTUALLY be a point where something clicks and independent study becomes helpful instead of harmful. Really, all I'm just looking for is just a push to get me started. Now... if by the small chance I WAS infinitely dense, then I would have realized it by now and would have dropped Brawl entirely. And I probably wouldn't exist period to begin with.

Again, I was not interested in addressing your issues with a fine-tooth pick. I chose to respond with my choice of words; take it or leave it. I have my own ways of teaching/guiding, and I will have no tolerance for stubbornness.

Yeah, I have Melee, and it's sat and collected dust for a while now. Oddly enough, my incredibly poor Melee experience is pretty much the only thing that's inspired me to actually do something with Brawl besides pit Lvl. 1 comps against each other and watch'em SD all over the place (and occasionally join in).

I gave you reasons for the Smash community's appreciation of Melee; there are many more. How do you think the entire community has thrived for all of these years before Brawl? The arrival of Melee brought Smash into the competitive limelight; Brawl has done much to take it out. While I will recognize that this sort of talk has, in recent times, inspired hostility among players, consider that there was a reason for this type of heated debate to be started in the first place; people don't stand with Melee and reject Brawl for no reason. That being said, I never intended to start a flame war or inspire any sort of debate. I was merely offering a possible reason for the shallowness of community on SWF that you claimed to have found. I stand by every word of what I said.

Whether you realize it or not, the advice above that I tried to offer, for some, would be some of the best advice that could be received by a beginning Smasher (or any competitive gamer at that). Your stubbornness (or alleged mental incapacities) is hindering you from accepting anything that may in any way contrapose how you approach improving. That is your right, but do not attack me [and my "attempt at shock effect"] for not agreeing with your attitude toward improving smash.

All of that being said, I realldy do hope you will get that "push" to allow you to improve and be able to teach yourself. You can do it. But I just have this little feeling that said "push" will come from you and not an outside force. That's basically the underlying point I've been trying to make.

 

[Hyper_Ridley]

Well said Crystalnite. At the end of the day, no one can help you unless you're willing to do some of the work yourself.

 

[Hax]

play melee, buddy. that game gets you amazing at brawl; not that brawl is at all worth playing. plus what's left of the community are only the coolest people that were there in the first place.

 

[NintendoMan07]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I don't understand anything because I'm a lousy scrub. I'm sorry that in trying to understand, I come off as incredibly cynical. I'm sorry that my cynical attitude comes from bad dealings with people, and thus I've been conditioned to believe that people in general do things for their own self-interest, and no one else's.

For the sake of trying:

Situation: I use a suicide dair and... SD.

"What was I trying to do (It's bad, at this point, for your only answer here to be "I just did the move without thinking about it" because that means while you're sitting there "not thinking," the opponent is contemplating the regularities of your play style [which are extremely obvious because you are not thinking] essentially doing what I'm telling you to do without you knowing it [because you are not thinking])?"

I was trying to end the match as quickly as possible.
Why?
I was nervous.
Why?
...

The person would have considered me a waste of his/her time, because I was fighting so poorly. Yet in all irony, my idiot decision makes the person judge me the same anyway. So it's lose-lose.

Solution: Stop being nervous so I stop SDing.
HOW?

...

And the line of questioning grinds to a halt there. And that happens to be the same question asked in the series of questions at the end of the blog post. If this question was answered in your post, Crystalnite, then my scrub eyes failed to see it. And if you never intended to answer that question, that's fine, too. More than anything, I kinda came up with the blog as just a way for me to remind myself that I have a reason to keep playing Brawl.

If the tl;dr version of our posts was:

Crystalnite: Here's how you get better at Smash.
Me: NO.

Then I can totally see where I can give everyone permission to kick me.

 

[OmegaXF]

It's like...you have a "want" but not a "WANT"
You want to get better for multiple reasons and hope that in doing so will have this "bonus " effect.
Yet your missing your "WANT" the true reason why you even consider trying to become good at this game.
If you said you WANTED to become good at this game so you can experience it's bonus effects that could be your starting push right there.....

 

[NintendoMan07]

Wow, well put, OmegaXF.

Anyway... I uh, can 2-3 stock Lvl. 4 comps somewhat regularly with Toon Link now...

I think.

*very slow golf clap*

EDIT: Well, ok, so I just made a fool of myself with "somewhat regularly" but oh well, progress seems like it's being made, just on an intangible level.

...

Ok, so that really means I don't feel it. But it might be happening. MIGHT be...

 

[8AngeL8]

I've played some truly terrible players, who you would 3-stock for sure. I never considered it a waste of my time. It's a game, and I enjoy it even if my opponent doesn't even know how to jump. Most people will not hate you for playing badly.

Also, there's no need to be nervous because no match (other than tourney matches) means anything. It's all just practice and fun. You can get 3 stocked every single time in friendlies, but it's just a game then. The only time there should be any nervousness is in a tourney, when it actually counts for something.

 

[AlcyoNite]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I don't understand anything because I'm a lousy scrub. I'm sorry that in trying to understand, I come off as incredibly cynical. I'm sorry that my cynical attitude comes from bad dealings with people, and thus I've been conditioned to believe that people in general do things for their own self-interest, and no one else's.

For the sake of trying:

Situation: I use a suicide dair and... SD.

"What was I trying to do (It's bad, at this point, for your only answer here to be "I just did the move without thinking about it" because that means while you're sitting there "not thinking," the opponent is contemplating the regularities of your play style [which are extremely obvious because you are not thinking] essentially doing what I'm telling you to do without you knowing it [because you are not thinking])?"

I was trying to end the match as quickly as possible.
Why?
I was nervous.
Why?
...

The person would have considered me a waste of his/her time, because I was fighting so poorly. Yet in all irony, my idiot decision makes the person judge me the same anyway. So it's lose-lose.

Solution: Stop being nervous so I stop SDing.
HOW?

...

And the line of questioning grinds to a halt there. And that happens to be the same question asked in the series of questions at the end of the blog post. If this question was answered in your post, Crystalnite, then my scrub eyes failed to see it. And if you never intended to answer that question, that's fine, too. More than anything, I kinda came up with the blog as just a way for me to remind myself that I have a reason to keep playing Brawl.

If the tl;dr version of our posts was:

Crystalnite: Here's how you get better at Smash.
Me: NO.

Then I can totally see where I can give everyone permission to kick me.

I know this may seem stupid to say, but the solution to that particular problem would be: when considering if you should SD, don't.

Come on, man. Give yourself some credit. Don't tie your game into a self-confidence issue; just play!

As for what other people think, there is no way you could possibly know what others think about you while you're playing with them; but who cares anyway? You playing the game is all about you having fun.

Chillax, son.

 

[shaSLAM]

I may not be much help... well im sure i wont be.
but you just have to want it bad enough to say OK **** MYSELF. **** what I think of myself. and just go. because the outcome of how people REALLY react to you wont be as bad as you have already made it out to be in your mind. so you have nothing to lose.

and it sounds like your "community" that you have been playing smash with and talking about smash with, has always been online. i would not recomend that. people are much more cruel online than in person, simply because most of the time there is no REAL harm from being cruel online so people just say crap. even though 99% of the time they dont mean it and would not of even thought about saying that in real life.

i suggest you just show up at an in-person tourney. show up early for frienddlies so there is no pressure to win. and just play around and tell people you are new but want to be active in the community and learn. then if you are having a good time stay around and mabey enter the tourney. just show up, be humble and willing to learn, and you will be a part of the brawl community in no time.

i am in the process of doing this myself and everyone has been incredibly nice that i have ever met.

 

[NintendoMan07]

Well, as far as community goes, I've just kinda referred to the entirety of SWF, so yeah, it's been mostly online. Although with 8Angel8 representing the Dallas community in this topic, I'm definitely encouraged by that (providing you aren't exaggerating anything you said, right, Angel?).

I kinda realized now that I've been basing my judgments of SWF from it's... least friendly corners, I guess. To illustrate my point:

be good.

pros please!

good players

advanced skill level

be good man

That's just a sampling of quotes from the Friend Finder topic. I'm NOT implying that these people have no right to say any of these things; on the contrary, if I were in their position, I'd be doing the same thing.

But to be in my position as I am NOW, it's kind of... difficult for me to approach the topic with a challenge that would be taken seriously. I mean... what am I supposed to say?

"Skill Level: Fail
Any stages
1v1
no pros, please"?

Even just looking at that myself right now, I'm gonna admit that's a ridiculously stupid way of advertising a match. But... it's not in my nature to bluff. And as far as I'm realistically concerned, that's what I could honestly put. Either that or "loses to scrubs".

Again, I'm NOT saying these people are bluffing and should stop posting or whatever. I'm just saying, I die a little inside when I see a page full of those posts on that topic.

But considering that online isn't to be taken seriously at all, considering lag and whatever, this really shouldn't be of my concern, ESPECIALLY since I've met the Smashers in my area. But... I'm just pointing out just what I mean when I refer to the SWF community. It's a terribly skewed view, I know, but it's all I've really seen of SWF up until recently.

 

[8AngeL8]

Nah I'm not exaggerating, dude. Dallas is one of the most friendly communities you'll find.

I think you need to realize that every player started off being complete trash at the game. Through a desire to get better and lots of practice, they did. You're not going to be pro tomorrow, but you'll be better than you were today. If that happens consistently, you will become great.

Really, the only thing holding you back is this imaginary fear that we will instantly hate you if you play badly. That's not true at all. Here in Dallas, we'll explain what you can do to fix your problems, because we want everyone to get better.

The ONLY thing stopping you from joining in and becoming a good smasher is your fear of becoming a part of the community and playing with other people.

 

[ZeroFox]

Nah I'm not exaggerating, dude. Dallas is one of the most friendly communities you'll find.

I think you need to realize that every player started off being complete trash at the game. Through a desire to get better and lots of practice, they did. You're not going to be pro tomorrow, but you'll be better than you were today. If that happens consistently, you will become great.

Really, the only thing holding you back is this imaginary fear that we will instantly hate you if you play badly. That's not true at all. Here in Dallas, we'll explain what you can do to fix your problems, because we want everyone to get better.

The ONLY thing stopping you from joining in and becoming a good smasher is your fear of becoming a part of the community and playing with other people.

Well put Angel

 

[NintendoMan07]

I know I'm digging this out of the grave, but something important just came up: I was just recently asked if I was ready to consider going seriously competitive.

By now, I've taken up a seemingly OK habit of just pretending that my opponent doesn't care about how I play. This has helped me actually FIGHT my matches out (as opposed to my normal habit of hogging the blast zone halfway through the match as soon as I find out that I'm facing someone better than me).

The problem is, if I really decide to get serious about this, both of those mindsets WON'T work. It doesn't help that I'm a naturally anxious and stressed out person as is, either.

So a few questions I have for you guys (hopefully I won't be so stupid in my response this time, even though my spelling my take a hit from typing on the Wii):

1. Does competitive Smash turn people into jerks? I ask because I still have a few scrub friends that, in the end, I'd still like to play with. I guess, worded differently: is it possible to reserve "playing to win" as a tourney-only belief?

2. How do I keep from declaring the outcomes of matches at the character select screen? And I'm not talking about matchups, it's just that this was what happened before I picked up the "no one cares" mindset.

I really feel stuck with saying yes to competitive Smash, even though I know it shouldn't be a forced decision. The problem is, my alternative is to torment myself about how horrid I am, regardless of whether I'm playing for fun or not. =/

 

[c-1]

Wow, well put, OmegaXF.

Anyway... I uh, can 2-3 stock Lvl. 4 comps somewhat regularly with Toon Link now...

I think.

*very slow golf clap*

EDIT: Well, ok, so I just made a fool of myself with "somewhat regularly" but oh well, progress seems like it's being made, just on an intangible level.

...

Ok, so that really means I don't feel it. But it might be happening. MIGHT be...

Not sure if this will help, but you could start facing higher level CPUs like 5 then 6, then 7, etc
this won't make you a pro, but it helped me in Smash 64, which carried to melee, etc.

 

[NintendoMan07]

Not sure if this will help, but you could start facing higher level CPUs like 5 then 6, then 7, etc
this won't make you a pro, but it helped me in Smash 64, which carried to melee, etc.

Yeah, thanks for the help... but I'm sure others will disagree, and really, the comp thing is... just a nice thing I'd like to have. I mean, even if no one is all that awesome, at least EVERYONE can beat a Lvl. 9. I'd at least like to have that, although it's becoming less and less important to me right now.

Anyway, I put some thought into something: People say that going to tournament does wonders for improving, and I can't see why not. But... I see a few ways of going about this.

1.
I go to a tournament right now, get knocked out first thing, and leave with the idea of having no hope in Smash. I quit Brawl and... probably get super-depressed for a week or so, worry my parents sick, and then I'm never heard of again (in the Smash scene, I mean).

2.
Same as above, just replacing "get knocked out first thing" with "awkwardly forfeit the entire tournament", and add in that people in the end... well, who am I kidding, everyone there's playing to win, so nothing else happens.

3.
I end up playing with people outside of tournaments, lose a bunch of matches, but eventually improve enough to win at least a few of them, and have some kind of... confidence to bring to my first tournament. I get knocked out first thing/shortly in the beginning/whenever, yet I know that I have... SOMETHING outside of the tournament scene, so I consider keeping at it.

4.
I skip the runaround in the previous situations and just GO, somehow FORCE myself to adopt a mentality that isn't mine, and just... play. I end up keeping at it, but I'm no longer... myself.

I'll be honest... option 3 is like... my dream choice. Option 4 is... well, the "get over it" way of doing this, and it's probably what you guys prefer. But... really, I just want to play Smash, and if I go to a tournament, I really want to go in with some sort of mix of confidence and realism: this idea that I know I won't win, but also knowing I can go far. That... is what I want. Unfortunately, I have a flaw of only being able to establish confidence based on results. <_<

So... what do you guys think? Is option 3 truly reasonable, or is there some gigantic flaw in it? I know some of you prefer option 4 (maybe not in the way I worded it, but in the idea that... I just GO). Also, if possible, could someone answer the questions in my previous post?

Thanks for putting up with me, guys. I KNOW I'm being a blockhead over something as really insignificant as Smash, but I really feel like... I'm almost able to grasp SOMETHING.