I actually answered every question except the dumbest ones in Dekar's last post. I kind of regret it now because the answers to decent questions which I put some thought into are buried between responses to the loads of inane crap, but hey, people got what they asked for.
Atticus do you play fox or marth?
Fox. I mained Marth until this year, but except for the first tournament this year I've completely dropped Marth.
Tell us more about your title of "The Understander"
Redact started calling me the understander, presumably because I'm pretty good at understanding. I think he stole the title idea from someone in TF2.
How important is nutrition and exercise for a professional gamer of your level?
Can you elaborate on the gameplay elements that you do not like about brawl?
Do you want to play some starcraft?
Apparently not important at all to get to my current level, I eat way too much junk food and I don't get much exercise. I definitely think a healthier lifestyle could have a positive impact on my gameplay, though.
I could write an essay on the problems I have with Brawl, but I'm not sure I can go into such detail right now since I have a million other questions to answer.
When I play Brawl, I feel like I'm playing a normal Smash game where my character is a cripple. My ground movement options have been gutted with the removal of dash dancing and wavedashing, and my jumps are slow and floaty. My attacks rarely link together in any way, my throws neither lead into combos nor have significant knockback. My air dodge has gone from a carefully usable recovery tool with versatile applications for extra ground positioning options and platform landing to a dull temp invulnerability button.
The neutral game is boring and campy. There is basically no combo game, which was one of the most interesting combo games in the fighting genre thanks to dynamic knockback based on the target's current damage % and DI. The edgeguarding game so important to Smash has been destroyed as you can basically almost always get to the edge for free.
It's difficult to pinpoint any particular aspect of Brawl that makes it such a disappointing game - it's an accumulation of many problems, and it seems to me like every design decision was geared towards making Brawl the antithesis of everything I love about Melee.
I'm not really playing Starcraft anymore. It's a cool game, but it takes a lot of dedication and time to learn to play properly and I already struggle to devote as much time into my primary competitive game as I'd like to.
what made you start melee?
when did you first become competitive with it?
how do you always beat me so much (srs answer)?
I started Melee because I loved the original Smash on Nintendo 64. I got a cube for Christmas the year it came out (a few days early since I was living in Minnesota at the time and we were going to Australia for Christmas where it wouldn't work), and I immediately went to the store and bought SSBM.
My interest in competitive Melee sparked when my mate Magnum, who I went to school with in Minnesota, linked me DBR's 'Evolution' combo video. I'd always been very competitive about the game just playing with my friends, and learning of this whole new depth and competitiveness to one of my favorite games ever was an awesome discovery.
I started playing competitively in Janauary 2007. After watching some MLG and starting to practice advanced techniques, I sought out the local Melee scene in Melbourne. It was pretty quiet at the time, but fortunately a friend of a friend ('Dohei') decided to host a few meets and the first Comrades tournament at his house. Couch Warriors started up at La Trobe soon after, and I went regularly.
I beat you so often because years of practice against you has given me a lot of insight into your playstyle and the way you think about the game. I seem to have fallen behind lately, though, and it seems like lately you can beat me as much or possibly more than I beat you. Even so, I'd remain very confident going into a tournament match against you, which is something you'd have to match despite my record against you being disproportionate to our overall performance if you hope to beat me.
where do you see yourself in 10 years?
are you going to move back to america later in life?
Hopefully in an interesting area of research in computer science, probably still in Melbourne.
I have no intentions of moving back to America, but I wouldn't rule out going anywhere if cool opportunities arise.
if you could play one character really well, who would it be?
who is your favourite famous smasher?
why did you choose the name atticus?
how long ago did you choose atticus?
what is your favourite video game?
I'd want to play Fox really well, and that's a large part of why I play him. Having a good Falco or Falcon would also be fun.
I don't think I could pick one favourite famous smasher - there's heaps of players with awesome talent and style to watch these days, not to mention all the old school players from MLG Melee, DBR etc. who got me into this game.
I chose the name Atticus when I started playing competitive Melee (Jan 07), and I chose it because I figured people would be calling me by my gamer alias at Smash meets and I wanted something that would sound like a normal name. I got the name from the awesome character in To Kill a Mockingbird.
My favourite game is Melee.
if you could chose one band, who would you listen too?
if you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
what are you wearing?
which justin bieber track is your favourite?
want to come with me to the next sydney major if i sponsor you to go?
Choosing one band is too hard. With nothing else to contrast them with, I'd get tired of any one band.
I'd live in Melbourne. I could always move if I don't like it.
Clothes.
'Baby'.
Yes.
who is your favourite brawl player in the melb scene? (as in a person)
what is your favourite 2d fighting game?
what is your favourite anime?
if you had to pick 1 album to listen to for the rest of your life, which album would you choose?
what are you doing for your 21st?
Brawl player - Not playing favourites!
2D fighter - Melty Blood
Anime - Neon Genesis Evangelion
Album - In Rainbows (Radiohead)
21st - I don't know, probably a house party.
What does double rainbow mean?
Two rainbows at the same time.
do you think the smash community should do smash 64 tournys
Yes.
wtf was up with that queer *** computer keyboard/GC controller you had...?
I got it for Phantasy Star Online many years ago. I've gone through countless controllers for Melee and at the time it was the only one I had that still worked well enough to play with.
I dont even know anything about you,
but why are you so good
At what?
Atticus plays PSO?
Did he hear about PSO TWO!?
I did a long time ago.
I hadn't heard about PSO2 until I read this post. :B
If smash was no longer an option for you, what 2D fighter would you play competitively?
Why are you so amazing?
Why are you so god**** lazy?
According to Attila Redact's heritage is Aboriginal, what do you think?
Do you have a favorite moment in smash?
What made you decide to change from Marth to Fox?
Who would you main if Fox wasn't an option anymore?
Why do you play Chaos in Melty?
I'll think of more later (8
If Smash dropped, I probably wouldn't play any fighters competitively anymore. I would probably return to FPS with something like Quake Live, or maybe try learning Starcraft 2.
Amazingness comes through understanding.
I know I'm just a lazy person sometimes, it's not something I'm proud of. It's probably partially because I never get enough sleep.
Nope.
I don't have a great memory for these since great moments happen all the time, but here's some cool ones that happened this year:
- The waterfall combo: Me and Dekar are both Fox, I'm on the left platform and he's on the ground behind me next to the edge on Pokemon Stadium. Mikul jumps into me and I shine him, he falls right into Dekar who also shines, and Mikul falls to his death. We yell out "WATERFALL!"
- At a uni tournament, I'm playing Falcon against someone's ICs (and I'm getting off). Daniel (who entered a CW tournament once, as "Mr. Giggles") says he'll eat his pants if I do a quadruple knee. Not even 5 seconds later, I do a triple knee and narrowly miss the fourth.
- Very clutch 1v2 victory vs. Tak and Shaz. I think this got recorded?
I didn't really play in '09, but I showed up to Rocky to support the event - I didn't want to miss Couch Warriors' first national major. My Marth was out of shape and terrible, but the tournament was so hype that it reinvigorated my interest in Melee.
Aside from being rusty, after 3 years of almost purely maining Marth, I was getting kind of bored with him, so I tried out doing some basic tech with Falco, Fox and Falcon. Fox has the best matchups of the three, is a great teams character and just feels very fast and powerful, so I ran with him. Once I felt like my Fox was beginning to become technically competent, I realized it wouldn't take long to catch up to where my Marth was and areas for growth potential were more intuitive to me, so I decided to transition to making him my new main.
I would play Falco if Fox was not an option, and in fact, my Falco may be making his tournament debut next year. I intend to keep playing Fox, depending on how comfortable I become with Falco I may become a Fox/Falco split main.
I first picked up Chaos ecause he was the easiest to scrub **** out when Sam was getting everyone to try Melty Blood back in the early days of Couch Warriors. When I actually started to play against people who knew what they were doing, I had to learn how to play properly, but even after learning some basics for a few other characters, Chaos was still my favorite. I just love his general design, in both gameplay and aesthetic. He radiates danger.
Just a fyi, a book titled "To kill a mocking bird". Good book. Or something else unrelated! I do remember asking him a while back though!
Hai Finchy
On average, whats the decent number amount of sleep you usually get? I used to see you on steam playing tf2 til the whee hours in the morning. Now you're just not even on.
Will you ever go back to have that crazy hair again?
blank
My sleeping times are still very erratic and inconsistent in length. I rarely get enough sleep unless on holidays, and I've spent most of uni in chronic sleep deprivation. I'm still often up in those late hours, but I don't play TF2 anymore, so I'm not on Steam much. I'm always on IRC when I'm awake if you want to find me!
Nope.
are your parents smart like you?
what are your fondest memories of america? why?
why a different melee character every year?
do you have neopets? why/why not?
have you ever had any irl pets? why/why not?
if so, how did the irl pets compare to the neopets?
do you think if given 1 hour you could solve the impassable gate 3? why/why not?
is melbourne uni the best uni? why/why not?
you are interviewee #1, is this a coincidence?
what is your favourite piece of italian poetry? why?
who is your favourite australian director? why?
what is the most delicious flavour of jelly bean, in your opinion? why?
do you think there ever was a santa, for real? why/why not?
do you think jesus exisited and was the son of god? why/why not?
which religion is the right one? why?
which religion(s) is/are definitely wrong? why?
donkey kong country 2, best of the series? why/why not?
ace attorney series, which game is best and worst, and why?
marth falcon, who's favour? why?
ntsc/pal, which is more fun? why?
australian smash, bright future? why/why not?
at what age or stage in your life do you think you will stop playing video games?
at what age or stage in your life do you think you will stop playing video games competitively?
how many wives do you think you will have?
if you were to have children, would you rather a boy or a girl first?
what would you name your first born son?
first born daughter?
if you had 5 daughters and named then all something beginning with O, and you went to the doctor and they said the next baby is def gunna be a girl, would you name the new baby something starting with O also? why/why not? if you then had a boy, would you name him something starting with O? why/why not?
If you were stranded on a tropical island by yourself with boxes of cornflakes and 6 chickens, how would you survive the longest off these 2 resources?
bbq shapes are $1.79 at safeways this week. if I can afford it, should i just buy heaps all at once, or a couple of boxes every 2 or 3 days? why?
costco, thoughts?
at kfc is it better to gravy cancel into 2 regular chips or gravy cancel into 1 large chips?
are there better chicken nuggest than the ones at mcdonalds?
should mute city be banned? why/why not?
should corneria be banned? why/why not?
what's the best ice cream flavour?
what's the worst ice cream flavour?
have you ever gone on chat roulette or something similar? why/why not?
do you think there should be a limit on how many questions people can ask?
^part 1 of 8 jared
Yes
Times spent with friends. Good BBQ pork ribs, diners, other various food.
I've only switched Melee characters once except for a month or two with Doc a long time ago. I switch to keep things fresh and interesting for myself.
Yes, because I played when I was younger.
Yes, a goldfish. I don't remember why.
I'd say the goldfish was better, since Neopets are basically static images.
Yes, because I'm good at critical thinking, which studies show happens to be the key to success.
I don't know - I haven't been to other unis.
What?
I haven't read any Italian poetry.
I don't really have a favourite Australian director.
It's been too long since I've had jelly beans for me to properly answer this question. I'll give you a better answer when you provide the relevant sample selection.
No. The mythology surrounding Santa contains things that can't possibly be true.
No. I don't believe in a god.
None of them - because there's no reason to believe any of them are true.
All of them. See above.
Haven't played it.
AA3 is the best because Godot is epic, even though you ****ing spoiled the ending for me. AAI is the worst because it doesn't have the courtroom drama (but it's still good).
Strongly favours Marth at low level gameplay, but becomes more and more favoured toward Falcon the better the players involved, to the point of becoming pretty even or even slightly Falcon favoured in the current metagame.
Not really different enough for one to be more fun, although if you're getting chain grabbed by Sheik or something PAL would be more fun.
Yes. Smash is too good, we have committed, skilled players, people get attached to it, and new blood slowly comes in.
Probably never completely.
Probably when I have a family, or when I suck at games.
1
I'd like to name him Atticus - I'd have to use a different online alias though!
Naming a daughter would be tougher. Some I'd consider: Alice, Nina, Lily/Lilian, Katrina.
I'd have to discuss the decision with the mother in both situations, since it's her call as much as it is mine.
Eating them when I get really hungry.
You may want to slow down on the BBQ shapes, they're not terribly healthy.
None.
1 large chips.
Not that I've eaten.
Yes. It's a ridiculous stage.
I think Corneria is fun and I think it's reasonable enough to be a legitimate stage, but I can see the merit in banning it for a stricter mapset (~9 total maps like MBR).
Passionfruit gelato is my favourite, the worst is probably something I haven't tried.
No comment.
a/s/l?
...
duck duck goose?
20/m/melb
no
There wasn't really any special reason I went into it - studying CS at uni was always plan A. I just like using computers a lot and it seemed like the natural decision.
What do you think of Gregory Peck?
I think Gregory Peck played the role of Atticus Finch to perfection in the film adaption of To Kill a Mockingbird and he seems like an outstanding person in general.
In HoN and DotA, and other games with this system, how much better is a Kill to an Assist?
Do you think Assists are respectable?
McDonalds. Discuss, 50 words minimum.
What does Dekar do with Jiggs that makes him great?
What are some good Bands/Artists? What makes them good, why do you like them?
Is all good music timeless?
Bass or Drums?
What's your opinion on a hung parliament?
Julia Gillard y/n ?
What's the largest animal you've ever touched? seen?
I hate DotA and all its derivatives, nothing about playing them is 'respectable'.
No.
Dekar capitalizes off his reads (and your mistakes) well. Even if you make the same amount of correct decisions, it doesn't matter if the ones you decide wrong lead to getting rested at 40%. He's also good at catching patterns quickly, especially if you start to lose focus.
Silversun Pickups, Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, Chemical Brothers, Tool, White Stripes, Between the Buried and Me, Nine Inch Nails, Lightning Bolt, Queens of the Stone Age. They're good because they play good music, I like them because they're good.
It depends what you mean by timeless. Good music is still good music in another time, but some music has special relevance to the era in which it was composed which may not be possible to fully appreciate by future generations.
What about them?
No problem.
Much better Gillard than Abbott. Both are too conservative.
I don't know.
What's your favourite place in Australia?
Have you traveled overseas to other continents apart from here and the US?
What's your IQ? can it be expressed in the amount of known numbers?
Have you ever played b*st*rd chess?
How did you come back with 1 stock to go and 3 stock me for a win?
Do you consciously think while playing melee or do you go more on instinct?
What is your tech skill out of 10?
How well do you think our best will fare against M2K at RC? (if you answer after RC then dw about it -_-")
What's your opinion on sponsoring international players to come to our tournaments?
If you had one piece of advice for a new player, what would it be?
What's your favourite video game of all time?
Why do you enjoy, and have expertise at, old games (such as looney tunes bball)?
Do you enjoy any other fighting games more than smash?
Would you ever buy a handheld console from microsoft if they brought it out?
What's your opinion on this new Playstation Move Controller they brought out?
New police search laws, pro or con?
Why are red cars always faster?
Melbourne
Yes
I don't know / Yes
No
I didn't feel like losing
Melee is very fast-paced and a lot of things have to be reactive, but of course there's an ongoing stream of conscious thought, from small-scale decisions you have a split second to think about to a broader tactical thought process constructed from what you're reading from your opponent.
6
I said we would get ***** by M2K. We did.
I don't think it's worth it - I'm more a fan of the idea of just having a larger pot, which can attract international players in itself.
My advice to a new player would be to both think and play about the game. It's important to get a lot of practice in, but if you're not learning from it properly, you're going to progress very slowly - you have to think about what you can improve about your game and how, solutions to things you're struggling with, etc. Your own analysis is important but watching high-level videos or asking other players can give you ideas you may have not come up with by yourself too. Don't let yourself fall into doing subpar stuff all the time because it sometimes works - attack when you can attack with conviction, sometimes it's best to just get some distance when you're on the backfoot, etc. On the flip side, you have to play the game lots. There are limitless possibilities in Melee and there is no substitute for the familiarity with every aspect of every situation of every matchup you get from pure experience. The key to improvement is a good balance.
Melee is my favourite game.
Old games are just funny and chill to play. My "expertise" is just intuition and years of experience playing lots of games when I was younger.
Sure.
Probably not.
Don't care about it.
No strong opinion.
Red just makes things faster, especially cars, like purple makes things oppressive, especially boots.
who should be the next smasher sponsored to fly to aus (if anyone)?
if you could meet someone who has passed away, who would it be? why?
do you think there will ever be a sequel to super smash bros brawl? why/why not?
what are the advantages and disadvantages of working in a team as opposed to working alone?
No one.
No one. Dead people don't have much to say.
Of course - Smash is a ****ing money tree for Nintendo.
Working in a team gives you more capacity to get **** done. Working alone gives you more control.
beauty and the beast or the little mermaid? why?
a bug's life or antz? why?
the incredibles or monsters inc? why?
what is your tier list for free to air tv channels?
The Little Mermaid. Can you imagine Beauty and the Beast where the guy is the beauty and the girl is the ugly beast? Wouldn't happen, Disney's sexist. At least both the romantic leads are attractive in Mermaid.
It's been too long since I've seen either of those for me to remember, but I think I liked Antz more.
Monsters Inc. I just liked the characters and story better.
Whatever tier: SBS/ABC, Turd tier: the rest
ps2 controller for melee, still keen to use in tournament? why/why not?
likely melee character main next year? why?
do you play better in singles or teams? why?
best teammate? why?
worst teammate? why?
worst legal stage? why?
best legal stage? why?
dream job? why?
No. It just can't have the precision you can get from the cube controller, plus now I've become more technically competent with the cube controller.
Fox or Fox/Falco split main. Fox is still fun, he's still getting better and I didn't even get to play him at BAM. I've been having fun with Falco lately too, though, so I might mix it up with him a bit.
I think I play singles and teams at a similar level. I often find myself more confident in teams, especially if I have a teammate I have faith in, but singles can be easier to focus on the right things at the right time.
Dekar. I can just play patient, holding stock and taking opportunities, and he gets off on everyone. Easy.
Certain players at uni who attack me as often as the opponents.
Mute City. Seriously?
Fountain of Dreams. I like the layout, the platform variation adds a dynamic element that isn't stupid/random, it's pretty and has nice music.
Pro gamer or musician. I love high-level gaming, and I love music.
