Epok
Smash Ace
After watching some of the Smash 4 collegiate crew battles, it really got me thinking about how crews could potentially be a regular tournament format. I am not by any means suggesting that we should flip the scene on it’s head in favor of this idea, but it may be something worth looking into.
Proposing an idea like this will obliviously have pros as well as cons:
I would love to see what people think about this type of event being implemented into Smash and see if there is truly a niche for this type of tournament format.
Proposing an idea like this will obliviously have pros as well as cons:
Overall Hype:
Crews are a very exciting format to watch in general. I feel as if that this is an event that people don’t get tired of. It also may be a way of making Smash stand out more than other fighting games or esports in general.
A Team Dynamic:
Many of the most popular esports such as League of legends, Counter Strike, DOTA, and others are team games. Not to mention, the majority of popular physical sports are team sports. I think that this for one may help spectators identify with a team and be encouraged to watch them perform. Also, this may also justify professional esports teams to recruit more smash players making esports careers more viable. This is a common issue with fighting games since they are such an individualized sport, it is hard more more than the top 10-15 players to make a solid living of of their respective game.
Potential Exposure for More Players:
Because you are part of a team, this could definitely lead to more players being able to show their ability to a wide audience. There are many good players that will get more potential stream time and be recognized as part of a team. This could help build interesting stories of rivalries and underdog scenarios that add the the dramatic element of sports.
Interesting Strategy / Character Diversity:
Smash 4 has become well known for the viable character diversity. Most crew battle rules enforce a character lock, which means that each player must play the same character the whole way though the crew battle. This may lend to more strategy of match ups play styles and over forward thinking to win crew battles. Crew battles are not just about who to play, but when to play them.
A potential rule of no two of the same character per team may be interesting. Enforcing a rule like that has downsides, but it may lead to seeing more diverse and uncommon match ups and character play.
Crews are a very exciting format to watch in general. I feel as if that this is an event that people don’t get tired of. It also may be a way of making Smash stand out more than other fighting games or esports in general.
A Team Dynamic:
Many of the most popular esports such as League of legends, Counter Strike, DOTA, and others are team games. Not to mention, the majority of popular physical sports are team sports. I think that this for one may help spectators identify with a team and be encouraged to watch them perform. Also, this may also justify professional esports teams to recruit more smash players making esports careers more viable. This is a common issue with fighting games since they are such an individualized sport, it is hard more more than the top 10-15 players to make a solid living of of their respective game.
Potential Exposure for More Players:
Because you are part of a team, this could definitely lead to more players being able to show their ability to a wide audience. There are many good players that will get more potential stream time and be recognized as part of a team. This could help build interesting stories of rivalries and underdog scenarios that add the the dramatic element of sports.
Interesting Strategy / Character Diversity:
Smash 4 has become well known for the viable character diversity. Most crew battle rules enforce a character lock, which means that each player must play the same character the whole way though the crew battle. This may lend to more strategy of match ups play styles and over forward thinking to win crew battles. Crew battles are not just about who to play, but when to play them.
A potential rule of no two of the same character per team may be interesting. Enforcing a rule like that has downsides, but it may lead to seeing more diverse and uncommon match ups and character play.
A Large Dynamic Change in Tournament Format:
Trying to implement crews as a staple event could potentially be a very hard adjustment to the smash community. It is very hard to put such a huge community on board with an idea like this because many players may not have the resources or general interest in doing crew battles.
Organization:
I could see without good leadership and oversight from T.O.’s, keeping a crew tournament organized could be very messy. Making sure that all players are present for their matches, enforcing character locks and just general confusion may make for a hectic experience.
A Solid Rule Set:
Although there is currently a basic understood outline for crew battles, making a solid ruleset will be something that needs to be addressed. Things such as character lock, stage picks and bans, and seeding in brackets may be hard to determine.
Player Base:
Not everyone has the ability to form groups of 3 or 5 players into a crew, this may lead to lack of interest or even alienating players if they cannot find a crew to be a part of. smaller smash scenes may suffer from not having enough players to justify this type of event. This also may cause a large gap in player skill because higher level players will more than likely play with the other high level players. This would leave an awkward sense of foraging for mid and low level players to find teammates they feel that they can team up with.
Trying to implement crews as a staple event could potentially be a very hard adjustment to the smash community. It is very hard to put such a huge community on board with an idea like this because many players may not have the resources or general interest in doing crew battles.
Organization:
I could see without good leadership and oversight from T.O.’s, keeping a crew tournament organized could be very messy. Making sure that all players are present for their matches, enforcing character locks and just general confusion may make for a hectic experience.
A Solid Rule Set:
Although there is currently a basic understood outline for crew battles, making a solid ruleset will be something that needs to be addressed. Things such as character lock, stage picks and bans, and seeding in brackets may be hard to determine.
Player Base:
Not everyone has the ability to form groups of 3 or 5 players into a crew, this may lead to lack of interest or even alienating players if they cannot find a crew to be a part of. smaller smash scenes may suffer from not having enough players to justify this type of event. This also may cause a large gap in player skill because higher level players will more than likely play with the other high level players. This would leave an awkward sense of foraging for mid and low level players to find teammates they feel that they can team up with.
I would love to see what people think about this type of event being implemented into Smash and see if there is truly a niche for this type of tournament format.
