Myztek
Smash Ace
When you watch a good combo video or a match of a great player, you're likely to see a lot of amazing things. Probably things you've never seen before. Probably things that have never really crossed your mind as being possible or viable in a situation. Sometimes you may even surprise yourself when you're playing. Amazing and intelligent decisions usually happen a lot more often in high level play. I, and probably most people, enjoy watching the matches of the highest calibur players, because I know I'll see insane combos and crazy mindgames.
The reason for this is actually kind've obvious. The best and most influential players are the ones that are the most creative, consistent, and have superb decision-making abilities. Even now we see things in Melee that we haven't seen before. It's because some people really focus and push themselves. They see more options more often. Not only options for themselves, but they know their opponent's options.
Some players are perfectly content with where they are in terms of skill, so they stagnate and keep playing the same and never push themselves. Some people don't realize that some options even exist, so they don't try them. Then you have the players that people look up to and rely on for new ideas; these are the good, creative players. This isn't to say that good players are always creative or vice versa. You can have a creative player who makes off-the-wall decisions that turn out really well, but not consistently. You can also have a good player who makes pretty basic decision, but is very consistent. And you can also have someone who makes consistent, amazing decisions.
I don't keep up with the Peach metagame, but I'm sure Armada's Peach pioneered many new ideas. And I have no doubt that Mango's characters have paved the road for "how they should be played." There's a problem with thinking "this is how X should be played", however. The problem is that it creates a boundary for your creative potential. There is no rule that you have to do Y move in Z situation, but a lot of players have limited themselves in this way. Instead, I believe it's best to keep your options open. New opportunities will present themselves, and you may even come up with a technique that helps define the future metagame.
I'm sure you've had the experience of watching a video and saying to yourself "Oh, man! He totally should have done <insert action> there!" It's a lot easier to see when you're observing a video. When you're playing a match, often times you're not watching the game like you would a video. So you miss opportunites. You get caught up in "tunnel vision", trying to use a specific move, trying to get a grab, and so on. But, if you view the game as a video, so to speak, you will capture more opportunities. For instance, if I were to present a still-image of a match... let's say Fox vs Marth on Yoshi's Story. Marth is standing on the right side under the platform, and Fox is standing on the top-middle platform. Let's assume that both characters are standing with no action (no shield, no move happening). If I asked you to tell me everything that each player could do at this point in time, then you would probably be able to. Even if you couldn't list every single option, you could probably come up with quite a long list. Now, we can narrow this down to something even more specific. Say Fox is now shining Marth's shield in the middle of the stage. In this situation, you could also list off the possible actions of each character. This is how you should view the game. Know your options and know your opponent's options. If you know the options, then you can watch for an action to take place, then react appropriately. Obviously, a scenario where less options are available to each player is much easier to handle. If Fox has missed a tech on the platform to the left after an up-throw by Marth, and Marth is standing just beneath him, then Fox's options are very limited. He can only do a get up attack, roll left or right, stand up, or just keep lying there. Marth, on the other hand, has a lot more and better options in this situation. It's very easy for the Marth to just stand and wait for Fox to choose what he wants to do. whether he rolls, stands up, or does a get up attack, Marth has an answer for every single option. If you watch and focus intently enough, it's very easy to capitalize on any of them.
Okay, so some of that may have been a little obvious, but hopefully it all makes sense so far. When you're playing, view the game in a manner that allows you to react as quickly as possible. Usually, you want to be watching your opponent's character. If you're staring at your own character doing wavedashes, and making sure you hit that waveland, then you're wasting precious time that you could be watching your opponent. You should have enough control over your character that you don't even need to watch what you're doing, really. You view the game as an image of possibilites, let your mind make the decision, and your hands will respond accordingly. And if you keep your mind open, you'll probably come up with some things you've never thought of before.
One more thing I'll add for the time being: To be really good at this, you do have to be very focused on the game. The more focused you are, the more opportunities you will see and be able to react to.
The reason for this is actually kind've obvious. The best and most influential players are the ones that are the most creative, consistent, and have superb decision-making abilities. Even now we see things in Melee that we haven't seen before. It's because some people really focus and push themselves. They see more options more often. Not only options for themselves, but they know their opponent's options.
Some players are perfectly content with where they are in terms of skill, so they stagnate and keep playing the same and never push themselves. Some people don't realize that some options even exist, so they don't try them. Then you have the players that people look up to and rely on for new ideas; these are the good, creative players. This isn't to say that good players are always creative or vice versa. You can have a creative player who makes off-the-wall decisions that turn out really well, but not consistently. You can also have a good player who makes pretty basic decision, but is very consistent. And you can also have someone who makes consistent, amazing decisions.
I don't keep up with the Peach metagame, but I'm sure Armada's Peach pioneered many new ideas. And I have no doubt that Mango's characters have paved the road for "how they should be played." There's a problem with thinking "this is how X should be played", however. The problem is that it creates a boundary for your creative potential. There is no rule that you have to do Y move in Z situation, but a lot of players have limited themselves in this way. Instead, I believe it's best to keep your options open. New opportunities will present themselves, and you may even come up with a technique that helps define the future metagame.
I'm sure you've had the experience of watching a video and saying to yourself "Oh, man! He totally should have done <insert action> there!" It's a lot easier to see when you're observing a video. When you're playing a match, often times you're not watching the game like you would a video. So you miss opportunites. You get caught up in "tunnel vision", trying to use a specific move, trying to get a grab, and so on. But, if you view the game as a video, so to speak, you will capture more opportunities. For instance, if I were to present a still-image of a match... let's say Fox vs Marth on Yoshi's Story. Marth is standing on the right side under the platform, and Fox is standing on the top-middle platform. Let's assume that both characters are standing with no action (no shield, no move happening). If I asked you to tell me everything that each player could do at this point in time, then you would probably be able to. Even if you couldn't list every single option, you could probably come up with quite a long list. Now, we can narrow this down to something even more specific. Say Fox is now shining Marth's shield in the middle of the stage. In this situation, you could also list off the possible actions of each character. This is how you should view the game. Know your options and know your opponent's options. If you know the options, then you can watch for an action to take place, then react appropriately. Obviously, a scenario where less options are available to each player is much easier to handle. If Fox has missed a tech on the platform to the left after an up-throw by Marth, and Marth is standing just beneath him, then Fox's options are very limited. He can only do a get up attack, roll left or right, stand up, or just keep lying there. Marth, on the other hand, has a lot more and better options in this situation. It's very easy for the Marth to just stand and wait for Fox to choose what he wants to do. whether he rolls, stands up, or does a get up attack, Marth has an answer for every single option. If you watch and focus intently enough, it's very easy to capitalize on any of them.
Okay, so some of that may have been a little obvious, but hopefully it all makes sense so far. When you're playing, view the game in a manner that allows you to react as quickly as possible. Usually, you want to be watching your opponent's character. If you're staring at your own character doing wavedashes, and making sure you hit that waveland, then you're wasting precious time that you could be watching your opponent. You should have enough control over your character that you don't even need to watch what you're doing, really. You view the game as an image of possibilites, let your mind make the decision, and your hands will respond accordingly. And if you keep your mind open, you'll probably come up with some things you've never thought of before.
One more thing I'll add for the time being: To be really good at this, you do have to be very focused on the game. The more focused you are, the more opportunities you will see and be able to react to.
