Fordo35@aol.com
Smash Rookie
I was inspired to write about the role of items and chance-based events (like item spawning or stage interaction) in Smash Bros after looking at the new Team Healer item. To me, this is another example of the carefully designed, lovingly created elements of Smash which keep the game interesting, that the developers labored over for countless hours to properly implement, and which will ultimately be rejected and cast aside by a large part of the community. Sounds almost ungrateful....
These are my thoughts, you're in no way obliged to accept them. I can't hope to control what other people will say, but I'm more interested in other people's personal views on the role of capricious design elements, like Team Healer or scrolling stages, as well as the strategies and levels of depth which they lend to the game. If at any point it seems like I'm implying that the designers intended for the game to be enjoyed with items on, I probably am. How totally unreasonable, eh?
I think that Smash Balls, as well as all other items, should be allowed in tourneys, because whether we like it or not, they're part of the game's core design. Sure, the designers have made Smash customizable and flexible enough that everyone can be happy, but in general I have issues with people who want to strip out elements of a game's design and play on the most flat, non-moving levels available "because that's the only way you can see who truly is more skilled."
Sometimes, it seems like people who defensively argue this position are more interested in Ego Trippin' over a video game than um... having fun playing a video game?
Yes, competition is important, but you can't (and won't) always win and when you set up sterile, static conditions where-in players better acclimated to said conditions can more consistently execute winning strategies without worrying about improvising to varying circumstances, you're not only eliminating a whole spectrum of possibilities and additional strategies, you're cutting out the very unpredictability that is the soul of real combat.
I don't know how many of you guys actually practice martial arts, knocked somebody out, taken one to the head, or have gotten into a real BRAWL, but fighting in the real world isn't clean cut, even in the comparatively sterile environment of organized, style-specific tournaments.
Fighting is about thinking on your toes, responding to the unpredictable and reacting unpredictably. It's about living in the moment, being completely open to the unexpected.
With every new element of the design Masahiro Sakurai reveals, it becomes more apparent to me how much he really wants SSBB to be hectic, chaotic, exciting, and unpredictable: like a real bar BRAWL, preferably with a screen full of players. This was not designed purely as a 1 on 1 fighting game, it has more depth to it than that.
Before I go any further, let's look at the new Team Healer item, which serves as a great model for the inherent balance intentionally designed into item play. It's an item that promotes team play, and it does something that almost every hardcore player considers 'cheap' or 'broken': it recovers health! And the higher your damage, the more you recover.
But wait, it's not that simple. It can only recover the health of the person who it's thrown at, not the person who picks it up. And if it somehow hits a member of the opposite team, they get healed instead.
So, in actuality, it's not a broken, pure-luck item that should be banned from tournament play, but rather just another piece on the board, which can be manipulated into the flow of combat and turned to a team's advantage by either side, even after it has been picked up.
The Smash Ball functions in the same way, because even after it has finally been cracked open and claimed, there are still opportunities to turn the situation to your advantage, or even claim it for your own.
A Smash Ball-related quote by Mr. Masahiro Sakurai best sums up this crucial core design principle: "Do you use it as soon as you get it? Or save it for later? Do you run from an enemy who got it? Or do you chase him? You’ll need instant SITUATIONAL decision-making!" [My emphasis]
For every inherent winning strategy connected to an item, there is a counter-strategy.
A truly skilled fighter doesn't bemoan or curse an item presenting itself closer to his opponent, instead he factors this chance into his strategy and turns his opponent's fortune into his own victory.
Every item, from the Smash Ball to the Golden Hammer to the Assist Trophies, has some kind of built-in balance mechanism, some kind of weakness or opportunity to exploit, even when on the receiving end.
You'd be hard pressed to find a truly skilled Fox, Falco or Ness player who doesn't delight at the prospect of facing an opponent equipped with projectile-based items. "Turn on Ray Guns and Super Scopes? Be my guest!"
I take solace in the fact that it seems Mr. Masahiro Sakurai and his team have endeavored to instill chaos and whimsical fun into their design wherever possible, from levels to items to characters, in order to keep the game play fresh and the combat up in the air. Sometimes even literally.
These are my thoughts, you're in no way obliged to accept them. I can't hope to control what other people will say, but I'm more interested in other people's personal views on the role of capricious design elements, like Team Healer or scrolling stages, as well as the strategies and levels of depth which they lend to the game. If at any point it seems like I'm implying that the designers intended for the game to be enjoyed with items on, I probably am. How totally unreasonable, eh?
I think that Smash Balls, as well as all other items, should be allowed in tourneys, because whether we like it or not, they're part of the game's core design. Sure, the designers have made Smash customizable and flexible enough that everyone can be happy, but in general I have issues with people who want to strip out elements of a game's design and play on the most flat, non-moving levels available "because that's the only way you can see who truly is more skilled."
Sometimes, it seems like people who defensively argue this position are more interested in Ego Trippin' over a video game than um... having fun playing a video game?
Yes, competition is important, but you can't (and won't) always win and when you set up sterile, static conditions where-in players better acclimated to said conditions can more consistently execute winning strategies without worrying about improvising to varying circumstances, you're not only eliminating a whole spectrum of possibilities and additional strategies, you're cutting out the very unpredictability that is the soul of real combat.
I don't know how many of you guys actually practice martial arts, knocked somebody out, taken one to the head, or have gotten into a real BRAWL, but fighting in the real world isn't clean cut, even in the comparatively sterile environment of organized, style-specific tournaments.
Fighting is about thinking on your toes, responding to the unpredictable and reacting unpredictably. It's about living in the moment, being completely open to the unexpected.
With every new element of the design Masahiro Sakurai reveals, it becomes more apparent to me how much he really wants SSBB to be hectic, chaotic, exciting, and unpredictable: like a real bar BRAWL, preferably with a screen full of players. This was not designed purely as a 1 on 1 fighting game, it has more depth to it than that.
Before I go any further, let's look at the new Team Healer item, which serves as a great model for the inherent balance intentionally designed into item play. It's an item that promotes team play, and it does something that almost every hardcore player considers 'cheap' or 'broken': it recovers health! And the higher your damage, the more you recover.
But wait, it's not that simple. It can only recover the health of the person who it's thrown at, not the person who picks it up. And if it somehow hits a member of the opposite team, they get healed instead.
So, in actuality, it's not a broken, pure-luck item that should be banned from tournament play, but rather just another piece on the board, which can be manipulated into the flow of combat and turned to a team's advantage by either side, even after it has been picked up.
The Smash Ball functions in the same way, because even after it has finally been cracked open and claimed, there are still opportunities to turn the situation to your advantage, or even claim it for your own.
A Smash Ball-related quote by Mr. Masahiro Sakurai best sums up this crucial core design principle: "Do you use it as soon as you get it? Or save it for later? Do you run from an enemy who got it? Or do you chase him? You’ll need instant SITUATIONAL decision-making!" [My emphasis]
For every inherent winning strategy connected to an item, there is a counter-strategy.
A truly skilled fighter doesn't bemoan or curse an item presenting itself closer to his opponent, instead he factors this chance into his strategy and turns his opponent's fortune into his own victory.
Every item, from the Smash Ball to the Golden Hammer to the Assist Trophies, has some kind of built-in balance mechanism, some kind of weakness or opportunity to exploit, even when on the receiving end.
You'd be hard pressed to find a truly skilled Fox, Falco or Ness player who doesn't delight at the prospect of facing an opponent equipped with projectile-based items. "Turn on Ray Guns and Super Scopes? Be my guest!"
I take solace in the fact that it seems Mr. Masahiro Sakurai and his team have endeavored to instill chaos and whimsical fun into their design wherever possible, from levels to items to characters, in order to keep the game play fresh and the combat up in the air. Sometimes even literally.
