Is it too late to get into the game?

[TheTwistedHero]

The game has been around since 2001, and that was now over 13 years ago. The skill level of the better players is downright absurd at this point. So this begs the question, is it too late for people to pick the game up in 2015 and be able to function well?

 

[Roukiske]

We get a lot of these sometimes...

nopenopenopenopenopenopenope

Since there's so many good people around then it's actually great. If you manage to get some good players to teach you the game (in person) you will level up much quicker than many who started years ago.

It wont be fun if you don't think the game is fun though (lets face it, not everyone likes the same things). So play it if you like it. If you love it, keep playing, plenty of people want to help.

 

[TheTwistedHero]

We get a lot of these sometimes...

nopenopenopenopenopenopenope

Since there's so many good people around then it's actually great. If you manage to get some good players to teach you the game (in person) you will level up much quicker than many who started years ago.

It wont be fun if you don't think the game is fun though (lets face it, not everyone likes the same things). So play it if you like it. If you love it, keep playing, plenty of people want to help.

Good point. I've actually been dabbling in getting into the game in the past year or so. But as I tried to get some of my other friends into the game and showing them tutorials and such, they still struggle, and eventually give up when they see a match from, say Evo

 

[Roukiske]

Good point. I've actually been dabbling in getting into the game in the past year or so. But as I tried to get some of my other friends into the game and showing them tutorials and such, they still struggle, and eventually give up when they see a match from, say Evo

Well no one becomes pro in a day. Just remember that and hopefully you'll have enough in you to keep trying. It really does help to have friends play with you though, I hope you can find people to practice with.

 

[TheTwistedHero]

Well no one becomes pro in a day. Just remember that and hopefully you'll have enough in you to keep trying. It really does help to have friends play with you though, I hope you can find people to practice with.

I know this, and my experience with the game has been pleasant after my first few months when playing with friends. Although I see people get discouraged by seeing the higher players, and comparing themselves to them (which is not a good idea in the slightest), and giving up, telling me "Im never going to be good enough" or something like that. I like the game, and i want others to not feel too bad about themselves and want to get past the hurdle, which is not easy, as many fans of competitive fighters get into it from watching a major tournament match, and some expect that to be the standard at first.

 

[EPsilon933]

It's a fun game. There are still new players joining the scene just like you

A thing about watching high level tournament play is that not everyone is high level. The lower levels don't look like that. It won't be a nightmare to go up against them. Fighting the best players is kind of fun

Don't show your friends tutorials and tournament footage. It'll overwhelm them. Let them find it on their own. Just have Smash fests with them for the fun of playing the game using tournament rules

I like the game, and i want others to not feel too bad about themselves and want to get past the hurdle, which is not easy, as many fans of competitive fighters get into it from watching a major tournament match, and some expect that to be the standard at first.

Fighting game fans tend to be more serious gamers than Smash fans. They don't get a lot of casual players well, aside from MK and Smash. Too bad MK isn't a popular competitive game right now. They're more likely to have that determination for competitive play

 

[TheTwistedHero]

Thats a good idea. Its just an interesting question, and I wanted to see if anyone has any perspectives on the matter of getting new players into not just melee, but smash in general

 

[The Prince L]

No, It's still a fun game dude. The level is insane now, but that doesn't mean you can't play it. On the contrary, you can learn so many techniques from the pros to get better.

If you wanna get better, be motivated, practice, learn from the pros, and have fun with it. That's all I can say.

 

[ShadowzVoid]

I'm fairly new and so far it's been great!
This is the perfect time to get into the community too
Just have fun with the game while also trying to teach yourself

 

[Valar Morghulis]

just play competitively with your friends. When they get that competitive fire burning inside to beat you then they will naturally try to figure out strategies to beat you and then you do the same and you'll keep getting better as time goes on. Although Pro player matches are cool to watch, you shouldn't start shooting for that level of play right away. I would say first get fundamentals down like knowing which moves are good for certain situations, such as edgeguarding, or working on recovering or teching. Then get a handle on movement options like wavedashing and wavelanding. Then work on L-Canceling and trying to string together more attacks. And so on and so forth until you are doing ridiculous **** like the pros, such as multishining and shield dropping consistently.

 

[SSS]

It is not too late.

Stop asking if it's too late and go play.

Don't just sit around playing with your friends waiting until you become a pro because you get better faster playing with better people.

Go to tournaments today. Get out there. Play. Lose. Get better.

Stop wasting your time asking people on Smashboards if it's too late to start playing and get out there and become the best in the world, for Christ's sake.

 

[Kadano]

“Is it too late to get into chess?”

 

[Raidensan]

I started playing last year and been training at least 2 days a week since

You can start by watching youtube videos, learn techs for your fighter, etc.., but it is essential to go to tourneys. In my country, the game is not so popular (Chile), but I am always searching for any oportunities to play with other players, doesnt matter if they are worse or better than me

 

[goobaje]

I think as long as you can practice, you're fine. I don't think it's too late to get into it, if anything it's grown. As long as you can get some human play in there, you can get good in a nice amount of time. It isn't late enough in its life span, especially when things are picking up like this.

 

[Massive]

We know so much about how to play and there's so much access to information now that it's not even funny.

When smash started there was no youtube and basically no character/strategy information other than speculation and opinion on smashboards or the internet at large. We were all so spread out that sharing knowledge was hard and every community developed their own style and techniques. We shared videos on DC++, but even then it was basically just highlight-reel combo videos and a scant few hype matches.

You are at a HUGE advantage starting now, you will probably not fall as easily into the old bad habits and there are numerous resources that have distilled the knowledge we worked for years to obtain into easily digestible chunks.

This is a GREAT time to play smash.

 

[Varist]

It's a great time to become a mid-level player, we have a lot of those, but the chances you will ever break into top 10 starting now, being so behind the curve on matchups and not understanding what mixups developed out of which and why, all the tiny little things that work and don't work. It's much too late to consider becoming a top player, and the work you would have to put in would be life-consuming and massive.

This is not what people want to hear, but it's Smash's red pill. A mature way to approach the scene would be to do it for fun, aim to place well at your locals and make money there. If you climb higher, there you go. You had the talent. If you don't, you made some friends.

 

[schmooblidon]

It's a great time to become a mid-level player, we have a lot of those, but the chances you will ever break into top 10 starting now, being so behind the curve on matchups and not understanding what mixups developed out of which and why, all the tiny little things that work and don't work. It's much too late to consider becoming a top player, and the work you would have to put in would be life-consuming and massive.

This is not what people want to hear, but it's Smash's red pill. A mature way to approach the scene would be to do it for fun, aim to place well at your locals and make money there. If you climb higher, there you go. You had the talent. If you don't, you made some friends.

Don't agree with that at all. The top players really aren't that good. If you are committed enough you could break top 20 or so within 2 years or possibly less. I get that most top players will also continue to play, but from what I can tell, it wouldn't make them untouchable. They don't seem that committed to improvement, except maybe Leffen and a few top 20s.

Anyway, you don't need to become the best in the world to be somebody. Being the best in your local scene means something, being the best in the state/country means a lot too. Even commentators, TOs, content creators, modders, frame gods are all respected.

 

[anikom15]

Baseball's been around for like over a hundred years so I think we're good.

 

[Tomas Chacon]

Anyone can smash bruh

 

[Sleepy Driz]

The exciting part of entering the Smash scene at a time like this is that the meta is evolved enough and enough discoveries about gameplay and advanced techniques have been made that if you wanted to get really good really fast, the resources are there at your disposal. Not only that, but not that high of a percentage of Smashers are willing to put in the work to raise up the ranks quickly. If you read Umbreon's post on Drastic Improvement from beginning to end and go from there, it's a pretty absurd how good you can get in the span of a year.

 

[Varist]

"The top players really aren't that good" jesus ****ing christ these new players

 

[Fortress]

"The top players really aren't that good" jesus ****ing christ these new players

Well, they're not, get at me, @Dr Peepee , come to Montana and take me on for $10, kappa.

But, seriously, it's never too late to get into the game, is the impression that was left on me. I started in early 2013, and am at a pretty nice level competitively. I'm not amazing or anything, but I can hold my own in some of the larger scenes over in the Washington area (at least I could back when I could afford getting out there).

With even more top play being accessible through video and high-quality streams than ever, newer players have even more resources than they could ever ask for. It couldn't be an easier and exciting time to get into the scene.

 

[Alfonzo Bagpipez]

I started going to tournaments in April of 2014, and now I'm a ranked player in my state (not much of an accomplishment for Hawaii honestly, but it's progress).

Even if you don't win right away, it's still a super fun game.

This is the golden age, right now.

It won't be like this forever, though, so you should try it out.

 

[Pockets Capellan]

It's possible but you need to play variety of people to improve quickly. I think it depends on different factors overall but in short it's better late than never.

 

[schmooblidon]

"The top players really aren't that good" jesus ****ing christ these new players

lol
jesus ****ing christ these delusional worshippers

they're good obviously, but they aren't untouchable and far from optimal. my point was that anyone has the potential to get to their level with the right amount of dedication within a small time frame.

 

[anikom15]

"The top players really aren't that good" jesus ****ing christ these new players

He's just saying they're not infallible which is clearly apparent.

 

[Fortress]

They're still much better than Schmooblidon would seem to give them credit for. It doesn't take very long to develop a technical mastery of the game (or, at the very least have a developed technical background), a couple of years is all it should take, but beyond that is a much, much harder game to play. That takes many years to reach and develop. The mental game is something that can't ever be truly mastered in the traditional sense.

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

Before Evo, I probably would have thought this game was on the decline. If not for stuff like EVO and the new Smash game I honestly do not think Melee would have kept its current pace. Its only with the in flux of new players that something like Melee keeps going on.

 

[AUS]

Not even close, the game is always changing and new players always keep entering, we have seen characters enter the scene recently and still place very well. The first few years of melee do be prepared to get destroyed a lot but if you keep at it it shouldn't be hard to win some locals and such. People sometimes look at all the huge event in Smash like Apex and think "Man there is no way I can ever do that" but you have to realize that Apex is a tournament where most of the best players are at, there and many lesser known tournaments and weeklies at all skill levels. So no, it is by no means too late to get into Melee.

 

[King Mob]

Scar started when he was 20, hasn't hit the lab since Genesis and he's still ranked. There's hope for us all.

 

[kingPiano]

Yes stay far far away If you have to ask this question then you will never amount to anything.

 

[Hippobro]

NO. it is not too late