So, I decided to write up something I've been thinking about here. I like the black background more than a white one, and I wouldn't mind having you guys look at what I wrote.
Problem here is, I don't have all of my idea thought out yet(hence the writing). Bare with me if I'm a little hard to follow at times. This is how I explore my ideas typically.
I was having a conversation with a player on aim the other day, and Mango and KDJ came up. I, having never really studied KDJ videos, asked the guy what made KDJ so special(I had always heard great things about him). The guy told me that KDJ, like Mango, seemed to just be "playing a different game" when he played vs that dude. I asked what this meant. The guy supports this by saying that those two people "play without fear," that is, to never be intimidated by a situation. They always felt confident in their next move or whatever. This was a very interesting way of putting the scenario to me, but I didn't agree with this viewpoint for the most part.
I decided that this "different game" Mango and KDJ were playing was one that was brought about by their own skill and dedication to learning. Granted, they also probably had some natural talent, but that only takes you so far(and it's also an annoying side topic that I wrestle with occasionally). Could it be that Mango and KDJ simply knew their strategy and character(s) so well that they always felt in control while in "intimidating" positions? This seems good to me. What exactly does that strategy involve though, and how would a knowledge of their character be related to it? Well, this is about as far as I got just thinking, so now I'm about to free-ball this sucker.
A "strategy" seems to form for most players through experience, theory(amount varies from player to player and region to region), and creative ideas. Without delving into what makes each element super important and all that, I kinda want to think about what really gives rise to such confidence when players ascend normal levels at Melee in relation to one of them. That is, I want to find out which element is the most important in determining a special player's development.
Each element seems important(obviously), but I think that, for those two players anyway, theory probably did the least and creative ideas the most(though Mango did have extensive focus on his experience in order to perfect his style, no comment on KDJ, though he was at MLGs...). I say that theory did the least for those two because they played so much that they didn't need it and understand the matchups IN THEIR OWN WAY. I bet this stems from their creative ideas, which were tested and perfected through hundreds of matches. Actually, this is starting to look like what I think it takes to be good at Melee in general, so I may not be quite at what makes these two players "different" yet. Hmm.....
I was hoping to provide a better outlook on creative ideas so it would blend into my character theory better, but I guess I'll just start typing and see what happens.
What pushes a player to know their character well enough to make someone say that they aren't really "fighting the character but their opponent?" Honestly, I find that to be a stupid phrase in the first place, since I believe it's only through the character that......WAIT
Mastery of a character. Creative ideas. Extensive high-level experience. What do these have in common? If you have mastery, then you tend to have the other two. If you have creative ideas, then you might have nothing.....If you have high-level experience, then you might have no others either.....so what does it mean? Mastering your character is the first step? I think so. It goes deeper than that though. M2K and Armada have "mastered their characters," yet they aren't as traditionally singled out as players who play a "different game." What sets character masters aside from Mango and KDJ? They are masters of their character(s), but they are more than that. How can they be more than that? To master your character is to be the best with them and be a phenomenal player.
Maybe we should come back to creative ideas. What if a player can "master" a character but never invent a new technique with them, or be only a master insofar as their will lets them(mental blocks on things like character matchups/personal matchups/improvements/ect prevent it)? What if it takes a special mind, or minds in this case, to really come up with new things that allow them to further the level of "mastery" a character can achieve? That doesn't seem so crazy. Metagame advancements have been going on great in recent years. We've gotten more technical, more efficient, more effective. Is it really odd to believe that there are certain people who are better at this than others by a large margin? I could believe that. M2K and Armada have invented sooooo much for their respective characters though. There HAS to be something else.....
Alright, until I think about this more, I will settle on the fact that the minds of these two players simply work differently than those of the ordinary smashers. I believe Mango earned his through hard work, and KDJ was just gifted with his(being renowned as a truly "random" player is quite a title, and a rare one, apparently). Whatever the reason, I think that both Mango and KDJ have(or in KDJ's case, had) achieved a level of smash that is foreign to the average smasher. They don't necessarily see all options, but they do know how to apply theirs in a unique and powerful way.
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Thoughts?
