Miles Pierre
Smash Journeyman
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2005
- Messages
- 301
This is a post addressing yours (which I mostly agree with) and the video posted.Well, considering their subjective opinion can't be wrong, then yes, solid opinion. At least they can describe why they prefer and why they don't find one mode or the other fun. I don't see it the way they do, I like competitive play, but if they just don't see it the way I do then so be it.
They do bring up an interesting point that the debate over what is or isn't competitive or fun is pointless.
I disagree heavily with Pat the NES Punk here, even though I love his videos for the most part. I don't see any problem with two separate matchmakers, and I could just as easily flip the tables and say that For Glory is insulting to competitive players because there's no "fun" involved. At least he's aware of why he doesn't like the idea of competitive play.
What I mostly encounter on forums is a vocal set of casual smash players complaining about the way competitive players play, as seen in that youtube video. Anecdotally, I rarely if ever see competitive players complaining about the way casuals play. Competitive players can and do play casually often. I know I do all the time.
To me, the group of people that are totally intolerant of other play styles seem to be the casual crowd. Mind you not all casual players feel this way, but generally you'll have a very vocal set of casual players complain that competitive players ruin the game. They are the only group who seem to think they know exactly how the game should be played and generally those vocal casuals will act as if they are playing the game in a purer fashion (as they say "the way it's meant to be played") than competitive players. Competitive players aren't perfect though. I know there are/were a lot of knob heads who had an elitist attitude about their techniques and skill. But ...by and large what I see from the Smash community is not competitive players complaining about the casual side, no, in fact the other way around.They act as if the competitive player is an affront to the almighty God Sakurai and his wish for casual bliss. They act as if everyone should play exactly like them or you should find another game to play. Well that's a selfish way to think and that guy in the video reeks of it. Who is he to impose his idea of fun onto me? Who is he to tell me how I should play a game? Who is he to tell me my style of play is invalid? If Sakurai didn't want people to play competitively he shouldn't have made a fighting game. He also shouldn't have given people the ability to customize their mode of play with such totality. He also shouldn't have even made a For Glory mode. Sakurai gave players an option. As people say, don't hate the (competitive) player, hate the game.
What is curious is this vocal group on the casual side of the isle usually cannot see any other view but their own. Most if not all competitive Smash players started out as casuals enjoying the game as a random frantic brawl. We simply just sought another play style that fit better with our personalities. Competitive play is not objectively better or worse than casual play... just different. Personally I have more fun playing competitively but I won't force my way of play on another player.
People who are competitive can understand casual play -- and play casually. Casual players generally don't understand the draw in playing Smash competitively and often assume competitive players aren't having any fun. That's not true. As crazy as it sounds people did have fun playing no items, Fox, FD only. You don't play a video game that you get absolutely no enjoyment out of. Especially not like that.
I have fun when I play Smash competitively. I have fun when I watch competitive matches. I'd argue that I have more fun than those that shun the competitive community because I can choose whichever play style I want. I can be competitive if I want to or I can play casually. Competitive matches are great but label me a farmer's daughter if I've never squealed with giddy apprehension during a frenetic heavy item/smashball free-for-all.
Going back to the online modes, the seperation between these modes is nothing new. For Fun is essentially "unranked" matches and For Glory is essentially "ranked". Almost every online multiplayer game where you compete against other random players has these two distinct online modes. Street Fighter, Madden, Gears of War, Call of Duty, Halo. You name it. I would challenge that youtube guy to find me an online vs game without a ranked and unranked lobby. They are few and far between.
If Smash Bros is to have a successful online mode it needs to have options. The more options within reason the more successful the online mode will be. A ranked and unranked arena is just like any other online vs game. These are staples for any game where you battle another human player. I'm not even going to get into the issues with For Glory as it stands because I first wanted to address this toxic opinion that many casual players have of competitive players. Later I'll try my best to reason with those who say competitive players shouldn't try to address potential problems with that mode.
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