Bsrk_
Smash Ace
Welcome to the official OZ Interview Thread_ Please read the guidelines before posting in this thread_
Guidelines:
This thread is purely for the use of updating all interviews_ Each interview will have it's own thread so please refrain from posting in this one as links will be provided for each interview_ Discussion regarding each interview topic can be found below_
Interview Discussion:
#1 Kas + Corpsecreate
#2 CAOTIC
#3 Shaya
#4 Tibs
#5 Vyse
Scabe: What are your earliest memories of playing Melee?
Kas: Smash 64? A long time ago. I remember playing it with my twin brother and cousin and loving it. Melee? I remember playing with my friends in year 9 and being the only person who sheilded and sheild-grabbed. Good times. Though I was mocked for sheilding, apparently it's 'cheap', haha.
Bsrk_: Now that you've come out of the closet, will you be using this to your advantage in future tournaments? Possible mindgames?
Kas: Not really (also I don't see how it's advantageous). Just because I've admitted I'm gay to everyone doesn't mean I'm prepared to flaunt it. To be honest, I don't really like the fact that I told everyone, because even though I thought it would be a fun thing to do (as well as getting it off my chest), it has back-fired, and everyone makes gay jokes and derogatory terms and such, usually relating to me, and I'm getting pretty tired of it. I did have a possible mind-game, though, that's to do with being gay; it was basically if I was losing, then I would get my hubby to come close so we could make out in front of whoever I was losing to, and see if that played any effect on them. =]
I LAG: Why do u main marth instead of jiggly puff? i thought jiggz was the cheapest char in melee.
Kas: I don't only main Marth. I use Marth, Fox, Falco and Sheik (notice how they're all top tier? That's pretty lame on my end, sorry). However I use Marth mainly in tournaments because I find that Marth can't be gimped anywhere near as easily as Fox or Falco (both who I prefer over Sheik, I almost never use her) and also that Marth can gimp fairly easily in turn. And I'm not sure who's cheaper, Marth or Jiggly. They're both pretty ridiculous... but maybe I'll pick up Jiggly, then, and see how well that goes. I do find, though, that Jiggly is just pathetically brutal in teams, unlike Marth. Fox is good in teams, though, too. =] Marth, Jiggly, Fox, Falco, Sheik... They're all good characters and are cheap, if you know how to use them. And of course each do better in certain match-ups. And so on and so forth.
Sieg: Why don't you like Smash anymore? You used to love it lol. To an extent.
Kas: I don't really know... I get over things pretty quickly, and I think one of the main reasons I loved Smash in the earlier years was because of Zac (Syke). Also, I think being able to beat people consistently makes you enjoy something a lot less as well, the challenge is always to strive to become better, but if I'm already able to beat almost everyone without trying too hard, at least in QLD... then where's the challenge?
Hotdog: Now that you've proved your skills in Melee are you going to try be the best at Brawl?
Kas: I am trying to get good at Brawl but I don't think I'll be the one of the best anytime soon, though I'm catching up pretty quickly now that I've taken up Falco, Marth and Toon Link, instead of Ike. Also I think you're implying that I'm the best at Melee (in Australia?), and I'm not sure about that. I still think CAO is better than me.
Vyse: What do you think when you play?
Kas: I think most of the time I'm trying to figure out the tendencies of the person I'm playing so that I can punish what they're doing. That, and I usually think of my hubby. He supports me even when he's not there. =]
Muzga: How often do you play?
Kas: Not sure. Lately it's been once a week since friends have been hosting or there have been tournaments on. But I never play Smash by myself at my own house, it's no fun. But before, from around the middle of last year, it was once every month or so. ... Basically I play the game whenever anyone has it going on.
xXArrowXx: How do i beat you without being gay or bi?
Kas: You could beat me off anyway. =] I wouldn't know how to win against myself. I try to play differently each match and to do different tactics throughout the game being played so that I'm not predictable. But that in itself can become predictable. Maybe.
Zero_: What is your favourite food while playing video games?
Kas: Lollies and chocolate. =] By far. And strawberry milk. Nothing more, nothing less. But since they're both so fattening I try not to induldge. Haha. Weight conscious. I'm so lame, I know!
e_alert: What is your racial sexual preference?
Kas: White, mainly. European a little as well. That's about it. Nothing else. Just White Caucasian-y. =] And red heads without freckles. They're hot.
Scrubs: Come play smash with Josh, Bryce and I on friday?
Kas: I'll see if I can make it.
Jupz: Is melee fun?
Kas: ... Sort of. It's fun when it's challenging (as with most things), but if it's easy come easy go... there's no enjoyment out of it. And I don't like playing for too long as well. Try to keep it within 2 - 3 hours, any longer and I start getting bored of it.
gopobox: If you could add a character to the brawl cast, who would it be?
Kas: Tails. <3
Afropony: Why did you decide to play smash competitively?
Kas: I don't really mean to play it competitively. I really only play for fun. Haha. I'm not that good under pressure and I really felt it when I was playing CAO at the grand finals, although I also didn't like it that much when it was just Emily or SD or Dekar on the projector. Oh well. I'm surprised I placed first with everything in play. I guess Marth is a really, really lame character. Bleh. Lol digression. Back to the question - I still don't see myself as really playing it 'competitively'. I mean I play the game in tournaments and stuff and that counts for something, but even so I still really only play the game for fun and just that, even when there's something on the line.
Syke Cok Effron: Why did u change mains from fox to marth, how often do u play against CPUs? Fave matchup? Now that you've conquered melée u gonna play da halo?
Kas: I never really liked using Fox to begin with. He gets destroyed so easily (although he can destroy easily in turn), but Marth is a much easier character to use. Also, everyone said I was a Fox main even though I never really said so, apart from when I was facing off with Freddo. I don't play against CPUs, I only did about 4 or so years ago when I found out about wave-dashing, then when I got that down and JC grabbing and that, I just stopped. And I don't think I'll play Halo. I don't really like FPS games, sorry. People rage far more in FPS games than fighting games, and I really don't like the atmosphere.
Technodeath: Do you often have trouble reading / predicting your opponents?
Kas: Not really, no. It's not hard to know when people are going to do something, because, really, most people do it. The only thing I have trouble doing is not getting hit by moves that have more priority than my own, that's really about it. I can usually tell when someone is going to do something, but I sometimes forget that they'll hit me, no matter what I do (unless I shield, dodge, or air-dodge, which I seem to fail at doing).
shmot: Do you care about the frequent usage of the word 'gay' or 'gayed' in smash?
Kas: Yes, actually, I do. But there's nothing I can do about it, well, there is, but I don't want to make a complaint about it when it's really a huge thing in the entire Smash community. If I tried to bring it down then I think the Smash community would probably be a lot less friendly, haha. I'd rather take a blow for everyone than have everyone dull down. And anyway... It's almost always just for fun, so it's no harm done in the end. <3 U gaiz~
D0n: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Kas: To be honest, it's so unrealistic, that I don't even bother thinking of it, hahaha. d: But I guess the power to fly. Or rather, having wings that could let me fly. Wings are sexy. And a fluffy tail. And cute floppy ears. :D
D0n: What's better; always placing 1st in a tourney with no real competition, or always having great competition but never placing 1st.
Kas: A mixture of both. Never placing 1st can leave you feeling unsatisfied with your abilities, and always placing 1st takes away the strive to win. But of course if I had to choose between both of them, then the latter. I'd rather have competition, than none at all. It takes away the fun of the game. And even if I was miles behind, at least I'd have something to strive towards - i.e beating whoever beat me at the latest tournament and such. =]
Jupz: Who is your fave doubles character to team with?
Kas: I have no preference. Lol. It really doesn't strike me as something to care about, who is using who, but rather who I'm teaming with, not their character. If I had to say WHO I would like to team with most, someone who doesn't take the game too literally, or is fun to talk with. Like Arrow or JBirds. =] Who both, oddly, use Snake in Brawl. I wonder if that's saying something. I would say Zac or Ryan for Melee, but he takes the game seriously and if we lose then I usually end up feeling bad. I don't want to feel bad, if I play with someone that just plays for fun, then if we lose, we don't care!
planetstereo: You have a reputation for ownage on your last stock and this is definitely coming through in some of your matches at rocky. What is going through your mind when you switch into this hyper mode? Does something click and you just start playing even better?
Kas: Now that I think about it, I try to read my opponent on the first 3 lives, and then on my last life I've got them more or less figured out. Maybe that's how it goes. Haha, I wouldn't have a clue, I just start dash-dancing more and grabbing a whole lot more and using less laggy attacks, it just seems to work. Alternatively I could do that BEFORE waiting for my last life, but I think by then people find it too hard to adapt to a different style of approaching. However, I think most people play differently on their last stock, they play more defensively and use their highest priority moves and it sort of gets predictable. It's a lot easier to retaliate against people who're being defensive.
Romant1k: For a brawltard trying to learn melee, what melee specific AT's (ie. wave dashing, dash dancing etc) should be learnt first, and how do you practice your melee skills when you have no other humans to play against?
Kas: L-canceling first off, hands down. SHFFLing is pretty up there as well. Dash-dancing effectively is definitely one of the better things to incorporate into your game. It's easy to learn but not really that easy to use effectively. I only really seem to use it on my last stock because it's really just that broken. Teching is obviously a good way to save yourself when you're off the ledge (or even just on the stagewave-dashing is helpful, yeah, but I think it's more of a stylish thing than useful (apart from when it is, like Marth's f-throw on Peach to f-smash, and wave-shining, but that's wave-shining, not wave-dashing, haha). Jump cancel grabbing is helpful, too. Up-smash out of shield. ... Everything else I find is just being flashy. In order of what I think is most helpful/used... it would be:
1. SHFFLing.
2. Dash-dancing.
3. Teching.
4. Jump cancelling.
5. Wavedashing.
6. Everything else.
ComboTurtle: Have your parents ever accidentally walked in on you jerking it?
Kas: To be honest, I don't masturbate very often. I try to keep it until I'm having a fun time with someone, and no, my parents haven't walked in on me having sex, but I'm pretty sure they've heard. I get pretty loud and rowdy and raunchy when I'm playing around. =]
Scabe: How did you end up choosing Toon Link as your main and not Link?
Corpse: I never particularly liked Link in the 64 smash or melee, I didn't really enjoy Young Link in melee either. I chose to main Toon Link pretty much immediately after I played him after unlocking him through 400 VS Matches. His playstyle and moveset made me feel comfortable playing him (unlike Peach...ugh!) and I've been maining him ever since. His tier list placing meant nothing to me (there wasn't even a tier list released when I unlocked him), I simply mained him because I enjoyed playing him.
Melancholy: What are your thoughts on Toon Links tier placement? Do you think his overall placement will change in future tier lists?
Corpse: I would say Toon Link is placed near where I imagine he should be. Although he is a tricky character fight against, he doesn't quite have whats needed to make it into the top 8 mark, say a chaingrab or an insane kill move with massive range (I'm looking at Snakes Utilt here). He has difficulty getting the kill move in and is a pretty light character, I think its these 2 things that hold him back from going higher up in the list.
As for the future, I think if TL was represented well by players and people started taking notice of the character itself, Toon Link COULD rise to about as high as 11th or 12th place, anything higher than that would be rather optimistic I'd say.
Bsrk_: What are your thoughts on the scenes growth both in Perth and from your experience in Rocky_?
Corpse: Perth is a roller-coaster ride when it comes to growth. We've had tournaments as low as 8 players but we've also had tourneys of 30+. Our numbers fluctuate a lot and I cant help but feel that some of our more average/lower placing players don't really try to further their gameplay to become more of a threat. I'm sure the same holds for all tournaments everywhere, there's always that group that enters the tournament not to win but simply to be a part of the tournament.
When it comes to skill level, I would say the skill level of the average player over east is higher than what we have in Perth although the top players of both are neck and neck. I mean, the finals at Rocky was me vs Tibs and he beat me in 1 of the games (in a kind of stupid way
) and just 2 days ago, Vlade beat me in 2 games. I actually lost more matches overall in our small tournament of 14 people (I lost 4 I think) than I did at Rocky with 84 people (where I lost 2). Although it is true to say that Perth has FAAAR more experience against my Toon Link than anyone else does but the statement still stands.
I LAG: Why TL and not mk or snake? like i know u use snake for doubles but your snake could be soo much better if u used him in singles all the time.
Corpse: You're probably right. Snake outperforms TL in singles (and doubles), I don't dispute this. The reason I play Snake at all is again because I enjoy the characters playstyle and moveset. I decided to secondary Snake after I had chosen Toon Link as my main. I think the 2 characters compliment each other very well. The reason I don't play him in Singles (I actually do play him in Singles sometimes) is because personally I perform better with Toon Link, my experience and understanding of Snake's techniques is limited and this plays a part in why I choose Toon Link over him.
xXArrowXx: Why not use TL in teams
Corpse: I actually do use him in teams from time to time. Whether I play Toon Link or Snake depends on the characters of my opponents and the stage that has been chosen. I make a decision on who to play based on this. I generally prefer Snake in Doubles because in my opinion, killing ability is more important than damage racking in a match where there's 4 people that can all hit each other. Not to mention that C4 sticking people owns
Vyse: What do you think attributed to your win at Rocky?
Corpse: Before heading over to Rocky I considered what stages to ban/counterpick against specific characters. I also took some time to see on youtube the playstyle of a few players (Amaterasu, Tibs, Shaya, Tedeth, D0N) to see the holes in their playstyle and hopefully exploit their weaknesses. I think this helped...to an extent, watching 2 people fight each other on youtube isn't good enough because their playstyle drastically changes when they are fighting you. I think the one thing that helped most in winning Rocky was staying patient in all my matches and mentally blocking out any anti-Corpse promoters yelling in the background. Cracking under pressure is the first step to losing and I made sure this didn't happen.
Muzga: I noticed you came 13th in melee singles. How did you find the melee scene over east?
Corpse: I'm not as good at Melee as I used to be although I do remember how good Ryan (Bringer) was at melee and how I faired against him. I could get him down maybe 2 stocks when I was playing my best and at Rocky, in my less experienced melee state, I was getting 4 stocked by some of the better players. The only real comparison that can be drawn between Perth and the east is that over east there is still quite a bit of interest in melee. In Perth, the Melee scene is pretty much dead.
Scrubs: How do you think the rest of Perth would have done at rocky had they attended?
Corpse: I think Vlade would have placed well. I think his Falco would have been VERY difficult to deal with since from what I saw, there was nobody at Rocky that plays Falco like Vlade does. Richard7 (my brother) would most likely not place very well simply because he doesn't play his best when at tournaments. He actually plays quite a bit worse, he misses opportunities and generally makes bad decisions a lot more often in tournament situations. As I said earlier, the skill of an average Perth player is below that of the east and as such I don't think the majority of players would have placed highly.
Jupz: What do you think about when playing?
Corpse: I watch my enemy. I think about what they are thinking and I try and counter their decisions. Understanding the patterns of your enemy is extremely important and I do my best to learn my opponents playstyle as quickly as possible and adjust my playstyle accordingly.
gopobox: If you could add a character to the brawl cast, who would it be?
Corpse: Godot.
Afropony: Why did you decide to play smash competitively?
Corpse: I am a competitive person by nature, I enjoy playing Brawl and so naturally I play it competitively. I started attending tournaments because fighting my 2 brothers over and over doesn't further my gameplay and it doesn't allow me to compare my skill to other people. The first Brawl tourney I won was a gametraders tournament with 4 players, 10 stocks, 10 minutes and final smashes only on as items. I won that purely by employing tactics to stay alive and even though it wasn't a very 'fair' ruleset for a tournament I enjoyed meeting new people with their own unique playstyles. From there I attended every local tournament there was.
Zero_: What is your favourite food while playing video games?
Corpse: I don't eat while playing games but if I were to, Pizza would be the winner I think :D
Technodeath: Do you often have trouble reading / predicting your opponents?
Corpse: Honestly, I find that reading my enemy is actually not that difficult. Most of the time I can learn and predict my opponents movements and decisions pretty quickly. The hard part comes in adjusting my playstyle to adapt to my enemy, the reason why this is so difficult is because its very easy to fall into patterns and habits. Breaking these habits on the fly during a match and then adjusting your playstyle specifically for your enemy is whats difficult.
shmot: What are your opinions of the east coast? not just in ability, but also the kinds of people and their personalities, especially in comparison to WA.
Corpse: We're all Australian gamers. Personality wise its just the same man, I felt right at home with the Rocky community because its pretty much exactly the same as in WA (except on a larger scale). I would think that anyone from the east that came over to WA would feel the same way. Don't let anyone tell you video games are only for kids, its a lie.
D0N: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Corpse: The ability to give myself more superpowers.
D0N: What's better; always placing 1st in a tourney with no real competition, or always having great competition but never placing 1st.
Corpse: Hmmm interesting question. In my situation (studying at uni), money is in short supply and so winning continuously is obviously a good thing but no competition is boring and defeats the purpose of playing the game for me since I am a competitive person. I went to Rocky knowing that even if I did win, I'd lose money overall and it was definitely worth going.
If I had to choose between winning with no competition or having great competition but never placing 1st, the second option would definitely be for me.
Jupz: Who is your fave doubles character to team with?
Corpse: If I'm Snake, then I want a massive character that can easily be C4 stickied :D Nah but really, I think its more important with which person I'm teaming with rather than character. It helps a lot when you each work together with known tactics that you've come up with and doubles tactics exist for pretty much any character pairing.
Romant1k: Which MU do you find the most difficult with your TL and why?
Corpse: I don't have MU experience against every character so I can only speak for those that I have fought against. The most difficult would probably have to be MK simply because its difficult to keep him away from you with your projectiles since he can just blitz right up to you and slash you up real quick. The most annoying to fight against would be Falco, he outcamps TL and TL's game revolves around camping. Not only that but he can reflect all of your stuff as well which is a real pain for TL.
CAOTIC
xXArrowXx: How many tourneys have you run?
Caotic: I've lost count but I've been doing them since 2004. A rough estimate... 50?
xXArrowXx: What's your opinion of leaving the scene?
Caotic: I haven't left the scene, so I wouldn't be able to give you a proper opinion of it. However, I can provide you with some observations. The more involved someone is in the Smash Scene, the less likely they are able to leave it entirely. Smash can form such a big part of someone's life that they will never be able to fully leave the scene even if they've stopped playing. Just by memory flicking through the retired smashers of old, most of them have lots of friends and connections that tie them back into the Smash scene.
xXArrowXx: How 2 pull out stitch face so often? >:|
Caotic: The probability is the same for every person, so I just get lucky.
SummonerAU: What do you wub the most?
Caotic: I actually have no idea.
SummonerAU: What is the cutest thing you know off?
Caotic: I like all animals. I went to the show last month and saw pet rats, so now I want one of those. So round and fluffy and cute.
SummonerAU: Why isn't FFFF changed to Woxy's Woom of whatever-it-was?
Caotic: You'll have to ask mic_128.
Dekar289: Do asians have an genetic unfair advantage in video games?
Caotic: No, we have Sam.
Metanova: Is it true that you don't actually own Melee or Brawl?
Caotic: I haven't had either versions Smash for close to about a year now. I have enough exposure of both games to play them competitively. I gave up the games at home was because it ended up being a good way to balance my time between smash and other activities.
swordsaint: Can you tell me why I_LAG isn't perma-banned yet?
Caotic: It takes a serious offence to permanently ban someone.
Splice: What have been your best experiences in the smash scene, memorable tournaments etc.
Caotic: Playing Smash in two countries have made too many good memories, to let alone list one.
Splice: Woxy Wubs or Boozer Cute?
Caotic: Both. I made them both up, but Boozer took off because of Gimpyfish's support of the term.
Splice: Are there any other game communities that you are a part of other than Smash?
Caotic: No, I tend not to play videogames outside of Smash.
SummonerAU: What do you think the most important thing that everyone needs to know in running a tournament?
Caotic: Focus on the small details that people overlook or take for granted in a tournament. A good tournament can even come down to a friendly smile.
SummonerAU: What is the worst thing that has happened while you were running a tournament?
Caotic: Probably being held up at gunpoint in 0C2. The nozzle of a gun feels really cold and metallic pressed hard against the side of your neck. This happened walking back home with Shaz the day before 0C2 started, but our lives were spared as we both surrendered our wallets. The two bandits were caught about 2 weeks later; I got the call from Police whilst stuck at Phoenix airport waiting for Forward and Taj to save me from a cancelled flight. Both of them are currently serving life in jail for accosting 20 other people in a 3 week crime spree. I think it was pretty cool to be escorted in a LAPD van since we were too scared to walk home after being robbed. It was only Shaz's 3rd day visiting the US. The cop greeted Shaz saying "Welcome to America." That is so COPS.
SummonerAU: Can you rub your stomach, pat your head and recite the alphabet backwards all at once? If so, vids?
Caotic: Too lazy to try. My guess is as good as yours.
SummonerAU: Do you get a warm fuzzy feeling when someone crouch cancels Peach's dsmash?
Caotic: No, I only get fuzzy feelings from combos.
SummonerAU: Do you get a warm fuzzy feeling when running a tournament?
Caotic: Usually after a tournament is completed.
Vyse: Why Peach?
Caotic: She's a fun shield-pressure character. As much as I'd love to play other characters (Marth/Bowser/Ness), I'm not as good with them or they suck.
Muzga: You get wub from everywhere in Australia. What would you do if you were elected king of Australia?
Caotic: Give the crown to Shaya.
S.D: How do your experiences with the American smash community compare with the Australian scene? What are some of the major differences?
Caotic: The American scene is a lot bigger than the Australian scene. People are quick to claim that the US scene is more competitive, trashy, prestigious and impersonal by virtue of its size alone. But this not entirely true; one can look away from the powerhouse regions of the US to find scenes that are more laid-back and fun-loving like Australia's. Scenes like San Diego, Atlanta, Portland and Salt Lake City are very much similar to ours in that they rely way more on each other for the existence of the scene, so the experiences become more personal. In the large cities like LA and SF, many crews form on their own to personalise the experience and separate themselves from other parts of the scene (I think Melbourne is becoming more like this). Differences tend to racial. America has a lot of Hispanic and Black smashers. I don't think we'd ever have a team name called 'Beans and Rice' down here. It somewhat provides a different Smash culture and reflects the overall identity of America. (Look at the FC3's East Coast lineup compared to the West Coast lineup - essentially Blacks vs. Asians). Interestingly, the way crews can form may be purely racial or even socio-economic.
S.D: Favourite ever tournament and why?
Caotic: Champ Combo. California dropped its differences and remembered how to have fun. Nealdt's Champ Combo Montage captures that spirit very well. Even though the Smash Scene has come a long way, you can always look back to time to when 100-man tournaments were hosted in small houses, and think to yourself how sometimes the early days somehow did it better. Rocky comes a close second for living up to the dreams of many smashers at home here.
S.D: MLG experiences?
Caotic: I'll list the ones I've been to and give you a small account of something interesting:
- MLG Orlando: After a successful tournament in America's worst city, the smash gang (plucking out names here: Ken, Isai, PC Chris, Mew2King, Shaz, Milktea, Eddie, Jenny, Helen) went out to eat at a nearby expensive Stakehouse. Shaz was due to fly out the next day and wanted to get rid of his pennies, nickels and dimes so he paid for his $50 steak with those coins alone. It was embarrassing. Mew2king passed for a 12 year old and got the children's chicken dinner. After dinner, we all headed back to the hotel. PC and Milktea (going out at the time) were flirting with each other and chased each other back to the hotel to do something fun, splitting from the group as they ran. To see Mew2king innocently chase after them (because he felt left out), drew massive facepalms from the rest of the group.
- MLG Vegas: Possibly the greatest Smash ever played was in fact, never recorded. It was Mew2king (Fox) vs. Ken (Marth) on Dreamland64. M2K was below the stage trying to recover, charging his Firefox and Ken dropped from the ledge to dolphin slash M2K. This sends M2K beneath the stage at the middle - he techs it, jumps, then Firefoxes to the other side. I think Germ and I were the only ones to have seen this, we were like "whatttttttttttttttttttttttttt..."
S.D: Most satisfying victory?
Caotic: This is going to sound so random, but KFC vs. CAOTIC. He camped me like a mother****er on DL64 on the second game (essentially died from Fox lasers only), so to take him to Brinstar and gimp him critically on the final match when I needed it most felt so good. He played Marth on the first match in Battlefield and the last match on Brinstar. Other satisfying victories came in the form of upsets or close matches: CAOTIC vs. PKMVodka, Eggz, Silent Wolf, Masashi.
S.D: Best or most rewarding moment in smash?
Caotic: Probably watching Survivor Gabon with Ken. That's just weird and surreal. You can watch him get owned now on Channel GO!
S.D: You give so much to this community - what is that motivates you to continue leading and providing for Australian smash?
Caotic: I'd have to give you pretty simple answer - it's just fun and worth it. Smash built a lot of my character, I even got employed because of what the employers had learnt about my involvement in the scene.
S.D: After the success of Rocky where do you think smash in Australia is headed?
Caotic: I think a tournament like Rocky shouldn't delude people into thinking a new golden era for Smash is upon us. Tournaments like that are a rare occurrence. Australia still has a lot of work to do to make sure the expeirence stays fresh and ever-evolving for everyone. I do think we are heading into a brighter future, but we shouldn't rest on our laurels.
S.D: The Bowser Challenge - how did this come about and who came the closest to victory?
Caotic: This was started by HugS (I think he was just bored). I stole it and put pros into the videos. Captain Jack was always the best at it, but legend has it Super Isai was also the best.
S.D: Where is the weirdest place you've been for smash?
Caotic: Here: http://maps.google.com/maps?client=s...ed=0CA4Q8gEwAA
Vyse: How did you help engineer the concept of Power Rankings?
Caotic: The US National Power Rankings were out, so I made a regional one for SoCal only. Then NorCal copied me since they always did and then the whole country started copying me.
Vyse: How did you become friends with Ken?
Caotic: Christmas Eve 2006. I just settled in Calfornia and was living with my family in Huntington Beach and Westminster, which happens to be a five minute walk from Ken's house. He was having a bi-weekly at his house and I brought some food over. Having only played smash in Australia before that, to be in Ken's room with Vidjo, ChuDat, MikeMonkey and Manacloud made me pee a little. Then Ken saw me and realised I sounded Australian. That made me instantly cool and we became friends. I think he enjoyed me most by exploiting me for late-night junk-food drive-ins, and lureing me with Smash if I said no.
Vyse: What's the (brief version of the) story behind @M?
Caotic: It was actually Shaz's tournament, but I took over it since it made things easier for Shaz to host Captain Jack properly. Shaz, Jon, Emily and Cella each put in several hundred dollars to send CJ over here. @M pretty much came about after EI; the Perth people wanted to come over to Melbourne.
Vyse: What camera should I buy?
Caotic: This: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_D3000
Vyse: Best player you've played against?
Caotic: Ken, PC Chris, Mew2King, Captain Jack, Chillindude, Husband, Isai, King, Sastopher, Kei, Masashi, Aniki, AK, DaShizWhiz, Mike G, ChuDat, KoreanDJ, HugS, DSF, KillaOR.
unreon: You're a real busy guy in the scene. What could the community do to really make it easier for you to run tournaments and get involved? If you were to step down, who do you think is most qualified to take over?
Caotic: The community doesn't need to do much more than what it does now - I make things hard for myself. Shaya and Vyse, but they aren't in the ideal position to take over - they need more monetary freedom and time to dedicate.
Melancholy: Do you have a most memorable match? If so, what was it? Not necessarily a tournament match, just one that sticks in your mind.
Caotic: Too many to point out one. I guess I won't forget Kas' one for a while, and I enjoy any crew battles I participate in.
Ant1: Do you think Ice Climbers will eventually be in S tier?
Caotic: Nope.
Ant1: Is a perfectly played Peach better than a perfectly played Snake?
Caotic: Nope.
Ant1: Will you be winning tournies by 2011?
Caotic: Nope.
Condog: When did you first meet Chudat?
Caotic: The answer is somewhere here.
Condog: Do you still talk to Chudat?
Caotic: Rarely.
Condog: Can you introduce me to Chudat?
Caotic: I'm not your wingman!
Forte4Tei: What's your favourite song of all time?
Caotic: I don't have one.
Forte4Tei: What's the song that best represents the Australian/Melbourne smash scene?
Caotic: Melbourne's Smash scene is as diverse as the number of music genres out there, so it depends on the person or crew. The Indies can go to myself and Earl, the Rock types can go to X, Attila can have J-Pop, Forte can have Classical, Sam can have Touhou-crazy maid music, Amaterasu can have VGM, the BRoomers can have Bohemian Rhapsody and Jei can have gangsta music.
Scabe: What's the story with you living in America and Australia. For example, were you born in America first and then moved to Australia, what's the reason for the moving?
Caotic: I was born in Australia but my family is primairily based in America. I've lived there for about 3-4 years total. I'm in Australia because it's better, even though America is more fun and interesting as a country.
Toby: What is the best restaurant you've ever been to?
Caotic: Oh my, what a fun question. It's unfair to all the eateries that exist to only name one, so I'm going to list the best resturants I've tried by cuisine/type:
- Italian: I Carusi, East Brunswick VIC
- Vietnamese: Broddard, Westminster CA
- French: The French Brasserie, Melbourne VIC
- Thai: Thai Pothong, Newtown NSW
- Indian: Nirvana, Richmond VIC
- Chinese: Red Pearl, San Diego CA
- Breakfast: New York Tomato, Richmond VIC
- Seafood: Doyles, Watsons Bay NSW
- Ice Cream: Pinkberry and Cold Stone, all over America
- Cake: Brunetti's, Melbourne VIC
- Vegatarian: Nirvana, Richmond VIC
- Sandwich: Mamma's Boy, Melbourne VIC
- Soul Food: Kappaya, Abbotsford VIC
- Steak: Squire's Loft, Docklands VIC
- Pizza: This ghetto looking hole in the wall where the 'PIZZA' neon sign outside had a Z missing and the other one wonky, near Ground Zero, New York, NY
- Buffet: The Roof Restaurant, Temple Square, Salt Lake City UT
- Burger: Grill'd, everywhere in Melbourne
- Jamican Donut: The one Mike G took me to, GA
- Japanese: Everywhere in Japan
- Korean: Anywhere in Koreatown, Los Angeles CA
- Hotdog: Pinks, Hollywood CA
- BBQ: Pretty sure Billy would win even though I've yet to try
- Junk: Panda Express Orange Chicken, everywhere in America
- Greek/Personal favourite: Lucky's, Santa Barbara CA because a friend owns it
- Malaysian/Personal favourite no.2: Chilipadi, Melbourne VIC because a friend is there
D0N: Seeing as your a huge part of this community, what are your thoughts about the idea some people get that "video games rot your brain?"
Caotic: There's a recent publication that suggests those who play videogames are able to retain their quick mental reflexes as they age. I would agree with that.
D0N: Can you remember your first tournament? How did it go?
Caotic: It was the Nintendo Superchallenge in 2004, hosted by Nintendo. I was a scrub. That tournament reeled me into the Smash scene once I saw someone play lightning mode on normal speed.
D0N: How and why did you become a part of the smash community?
Caotic: See above.
D0N: Whats the best way to build a smash community from only a handful of good players?
Caotic: You need to make it more than a smash scene. Think of other ways to bridge the gaps between people to keep them playing. I tend to fall back on the social elements.
D0N: Have you met some really wierd people? I'm sure you have, so can you tell a story/give an example?
Caotic: I'll have to save the wierdest people for a private consersation. Some things are too weird to put here.
shmot: If Peach was top tier in Brawl, do you think you would like the game more?
Caotic: Yes, provided everyone else that isn't top tier has more options as well.
Dedu: What venue was the best one you've arranged for in Australia?
Caotic: Rocky, by a mile.
S.D: Your view of the way smash has grown in Australia - from starting out with 20 turning up to a major to over a hundred.
How does this make you FEEL?
Caotic: Reeeeeel cuted
Luke_Atyeo: Do you think your skill level has dropped since you were in america shaya?
Shaya: Most definitely. Although we all put up a good fight and were able to play for HOURS a day against some of the best players in the nation, all that muscle memory faded away so quickly upon returning back from the States; I can at least atest to seriously reducing how much I played smash post-US (Swine Flu, Uni crap, smash breaks) as a reason for not keeping everything fresh.
Alzi: Would you rather be in America placing bad or here in Australia placing well and making some small amounts of profit?
Shaya: America was great, it was a never ending constant challenge that gave so many rewards. I think the speed at which we were improving in the states (I got 17th at evo) made me feel the prospects of reaching placing heights were feasible. Whilst I lose to people here, its never eye-opening like it was in the States where people would abuse things so amazingly that you had to learn to overcome it or else... here it's like "im bored, im rushing in and not even thinking because I can't be bothered". The habits the australian scene brings to me (and I'd say everyone else) is definitely not beneficial to my skill levels.
Condog: What's your opinion of Marth's current metagame? Do you think he has what it takes to reach S tier?
Shaya: He's a good, solid character. I believe he deserves to be in the same tier as Falco, Diddy, etc. S tier really will only ever be MK, Snake and -maybe- ICs. Depends on how anti-ICs the metagame will focus on in the future. tl;dr maybe.
xXArrowXx: Why are you notoriously bad at doubles?
Shaya: hmm wouldn't say I'm too bad, other than one time (in Aus) when I teamed with a guy who was at his first tournament, I believe I've not placed outside top 4 for doubles in a long while. Finding the right team mate I guess is really important, at least for me. I do so well with S.D because he's smart and knows what I'm wanting to do, whilst other times I'd just keep getting hit by my own team mate.
Toby: picture this: you're inside a giant jar of marinated **** fetta cheese. You were teleported there by a wizard. Suddenly you hear a ringing/beeping sound in your ear! It's otacon. They say something about your snake and you cover yourself with a handy piece of cheese that looks like a pair of pants.
As you grow accustomed to the squishy by strangely comforting pants you remember that otacon was talking to you! You start listening again in time to hear that they're sending supplies, but you have to choose one of three options:
1) A lifetime supply of Byron Bay Salsa.
2) A **** load of pasta to eat the fetta with.
3) Clothes. In pants pocket : a rubber band, used sticky tape, fresh chewing gum, a bobby pin, 2 AA batteries.
They also tell you that five minutes and 24 seconds after you receive the supplies, a dog will be launched from a passing bowl of bolognese. This is obviously an explosive dog that threatens the existence of at least the entire world as we know it. We can safely assume that contact with any surface or substance for longer than 3 seconds, or at a velocity great than an unladen swallow, will result in the dog exploding. This will cause you to die.
The previous 3 options could help you in preventing the dog from wreaking havok.
McGuyver tools are your disposal:
- The three previous supply drops.
- A massive jar of fetta.
- Your glasses
- A member of the smash community of your choosing.
- Your money pouch with Sam's winnings from that boost ages ago.
What Do You Do?
Shaya: Die eating.
Vlade: Favourite Stage?
Shaya: I hate every stage. Except maybe temple and pirate ship.
Vlade: Highlights of your smash career (in Australia AND America, coz I know you're gonna say genesis)
Shaya: I don't think my smash career has enough notoriety to have highlights. Like I was pretty happy about getting 17th at Evo. Genesis was eh. Winning my first tournament was great.
Vlade: Why do you play Marth?
Shaya: Always a fan of swords since the tiny days, played Smash 64 like a boss, picking Pikachu coz of the pokemanz love; and before I had even tried melee I had gotten into Fire Emblem. That is at least, the initial interest. Being a pretty solid, fun, versatile character which always has more room to grow has kept me with him though, I definitely do not enjoy playing a character that doesn't have options.
Vlade: What are your predictions for the next tier list?
Shaya: Ice Climbers and Pikachu up, Marth probably stayin where he is, as usual. Game and Watch continue to drop. Wario will probably lose his third place; and it will probably be given to Diddy.
Toby: If you could implement one thing to greatly improve the Australian smash scene, what would it be?
Shaya: This is a truly hard question. There are many things that would be unfeasible but totally awesome: like extremely cheap bullet trains between Melbourne, Sydney and BrisBAYN. Other than that the scene has it's own trends and pace that it works to and you can only extend within the boundaries of it's current capabilities. I worry about numbers though, and I think anything relating to getting the word out there about our great scene and it's great people (i.e. advertising), but I say that is a stigma relating to the whole competitive video gaming scene, as Australians in general care a lot less about it.
Vlade: Where'd you get your alias from?
Shaya: Shaya is my Hebrew name. As you can often see through Ted and Luke being racist douches, I'm Jewish. I'm not particularly religious though. Shaya was my grandfather's hebrew name as well, so it holds significance to me as a person, hence why I get flustered over people purposely mispronouncing it, it feels like an insult to my family more than them being smartarses. Trivia: Shaya comes from Yeshua, commonly transliterated as Joshua; Yeshua was also the birth name of the man commonly known as Jesus Christ.
Metanova: 6 months ago, or now. Did you like the scene more then, or now?
Shaya: I like the scene now, but I feel there's a couple of things about it as a whole that could form cracks sooner or later. Six months ago seems really distant though.
Metanova: What is your most memorable match?
Shaya: Well, I particularly dont care so much about that... But if anything, that comes up quite often... it's 3 stocking tibs on brinstar... lol.
Corpsecreate: With your experience with Genesis, what is it about the American smashers that makes them so much better than us?
Shaya: The number of people. To win [in America] you beat people who are on average better than here, (because of the amount of people) who all have various strengths and abilities in various ways that just ONE of them could be your weakness/downfall. So to win you must be able to respond to all weaknesses and all styles of play, and with that many people the depth of what you need to know and do is far beyond the Australian Smash scene. In comparison, the australian metagame is quite boring where at best (on average) you only have one guy maining one character who's a threat.
S.D: Best doubles partner?
Shaya: I did team with Mew2King once in a friendly. He taught m... It's you. We form team strategies so easily with our characters and destroy ****, even if you're not as brawl oriented, you know your **** enough and any of our shortcomings we naturally know how to cover in game. We would have won rocky
I_LAG: Will u pick up a CP char for mk?
Shaya: Maybe. MK is just difficult. And the greatest tragedy is the lack of any good MKs actually existing within our region. I know how to play the match up, and I know how to win. But in practical terms I do not get enough of it. Because of that, I'd say the weakness of people using MK against me would extend to any character I'd use. Unless I know they're an idiot that I can abuse a trait of one character with (i.e. d3 grab range > your brain, dash attack of many > coz you jump too much).
shmot: what's you opinion of the snake v marth matchup?
Shaya: I'd say its even. Port priority probably puts it slightly in Snakes favour. Continuing on from the last question, MK and Snake are amazingly good in this game, to beat htem without using them requires a lot more effort. I say it's even because Marth can handle everything about Snake and abuse him like a boss, but it's TOO EASY to lose to Snake or MK with just one mistake, a mistake if the Snake or MK made would hardly be as detrimental.
shmot: What do you do when you run off in between sets to calm yourself down (seriously)?
Shaya: Have a drink of something. If I'm foggy minded I just think it's best to get some caffeine (coke) or better yet some water into me. Playing video games for so many hours straight is extremely taxing to the body, and I'm sure people will agree I don't look like the fittest person in the scene. I suffer migraines a lot, so things like drinking water or taking pain killers is almost a must, unfortunately.
Sieg: I've heard you rage just as much as me, is this true?
Shaya: I probably get flustered in a similar scale to your rage, but definitely not as ragey as you. I guess I'm more susceptible to anger/rage if I'm tired or whatever, some douches in the scene like to go out of there way to take the piss out of that though. I don't think anyone goes out of their way to summon your rage in retrospect .
Lord Bowser: What do you do with a drunken sailor?
Shaya: Toss him over board. Early in the morning.
Lord Bowser: What keeps you involved in the smash scene and what do you love most about it?
Shaya: The smash scene is a hobby, an amazing hobby that really shouldn't have as much of a stigma as it does (i.e. video gaming geeks/nerds/whatever). People seem to worry about their gangstAR friends putting them down for a hobby that allows them to meet so many new people, travel to so many places and stay for free :D, and all whilst playing video games, how good is that!? I guess I took the hobby further than I originally expected though, with trying to manage and run a tourney scene or whatever, but I guess, like with anything you set goals for, seeing them come through is great for your esteem.
tibs7: Who has been the hardest opponent you've ever versed. excluding m2k.
Shaya: I played a lot of people. But DEHF was one of those amazing players. American top players tend to be a lot more arrogant and cocky than here, so to play people like DEHF and m2k who give the respect of trying to destroy you, whilst others mainly sandbag, my list of "hardest opponents" is small. If we're talking about Australia, old-school Cobalt was a feind.
tibs7: Who do you think in the australian smash scene has the potential to be a great player?
Shaya: Whoever puts the effort in and actually thinks about what they're doing. To give names? My opinions of a 'great player' existing in Australia are... Ask Toby.
Vyse: What keeps Marth from being viable on his own?
Shaya: Nothing stops him from being viable on his own. The effort required to win with him is more than other high/top tiers, but losing with him can really only be attested to the player (i.e. tired, trips into fresh kill moves, lack of experience, etc)
Vyse: What do you contribute to the smash scene on the world stage? (And what have you contributed in the past?).
Shaya: Hard question. I guess I'm reasonably active in the Marth boards and currently run the "Marth Back Room". I've made guides and put a lot of effort into informing people of things and helping when asked... I guess I kinda contributed videos of evo 2009 (probably the most sort after thing I contributed to the scene... lol)
Shaya: What is love?
Shaya: Baby don't hurt me.
S.D: Some memorable experiences from America/Genesis/Evo?
Shaya: I was in the hotel room for the brawl singles and doubles grand finals (with only like 10 other people) at Genesis. Got to meet and speak to some 'smash legends'.
S.D: Your contributions to Marth's metagame and community?
Shaya: Run tournaments, 'discover' random ****, or prove that random **** exists.
S.D: Opinion on your performance at Rocky? Did you lose because you are a vegetarian?
Shaya: I came to Rocky without much desire to truly win, having the 'smash break' for reasons listed above and not really wanting to get off it coming into Rocky... (emo emo emo). If I wasn't a vegetarian I may have had more food... coz I think I was pretty darn hungry after everything.
Dedu: How'd you keep boost running for so long despite the bureaucracy from the university?
Shaya: Pleading Naivity and ignorance. Not really answering questions. Using the [at the time] chairman of my faculty's student society's good will (but after October he didnt stand for re-election, so I lost that link as well). Didnt run the original boosts for that long though, there were only 3.
Dekar289: Who would win in a fight between Tibs and Attila?
Shaya: Are you serious? Attila eats like RAWR protein.
SummonerAU: Do you have any characters that you just don't like?
Shaya: I don't really like playing Yoshi, Ivysaur, Jigglypuff (except in smash64), Zelda... probably some other ones I dont even recall the names of.
Hotdog: Why do you John so much?
Shaya: It's almost become an expectancy. You have smartarses almost praying that I take their bait about it. But eh, my opinion of what a 'John' really is, is different from others. I say 'gah pretty tired' (which is more me stating how i'm feeling rather than me giving an excuse for losing) or 'I shouldnt have done this'; yet people call those Johns when really, johns are like 'My hands were soapy', at least in my definition.
Hotdog: What was your first tourney experience like?
Shaya: "hi, i'm the new guy", "wow you're pretty good i dont know why you lost to <that guy>", "grab release chaingrabbing lucas is definitely against the rules", "wow mk is stupid"
Jupz: Marth vs dedede opinions? Marth vs MK opinions?
Shaya: D3 advantage, D3's damage output and walling prowress, and Marth having less grab range (something really important in his high level spacing game against most other characters), d3 dont die, etc. Everything Marth has MK has ever so slightly better; so whilst as a whole it looks like 'oh ****', averaged out (when you have dancing blade and liek grab releases) isnt too bad. MK has to work a lot less though to win, they can get away with just pokes because of their better range, and can do most things without getting punished, including using kill moves; something Marth lacks.
Luke_Atyeo: Whats your favorite food?
Shaya: Pizza, Sizzler Potato Skins, Ravioli with marinated fetta and pesto, speghetti with my own made sauce, byron bay salsa + anything. I love them all (well probably the first two less than others).
Luke_Atyeo: What career path are you studying for?
Shaya: System analyst (felt it was important to point out the gay joke for you there). Or other design/management type things in relation to Software.
djbrowny: Whats the story behind some gambling at a casino where you apparently won quite a bit of money?
Shaya: I used to have the right skillz (luck and patience) to win at casinos. If you're referring to me winning like $100 from CAO's like $20 in Melbourne some time... that's a really small amount considering at my high point I was betting up to $50 a hand (Blackjack). Over the span of 3 weeks (mid/early 2008 or so) I went to the casino several times a week and made enough money that I didn't work for about 5 months. Stopped gambling when I started giving it back to the casino. Now continuining on as a poor university student status.
Condog: Shaya what is your opinion of Luke's jokes?
Shaya: Some of the things he says are funny, but his nature of clinging onto minute stupid things (or fabricating things to troll/joke at people) is annoying. Probably needs to find better things to do to vent himself.
Ant1: What's your opinion on the asylum seekers trying to enter Australia? Should they be allowed in or not?
Shaya: I believe that it should be properly monitored as to not just let hordes of people enter the country without restriction. Asylum seekers just wanting to be able to waste government resources/whatever when they were fine where they originated (i.e. not a book definition asylum seeker) worry me though. I could write more, but eh. It's a good thing they're mostly entering from the Perth side .
e_alert: What is going through your mind during important tournament matches?
Shaya: Sometimes I forget to focus/think properly and have my mind on other things. Other times I just pinpoint a weakness of myself the opponent is exploiting and concentrate on avoiding the situation. It's a disappointment that high level Aussies generally only require one of such thoughts to over come them. *continues america loving*
Bsrk_: How do you keep your mind focused for tournaments_? Any training or pre-tournament rituals_?
Shaya: Caffeine and coffee. Pre-tournament ritual is I say to myself "okay lets get a good nights rest" but never do. I don't really train much anymore.
S.D: You've been labelled something of a choker - is this accurate and how do you feel about it?
Shaya: I'd say it's accurate. But what can you do? It's all apart of the game. The fact that I've been able to reach such levels on a reasonably consistant basis with such a handicap of my power level (like under 9000) proves how awesome I am. Or something.
Toshi: How do you pronounce your name? Do you care if people mispronounce it? How often do people mispronounce it?
Shaya: "Shy-ah", you can even be like 'ya' instead, without putting too much emphasis on the 'y'. I generally do care if they're doing it on purpose. Happens often.
Condog: Shaya, what do you think of the SA tourney scene?
Shaya: They need to pull their fingers out and start segregating themselves with us. Perth and metanova is doing it, why can't they?
Vermy: if you could be any pokeman which one would you be? (No ubers)
Shaya: Alakazam.
Vermy: If you were a pokemanz trainer irl, what type would you be? Same type party or mixed?
Shaya: Psychic. This is assuming that the way dark ****s over Psychics in game is just silly and every pokemon irl can learn like 50 moves, then everyones ****ed.
Metanova: What character do you hate fighting against the most?
Tibs: I hate mk just 'cause his ability to turn a match around soo very quickly. One grab at the edge could potentially be a stock. So yeah i probably hate versing mk the most . after playing ted though, he made me hate wario, hes so good at spacing its just frustrating, Wario is probs my 2nd worst.
e_alert: Diddy Kong vs Ice Climbers, general thoughts and what should each side be focusing on?
Tibs: Diddy definately has the advantage but its by no means an easy win, it never really is against IC's. The diddy players should be focusing on just getting those naners at the IC's feet to make them slip then its just bthrow to spike <3. This is only difficult if IC's have a banana and just alternate blizzards. When diddy is on the edge he is in pretty big trouble, most vulnerable then imo.
e_alert: Does Attila have Nana striptease when he plays Ice Climbers against you?
Tibs: I dont get this =( please explain......
S.D: Wtf EA...?
Tibs: Bahaha SD wub wubs
S.D: Why are you so sexy?
Tibs: I think it's a diddy player thing. All us diddy players are quite sexy people. see turtle and yourself for further proof on this theory.
S.D: How did you get into Brawl, and did you have an interest in Melee before entering the competitive scene?
Tibs: I have always loved smash, i only became competitive in brawl because i only found out they had comps for smash when brawl was the new thing otherwise i would've loved to play competitive melee with the likes of dekar, redact,tak and caos <3. But yes i did have an interest in melee ,owning cpu's that ran into falcon punches =)
S.D: What do you do outside smash - sport, hobbies, job, uni etc?
Tibs: I LOOOOOVE sport, favourite being soccer ofcourse the world game, theres so much more skill involved imo. Hobbies inlcude gaming, sport, going out with mates etc etc. with my job i kinda do have one but its not really one, working for my dad. he recently gave me a house plan to draw up so im slowly moving up the ranks ehehe, other than that i do casual data entry in the city and voluntary work for salvation army -__________________-
S.D: Rocky - disappointed to place 2nd? Or ecstatic to do so well? Thoughts on Corpse as a player?
Tibs: Yeah was pretty disappointed i guess not really but yeah, i know i could of taken him but he was the better player on the day full credit for not choking lol. yeah Corpse is a great player, very smart, reads people well, knows MU's really well but has some faults as everyone does which i will pick him up on next time
S.D: How many brothers do you have and how many play smash?
Tibs: I have 3 brothers all older </3 and 2 sisters both younger but one is my twin -__-
Yeah Attila and i are the only ones that play smash, Lasz kinda got into it but was never really serious.
S.D: You have a weird *** first and last name - where is your family from, and what's with the bizarre (but very cool) names? Other family member names?
Tibs: My dads from Yugoslavia somewhere (attila correct me if im wrong), mums aussie as. I Think our names pretty much all came from relatives accept for Attila 'cause mum chose that one ehehe
ill go through my family's names eldest - youngest
Ferencz
Laszlo
Attila
Me
Livia
Margit
S.D: Best moment in Smash? What keeps you motivated to play and where do you want to go with smash from here?
Tibs: Best moment would easily be beating Amaterasu ini my 3rd? tournament ever. There were about 50 something people going crazy behind my back and each game had an epic moment. eg me surviving on corneria because the ship shot chris as he was throwing me at 130%? then me ending up winning that match and the tournament was very crazy. Best moment ever.
Things that keep me motivated is good players that challenge me, like shaya, ted, corpse, earl, attila, chris all those guys make me play my best everytime im up against them. But its sad these days im less motivated in brawl as of the defensive nature of it these days. I dont plan on continuing it for very much longer and just sticking to melee repping doc <3
S.D: Are you going to be the best in melee too?
Tibs: That would be a dream come true. In a few years if i keep playing with caos and dekar and other top players im sure ill get better pretty quick and be challenging the best =).
S.D: Will you double Mario team with me one day?
Tibs: Hell yeahuz Sam, you know i would. by Mario you meant 'Doctor' Mario right?<3
Sieg: Do Tibs Ribs go well with barbeque sauce? Can you give Billy the recipe so he can cook us some Tibs Ribs?
Tibs: Well Sieg you will have to ask Lukie about that one, he invented it and stuff. Im guessing it would though since Tibs Ribs go well with everything
TakFR: Which game do you enjoy playing more at this point in time?
Tibs: Definately Melee, so much more tech skill involved and the lesser chars dont get ***** as much <3
TakFR: What are you secondaries at the moment? (both games)
Tibs: For brawl, I have Pikachu and Pit.
Melee I'm starting to use Marf as he is hella broken
TakFR: Are you interested in any other fighters at the moment?
Tibs: I was into SFIV when I borrowed it, I was really close to buying it and im sure I would've gone competitive with that to, but yeah just brawl and melee atm.
TakFR: Have you posed for every camera shot you have ever been in?
Tibs: Yeah probs.
I_Lag: You have such nice hair, what shampoo do you use?
Tibs: I'll have to get back to you on that one Haz, I got a haircut recently, looks so short eww
Atlasmist: Favorite character to combo and why. Are you a machine or do you eat and sleep?
Tibs: Well definately the heavies except Snake ('cause hes just to broken for this game), So yeah DK, D3, Boozer (<3 probs fav). Those 3 are the best. Yeah tis true, I am indeed a machine, a cyborg from outta space, pretty sick imo.
Splice: What do you think you still need to work on to be better at brawl. What do you see you could improve on?
Tibs: Definately my DI sometimes its just hopeless and i die at like 100% so bad. I can read pretty well but sometimes i get to caught up in reading that i get read instead, bad move. I'm pretty predictable sometimes and i get owned for it =(. My rolling habit isnt half as bad as it was but its still needs improving. I need to space a little better to, specially 'gainst Wario <3
shmot: Do think you will ever be able to admit that your older brother is actually better than you are? at brawl AND melee?
Tibs: Zomg never! Im way better than you'll ever be. after reading this you will reply "then why do i beat you in both games?" its true your marth normally does beat my doc but for some reason you cant beat my link? wtf (meree btw). In brawl ill always be better than you as long as I care for it, you are to textbook and go by facts never make up your own stuff.
~Delirium~: What's your opinion of Atilla, from the perspective of being a younger sibling?
Tibs: He's ok i guess, can be really tight sometimes and mean, but most of the time hes nice to me. We have our fights after losing to another but its all good, we always bag eachother but it ends up OK.
~Delirium~: Who's your idol?
Tibs: Smash wise its ADHD, beating m2k and ally zZOMG such ****. Other idols is probs Ronaldo (the non-fat one) he has to much skill ***** anyone that competes him and picks up women. so cool.
~Delirium~: If you could have any character in the next Smash Bros, who would it be and why?
Tibs: Me and Attila have discussed this a few times and we both think Isaac from Golden Sun should definately be in there, he is soooooo very madt and deserves a spot in the crew. I would main him no doubt, probs 2nd Diddy :3
D0N: What's it been like when you and your brother play games where only one can win? Have you always been pretty even?
Tibs: Umm well theres always been certain games that each one cares for more than the other. So it really comes down to who cares about it more, but yeah normally even.
luke_atyeo: Tell us about your soccer history and how much you ***** that **** and where did "madt" come from?
Tibs: Ahaha not much to tell just played at Salesian (crap school) then moved to Scotch College and played in the 1sts squad year 11 and 12. It was such **** playing with other great players and a pro coach. After that I was playing for Old Scotch who have moved up 3 divisions in the past 4 years so we are on the rise! I also played futsal and indoor soccer which were so much fun. beating wogs at theie own game is the best haha. I've been injured for sooo long though cbs booking my reco so i havent played for a good 10months.
I didnt get it from the internet at all actually, i said this in like yr 8 or 9, Me and my cousin used to make up crap all the time and yeah came up with Madt, 'cause it sounded like mint and mint was in at the time <3.
Alzi: Tibs how did it feel to vs a really good toon link for the first time at rocky?
Tibs: Was frustrating im not gonna lie. Not even looking at the MU was my biggest mistake ever! Made me get more ***** that i shouldve. Corpse is a beast player.
Alzi: Do you hate it when people steal your banana's during the game? If so how do you then control that?
Tibs: No not really, 'cause half the time i know that they will do with them but i didnt with corpse as he used them so very different to everyone else
Muzga: Are you planning on going interstate for any other majors?
Tibs: Yeah for Squat and Reloaded and possibly this Eastern Invasion just to show you Perth noobs where its at
luke_atyeo: What do you think of the bro fist to high five combo? Is it true that you secretly are jealous?
Tibs: Terrible question imo. Its just a terrible combo, makes me cringe/rage when i see it . hell no am i jealous just a normal person high five or something will do for me.
Scabe: Why did you pick Diddy as a main when your Link is way more cooler?
Tibs: Diddy is so cuted <3 and I've always loved him in Diddy's Kongquest best char ever. Link is so cool aswell just way to much time is needed for him. I would only use him for lulz. plus mine isnt good =( yours is da bomb though <3 your link.
Bsrk_: What helps keep you focused during matches_?
Tibs: The desire to win, I want to win so badly sometimes that it helps me keep focused.
Bsrk_: How do you feel your game has improved since first getting into the scene_? Have you changed characters since and what has been your motivation for staying as Diddy.
Tibs: I actually know you can press R and then A to grab -___-. Also my rolling habit has dropped sooo very much and my reading ability has gotten a hell lot better. Yeah i have changed chars. I used to main Pit like every other kid but yeah got ***** by Attila's Snake so hard and then the tier list came out and i was like stuff this. Then chose Diddy to be my main (he was my 2nd at the time). Motivation to stick with diddy is that you can do whatever you want with him, there is so much crazy banana combos and AT's you can do its crazy and yeah perfecting them keeps me going with him.
S.D: Have you played Brawl+ and what are your thoughts on it? Does it have a place in the scene as a legitimate competitive game?
Tibs: I have played Brawl + and i loved it, the fact that you can play as link and not get badly ***** is just awesome. Mmm i don't think it has that edge yet to be a competitive game for now, maybe when brawl dies down it will come. But not for now.
ComboTurtle: It's become increasingly obvious to everyone involved in the smash scene that you are the king, have you ever considered investing in a crown and wearing it everywhere you go?
Tibs: Hahhahaaha, young thomas of Wollogong, sick question. I havent actually thought about it but i may if i win squat. I know you have since you told me but yeah it doesnt really tickle my fancy atm.
Muzga: How did you get into smash in the first place?
Tibs: Well i dont know if many of you guys know him, but an asian guy named Bryan (bylim5) told me to come to John Curtain Hotel on Lygon St. for smash and thats where it all started =)
Toby: It's well known that you aren't a fan of ice climbers chain grabs or MK dair camping. How to you think Diddy kong fits into all of this? Do you ever feel like you might be whoring people with te nanaz, or is diddy kong flawed enough to make it feel ok?
Tibs: Haha this doesnt sound like a question but ill answer it anyway 'cause its Toby, umm yes bananas are great and are broken as hell. But they do not kill someone from hitting them once like a IC cg can do. With dair camp if played right diddy has no real chance of hitting them. Diddy doesnt have many flaws at all but he has enough that make him beatable unlike a dair camping Mk
Abhishekh: Scrunch or fold?
Tibs: SCRUNCH
Vlade: Which character would you use in a low-tier tourney?
Tibs: Link, he has so much potential to be ****!
Vlade: Enlighten me about your smash career - how you started, highlights, how you got good, etc.
Tibs: Career started is a few q's up but yeah highlights are beating Amaterasu, shaya in a Melb tourny. Also Rocky, it was best smash tournament ever, being a rocky motivated so many smashers to get better and it brought all the states of Australia together, was amazing.
Well having a brother that is good at games also helps alot. We used to play eachother everyday, but not so much anymore, but yeah i only got good 'cause beating him at this was like no.1 priority so it made me try.
luke_atyeo: What does your brother lazlo think of smash and your dedication to it?
Tibs: Laszlo*, he doesnt mind it,aslong as im winning and dont get to carried away
shmot: If you were a pokemon, who would you have been caught by?
Tibs: Lol wth, definately not by you, 'cause you're way to mean, probs caos 'cause he wubs everythang
shmot: If for some crazy reason diddy and pikachu were banned, who would you adopt as a new main?
Tibs: Mk, no never i would never sink that low. Probs Snake or IC's
shmot: How jealous are you of your brother for being in japan?
Tibs: Atm pretty jealous because mum and apu are constantly on my back with everything i do cant wait to go to QLD
shmot: Most annoying on smashboards?
Tibs: Apart from you, its probably that player 1 guy, on the diddy boards. He's more arrogant than you pisses me off sometimes. It used to be ILAG but hes pretty cool now. oh and that adultlink used to make the most useless post i dont know why...where'd that guy go?
Scabe: When are you going to answer these questions?!
Tibs: Well my cpu overheated like 3 times so ive had to restart this and i couldnt be bothered typing it all up again =(
Guidelines:
This thread is purely for the use of updating all interviews_ Each interview will have it's own thread so please refrain from posting in this one as links will be provided for each interview_ Discussion regarding each interview topic can be found below_
Interview Discussion:
#1 Kas + Corpsecreate
#2 CAOTIC
#3 Shaya
#4 Tibs
#5 Vyse
KAS
Scabe: What are your earliest memories of playing Melee?
Kas: Smash 64? A long time ago. I remember playing it with my twin brother and cousin and loving it. Melee? I remember playing with my friends in year 9 and being the only person who sheilded and sheild-grabbed. Good times. Though I was mocked for sheilding, apparently it's 'cheap', haha.
Bsrk_: Now that you've come out of the closet, will you be using this to your advantage in future tournaments? Possible mindgames?
Kas: Not really (also I don't see how it's advantageous). Just because I've admitted I'm gay to everyone doesn't mean I'm prepared to flaunt it. To be honest, I don't really like the fact that I told everyone, because even though I thought it would be a fun thing to do (as well as getting it off my chest), it has back-fired, and everyone makes gay jokes and derogatory terms and such, usually relating to me, and I'm getting pretty tired of it. I did have a possible mind-game, though, that's to do with being gay; it was basically if I was losing, then I would get my hubby to come close so we could make out in front of whoever I was losing to, and see if that played any effect on them. =]
I LAG: Why do u main marth instead of jiggly puff? i thought jiggz was the cheapest char in melee.
Kas: I don't only main Marth. I use Marth, Fox, Falco and Sheik (notice how they're all top tier? That's pretty lame on my end, sorry). However I use Marth mainly in tournaments because I find that Marth can't be gimped anywhere near as easily as Fox or Falco (both who I prefer over Sheik, I almost never use her) and also that Marth can gimp fairly easily in turn. And I'm not sure who's cheaper, Marth or Jiggly. They're both pretty ridiculous... but maybe I'll pick up Jiggly, then, and see how well that goes. I do find, though, that Jiggly is just pathetically brutal in teams, unlike Marth. Fox is good in teams, though, too. =] Marth, Jiggly, Fox, Falco, Sheik... They're all good characters and are cheap, if you know how to use them. And of course each do better in certain match-ups. And so on and so forth.
Sieg: Why don't you like Smash anymore? You used to love it lol. To an extent.
Kas: I don't really know... I get over things pretty quickly, and I think one of the main reasons I loved Smash in the earlier years was because of Zac (Syke). Also, I think being able to beat people consistently makes you enjoy something a lot less as well, the challenge is always to strive to become better, but if I'm already able to beat almost everyone without trying too hard, at least in QLD... then where's the challenge?
Hotdog: Now that you've proved your skills in Melee are you going to try be the best at Brawl?
Kas: I am trying to get good at Brawl but I don't think I'll be the one of the best anytime soon, though I'm catching up pretty quickly now that I've taken up Falco, Marth and Toon Link, instead of Ike. Also I think you're implying that I'm the best at Melee (in Australia?), and I'm not sure about that. I still think CAO is better than me.
Vyse: What do you think when you play?
Kas: I think most of the time I'm trying to figure out the tendencies of the person I'm playing so that I can punish what they're doing. That, and I usually think of my hubby. He supports me even when he's not there. =]
Muzga: How often do you play?
Kas: Not sure. Lately it's been once a week since friends have been hosting or there have been tournaments on. But I never play Smash by myself at my own house, it's no fun. But before, from around the middle of last year, it was once every month or so. ... Basically I play the game whenever anyone has it going on.
xXArrowXx: How do i beat you without being gay or bi?
Kas: You could beat me off anyway. =] I wouldn't know how to win against myself. I try to play differently each match and to do different tactics throughout the game being played so that I'm not predictable. But that in itself can become predictable. Maybe.
Zero_: What is your favourite food while playing video games?
Kas: Lollies and chocolate. =] By far. And strawberry milk. Nothing more, nothing less. But since they're both so fattening I try not to induldge. Haha. Weight conscious. I'm so lame, I know!
e_alert: What is your racial sexual preference?
Kas: White, mainly. European a little as well. That's about it. Nothing else. Just White Caucasian-y. =] And red heads without freckles. They're hot.
Scrubs: Come play smash with Josh, Bryce and I on friday?
Kas: I'll see if I can make it.
Jupz: Is melee fun?
Kas: ... Sort of. It's fun when it's challenging (as with most things), but if it's easy come easy go... there's no enjoyment out of it. And I don't like playing for too long as well. Try to keep it within 2 - 3 hours, any longer and I start getting bored of it.
gopobox: If you could add a character to the brawl cast, who would it be?
Kas: Tails. <3
Afropony: Why did you decide to play smash competitively?
Kas: I don't really mean to play it competitively. I really only play for fun. Haha. I'm not that good under pressure and I really felt it when I was playing CAO at the grand finals, although I also didn't like it that much when it was just Emily or SD or Dekar on the projector. Oh well. I'm surprised I placed first with everything in play. I guess Marth is a really, really lame character. Bleh. Lol digression. Back to the question - I still don't see myself as really playing it 'competitively'. I mean I play the game in tournaments and stuff and that counts for something, but even so I still really only play the game for fun and just that, even when there's something on the line.
Syke Cok Effron: Why did u change mains from fox to marth, how often do u play against CPUs? Fave matchup? Now that you've conquered melée u gonna play da halo?
Kas: I never really liked using Fox to begin with. He gets destroyed so easily (although he can destroy easily in turn), but Marth is a much easier character to use. Also, everyone said I was a Fox main even though I never really said so, apart from when I was facing off with Freddo. I don't play against CPUs, I only did about 4 or so years ago when I found out about wave-dashing, then when I got that down and JC grabbing and that, I just stopped. And I don't think I'll play Halo. I don't really like FPS games, sorry. People rage far more in FPS games than fighting games, and I really don't like the atmosphere.
Technodeath: Do you often have trouble reading / predicting your opponents?
Kas: Not really, no. It's not hard to know when people are going to do something, because, really, most people do it. The only thing I have trouble doing is not getting hit by moves that have more priority than my own, that's really about it. I can usually tell when someone is going to do something, but I sometimes forget that they'll hit me, no matter what I do (unless I shield, dodge, or air-dodge, which I seem to fail at doing).
shmot: Do you care about the frequent usage of the word 'gay' or 'gayed' in smash?
Kas: Yes, actually, I do. But there's nothing I can do about it, well, there is, but I don't want to make a complaint about it when it's really a huge thing in the entire Smash community. If I tried to bring it down then I think the Smash community would probably be a lot less friendly, haha. I'd rather take a blow for everyone than have everyone dull down. And anyway... It's almost always just for fun, so it's no harm done in the end. <3 U gaiz~
D0n: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Kas: To be honest, it's so unrealistic, that I don't even bother thinking of it, hahaha. d: But I guess the power to fly. Or rather, having wings that could let me fly. Wings are sexy. And a fluffy tail. And cute floppy ears. :D
D0n: What's better; always placing 1st in a tourney with no real competition, or always having great competition but never placing 1st.
Kas: A mixture of both. Never placing 1st can leave you feeling unsatisfied with your abilities, and always placing 1st takes away the strive to win. But of course if I had to choose between both of them, then the latter. I'd rather have competition, than none at all. It takes away the fun of the game. And even if I was miles behind, at least I'd have something to strive towards - i.e beating whoever beat me at the latest tournament and such. =]
Jupz: Who is your fave doubles character to team with?
Kas: I have no preference. Lol. It really doesn't strike me as something to care about, who is using who, but rather who I'm teaming with, not their character. If I had to say WHO I would like to team with most, someone who doesn't take the game too literally, or is fun to talk with. Like Arrow or JBirds. =] Who both, oddly, use Snake in Brawl. I wonder if that's saying something. I would say Zac or Ryan for Melee, but he takes the game seriously and if we lose then I usually end up feeling bad. I don't want to feel bad, if I play with someone that just plays for fun, then if we lose, we don't care!
planetstereo: You have a reputation for ownage on your last stock and this is definitely coming through in some of your matches at rocky. What is going through your mind when you switch into this hyper mode? Does something click and you just start playing even better?
Kas: Now that I think about it, I try to read my opponent on the first 3 lives, and then on my last life I've got them more or less figured out. Maybe that's how it goes. Haha, I wouldn't have a clue, I just start dash-dancing more and grabbing a whole lot more and using less laggy attacks, it just seems to work. Alternatively I could do that BEFORE waiting for my last life, but I think by then people find it too hard to adapt to a different style of approaching. However, I think most people play differently on their last stock, they play more defensively and use their highest priority moves and it sort of gets predictable. It's a lot easier to retaliate against people who're being defensive.
Romant1k: For a brawltard trying to learn melee, what melee specific AT's (ie. wave dashing, dash dancing etc) should be learnt first, and how do you practice your melee skills when you have no other humans to play against?
Kas: L-canceling first off, hands down. SHFFLing is pretty up there as well. Dash-dancing effectively is definitely one of the better things to incorporate into your game. It's easy to learn but not really that easy to use effectively. I only really seem to use it on my last stock because it's really just that broken. Teching is obviously a good way to save yourself when you're off the ledge (or even just on the stagewave-dashing is helpful, yeah, but I think it's more of a stylish thing than useful (apart from when it is, like Marth's f-throw on Peach to f-smash, and wave-shining, but that's wave-shining, not wave-dashing, haha). Jump cancel grabbing is helpful, too. Up-smash out of shield. ... Everything else I find is just being flashy. In order of what I think is most helpful/used... it would be:
1. SHFFLing.
2. Dash-dancing.
3. Teching.
4. Jump cancelling.
5. Wavedashing.
6. Everything else.
ComboTurtle: Have your parents ever accidentally walked in on you jerking it?
Kas: To be honest, I don't masturbate very often. I try to keep it until I'm having a fun time with someone, and no, my parents haven't walked in on me having sex, but I'm pretty sure they've heard. I get pretty loud and rowdy and raunchy when I'm playing around. =]
CORPSECREATE
Scabe: How did you end up choosing Toon Link as your main and not Link?
Corpse: I never particularly liked Link in the 64 smash or melee, I didn't really enjoy Young Link in melee either. I chose to main Toon Link pretty much immediately after I played him after unlocking him through 400 VS Matches. His playstyle and moveset made me feel comfortable playing him (unlike Peach...ugh!) and I've been maining him ever since. His tier list placing meant nothing to me (there wasn't even a tier list released when I unlocked him), I simply mained him because I enjoyed playing him.
Melancholy: What are your thoughts on Toon Links tier placement? Do you think his overall placement will change in future tier lists?
Corpse: I would say Toon Link is placed near where I imagine he should be. Although he is a tricky character fight against, he doesn't quite have whats needed to make it into the top 8 mark, say a chaingrab or an insane kill move with massive range (I'm looking at Snakes Utilt here). He has difficulty getting the kill move in and is a pretty light character, I think its these 2 things that hold him back from going higher up in the list.
As for the future, I think if TL was represented well by players and people started taking notice of the character itself, Toon Link COULD rise to about as high as 11th or 12th place, anything higher than that would be rather optimistic I'd say.
Bsrk_: What are your thoughts on the scenes growth both in Perth and from your experience in Rocky_?
Corpse: Perth is a roller-coaster ride when it comes to growth. We've had tournaments as low as 8 players but we've also had tourneys of 30+. Our numbers fluctuate a lot and I cant help but feel that some of our more average/lower placing players don't really try to further their gameplay to become more of a threat. I'm sure the same holds for all tournaments everywhere, there's always that group that enters the tournament not to win but simply to be a part of the tournament.
When it comes to skill level, I would say the skill level of the average player over east is higher than what we have in Perth although the top players of both are neck and neck. I mean, the finals at Rocky was me vs Tibs and he beat me in 1 of the games (in a kind of stupid way
) and just 2 days ago, Vlade beat me in 2 games. I actually lost more matches overall in our small tournament of 14 people (I lost 4 I think) than I did at Rocky with 84 people (where I lost 2). Although it is true to say that Perth has FAAAR more experience against my Toon Link than anyone else does but the statement still stands.I LAG: Why TL and not mk or snake? like i know u use snake for doubles but your snake could be soo much better if u used him in singles all the time.
Corpse: You're probably right. Snake outperforms TL in singles (and doubles), I don't dispute this. The reason I play Snake at all is again because I enjoy the characters playstyle and moveset. I decided to secondary Snake after I had chosen Toon Link as my main. I think the 2 characters compliment each other very well. The reason I don't play him in Singles (I actually do play him in Singles sometimes) is because personally I perform better with Toon Link, my experience and understanding of Snake's techniques is limited and this plays a part in why I choose Toon Link over him.
xXArrowXx: Why not use TL in teams
Corpse: I actually do use him in teams from time to time. Whether I play Toon Link or Snake depends on the characters of my opponents and the stage that has been chosen. I make a decision on who to play based on this. I generally prefer Snake in Doubles because in my opinion, killing ability is more important than damage racking in a match where there's 4 people that can all hit each other. Not to mention that C4 sticking people owns
Vyse: What do you think attributed to your win at Rocky?
Corpse: Before heading over to Rocky I considered what stages to ban/counterpick against specific characters. I also took some time to see on youtube the playstyle of a few players (Amaterasu, Tibs, Shaya, Tedeth, D0N) to see the holes in their playstyle and hopefully exploit their weaknesses. I think this helped...to an extent, watching 2 people fight each other on youtube isn't good enough because their playstyle drastically changes when they are fighting you. I think the one thing that helped most in winning Rocky was staying patient in all my matches and mentally blocking out any anti-Corpse promoters yelling in the background. Cracking under pressure is the first step to losing and I made sure this didn't happen.
Muzga: I noticed you came 13th in melee singles. How did you find the melee scene over east?
Corpse: I'm not as good at Melee as I used to be although I do remember how good Ryan (Bringer) was at melee and how I faired against him. I could get him down maybe 2 stocks when I was playing my best and at Rocky, in my less experienced melee state, I was getting 4 stocked by some of the better players. The only real comparison that can be drawn between Perth and the east is that over east there is still quite a bit of interest in melee. In Perth, the Melee scene is pretty much dead.
Scrubs: How do you think the rest of Perth would have done at rocky had they attended?
Corpse: I think Vlade would have placed well. I think his Falco would have been VERY difficult to deal with since from what I saw, there was nobody at Rocky that plays Falco like Vlade does. Richard7 (my brother) would most likely not place very well simply because he doesn't play his best when at tournaments. He actually plays quite a bit worse, he misses opportunities and generally makes bad decisions a lot more often in tournament situations. As I said earlier, the skill of an average Perth player is below that of the east and as such I don't think the majority of players would have placed highly.
Jupz: What do you think about when playing?
Corpse: I watch my enemy. I think about what they are thinking and I try and counter their decisions. Understanding the patterns of your enemy is extremely important and I do my best to learn my opponents playstyle as quickly as possible and adjust my playstyle accordingly.
gopobox: If you could add a character to the brawl cast, who would it be?
Corpse: Godot.
Afropony: Why did you decide to play smash competitively?
Corpse: I am a competitive person by nature, I enjoy playing Brawl and so naturally I play it competitively. I started attending tournaments because fighting my 2 brothers over and over doesn't further my gameplay and it doesn't allow me to compare my skill to other people. The first Brawl tourney I won was a gametraders tournament with 4 players, 10 stocks, 10 minutes and final smashes only on as items. I won that purely by employing tactics to stay alive and even though it wasn't a very 'fair' ruleset for a tournament I enjoyed meeting new people with their own unique playstyles. From there I attended every local tournament there was.
Zero_: What is your favourite food while playing video games?
Corpse: I don't eat while playing games but if I were to, Pizza would be the winner I think :D
Technodeath: Do you often have trouble reading / predicting your opponents?
Corpse: Honestly, I find that reading my enemy is actually not that difficult. Most of the time I can learn and predict my opponents movements and decisions pretty quickly. The hard part comes in adjusting my playstyle to adapt to my enemy, the reason why this is so difficult is because its very easy to fall into patterns and habits. Breaking these habits on the fly during a match and then adjusting your playstyle specifically for your enemy is whats difficult.
shmot: What are your opinions of the east coast? not just in ability, but also the kinds of people and their personalities, especially in comparison to WA.
Corpse: We're all Australian gamers. Personality wise its just the same man, I felt right at home with the Rocky community because its pretty much exactly the same as in WA (except on a larger scale). I would think that anyone from the east that came over to WA would feel the same way. Don't let anyone tell you video games are only for kids, its a lie.
D0N: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Corpse: The ability to give myself more superpowers.
D0N: What's better; always placing 1st in a tourney with no real competition, or always having great competition but never placing 1st.
Corpse: Hmmm interesting question. In my situation (studying at uni), money is in short supply and so winning continuously is obviously a good thing but no competition is boring and defeats the purpose of playing the game for me since I am a competitive person. I went to Rocky knowing that even if I did win, I'd lose money overall and it was definitely worth going.
If I had to choose between winning with no competition or having great competition but never placing 1st, the second option would definitely be for me.
Jupz: Who is your fave doubles character to team with?
Corpse: If I'm Snake, then I want a massive character that can easily be C4 stickied :D Nah but really, I think its more important with which person I'm teaming with rather than character. It helps a lot when you each work together with known tactics that you've come up with and doubles tactics exist for pretty much any character pairing.
Romant1k: Which MU do you find the most difficult with your TL and why?
Corpse: I don't have MU experience against every character so I can only speak for those that I have fought against. The most difficult would probably have to be MK simply because its difficult to keep him away from you with your projectiles since he can just blitz right up to you and slash you up real quick. The most annoying to fight against would be Falco, he outcamps TL and TL's game revolves around camping. Not only that but he can reflect all of your stuff as well which is a real pain for TL.
CAOTIC
xXArrowXx: How many tourneys have you run?
Caotic: I've lost count but I've been doing them since 2004. A rough estimate... 50?
xXArrowXx: What's your opinion of leaving the scene?
Caotic: I haven't left the scene, so I wouldn't be able to give you a proper opinion of it. However, I can provide you with some observations. The more involved someone is in the Smash Scene, the less likely they are able to leave it entirely. Smash can form such a big part of someone's life that they will never be able to fully leave the scene even if they've stopped playing. Just by memory flicking through the retired smashers of old, most of them have lots of friends and connections that tie them back into the Smash scene.
xXArrowXx: How 2 pull out stitch face so often? >:|
Caotic: The probability is the same for every person, so I just get lucky.
SummonerAU: What do you wub the most?
Caotic: I actually have no idea.
SummonerAU: What is the cutest thing you know off?
Caotic: I like all animals. I went to the show last month and saw pet rats, so now I want one of those. So round and fluffy and cute.
SummonerAU: Why isn't FFFF changed to Woxy's Woom of whatever-it-was?
Caotic: You'll have to ask mic_128.
Dekar289: Do asians have an genetic unfair advantage in video games?
Caotic: No, we have Sam.
Metanova: Is it true that you don't actually own Melee or Brawl?
Caotic: I haven't had either versions Smash for close to about a year now. I have enough exposure of both games to play them competitively. I gave up the games at home was because it ended up being a good way to balance my time between smash and other activities.
swordsaint: Can you tell me why I_LAG isn't perma-banned yet?
Caotic: It takes a serious offence to permanently ban someone.
Splice: What have been your best experiences in the smash scene, memorable tournaments etc.
Caotic: Playing Smash in two countries have made too many good memories, to let alone list one.
Splice: Woxy Wubs or Boozer Cute?
Caotic: Both. I made them both up, but Boozer took off because of Gimpyfish's support of the term.
Splice: Are there any other game communities that you are a part of other than Smash?
Caotic: No, I tend not to play videogames outside of Smash.
SummonerAU: What do you think the most important thing that everyone needs to know in running a tournament?
Caotic: Focus on the small details that people overlook or take for granted in a tournament. A good tournament can even come down to a friendly smile.
SummonerAU: What is the worst thing that has happened while you were running a tournament?
Caotic: Probably being held up at gunpoint in 0C2. The nozzle of a gun feels really cold and metallic pressed hard against the side of your neck. This happened walking back home with Shaz the day before 0C2 started, but our lives were spared as we both surrendered our wallets. The two bandits were caught about 2 weeks later; I got the call from Police whilst stuck at Phoenix airport waiting for Forward and Taj to save me from a cancelled flight. Both of them are currently serving life in jail for accosting 20 other people in a 3 week crime spree. I think it was pretty cool to be escorted in a LAPD van since we were too scared to walk home after being robbed. It was only Shaz's 3rd day visiting the US. The cop greeted Shaz saying "Welcome to America." That is so COPS.
SummonerAU: Can you rub your stomach, pat your head and recite the alphabet backwards all at once? If so, vids?
Caotic: Too lazy to try. My guess is as good as yours.
SummonerAU: Do you get a warm fuzzy feeling when someone crouch cancels Peach's dsmash?
Caotic: No, I only get fuzzy feelings from combos.
SummonerAU: Do you get a warm fuzzy feeling when running a tournament?
Caotic: Usually after a tournament is completed.
Vyse: Why Peach?
Caotic: She's a fun shield-pressure character. As much as I'd love to play other characters (Marth/Bowser/Ness), I'm not as good with them or they suck.
Muzga: You get wub from everywhere in Australia. What would you do if you were elected king of Australia?
Caotic: Give the crown to Shaya.
S.D: How do your experiences with the American smash community compare with the Australian scene? What are some of the major differences?
Caotic: The American scene is a lot bigger than the Australian scene. People are quick to claim that the US scene is more competitive, trashy, prestigious and impersonal by virtue of its size alone. But this not entirely true; one can look away from the powerhouse regions of the US to find scenes that are more laid-back and fun-loving like Australia's. Scenes like San Diego, Atlanta, Portland and Salt Lake City are very much similar to ours in that they rely way more on each other for the existence of the scene, so the experiences become more personal. In the large cities like LA and SF, many crews form on their own to personalise the experience and separate themselves from other parts of the scene (I think Melbourne is becoming more like this). Differences tend to racial. America has a lot of Hispanic and Black smashers. I don't think we'd ever have a team name called 'Beans and Rice' down here. It somewhat provides a different Smash culture and reflects the overall identity of America. (Look at the FC3's East Coast lineup compared to the West Coast lineup - essentially Blacks vs. Asians). Interestingly, the way crews can form may be purely racial or even socio-economic.
S.D: Favourite ever tournament and why?
Caotic: Champ Combo. California dropped its differences and remembered how to have fun. Nealdt's Champ Combo Montage captures that spirit very well. Even though the Smash Scene has come a long way, you can always look back to time to when 100-man tournaments were hosted in small houses, and think to yourself how sometimes the early days somehow did it better. Rocky comes a close second for living up to the dreams of many smashers at home here.
S.D: MLG experiences?
Caotic: I'll list the ones I've been to and give you a small account of something interesting:
- MLG Orlando: After a successful tournament in America's worst city, the smash gang (plucking out names here: Ken, Isai, PC Chris, Mew2King, Shaz, Milktea, Eddie, Jenny, Helen) went out to eat at a nearby expensive Stakehouse. Shaz was due to fly out the next day and wanted to get rid of his pennies, nickels and dimes so he paid for his $50 steak with those coins alone. It was embarrassing. Mew2king passed for a 12 year old and got the children's chicken dinner. After dinner, we all headed back to the hotel. PC and Milktea (going out at the time) were flirting with each other and chased each other back to the hotel to do something fun, splitting from the group as they ran. To see Mew2king innocently chase after them (because he felt left out), drew massive facepalms from the rest of the group.
- MLG Vegas: Possibly the greatest Smash ever played was in fact, never recorded. It was Mew2king (Fox) vs. Ken (Marth) on Dreamland64. M2K was below the stage trying to recover, charging his Firefox and Ken dropped from the ledge to dolphin slash M2K. This sends M2K beneath the stage at the middle - he techs it, jumps, then Firefoxes to the other side. I think Germ and I were the only ones to have seen this, we were like "whatttttttttttttttttttttttttt..."
S.D: Most satisfying victory?
Caotic: This is going to sound so random, but KFC vs. CAOTIC. He camped me like a mother****er on DL64 on the second game (essentially died from Fox lasers only), so to take him to Brinstar and gimp him critically on the final match when I needed it most felt so good. He played Marth on the first match in Battlefield and the last match on Brinstar. Other satisfying victories came in the form of upsets or close matches: CAOTIC vs. PKMVodka, Eggz, Silent Wolf, Masashi.
S.D: Best or most rewarding moment in smash?
Caotic: Probably watching Survivor Gabon with Ken. That's just weird and surreal. You can watch him get owned now on Channel GO!
S.D: You give so much to this community - what is that motivates you to continue leading and providing for Australian smash?
Caotic: I'd have to give you pretty simple answer - it's just fun and worth it. Smash built a lot of my character, I even got employed because of what the employers had learnt about my involvement in the scene.
S.D: After the success of Rocky where do you think smash in Australia is headed?
Caotic: I think a tournament like Rocky shouldn't delude people into thinking a new golden era for Smash is upon us. Tournaments like that are a rare occurrence. Australia still has a lot of work to do to make sure the expeirence stays fresh and ever-evolving for everyone. I do think we are heading into a brighter future, but we shouldn't rest on our laurels.
S.D: The Bowser Challenge - how did this come about and who came the closest to victory?
Caotic: This was started by HugS (I think he was just bored). I stole it and put pros into the videos. Captain Jack was always the best at it, but legend has it Super Isai was also the best.
S.D: Where is the weirdest place you've been for smash?
Caotic: Here: http://maps.google.com/maps?client=s...ed=0CA4Q8gEwAA
Vyse: How did you help engineer the concept of Power Rankings?
Caotic: The US National Power Rankings were out, so I made a regional one for SoCal only. Then NorCal copied me since they always did and then the whole country started copying me.
Vyse: How did you become friends with Ken?
Caotic: Christmas Eve 2006. I just settled in Calfornia and was living with my family in Huntington Beach and Westminster, which happens to be a five minute walk from Ken's house. He was having a bi-weekly at his house and I brought some food over. Having only played smash in Australia before that, to be in Ken's room with Vidjo, ChuDat, MikeMonkey and Manacloud made me pee a little. Then Ken saw me and realised I sounded Australian. That made me instantly cool and we became friends. I think he enjoyed me most by exploiting me for late-night junk-food drive-ins, and lureing me with Smash if I said no.
Vyse: What's the (brief version of the) story behind @M?
Caotic: It was actually Shaz's tournament, but I took over it since it made things easier for Shaz to host Captain Jack properly. Shaz, Jon, Emily and Cella each put in several hundred dollars to send CJ over here. @M pretty much came about after EI; the Perth people wanted to come over to Melbourne.
Vyse: What camera should I buy?
Caotic: This: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikon_D3000
Vyse: Best player you've played against?
Caotic: Ken, PC Chris, Mew2King, Captain Jack, Chillindude, Husband, Isai, King, Sastopher, Kei, Masashi, Aniki, AK, DaShizWhiz, Mike G, ChuDat, KoreanDJ, HugS, DSF, KillaOR.
unreon: You're a real busy guy in the scene. What could the community do to really make it easier for you to run tournaments and get involved? If you were to step down, who do you think is most qualified to take over?
Caotic: The community doesn't need to do much more than what it does now - I make things hard for myself. Shaya and Vyse, but they aren't in the ideal position to take over - they need more monetary freedom and time to dedicate.
Melancholy: Do you have a most memorable match? If so, what was it? Not necessarily a tournament match, just one that sticks in your mind.
Caotic: Too many to point out one. I guess I won't forget Kas' one for a while, and I enjoy any crew battles I participate in.
Ant1: Do you think Ice Climbers will eventually be in S tier?
Caotic: Nope.
Ant1: Is a perfectly played Peach better than a perfectly played Snake?
Caotic: Nope.
Ant1: Will you be winning tournies by 2011?
Caotic: Nope.
Condog: When did you first meet Chudat?
Caotic: The answer is somewhere here.
Condog: Do you still talk to Chudat?
Caotic: Rarely.
Condog: Can you introduce me to Chudat?
Caotic: I'm not your wingman!
Forte4Tei: What's your favourite song of all time?
Caotic: I don't have one.
Forte4Tei: What's the song that best represents the Australian/Melbourne smash scene?
Caotic: Melbourne's Smash scene is as diverse as the number of music genres out there, so it depends on the person or crew. The Indies can go to myself and Earl, the Rock types can go to X, Attila can have J-Pop, Forte can have Classical, Sam can have Touhou-crazy maid music, Amaterasu can have VGM, the BRoomers can have Bohemian Rhapsody and Jei can have gangsta music.
Scabe: What's the story with you living in America and Australia. For example, were you born in America first and then moved to Australia, what's the reason for the moving?
Caotic: I was born in Australia but my family is primairily based in America. I've lived there for about 3-4 years total. I'm in Australia because it's better, even though America is more fun and interesting as a country.
Toby: What is the best restaurant you've ever been to?
Caotic: Oh my, what a fun question. It's unfair to all the eateries that exist to only name one, so I'm going to list the best resturants I've tried by cuisine/type:
- Italian: I Carusi, East Brunswick VIC
- Vietnamese: Broddard, Westminster CA
- French: The French Brasserie, Melbourne VIC
- Thai: Thai Pothong, Newtown NSW
- Indian: Nirvana, Richmond VIC
- Chinese: Red Pearl, San Diego CA
- Breakfast: New York Tomato, Richmond VIC
- Seafood: Doyles, Watsons Bay NSW
- Ice Cream: Pinkberry and Cold Stone, all over America
- Cake: Brunetti's, Melbourne VIC
- Vegatarian: Nirvana, Richmond VIC
- Sandwich: Mamma's Boy, Melbourne VIC
- Soul Food: Kappaya, Abbotsford VIC
- Steak: Squire's Loft, Docklands VIC
- Pizza: This ghetto looking hole in the wall where the 'PIZZA' neon sign outside had a Z missing and the other one wonky, near Ground Zero, New York, NY
- Buffet: The Roof Restaurant, Temple Square, Salt Lake City UT
- Burger: Grill'd, everywhere in Melbourne
- Jamican Donut: The one Mike G took me to, GA
- Japanese: Everywhere in Japan
- Korean: Anywhere in Koreatown, Los Angeles CA
- Hotdog: Pinks, Hollywood CA
- BBQ: Pretty sure Billy would win even though I've yet to try
- Junk: Panda Express Orange Chicken, everywhere in America
- Greek/Personal favourite: Lucky's, Santa Barbara CA because a friend owns it
- Malaysian/Personal favourite no.2: Chilipadi, Melbourne VIC because a friend is there
D0N: Seeing as your a huge part of this community, what are your thoughts about the idea some people get that "video games rot your brain?"
Caotic: There's a recent publication that suggests those who play videogames are able to retain their quick mental reflexes as they age. I would agree with that.
D0N: Can you remember your first tournament? How did it go?
Caotic: It was the Nintendo Superchallenge in 2004, hosted by Nintendo. I was a scrub. That tournament reeled me into the Smash scene once I saw someone play lightning mode on normal speed.
D0N: How and why did you become a part of the smash community?
Caotic: See above.
D0N: Whats the best way to build a smash community from only a handful of good players?
Caotic: You need to make it more than a smash scene. Think of other ways to bridge the gaps between people to keep them playing. I tend to fall back on the social elements.
D0N: Have you met some really wierd people? I'm sure you have, so can you tell a story/give an example?
Caotic: I'll have to save the wierdest people for a private consersation. Some things are too weird to put here.
shmot: If Peach was top tier in Brawl, do you think you would like the game more?
Caotic: Yes, provided everyone else that isn't top tier has more options as well.
Dedu: What venue was the best one you've arranged for in Australia?
Caotic: Rocky, by a mile.
S.D: Your view of the way smash has grown in Australia - from starting out with 20 turning up to a major to over a hundred.
How does this make you FEEL?
Caotic: Reeeeeel cuted
Shaya
Luke_Atyeo: Do you think your skill level has dropped since you were in america shaya?
Shaya: Most definitely. Although we all put up a good fight and were able to play for HOURS a day against some of the best players in the nation, all that muscle memory faded away so quickly upon returning back from the States; I can at least atest to seriously reducing how much I played smash post-US (Swine Flu, Uni crap, smash breaks) as a reason for not keeping everything fresh.
Alzi: Would you rather be in America placing bad or here in Australia placing well and making some small amounts of profit?
Shaya: America was great, it was a never ending constant challenge that gave so many rewards. I think the speed at which we were improving in the states (I got 17th at evo) made me feel the prospects of reaching placing heights were feasible. Whilst I lose to people here, its never eye-opening like it was in the States where people would abuse things so amazingly that you had to learn to overcome it or else... here it's like "im bored, im rushing in and not even thinking because I can't be bothered". The habits the australian scene brings to me (and I'd say everyone else) is definitely not beneficial to my skill levels.
Condog: What's your opinion of Marth's current metagame? Do you think he has what it takes to reach S tier?
Shaya: He's a good, solid character. I believe he deserves to be in the same tier as Falco, Diddy, etc. S tier really will only ever be MK, Snake and -maybe- ICs. Depends on how anti-ICs the metagame will focus on in the future. tl;dr maybe.
xXArrowXx: Why are you notoriously bad at doubles?
Shaya: hmm wouldn't say I'm too bad, other than one time (in Aus) when I teamed with a guy who was at his first tournament, I believe I've not placed outside top 4 for doubles in a long while. Finding the right team mate I guess is really important, at least for me. I do so well with S.D because he's smart and knows what I'm wanting to do, whilst other times I'd just keep getting hit by my own team mate.
Toby: picture this: you're inside a giant jar of marinated **** fetta cheese. You were teleported there by a wizard. Suddenly you hear a ringing/beeping sound in your ear! It's otacon. They say something about your snake and you cover yourself with a handy piece of cheese that looks like a pair of pants.
As you grow accustomed to the squishy by strangely comforting pants you remember that otacon was talking to you! You start listening again in time to hear that they're sending supplies, but you have to choose one of three options:
1) A lifetime supply of Byron Bay Salsa.
2) A **** load of pasta to eat the fetta with.
3) Clothes. In pants pocket : a rubber band, used sticky tape, fresh chewing gum, a bobby pin, 2 AA batteries.
They also tell you that five minutes and 24 seconds after you receive the supplies, a dog will be launched from a passing bowl of bolognese. This is obviously an explosive dog that threatens the existence of at least the entire world as we know it. We can safely assume that contact with any surface or substance for longer than 3 seconds, or at a velocity great than an unladen swallow, will result in the dog exploding. This will cause you to die.
The previous 3 options could help you in preventing the dog from wreaking havok.
McGuyver tools are your disposal:
- The three previous supply drops.
- A massive jar of fetta.
- Your glasses
- A member of the smash community of your choosing.
- Your money pouch with Sam's winnings from that boost ages ago.
What Do You Do?
Shaya: Die eating.
Vlade: Favourite Stage?
Shaya: I hate every stage. Except maybe temple and pirate ship.
Vlade: Highlights of your smash career (in Australia AND America, coz I know you're gonna say genesis)
Shaya: I don't think my smash career has enough notoriety to have highlights. Like I was pretty happy about getting 17th at Evo. Genesis was eh. Winning my first tournament was great.
Vlade: Why do you play Marth?
Shaya: Always a fan of swords since the tiny days, played Smash 64 like a boss, picking Pikachu coz of the pokemanz love; and before I had even tried melee I had gotten into Fire Emblem. That is at least, the initial interest. Being a pretty solid, fun, versatile character which always has more room to grow has kept me with him though, I definitely do not enjoy playing a character that doesn't have options.
Vlade: What are your predictions for the next tier list?
Shaya: Ice Climbers and Pikachu up, Marth probably stayin where he is, as usual. Game and Watch continue to drop. Wario will probably lose his third place; and it will probably be given to Diddy.
Toby: If you could implement one thing to greatly improve the Australian smash scene, what would it be?
Shaya: This is a truly hard question. There are many things that would be unfeasible but totally awesome: like extremely cheap bullet trains between Melbourne, Sydney and BrisBAYN. Other than that the scene has it's own trends and pace that it works to and you can only extend within the boundaries of it's current capabilities. I worry about numbers though, and I think anything relating to getting the word out there about our great scene and it's great people (i.e. advertising), but I say that is a stigma relating to the whole competitive video gaming scene, as Australians in general care a lot less about it.
Vlade: Where'd you get your alias from?
Shaya: Shaya is my Hebrew name. As you can often see through Ted and Luke being racist douches, I'm Jewish. I'm not particularly religious though. Shaya was my grandfather's hebrew name as well, so it holds significance to me as a person, hence why I get flustered over people purposely mispronouncing it, it feels like an insult to my family more than them being smartarses. Trivia: Shaya comes from Yeshua, commonly transliterated as Joshua; Yeshua was also the birth name of the man commonly known as Jesus Christ.
Metanova: 6 months ago, or now. Did you like the scene more then, or now?
Shaya: I like the scene now, but I feel there's a couple of things about it as a whole that could form cracks sooner or later. Six months ago seems really distant though.
Metanova: What is your most memorable match?
Shaya: Well, I particularly dont care so much about that... But if anything, that comes up quite often... it's 3 stocking tibs on brinstar... lol.
Corpsecreate: With your experience with Genesis, what is it about the American smashers that makes them so much better than us?
Shaya: The number of people. To win [in America] you beat people who are on average better than here, (because of the amount of people) who all have various strengths and abilities in various ways that just ONE of them could be your weakness/downfall. So to win you must be able to respond to all weaknesses and all styles of play, and with that many people the depth of what you need to know and do is far beyond the Australian Smash scene. In comparison, the australian metagame is quite boring where at best (on average) you only have one guy maining one character who's a threat.
S.D: Best doubles partner?
Shaya: I did team with Mew2King once in a friendly. He taught m... It's you. We form team strategies so easily with our characters and destroy ****, even if you're not as brawl oriented, you know your **** enough and any of our shortcomings we naturally know how to cover in game. We would have won rocky
I_LAG: Will u pick up a CP char for mk?
Shaya: Maybe. MK is just difficult. And the greatest tragedy is the lack of any good MKs actually existing within our region. I know how to play the match up, and I know how to win. But in practical terms I do not get enough of it. Because of that, I'd say the weakness of people using MK against me would extend to any character I'd use. Unless I know they're an idiot that I can abuse a trait of one character with (i.e. d3 grab range > your brain, dash attack of many > coz you jump too much).
shmot: what's you opinion of the snake v marth matchup?
Shaya: I'd say its even. Port priority probably puts it slightly in Snakes favour. Continuing on from the last question, MK and Snake are amazingly good in this game, to beat htem without using them requires a lot more effort. I say it's even because Marth can handle everything about Snake and abuse him like a boss, but it's TOO EASY to lose to Snake or MK with just one mistake, a mistake if the Snake or MK made would hardly be as detrimental.
shmot: What do you do when you run off in between sets to calm yourself down (seriously)?
Shaya: Have a drink of something. If I'm foggy minded I just think it's best to get some caffeine (coke) or better yet some water into me. Playing video games for so many hours straight is extremely taxing to the body, and I'm sure people will agree I don't look like the fittest person in the scene. I suffer migraines a lot, so things like drinking water or taking pain killers is almost a must, unfortunately.
Sieg: I've heard you rage just as much as me, is this true?
Shaya: I probably get flustered in a similar scale to your rage, but definitely not as ragey as you. I guess I'm more susceptible to anger/rage if I'm tired or whatever, some douches in the scene like to go out of there way to take the piss out of that though. I don't think anyone goes out of their way to summon your rage in retrospect .
Lord Bowser: What do you do with a drunken sailor?
Shaya: Toss him over board. Early in the morning.
Lord Bowser: What keeps you involved in the smash scene and what do you love most about it?
Shaya: The smash scene is a hobby, an amazing hobby that really shouldn't have as much of a stigma as it does (i.e. video gaming geeks/nerds/whatever). People seem to worry about their gangstAR friends putting them down for a hobby that allows them to meet so many new people, travel to so many places and stay for free :D, and all whilst playing video games, how good is that!? I guess I took the hobby further than I originally expected though, with trying to manage and run a tourney scene or whatever, but I guess, like with anything you set goals for, seeing them come through is great for your esteem.
tibs7: Who has been the hardest opponent you've ever versed. excluding m2k.
Shaya: I played a lot of people. But DEHF was one of those amazing players. American top players tend to be a lot more arrogant and cocky than here, so to play people like DEHF and m2k who give the respect of trying to destroy you, whilst others mainly sandbag, my list of "hardest opponents" is small. If we're talking about Australia, old-school Cobalt was a feind.
tibs7: Who do you think in the australian smash scene has the potential to be a great player?
Shaya: Whoever puts the effort in and actually thinks about what they're doing. To give names? My opinions of a 'great player' existing in Australia are... Ask Toby.
Vyse: What keeps Marth from being viable on his own?
Shaya: Nothing stops him from being viable on his own. The effort required to win with him is more than other high/top tiers, but losing with him can really only be attested to the player (i.e. tired, trips into fresh kill moves, lack of experience, etc)
Vyse: What do you contribute to the smash scene on the world stage? (And what have you contributed in the past?).
Shaya: Hard question. I guess I'm reasonably active in the Marth boards and currently run the "Marth Back Room". I've made guides and put a lot of effort into informing people of things and helping when asked... I guess I kinda contributed videos of evo 2009 (probably the most sort after thing I contributed to the scene... lol)
Shaya: What is love?
Shaya: Baby don't hurt me.
S.D: Some memorable experiences from America/Genesis/Evo?
Shaya: I was in the hotel room for the brawl singles and doubles grand finals (with only like 10 other people) at Genesis. Got to meet and speak to some 'smash legends'.
S.D: Your contributions to Marth's metagame and community?
Shaya: Run tournaments, 'discover' random ****, or prove that random **** exists.
S.D: Opinion on your performance at Rocky? Did you lose because you are a vegetarian?
Shaya: I came to Rocky without much desire to truly win, having the 'smash break' for reasons listed above and not really wanting to get off it coming into Rocky... (emo emo emo). If I wasn't a vegetarian I may have had more food... coz I think I was pretty darn hungry after everything.
Dedu: How'd you keep boost running for so long despite the bureaucracy from the university?
Shaya: Pleading Naivity and ignorance. Not really answering questions. Using the [at the time] chairman of my faculty's student society's good will (but after October he didnt stand for re-election, so I lost that link as well). Didnt run the original boosts for that long though, there were only 3.
Dekar289: Who would win in a fight between Tibs and Attila?
Shaya: Are you serious? Attila eats like RAWR protein.
SummonerAU: Do you have any characters that you just don't like?
Shaya: I don't really like playing Yoshi, Ivysaur, Jigglypuff (except in smash64), Zelda... probably some other ones I dont even recall the names of.
Hotdog: Why do you John so much?
Shaya: It's almost become an expectancy. You have smartarses almost praying that I take their bait about it. But eh, my opinion of what a 'John' really is, is different from others. I say 'gah pretty tired' (which is more me stating how i'm feeling rather than me giving an excuse for losing) or 'I shouldnt have done this'; yet people call those Johns when really, johns are like 'My hands were soapy', at least in my definition.
Hotdog: What was your first tourney experience like?
Shaya: "hi, i'm the new guy", "wow you're pretty good i dont know why you lost to <that guy>", "grab release chaingrabbing lucas is definitely against the rules", "wow mk is stupid"
Jupz: Marth vs dedede opinions? Marth vs MK opinions?
Shaya: D3 advantage, D3's damage output and walling prowress, and Marth having less grab range (something really important in his high level spacing game against most other characters), d3 dont die, etc. Everything Marth has MK has ever so slightly better; so whilst as a whole it looks like 'oh ****', averaged out (when you have dancing blade and liek grab releases) isnt too bad. MK has to work a lot less though to win, they can get away with just pokes because of their better range, and can do most things without getting punished, including using kill moves; something Marth lacks.
Luke_Atyeo: Whats your favorite food?
Shaya: Pizza, Sizzler Potato Skins, Ravioli with marinated fetta and pesto, speghetti with my own made sauce, byron bay salsa + anything. I love them all (well probably the first two less than others).
Luke_Atyeo: What career path are you studying for?
Shaya: System analyst (felt it was important to point out the gay joke for you there). Or other design/management type things in relation to Software.
djbrowny: Whats the story behind some gambling at a casino where you apparently won quite a bit of money?
Shaya: I used to have the right skillz (luck and patience) to win at casinos. If you're referring to me winning like $100 from CAO's like $20 in Melbourne some time... that's a really small amount considering at my high point I was betting up to $50 a hand (Blackjack). Over the span of 3 weeks (mid/early 2008 or so) I went to the casino several times a week and made enough money that I didn't work for about 5 months. Stopped gambling when I started giving it back to the casino. Now continuining on as a poor university student status.
Condog: Shaya what is your opinion of Luke's jokes?
Shaya: Some of the things he says are funny, but his nature of clinging onto minute stupid things (or fabricating things to troll/joke at people) is annoying. Probably needs to find better things to do to vent himself.
Ant1: What's your opinion on the asylum seekers trying to enter Australia? Should they be allowed in or not?
Shaya: I believe that it should be properly monitored as to not just let hordes of people enter the country without restriction. Asylum seekers just wanting to be able to waste government resources/whatever when they were fine where they originated (i.e. not a book definition asylum seeker) worry me though. I could write more, but eh. It's a good thing they're mostly entering from the Perth side .
e_alert: What is going through your mind during important tournament matches?
Shaya: Sometimes I forget to focus/think properly and have my mind on other things. Other times I just pinpoint a weakness of myself the opponent is exploiting and concentrate on avoiding the situation. It's a disappointment that high level Aussies generally only require one of such thoughts to over come them. *continues america loving*
Bsrk_: How do you keep your mind focused for tournaments_? Any training or pre-tournament rituals_?
Shaya: Caffeine and coffee. Pre-tournament ritual is I say to myself "okay lets get a good nights rest" but never do. I don't really train much anymore.
S.D: You've been labelled something of a choker - is this accurate and how do you feel about it?
Shaya: I'd say it's accurate. But what can you do? It's all apart of the game. The fact that I've been able to reach such levels on a reasonably consistant basis with such a handicap of my power level (like under 9000) proves how awesome I am. Or something.
Toshi: How do you pronounce your name? Do you care if people mispronounce it? How often do people mispronounce it?
Shaya: "Shy-ah", you can even be like 'ya' instead, without putting too much emphasis on the 'y'. I generally do care if they're doing it on purpose. Happens often.
Condog: Shaya, what do you think of the SA tourney scene?
Shaya: They need to pull their fingers out and start segregating themselves with us. Perth and metanova is doing it, why can't they?
Vermy: if you could be any pokeman which one would you be? (No ubers)
Shaya: Alakazam.
Vermy: If you were a pokemanz trainer irl, what type would you be? Same type party or mixed?
Shaya: Psychic. This is assuming that the way dark ****s over Psychics in game is just silly and every pokemon irl can learn like 50 moves, then everyones ****ed.
Tibs
Metanova: What character do you hate fighting against the most?
Tibs: I hate mk just 'cause his ability to turn a match around soo very quickly. One grab at the edge could potentially be a stock. So yeah i probably hate versing mk the most . after playing ted though, he made me hate wario, hes so good at spacing its just frustrating, Wario is probs my 2nd worst.
e_alert: Diddy Kong vs Ice Climbers, general thoughts and what should each side be focusing on?
Tibs: Diddy definately has the advantage but its by no means an easy win, it never really is against IC's. The diddy players should be focusing on just getting those naners at the IC's feet to make them slip then its just bthrow to spike <3. This is only difficult if IC's have a banana and just alternate blizzards. When diddy is on the edge he is in pretty big trouble, most vulnerable then imo.
e_alert: Does Attila have Nana striptease when he plays Ice Climbers against you?
Tibs: I dont get this =( please explain......
S.D: Wtf EA...?
Tibs: Bahaha SD wub wubs
S.D: Why are you so sexy?
Tibs: I think it's a diddy player thing. All us diddy players are quite sexy people. see turtle and yourself for further proof on this theory.
S.D: How did you get into Brawl, and did you have an interest in Melee before entering the competitive scene?
Tibs: I have always loved smash, i only became competitive in brawl because i only found out they had comps for smash when brawl was the new thing otherwise i would've loved to play competitive melee with the likes of dekar, redact,tak and caos <3. But yes i did have an interest in melee ,owning cpu's that ran into falcon punches =)
S.D: What do you do outside smash - sport, hobbies, job, uni etc?
Tibs: I LOOOOOVE sport, favourite being soccer ofcourse the world game, theres so much more skill involved imo. Hobbies inlcude gaming, sport, going out with mates etc etc. with my job i kinda do have one but its not really one, working for my dad. he recently gave me a house plan to draw up so im slowly moving up the ranks ehehe, other than that i do casual data entry in the city and voluntary work for salvation army -__________________-
S.D: Rocky - disappointed to place 2nd? Or ecstatic to do so well? Thoughts on Corpse as a player?
Tibs: Yeah was pretty disappointed i guess not really but yeah, i know i could of taken him but he was the better player on the day full credit for not choking lol. yeah Corpse is a great player, very smart, reads people well, knows MU's really well but has some faults as everyone does which i will pick him up on next time
S.D: How many brothers do you have and how many play smash?
Tibs: I have 3 brothers all older </3 and 2 sisters both younger but one is my twin -__-
Yeah Attila and i are the only ones that play smash, Lasz kinda got into it but was never really serious.
S.D: You have a weird *** first and last name - where is your family from, and what's with the bizarre (but very cool) names? Other family member names?
Tibs: My dads from Yugoslavia somewhere (attila correct me if im wrong), mums aussie as. I Think our names pretty much all came from relatives accept for Attila 'cause mum chose that one ehehe
ill go through my family's names eldest - youngest
Ferencz
Laszlo
Attila
Me
Livia
Margit
S.D: Best moment in Smash? What keeps you motivated to play and where do you want to go with smash from here?
Tibs: Best moment would easily be beating Amaterasu ini my 3rd? tournament ever. There were about 50 something people going crazy behind my back and each game had an epic moment. eg me surviving on corneria because the ship shot chris as he was throwing me at 130%? then me ending up winning that match and the tournament was very crazy. Best moment ever.
Things that keep me motivated is good players that challenge me, like shaya, ted, corpse, earl, attila, chris all those guys make me play my best everytime im up against them. But its sad these days im less motivated in brawl as of the defensive nature of it these days. I dont plan on continuing it for very much longer and just sticking to melee repping doc <3
S.D: Are you going to be the best in melee too?
Tibs: That would be a dream come true. In a few years if i keep playing with caos and dekar and other top players im sure ill get better pretty quick and be challenging the best =).
S.D: Will you double Mario team with me one day?
Tibs: Hell yeahuz Sam, you know i would. by Mario you meant 'Doctor' Mario right?<3
Sieg: Do Tibs Ribs go well with barbeque sauce? Can you give Billy the recipe so he can cook us some Tibs Ribs?
Tibs: Well Sieg you will have to ask Lukie about that one, he invented it and stuff. Im guessing it would though since Tibs Ribs go well with everything
TakFR: Which game do you enjoy playing more at this point in time?
Tibs: Definately Melee, so much more tech skill involved and the lesser chars dont get ***** as much <3
TakFR: What are you secondaries at the moment? (both games)
Tibs: For brawl, I have Pikachu and Pit.
Melee I'm starting to use Marf as he is hella broken
TakFR: Are you interested in any other fighters at the moment?
Tibs: I was into SFIV when I borrowed it, I was really close to buying it and im sure I would've gone competitive with that to, but yeah just brawl and melee atm.
TakFR: Have you posed for every camera shot you have ever been in?
Tibs: Yeah probs.
I_Lag: You have such nice hair, what shampoo do you use?
Tibs: I'll have to get back to you on that one Haz, I got a haircut recently, looks so short eww
Atlasmist: Favorite character to combo and why. Are you a machine or do you eat and sleep?
Tibs: Well definately the heavies except Snake ('cause hes just to broken for this game), So yeah DK, D3, Boozer (<3 probs fav). Those 3 are the best. Yeah tis true, I am indeed a machine, a cyborg from outta space, pretty sick imo.
Splice: What do you think you still need to work on to be better at brawl. What do you see you could improve on?
Tibs: Definately my DI sometimes its just hopeless and i die at like 100% so bad. I can read pretty well but sometimes i get to caught up in reading that i get read instead, bad move. I'm pretty predictable sometimes and i get owned for it =(. My rolling habit isnt half as bad as it was but its still needs improving. I need to space a little better to, specially 'gainst Wario <3
shmot: Do think you will ever be able to admit that your older brother is actually better than you are? at brawl AND melee?
Tibs: Zomg never! Im way better than you'll ever be. after reading this you will reply "then why do i beat you in both games?" its true your marth normally does beat my doc but for some reason you cant beat my link? wtf (meree btw). In brawl ill always be better than you as long as I care for it, you are to textbook and go by facts never make up your own stuff.
~Delirium~: What's your opinion of Atilla, from the perspective of being a younger sibling?
Tibs: He's ok i guess, can be really tight sometimes and mean, but most of the time hes nice to me. We have our fights after losing to another but its all good, we always bag eachother but it ends up OK.
~Delirium~: Who's your idol?
Tibs: Smash wise its ADHD, beating m2k and ally zZOMG such ****. Other idols is probs Ronaldo (the non-fat one) he has to much skill ***** anyone that competes him and picks up women. so cool.
~Delirium~: If you could have any character in the next Smash Bros, who would it be and why?
Tibs: Me and Attila have discussed this a few times and we both think Isaac from Golden Sun should definately be in there, he is soooooo very madt and deserves a spot in the crew. I would main him no doubt, probs 2nd Diddy :3
D0N: What's it been like when you and your brother play games where only one can win? Have you always been pretty even?
Tibs: Umm well theres always been certain games that each one cares for more than the other. So it really comes down to who cares about it more, but yeah normally even.
luke_atyeo: Tell us about your soccer history and how much you ***** that **** and where did "madt" come from?
Tibs: Ahaha not much to tell just played at Salesian (crap school) then moved to Scotch College and played in the 1sts squad year 11 and 12. It was such **** playing with other great players and a pro coach. After that I was playing for Old Scotch who have moved up 3 divisions in the past 4 years so we are on the rise! I also played futsal and indoor soccer which were so much fun. beating wogs at theie own game is the best haha. I've been injured for sooo long though cbs booking my reco so i havent played for a good 10months.
I didnt get it from the internet at all actually, i said this in like yr 8 or 9, Me and my cousin used to make up crap all the time and yeah came up with Madt, 'cause it sounded like mint and mint was in at the time <3.
Alzi: Tibs how did it feel to vs a really good toon link for the first time at rocky?
Tibs: Was frustrating im not gonna lie. Not even looking at the MU was my biggest mistake ever! Made me get more ***** that i shouldve. Corpse is a beast player.
Alzi: Do you hate it when people steal your banana's during the game? If so how do you then control that?
Tibs: No not really, 'cause half the time i know that they will do with them but i didnt with corpse as he used them so very different to everyone else
Muzga: Are you planning on going interstate for any other majors?
Tibs: Yeah for Squat and Reloaded and possibly this Eastern Invasion just to show you Perth noobs where its at
luke_atyeo: What do you think of the bro fist to high five combo? Is it true that you secretly are jealous?
Tibs: Terrible question imo. Its just a terrible combo, makes me cringe/rage when i see it . hell no am i jealous just a normal person high five or something will do for me.
Scabe: Why did you pick Diddy as a main when your Link is way more cooler?
Tibs: Diddy is so cuted <3 and I've always loved him in Diddy's Kongquest best char ever. Link is so cool aswell just way to much time is needed for him. I would only use him for lulz. plus mine isnt good =( yours is da bomb though <3 your link.
Bsrk_: What helps keep you focused during matches_?
Tibs: The desire to win, I want to win so badly sometimes that it helps me keep focused.
Bsrk_: How do you feel your game has improved since first getting into the scene_? Have you changed characters since and what has been your motivation for staying as Diddy.
Tibs: I actually know you can press R and then A to grab -___-. Also my rolling habit has dropped sooo very much and my reading ability has gotten a hell lot better. Yeah i have changed chars. I used to main Pit like every other kid but yeah got ***** by Attila's Snake so hard and then the tier list came out and i was like stuff this. Then chose Diddy to be my main (he was my 2nd at the time). Motivation to stick with diddy is that you can do whatever you want with him, there is so much crazy banana combos and AT's you can do its crazy and yeah perfecting them keeps me going with him.
S.D: Have you played Brawl+ and what are your thoughts on it? Does it have a place in the scene as a legitimate competitive game?
Tibs: I have played Brawl + and i loved it, the fact that you can play as link and not get badly ***** is just awesome. Mmm i don't think it has that edge yet to be a competitive game for now, maybe when brawl dies down it will come. But not for now.
ComboTurtle: It's become increasingly obvious to everyone involved in the smash scene that you are the king, have you ever considered investing in a crown and wearing it everywhere you go?
Tibs: Hahhahaaha, young thomas of Wollogong, sick question. I havent actually thought about it but i may if i win squat. I know you have since you told me but yeah it doesnt really tickle my fancy atm.
Muzga: How did you get into smash in the first place?
Tibs: Well i dont know if many of you guys know him, but an asian guy named Bryan (bylim5) told me to come to John Curtain Hotel on Lygon St. for smash and thats where it all started =)
Toby: It's well known that you aren't a fan of ice climbers chain grabs or MK dair camping. How to you think Diddy kong fits into all of this? Do you ever feel like you might be whoring people with te nanaz, or is diddy kong flawed enough to make it feel ok?
Tibs: Haha this doesnt sound like a question but ill answer it anyway 'cause its Toby, umm yes bananas are great and are broken as hell. But they do not kill someone from hitting them once like a IC cg can do. With dair camp if played right diddy has no real chance of hitting them. Diddy doesnt have many flaws at all but he has enough that make him beatable unlike a dair camping Mk
Abhishekh: Scrunch or fold?
Tibs: SCRUNCH
Vlade: Which character would you use in a low-tier tourney?
Tibs: Link, he has so much potential to be ****!
Vlade: Enlighten me about your smash career - how you started, highlights, how you got good, etc.
Tibs: Career started is a few q's up but yeah highlights are beating Amaterasu, shaya in a Melb tourny. Also Rocky, it was best smash tournament ever, being a rocky motivated so many smashers to get better and it brought all the states of Australia together, was amazing.
Well having a brother that is good at games also helps alot. We used to play eachother everyday, but not so much anymore, but yeah i only got good 'cause beating him at this was like no.1 priority so it made me try.
luke_atyeo: What does your brother lazlo think of smash and your dedication to it?
Tibs: Laszlo*, he doesnt mind it,aslong as im winning and dont get to carried away
shmot: If you were a pokemon, who would you have been caught by?
Tibs: Lol wth, definately not by you, 'cause you're way to mean, probs caos 'cause he wubs everythang
shmot: If for some crazy reason diddy and pikachu were banned, who would you adopt as a new main?
Tibs: Mk, no never i would never sink that low. Probs Snake or IC's
shmot: How jealous are you of your brother for being in japan?
Tibs: Atm pretty jealous because mum and apu are constantly on my back with everything i do cant wait to go to QLD
shmot: Most annoying on smashboards?
Tibs: Apart from you, its probably that player 1 guy, on the diddy boards. He's more arrogant than you pisses me off sometimes. It used to be ILAG but hes pretty cool now. oh and that adultlink used to make the most useless post i dont know why...where'd that guy go?
Scabe: When are you going to answer these questions?!
Tibs: Well my cpu overheated like 3 times so ive had to restart this and i couldnt be bothered typing it all up again =(
