exarch
doot doot doot
So it's still strange for me to think of myself this way, but I've become one of the older (relatively) active smashers around these parts, by waiting for all who came before me to quit. That said, I'd like to address an issue which I find both fascinating and frustrating in our little game.
Depending on the player, after anywhere from 6 months to 2 years, everyone hits a skill level plateau. Once on this plateau they will beat and lose to the same players; the players around their skill level there may be streaks of wins and losses, but otherwise the individual has found his place in tournaments.
Many factors determine the length of time it takes for one to reach the plateau. These include the amount of tech skill practice taken. Being able to execute the proper punisher upon finding the opening is a key to anyone’s potential in smash. The number of tournaments attended is also important, in this case for becoming adjusted to the nerves of tournament matches. The number of different individuals played is part of this as well, just being exposed to different styles and tricks improves gameplay. Even the number of videos watched can have an effect, due to seeing new openings and uses for moves of which were previously unthought. These are the most obvious but not necessarily the only factors which effect the speed with which someone reaches their plateau.
This plateau explains many of the phenomena around the community. Ever wonder why that guy who beats your Icys with Peach also beats your Fox with Peach, even though Fox’s matchup is that much better? Or why you as a CF main are able to beat both the other guy’s main Marth and his secondary Falco? Admittedly, there is some fluctuation because of matchups and individual skill with characters, but on the wider scale the “height” of a person’s plateau is the determining factor in his success with any character. That is why Azen’s everything is/was amazing, why M2k has one of the best *insert character here* and why Mango now beats M2k with both Falco and Jigglypuff.
This also explains why so many old players have retired. Upon being supplanted by newer players who have reached higher plateaus, most are content with what they achieved and graciously step down and out. Whether they are explicitly aware of it or not, they are acknowledging that a sort of upper bound exists on their playing ability.
In Florida we have examples of all four combinations of old and new players with low and high potential in the game. (If you don’t feel like reading the next four paragraphs of examples skip to the bold word.)
A new player who has/had an incredibly high potential is Hbox. He literally came from no where and in probably around a year started winning tournaments, he has since clawed his way to continue his improvement, but not nearly as fast as when he first started. Before him was Colbol, who I remember as the upstart kid to whom I never wanted to give credit. But now everyone knows he’s too good. I have watched Colbol go from almost losing to my DK on FoD to 3 stocking my peach on the majority of neutrals. I have watched Hbox go from being an easy tourney win (one against which I have used Roy and Ganon) to getting 3rd place at the largest melee tournament ever.
In the category of old players who have been that good for a long time, I immediately think of Lambchops, who has been around even longer than myself, and whom I do not think I have ever beaten in a set. Regardless of the state of the metagame, Lambchops is one of the top players. Also is Shiz who has been recognized for a long time now (even though I remember at his first tournament how impressed he was with my falco lol. Rockcrock, Xif, QDVS, and Green have all been very impressive players for a very long time, regardless of how the metagame has developed.
In the category of old players who never have gotten very good, I can think of several, but will not mention other’s names. I’m tempted to put myself on this list: while I am above average I hardly am recognized as amazing by the smash community as a whole. (Thus I am an old player who has never gotten very good. I have no big tourney wins against any big name.)
Of course there are newer players too who have been stuck on a lower plateau. But if you are a new player who is not improving quickly, I’m not saying to give up! Perhaps you haven’t found your groove yet; I was one of the slower developing smashers, only I was fortunate enough to do it from 05-07.
Now I hinted in the previous paragraphs about this next topic. I have said smashers have been good or bad regardless of the metagame. However, one of the ways to temporarily break out of a plateau is to develop a new tactic. This new trick will assist in percentage accumulated or avoided and therefore will help with tournament wins. It will allow one to temporarily beat people who have a higher plateau than themselves. Nevertheless, once the trick is learned by the others in the community they will use it themselves or learn how to get around it. Thus, relatively speaking, they lower the developer’s plateau back to its normal height. That is why many older players continue to be good even as the game develops, but why there may be a fluke tourney win from another player every now and then.
So after all this analysis I leave you with the following crucial question:
How do we, as Floridians and the Atlantic South, break out of our individual plateaus and thereby raise the overall skill of our region?
Depending on the player, after anywhere from 6 months to 2 years, everyone hits a skill level plateau. Once on this plateau they will beat and lose to the same players; the players around their skill level there may be streaks of wins and losses, but otherwise the individual has found his place in tournaments.
Many factors determine the length of time it takes for one to reach the plateau. These include the amount of tech skill practice taken. Being able to execute the proper punisher upon finding the opening is a key to anyone’s potential in smash. The number of tournaments attended is also important, in this case for becoming adjusted to the nerves of tournament matches. The number of different individuals played is part of this as well, just being exposed to different styles and tricks improves gameplay. Even the number of videos watched can have an effect, due to seeing new openings and uses for moves of which were previously unthought. These are the most obvious but not necessarily the only factors which effect the speed with which someone reaches their plateau.
This plateau explains many of the phenomena around the community. Ever wonder why that guy who beats your Icys with Peach also beats your Fox with Peach, even though Fox’s matchup is that much better? Or why you as a CF main are able to beat both the other guy’s main Marth and his secondary Falco? Admittedly, there is some fluctuation because of matchups and individual skill with characters, but on the wider scale the “height” of a person’s plateau is the determining factor in his success with any character. That is why Azen’s everything is/was amazing, why M2k has one of the best *insert character here* and why Mango now beats M2k with both Falco and Jigglypuff.
This also explains why so many old players have retired. Upon being supplanted by newer players who have reached higher plateaus, most are content with what they achieved and graciously step down and out. Whether they are explicitly aware of it or not, they are acknowledging that a sort of upper bound exists on their playing ability.
In Florida we have examples of all four combinations of old and new players with low and high potential in the game. (If you don’t feel like reading the next four paragraphs of examples skip to the bold word.)
A new player who has/had an incredibly high potential is Hbox. He literally came from no where and in probably around a year started winning tournaments, he has since clawed his way to continue his improvement, but not nearly as fast as when he first started. Before him was Colbol, who I remember as the upstart kid to whom I never wanted to give credit. But now everyone knows he’s too good. I have watched Colbol go from almost losing to my DK on FoD to 3 stocking my peach on the majority of neutrals. I have watched Hbox go from being an easy tourney win (one against which I have used Roy and Ganon) to getting 3rd place at the largest melee tournament ever.
In the category of old players who have been that good for a long time, I immediately think of Lambchops, who has been around even longer than myself, and whom I do not think I have ever beaten in a set. Regardless of the state of the metagame, Lambchops is one of the top players. Also is Shiz who has been recognized for a long time now (even though I remember at his first tournament how impressed he was with my falco lol. Rockcrock, Xif, QDVS, and Green have all been very impressive players for a very long time, regardless of how the metagame has developed.
In the category of old players who never have gotten very good, I can think of several, but will not mention other’s names. I’m tempted to put myself on this list: while I am above average I hardly am recognized as amazing by the smash community as a whole. (Thus I am an old player who has never gotten very good. I have no big tourney wins against any big name.)
Of course there are newer players too who have been stuck on a lower plateau. But if you are a new player who is not improving quickly, I’m not saying to give up! Perhaps you haven’t found your groove yet; I was one of the slower developing smashers, only I was fortunate enough to do it from 05-07.
Now I hinted in the previous paragraphs about this next topic. I have said smashers have been good or bad regardless of the metagame. However, one of the ways to temporarily break out of a plateau is to develop a new tactic. This new trick will assist in percentage accumulated or avoided and therefore will help with tournament wins. It will allow one to temporarily beat people who have a higher plateau than themselves. Nevertheless, once the trick is learned by the others in the community they will use it themselves or learn how to get around it. Thus, relatively speaking, they lower the developer’s plateau back to its normal height. That is why many older players continue to be good even as the game develops, but why there may be a fluke tourney win from another player every now and then.
So after all this analysis I leave you with the following crucial question:
How do we, as Floridians and the Atlantic South, break out of our individual plateaus and thereby raise the overall skill of our region?
