Mr.Jackpot
Smash Lord
A lot of the casual players went to Brawl and left smash for something else. It'd be great to show them what comp Melee is all about >:D
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Potential methods to increase tournament attendance
- Thread starter Zivilyn Bane
- Start date
amiedema121
Smash Rookie
LOLz old school, yeah I knew about those. People take what I say way to literally. I mean I want a way that you can play any system anywhere. TV, Gaming system (or even desktop for that matter), anywhere any time. Again with the potential car battery idea
Hey all,
I've been smashing consistently for the past 5 years, but I'm brand new to the tournament scene. I like the ideas that you all have to increase tournament attendance, and I've thought of a few of my own. But first, I had some questions about the community that I wanted to ask about.
1) How many pro or amateur Melee players do you believe are still active?
2) What is the largest turnout for a Melee tournament in the past calender year, and what is the largest turnout ever for a Melee tournament?
3) What is the largest sum of money awarded to a first place winner in the past year, and largest sum ever? Also, what is the largest guaranteed pot a Melee tournament has had?
This December marks the 10th year anniversary of Melee's U.S. release. After 10 years this game is still actively played and maintains a dedicated competitive community. That's more than can be said about a lot of today's newer releases that quickly lose their relevance.
Although it will be challenging, I think there would be a good chance that a major entity such as Nintendo or MLG (hell, even GameStop) would be willing to sign on as a sponsor for a MAJOR tournament if we (the Melee community) were willing to show them we could put the logistics together and prove that we could pull a massive turnout of players to celebrate 10 years of Melee. Once we have a major supporter we could get other sponsors to contribute as well and increase the amount of prize money even more. What if it could be telecasted live by ESPN?
By making the event aware to the public in the months leading up to the event more people would become interested in the community and our tournament numbers would grow even more.
I apologize for getting carried away, but I do believe something amazing could be done this year.
I've been smashing consistently for the past 5 years, but I'm brand new to the tournament scene. I like the ideas that you all have to increase tournament attendance, and I've thought of a few of my own. But first, I had some questions about the community that I wanted to ask about.
1) How many pro or amateur Melee players do you believe are still active?
2) What is the largest turnout for a Melee tournament in the past calender year, and what is the largest turnout ever for a Melee tournament?
3) What is the largest sum of money awarded to a first place winner in the past year, and largest sum ever? Also, what is the largest guaranteed pot a Melee tournament has had?
This December marks the 10th year anniversary of Melee's U.S. release. After 10 years this game is still actively played and maintains a dedicated competitive community. That's more than can be said about a lot of today's newer releases that quickly lose their relevance.
Although it will be challenging, I think there would be a good chance that a major entity such as Nintendo or MLG (hell, even GameStop) would be willing to sign on as a sponsor for a MAJOR tournament if we (the Melee community) were willing to show them we could put the logistics together and prove that we could pull a massive turnout of players to celebrate 10 years of Melee. Once we have a major supporter we could get other sponsors to contribute as well and increase the amount of prize money even more. What if it could be telecasted live by ESPN?
By making the event aware to the public in the months leading up to the event more people would become interested in the community and our tournament numbers would grow even more.
I apologize for getting carried away, but I do believe something amazing could be done this year.
Cheeri-Oats
Smash Lord
Awareness and Interaction are the best ways to get new players into the game.
Smashfests (not tournaments) are the best way to get people together to play the game and enjoy it. People play the game because their friends play the game, and they want the respect and accolades of their buddies to continue getting better. Eventually rivalries will pop up and then tournaments will naturally spring forth.
Youtube Videos with Active Commentary. Youtube revitalized the community more than anything else, and with organized youtube videos and tons of great commentary and input, we can show what Melee is capable of, and people will watch, be entertained, and want to practice it too.
Accessible Information - I always thought Smashboards was a labyrinth. Information is amazing, but it's always hard to get to. If there was a way to show sensible tournament, smashfest, tech, video information and present it to everyone so that they don't have to search through threads and the like, then yeah, people will hop on board.
There is no need for a huge campaign or a big anything. All you gotta do is play the game, and openly invite your friends to come and watch or come and play. And if you don't have friends that play, advertise that there will be a smashfest or something.
Smashfests (not tournaments) are the best way to get people together to play the game and enjoy it. People play the game because their friends play the game, and they want the respect and accolades of their buddies to continue getting better. Eventually rivalries will pop up and then tournaments will naturally spring forth.
Youtube Videos with Active Commentary. Youtube revitalized the community more than anything else, and with organized youtube videos and tons of great commentary and input, we can show what Melee is capable of, and people will watch, be entertained, and want to practice it too.
Accessible Information - I always thought Smashboards was a labyrinth. Information is amazing, but it's always hard to get to. If there was a way to show sensible tournament, smashfest, tech, video information and present it to everyone so that they don't have to search through threads and the like, then yeah, people will hop on board.
There is no need for a huge campaign or a big anything. All you gotta do is play the game, and openly invite your friends to come and watch or come and play. And if you don't have friends that play, advertise that there will be a smashfest or something.
Orko
Smash Apprentice
If Smashboards is a labyrinth, Kage's the Minotaur.
Divinokage
Smash Legend
LOL, I wonder what you mean by that, exactly?
Like...we are all on a journey to finally meet him???
Winnar
Smash Lord
This was a pretty great read! I'm all excited haha!
A lot of this we're already doing for Mississippi Smash University (link here: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=295713 ), but there are a few things in there we're definitely going to be implementing. I'll be posting in here soon to explain more and ask some questions :D
A lot of this we're already doing for Mississippi Smash University (link here: http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=295713 ), but there are a few things in there we're definitely going to be implementing. I'll be posting in here soon to explain more and ask some questions :D
Z'zgashi
Smash Legend
Why don't you just run pools and place the players who would make it out of Pools in the pro bracket, and the ones that didn't make it in the ameture bracket? That would mean that everyone guaranteed at least 5-6 games (as pools usually have 5+ people each) and allows a more reliable way to determine skill in whatever tournament level they are entered into.
Another thing you could do that would work IMO would be to have a redemption bracket which you can buy into for another small fee of maybe $1-$2 dollars for locals, and $5ish for nationals, but it doesn't allow for anyone who placed in the money to enter, giving even more play time to players and allows for even more people to make money.
A great idea IMO is to have a raffle between everyone in attendance that you draw for 3 or so times a tournament, which allows players to earn free entry or venue fee if chosen for the current or the next tournament, which encourages future attendance as well. For example, you can first have the 'Early Bird' raffle, where you put in everyone who was there early or on time, and one of them gets free entry. Next you have the 'Plain Jane' raffle which is just a normal raffle towards the middle of the tournament where a random person out of everyone there is chosen to win. Last, you can have the 'Comeback Kid' raffle where you put in the names of everyone who didn't make money at all, and they get free entry on the next tournament.
The last thing, while this doesn't have to do with money but is IMO the most important thing, talk to the new players, try and get to know them. Make them feel like they're the most important person in the room, maybe play a few friendlies and give some pointers, cheer for them against the players you already know and try to show that you support them. Almost every person who feels like they've been accepted will come back. The smash community is more like a massive family than it is anything else, and if you make them feel like a part of it, they'll want to come back, even if it's just to be around the other smashers.
EDIT: Another idea I just thought of, is to allow Smashers who bring a new player to both have half or a cut on venue fee. This allows you to still get the same or more amount of venue as you normally would if just the normal smashers came, and allows more players to enter meaning more money for the actual tournaments.
Another thing you could do that would work IMO would be to have a redemption bracket which you can buy into for another small fee of maybe $1-$2 dollars for locals, and $5ish for nationals, but it doesn't allow for anyone who placed in the money to enter, giving even more play time to players and allows for even more people to make money.
A great idea IMO is to have a raffle between everyone in attendance that you draw for 3 or so times a tournament, which allows players to earn free entry or venue fee if chosen for the current or the next tournament, which encourages future attendance as well. For example, you can first have the 'Early Bird' raffle, where you put in everyone who was there early or on time, and one of them gets free entry. Next you have the 'Plain Jane' raffle which is just a normal raffle towards the middle of the tournament where a random person out of everyone there is chosen to win. Last, you can have the 'Comeback Kid' raffle where you put in the names of everyone who didn't make money at all, and they get free entry on the next tournament.
The last thing, while this doesn't have to do with money but is IMO the most important thing, talk to the new players, try and get to know them. Make them feel like they're the most important person in the room, maybe play a few friendlies and give some pointers, cheer for them against the players you already know and try to show that you support them. Almost every person who feels like they've been accepted will come back. The smash community is more like a massive family than it is anything else, and if you make them feel like a part of it, they'll want to come back, even if it's just to be around the other smashers.
EDIT: Another idea I just thought of, is to allow Smashers who bring a new player to both have half or a cut on venue fee. This allows you to still get the same or more amount of venue as you normally would if just the normal smashers came, and allows more players to enter meaning more money for the actual tournaments.
I think the most important thing that needs to happen is a better TIME MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. National level tournaments have routinely run way over their schedule.
I know part of that is up to the players themselves. I myself am guilty of playing countless friendly matches instead of my bracket matches but :D
Anyway, Community-wide organization. Then, incentive to pros and amateurs alike - maybe we can muster some sort of sponsorship by MLG. There must be some sort of business arrangement we can make, no?? They do own this forum now.
I know part of that is up to the players themselves. I myself am guilty of playing countless friendly matches instead of my bracket matches but :D
Anyway, Community-wide organization. Then, incentive to pros and amateurs alike - maybe we can muster some sort of sponsorship by MLG. There must be some sort of business arrangement we can make, no?? They do own this forum now.
Zivilyn Bane
Smash Master
These are also some really good ideas. Especially the last two.
I remember my first smashfest. It was in Sacramento at Enders house. I was a nobody and just moved to norcal and didn't even know how to l-cancel yet. I drove to TheGerms house and he (with the rest of DBR) followed my car to Sacramento. I played each member of DBR and each one of them destroyed me, however all of them told me I was good and gave me tips on how to improve. A couple of months later at my first tournament Zelgadis (who then was the 2nd best player in Norcal to Isai but was still better than everyone else by a long shot) asked me if I wanted to play and said he "Needed practice vs good peach players." At the time it was a huge compliment. Bob$ sat down with me and taught me how to l-cancel, wavedash, and DI. Things like this had a big effect on me and made me want to play more to live up to the potential they said I had. When I meet new players I always try to find a couple things that they do really well and tell them, and also tell them things to work on. It can go a long ways towards influencing whether somebody plays in one or two tournaments or if somebody really picks up the game and aims to be competitive.
I think I'm going to start editing the OP and include some of the good idea's we've seen from other people posting here. Later tonight probably when I have more time.
allshort17
Smash Ace
I believe if you want the melee community to grow you have to start small and go big. You could start by getting more exposure on places like shoryuken.com where already dedicated people to all fighting games are. This will invite more people who already know what it's like to play a game competitively in and will increase competition. When the competition increases you can get into some fighting game tournaments as a side show, like Wednesday night fights. This will give you a current stream that people can look at attracting more people. Seeing as more people are tuning in to watch the melee fights, melee will get placed in to major tournaments like Final round. People will come to final round knowing melee is there and MLG and Evo will pick up melee into their circuits.
Another idea could be to have more local tournaments. The reason is this, for people like me who have parents who don't know how tournaments are like and don't want to travel places far away for something not worth it, having tournaments closer by will bring people to tournaments in general. Make them feel welcome so they return and recommend them to big tournaments. Thus, making the community bigger.
Just so you know, this is coming from someone who's never been to a tournament so this is what people like me want.
Another idea could be to have more local tournaments. The reason is this, for people like me who have parents who don't know how tournaments are like and don't want to travel places far away for something not worth it, having tournaments closer by will bring people to tournaments in general. Make them feel welcome so they return and recommend them to big tournaments. Thus, making the community bigger.
Just so you know, this is coming from someone who's never been to a tournament so this is what people like me want.
Zivilyn Bane
Smash Master
Your ideas aren't bad allshort. However, have you ever been to shoryuken.com? The guys over there view melee as a childs party game and will flame pretty much anybody that goes there to talk about melee as a competitive game. Try it, I dare you.
As for more local tournaments? We could always use more. And that goes for large, statewide, regional, national, and international as well. The hard part is finding people with enough time and energy to run one. So if you have those two things, do it! You could be the next big TO so get one going and let us know how it goes.
As for more local tournaments? We could always use more. And that goes for large, statewide, regional, national, and international as well. The hard part is finding people with enough time and energy to run one. So if you have those two things, do it! You could be the next big TO so get one going and let us know how it goes.
allshort17
Smash Ace
I know they don't like smash, but I believe if almost the whole smash community fought for it we could do it. That's a stretch though...
Z'zgashi
Smash Legend
I dare you to talk to them about brawl, it's even worse lol.
allshort17
Smash Ace
lol. I know. But the point I was trying to get with that comment was maybe it's not brand new people we need but a revival in upper level competition. So, I say try to get on SRK.com people most fighting game pros go there and if some come over to smash, more existing players will play also. Plus, they have a total nice mindset and can bring over lots of things and maybe discover something new and game changing. So, if more higher level people they will want more tournaments. They make new tournaments and Melee is now back in the major scene. There will be more exposure because of it and then brand new people to competitive games will come.
My memory of SRK.com and Smash involves arguments and Smashboards people getting banned.
I got so excited by this thread's name... until I read the OP and realized most of it had to do with money prizes! Dx
My smash community doesn't have an enormous amount of people, we can barely fill 64 bracket tournaments. We always offer prices for the first and second place: first place gets a Wii game, second place a plush (or any other cute merchandise available xD). We've never dealt with money, considering our entree fees are quite cheap (if they weren't, we wouldn't have more than 10 entrants lol).
I'll try and show this thread to our community's TO, I'll see how it goes! It's a great idea, but I don't think we'll have enough resources to try it... we'll keep it in mind, though, especially those last suggestions! :D
My smash community doesn't have an enormous amount of people, we can barely fill 64 bracket tournaments. We always offer prices for the first and second place: first place gets a Wii game, second place a plush (or any other cute merchandise available xD). We've never dealt with money, considering our entree fees are quite cheap (if they weren't, we wouldn't have more than 10 entrants lol).
I'll try and show this thread to our community's TO, I'll see how it goes! It's a great idea, but I don't think we'll have enough resources to try it... we'll keep it in mind, though, especially those last suggestions! :D
Sim
Smash Apprentice
The idea for separate brackets for pros and amateurs is excellent.
I remember, back in the days when I was playing MTG competitively, we had the largest tournament in Quebec. The year's Final, which's winner would be considered the best Vintage player. Those who consistently placed well during the year would then receive points, and any player with enough of those points would qualify for the final, which would be the equivalent of a smash "pro" bracket.
Any player who hasn't received enough points can still enter the tournament, but on a separate bracket, an "amateur" bracket but called another way because even a pro could enter after a year of inactivity. It was just a separate, more general bracket and it gave other players a chance to compete with serious intents and still have the possibility to win money. The "pro" pot was naturally huge compared to the normal one.
We had a huge attendance that day and I myself won money in the "amateur" bracket as I hadn't enough points to enter the Finals. Several players on my level brought money home as well, who would have had very low chances to win any kind of money on the pro level. The tournament was thus a huge success, pros and players alike leaving home with a certain degree of satisfaction.
So yeah, just saying that IMO amateur or just separate brackets are a good idea.
I remember, back in the days when I was playing MTG competitively, we had the largest tournament in Quebec. The year's Final, which's winner would be considered the best Vintage player. Those who consistently placed well during the year would then receive points, and any player with enough of those points would qualify for the final, which would be the equivalent of a smash "pro" bracket.
Any player who hasn't received enough points can still enter the tournament, but on a separate bracket, an "amateur" bracket but called another way because even a pro could enter after a year of inactivity. It was just a separate, more general bracket and it gave other players a chance to compete with serious intents and still have the possibility to win money. The "pro" pot was naturally huge compared to the normal one.
We had a huge attendance that day and I myself won money in the "amateur" bracket as I hadn't enough points to enter the Finals. Several players on my level brought money home as well, who would have had very low chances to win any kind of money on the pro level. The tournament was thus a huge success, pros and players alike leaving home with a certain degree of satisfaction.
So yeah, just saying that IMO amateur or just separate brackets are a good idea.
gm jack
Smash Lord
I think amateur brackets for people knocked out of pools is the way forward.
One advantage people who are good have to stay at the top is that they get far more tournament matches than the half of the attendees who turn up, play their pool then have to try and find friendlies. Forcing more competition at lower levels could do a lot to help people improve.
In terms of increasing attendance, it means that people can expect to play more games, and so people who aren't that good don't feel like it's just throwing money away.
One advantage people who are good have to stay at the top is that they get far more tournament matches than the half of the attendees who turn up, play their pool then have to try and find friendlies. Forcing more competition at lower levels could do a lot to help people improve.
In terms of increasing attendance, it means that people can expect to play more games, and so people who aren't that good don't feel like it's just throwing money away.
MM Distortion
Smash Apprentice
how do you usually go about finding a venue for a tournament, i want to start some local tournys but i don't know where to start exactly
Fuss
Smash Apprentice
Make money non existent and then boom more people will show up to tournaments that are located forever away.
I.B
Smash Lord
Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!
Zivilyn Bane
Smash Master
channlsrfr
Smash Apprentice
Wow, I have a lot on my mind about this.
First, Zivilyn Bane, I played Samus dittos with you at one of Ken's biweeklies in, like, 2006. Glad to see you're still alive and (sex) kicking in Melee!
Second, your topic. Overall, I love this thread; in some way, I agree with almost everything that has been said on here, impossible as that may seem. Here are the lines of thought I find most important:
As most here seem to agree, the power of this game is its ability to -- by itself -- create a fun, face-to-face social event. Every time I've been to a tournament or Smashfest, I've thought, "This is awesome. Why don't more people do this? Oh yeah, there are no chicks."
Get girls. Period. I don't care how. In my experience playing Melee with girls, not a single girl has ever seemed to care primarily about winning or improving her game; I believe girls play Melee for the same reason most people do most things: to socialize with or impress the opposite gender. Because of this, one idea off the top of my head is to give females free entry into a females-only tournament, and the winner gets cash and/or a date with a male Smasher of her choice. (If the male Smasher selected doesn't like this, he should suck it up and take one for the team.)
Alternatively, you could scrap the date idea, and if there are enough set-ups for friendlies, I think girls would still have a good enough time to go back. Again, they'd probably want to play friendlies with guys; guys, chat 'em up and sandbag, because it's not kicking their ***** that'll keep them coming back. If they wanna use items, let 'em.
As you bring in more girls, you will bring in more guys. As long as guys (and their testosterone and pride) are in the mix, the competitive scene will live. Again, treating new players with respect goes a long way in this phase. The idea is: (1) Attract girls, (2) Girls bring in guys, (3) Guys come for the girls, but they are more likely to stay in the long run for the challenge and camaraderie.
On a more fantastic note ...
If we're talking about the long-term perpetuation of Melee and aspiring to heights like those of chess (which I would love), its separation or licensing from Nintendo would probably be necessary. Unlike chess, Melee involves software; whether that software ever gets updated to suit new hardware is completely dependent on Nintendo at the moment. The game must legally transcend its creator, Nintendo, to live up to its potential. For example, the Mortal Kombat license is owned by Warner Brothers; it is not owned by a hardware-maker like Sony or Microsoft; this gives it a huge advantage as a franchise, in my opinion.
I'm sure the separation of Melee / Smash (licensing Melee independently of Brawl/64 seems unlikely to me) from Nintendo would be a complicated, expensive ordeal, but you know what would make it feasible? Popularity.
First, Zivilyn Bane, I played Samus dittos with you at one of Ken's biweeklies in, like, 2006. Glad to see you're still alive and (sex) kicking in Melee!
Second, your topic. Overall, I love this thread; in some way, I agree with almost everything that has been said on here, impossible as that may seem. Here are the lines of thought I find most important:
- People who attend events -- whether Smashfests or tournaments -- do so, primarily, for one of two reasons: (a) Fun/Socialization, and/or (b) Game Improvement.
- The question of tournament attendance is currently best answered not by tackling the details of winnings ($) distribution, but by addressing the issue of Melee's popularity in the population at large.
- The game is capable of being more popular.
- Welcoming new players is a major key to popularizing the game.
- Increasing female involvement is a major key to popularizing the game.
As most here seem to agree, the power of this game is its ability to -- by itself -- create a fun, face-to-face social event. Every time I've been to a tournament or Smashfest, I've thought, "This is awesome. Why don't more people do this? Oh yeah, there are no chicks."
Get girls. Period. I don't care how. In my experience playing Melee with girls, not a single girl has ever seemed to care primarily about winning or improving her game; I believe girls play Melee for the same reason most people do most things: to socialize with or impress the opposite gender. Because of this, one idea off the top of my head is to give females free entry into a females-only tournament, and the winner gets cash and/or a date with a male Smasher of her choice. (If the male Smasher selected doesn't like this, he should suck it up and take one for the team.)
Alternatively, you could scrap the date idea, and if there are enough set-ups for friendlies, I think girls would still have a good enough time to go back. Again, they'd probably want to play friendlies with guys; guys, chat 'em up and sandbag, because it's not kicking their ***** that'll keep them coming back. If they wanna use items, let 'em.
As you bring in more girls, you will bring in more guys. As long as guys (and their testosterone and pride) are in the mix, the competitive scene will live. Again, treating new players with respect goes a long way in this phase. The idea is: (1) Attract girls, (2) Girls bring in guys, (3) Guys come for the girls, but they are more likely to stay in the long run for the challenge and camaraderie.
On a more fantastic note ...
If we're talking about the long-term perpetuation of Melee and aspiring to heights like those of chess (which I would love), its separation or licensing from Nintendo would probably be necessary. Unlike chess, Melee involves software; whether that software ever gets updated to suit new hardware is completely dependent on Nintendo at the moment. The game must legally transcend its creator, Nintendo, to live up to its potential. For example, the Mortal Kombat license is owned by Warner Brothers; it is not owned by a hardware-maker like Sony or Microsoft; this gives it a huge advantage as a franchise, in my opinion.
I'm sure the separation of Melee / Smash (licensing Melee independently of Brawl/64 seems unlikely to me) from Nintendo would be a complicated, expensive ordeal, but you know what would make it feasible? Popularity.
Manondorf
Smash Cadet
I would love for this to happen, but I feel like I have to mention something that should be painfully obvious.
This is about the whole "get more girls to come" idea. While this idea is great in theory, I can't believe no one has mentioned that girls who come to things like this are often PAID to be there. I'm sorry guys but that's just the reality of it. Girls get paid to be at events like car shows, conventions, E3, you name it, for the very reason that was mentioned, to attract more (male) attendees. I do not believe that we can get may more girls to come to tournament unless you either A) Pay them to be there, or B) Create some other attractions that entice them to be there. I am over the opinion that paying them is the simpler solution.
So if you tournament organizers have the capital to pay girls so more of them will come, by all means, do it. Think of it as an investment. You know the old saying, "It takes money to make money."
This is about the whole "get more girls to come" idea. While this idea is great in theory, I can't believe no one has mentioned that girls who come to things like this are often PAID to be there. I'm sorry guys but that's just the reality of it. Girls get paid to be at events like car shows, conventions, E3, you name it, for the very reason that was mentioned, to attract more (male) attendees. I do not believe that we can get may more girls to come to tournament unless you either A) Pay them to be there, or B) Create some other attractions that entice them to be there. I am over the opinion that paying them is the simpler solution.
So if you tournament organizers have the capital to pay girls so more of them will come, by all means, do it. Think of it as an investment. You know the old saying, "It takes money to make money."
Todd Bonney
Smash Lord
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2005
- Messages
- 1,098
He's not talking about booth babes.
channlsrfr
Smash Apprentice
Manondorf, I totally understand where you're coming from, but I think girls' interest in gaming is underrated. Here are a couple of articles I found (not saying they prove anything):
Article 1
Article 2 (Video report)
If any game stands a chance at bringing male and female gamers together, Smash is a good candidate, with its cuddly characters and ability to be either casual or competitive. According the first article, 35% of console gamers are female ... Maybe girls just don't want to game with guys like guys do with girls -- so maybe the effort is doomed to fail -- but somebody needs to have a good try at it.
Again, my experience with female gamers has been that they like Melee and like playing it at least casually with guys, but they've always seemed uncomfortably self-aware at being the only girl there.
Edit: I would love to hear from any women out there. Ladies, what can we do to get you and your friends to come to more Smash events? I hope I'm not too ridiculous in imagining one will respond!
Article 1
Article 2 (Video report)
If any game stands a chance at bringing male and female gamers together, Smash is a good candidate, with its cuddly characters and ability to be either casual or competitive. According the first article, 35% of console gamers are female ... Maybe girls just don't want to game with guys like guys do with girls -- so maybe the effort is doomed to fail -- but somebody needs to have a good try at it.
Again, my experience with female gamers has been that they like Melee and like playing it at least casually with guys, but they've always seemed uncomfortably self-aware at being the only girl there.
Edit: I would love to hear from any women out there. Ladies, what can we do to get you and your friends to come to more Smash events? I hope I'm not too ridiculous in imagining one will respond!
Manondorf
Smash Cadet
Interesting stuff to be sure. However, I am always skeptical of statistics, especially when they present themselves with a lack of empirical evidence. I'm not saying it couldn't be accurate, I merely saying that I don't take things at face value. I have my own opinions on gender bias and gender stereotypes, but that isn't what we're talking about here. So, for the purpose of this discussion I will accept that this information is accurate. In that case, I think the issue is a lack of advertisement. If girls (or anyone for that matter) don't know these tournaments are going on, how can they be expected to show up? I know I myself have just barely missed tournaments, local tournaments, that I found out about only days later.
So, I suggest we think about how we can increase awareness of smash related events.
So, I suggest we think about how we can increase awareness of smash related events.
Zivilyn Bane
Smash Master
I'm a lucky enough to have a gamer as a wife, however she hates smash.
Although again, I'm lucky enough to be part of a community with a girl that IS a smasher. Her name is Saffy. I'll see if I can get her over here to share her opinion on often being the only girl at an event.
Although again, I'm lucky enough to be part of a community with a girl that IS a smasher. Her name is Saffy. I'll see if I can get her over here to share her opinion on often being the only girl at an event.
Manondorf
Smash Cadet
Only girl I ever met who plays smash was a girl named Vanessa (Vans) who I encountered at DGDTJ. She seemed to know the DBR people pretty well. Anyway, I watched her play a bunch of games with my friend. Falco vs sheik. I think they played about 10 games, at the end of which she came out on top (just barely). My friend is a long time smasher and upon witnessing this series of events I was like, "I think I'm in love," Hahaha.
Zivilyn Bane
Smash Master
Lol yeah I know Vanessa. I met her once or twice at some Norcal tournies back in the day. Picked her and Myko up once to take them to some tourney back in like '06 lol. I also know Jesi, Darkrains girlfriend who is a pretty good Falco. And I also know Sam, a girl smasher from Saint Louis who is pretty good with Peach. I remember DSF's old girlfriend used to play but I can't remember her name.
Zivilyn Bane
Smash Master
Yes, however don't be fooled. Lunin will often use her tag during a set. So if you see a pretty good fox player sporting the Vans tag, chances are it's Lunin. I'm pretty sure Vanessa mains sheik.
xXArrowXx
Smash Champion
off current topic...
how about this, if u come top 3 in amateur. u cant enter ama until u have not placed in the pro top 8 for 3 tournament in a a row that you attended.
hmm it must be a alittle intimidating for a girl to go to someones house that she doesn't know for a "meet" for the first time =P
how about this, if u come top 3 in amateur. u cant enter ama until u have not placed in the pro top 8 for 3 tournament in a a row that you attended.
hmm it must be a alittle intimidating for a girl to go to someones house that she doesn't know for a "meet" for the first time =P
KrazyKnux
Smash Lord
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2005
- Messages
- 1,489
So I've tried to come up with some ideas of increasing attendance, then I think of how the community got to where it was. The answer to that question: Smashboards and Youtube. So why is that? Smashboards brought everybody together and provided a place to advertise tournaments (everyone who searches smash would come up with the site) and discuss the game. Youtube gathered interest from viewers and allowed people to learn quicker and increase their drive for competition (especially hyped videos.) So that got me thinking a little bit bigger, and here are a few of my ideas:
Basically we need a centralized Smash Hub that has everything a player would need. We wanna keep people interested, and bring in outside players. Smashboards is what we have now, but I'm thinking something more (which could be a part of Smashboards, or Smashboards would be a part of it...you'll understand what I'm talking about in a second.) Because honestly, it's a little hard to get around as a new member and not everyone posts or reads all this stuff. Besides that, there isn't much to look at or do, so this Smash Hub idea is going to try and fix that - it'll constantly be a place people can check, find videos, and post or discuss.
So what will the site have? Basically, it's going to be a (very) organized video website (this is where Youtube comes into play!) What we want to create are videos to watch for anything we can think of regarding competitive smash. There are tons of good Youtube videos, but because they're not organized the views are very spread apart and not everybody sees them. Take this video for example: Platforms 101 it's a video Phanna created to show a lot of things you could do on platforms. The problem is, not a lot of people have seen it (11k is a lot, but still many people have not) and there isn't any elaboration. My idea is that we could organize certain techniques into different categories (this video could be found in, say advanced -> platforms.) So we would basically need to have each of the techniques in a separate video where everything would be explained (how to do it, uses, etc...) and each technique contains video examples (like this: advanced -> platforms -> Isai Dropping -> Examples -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2DIACKDLxw from 0:47-0:52). Pro players who know this game well and know how to give good advice would be the ones commenting on these videos, and giving their insight.
Basically, these videos would be organized into general techniques (basics -> short hopping or advanced -> wavedashing) and character specific (Fox -> advanced -> waveshining) and maybe even move specific (Fox -> shine -> shine bair or Fox -> shine -> shine upsmash) for ideas to follow up after a shine. It would cover techniques, both common and uncommon (waveshining compared to shine grabbing) but it would be as comprehensive as possible. Besides techniques, there could be a category for "counterpicking" in general, like what to keep in mind while counterpicking (Luigi/Peach like big stages, like Dreamland) and there would be character-specific counterpicking (Fox likes small stages, like Yoshi's story, but can have trouble on that stage versus a marth. Dreamland wouldn't want to be chosen against a Luigi, but it's not a bad idea against a Marth - the platforms are bad for his sword, and it's easy to move around.) So for general advice on a topic (techniques, movement, counterpicking) there would be a "general" category, and a "character specific" category for character specific matchups, counterpicking, techniques, etc... We want it to be as comprehensive as possible while making it as organized as possible.
So what this accomplishes is that it gives everyone a single place to learn everything you'd need to know to improve at the game. You'd pick up useful techniques that are hard to pick from a video if you don't know what it was beforehand (like Isai Dropping, for example) and it would improve the metagame on top of that. It could be updated frequently with more examples, more techniques, and the information being modern and relevant. This way, we're keeping all the members to one spot that everyone references (and of course, linked to Youtube as well.) That way there isn't any confusion on where to go for information, and there isn't a flood of new information that could be overbearing. There should be an intro video on where to start for getting competitive, which videos/categories to check out first (start with basics, then advanced techniques, then work on movement and check out character specific techniques, etc...) There needs to be a sense of direction, so people aren't lost and discouraged.
So we've accomplished that, but it's not near complete. We want it to be kind of like a Smash Media Center - not a static website that doesn't change once all the information is there. This needs to be a centralized place where tournaments are listed (California -> July -> Genesis) where members can vote their "attendance" (not like online registration, it wouldn't be binding) so that people can get an idea of who's going and how many people. Smashboards has a tournament calendar (apparently) but I don't think very many people use it. It's a good idea executed incorrectly. People post tournaments and they get overlooked, or in a spot you won't read (I use the ATL North subforum, but I found a relevant tournament that was closeby in the Midwest forum, luckily) This stuff all needs to be listed. Heck, I should be able to type in "Charleston, WV" and get closest tournaments to that area. Maybe when posting a tournament thread, it would be linked to this tournament compendium so people aren't obligated to do both (which is why the tournament calendar goes unused a lot of the time.)
But that's useful, but truthfully not very interesting. We need something that'll capture people's interest. That's where the community comes into play. Each month, or week, there can be a segment of "funniest smash bloopers" for example. Users submit videos, and people vote, and they're all thrown together in one video ("Best Dropzone Ever" would be a great example of a clip that would be in one of these.) We could also have a monthly segment of top 10 plays. Again, people submit videos of awesome/flashy combos and whatnot to have voted on (or there could be a panel that decides.) This kind of stuff would inspire people to play, record, and be a part of the community. On top of this, there could be a list of popular matches. We know everyone's seen Armada vs. Mango and M2K vs. DaShizWiz. That's what would be featured in this corner, except they'd be more recent of course and popular matches would be continually updated.
There could be a Livestream corner, where each Saturday (and sometimes Sunday) links to live tournament streaming would be available. Besides my idea, streaming is a great way to get players interested, and it makes me really mad when TOs say "we're not going to have a stream because there's no excuse to miss this tournament" or whatever, short of not having the equipment or resources (good internet, for example.) First of all, that's stupid because no one can make it to every tournament, but having no livestream diminishes interest for sure. I don't know about everyone else, but when I see a livestream, it gets me really hyped up to play the game and make it out to a tournament and experience it myself. I saw the livestream for a California tournament (Good **** German) which I hadn't even heard about before. I watched the stream, and it was so hyped and just got me excited to play. While it didn't directly increase tournament attendance, it got people excited and that's what the community needs. So in any case, TOs need to work on getting Livestreams out there, cause I think that can benefit the community and attendance.
Aside from all the media coverage and resources, I recently saw a thread about trying to get an Elo Rating system for smash. I think it's a great idea (check it out here) and it could get people to want to participate in tournaments more, and give incentive for new players to improve. It could determine who gets to participate in an Amateur Bracket, where newer players can win money (like mentioned in this thread) and make sure no one leaves unhappy (On a side note, someone mentioned being nice to newer players - this is a great idea by itself. Try and talk to new players, give them advice, and make sure they have a good time - they'll be much more likely to try and improve and return.) It would be awesome to see a leaderboard to the side of the site, which shows the top players (and maybe country too if we want to do international rankings) and you could look at the whole thing. It could be updated monthly (or so) and arrows would indicate movement among the players (and previous ranking would be listed too.) People could use this to see how they're improving, how their region is improving, and hopefully would give people a drive to get better and attend tournaments. These rankings could be used for Draft Crews (also a good way of getting people involved). Team Captains could perform an actual Draft of players, using the ratings as an indicator of how good someone is. This would kind of bring players together, especially if teams stayed similar in tournaments across the nation (depending on who's able to attend.) MarthMan887 might really feel a part of Axe's crew, especially if they perform well together, and would feel like a part of the community.
I've seen the ability for people on Smashboards to donate to a good cause (with all these "Good Player Funds" around), we're a very generous community that I'm glad to be a part of. This generosity needs to be harnessed. On this "Smash Hub" idea I came up with, we could have a list of players (or we could "write in" players) that people might want to see at the next big tournament (these people would have to be talked to beforehand to make sure they can attend.) People can donate to one account and members would vote for who they want to see, and the money raised would be used for that player. If the money goes over what's needed for the fund, then it would be used for the next player at the next tournament. Most likely, these would all be foreign players we want to attend, but it can probably be used for anybody if it works out well (maybe even multiple people at one tournament!) This would directly increase tournament attendance (albeit just by 1 or 2 people) but indirectly as well (people wanna play Dark, Ice, Calle W, Javi, Twin, etc...) and they would want to attend. Say it's a West coast tournament, we could vote for one foreign player, and one EC player as well perhaps.
Lastly, we need a place where everyone can talk Smash. But we have that already - Smashboards. It's the perfect place with a large community and probably the biggest reason why most tournaments get large in the first place. There's no sense in making a new forum, but a new website would need a forum. Since Smashboards is what everyone's a part of already, perhaps this "Smash Hub" could be a part of it. Maybe at the top we could click on "Melee Smash Hub" or "Brawl Smash Hub" and be linked to this site that I've been explaining.
My apologies for such a long post, but I think all (or even just a couple) of these ideas would be great for the community. If anyone reads all this, let me know what you think (add your own ideas too!) It may seem unfeasible, but I really do think it would help improve the smash community, and maybe increase the longevity and perhaps become one of those things that always maintains a big community (maybe not quite like Chess or professional sports or whatnot, but who knows lol.) Basically what we would need are a few website programmers/designers, a ton of videos/people willing to make and comment on videos, and a lot of community support. I dunno, what do you guys think?
Basically we need a centralized Smash Hub that has everything a player would need. We wanna keep people interested, and bring in outside players. Smashboards is what we have now, but I'm thinking something more (which could be a part of Smashboards, or Smashboards would be a part of it...you'll understand what I'm talking about in a second.) Because honestly, it's a little hard to get around as a new member and not everyone posts or reads all this stuff. Besides that, there isn't much to look at or do, so this Smash Hub idea is going to try and fix that - it'll constantly be a place people can check, find videos, and post or discuss.
So what will the site have? Basically, it's going to be a (very) organized video website (this is where Youtube comes into play!) What we want to create are videos to watch for anything we can think of regarding competitive smash. There are tons of good Youtube videos, but because they're not organized the views are very spread apart and not everybody sees them. Take this video for example: Platforms 101 it's a video Phanna created to show a lot of things you could do on platforms. The problem is, not a lot of people have seen it (11k is a lot, but still many people have not) and there isn't any elaboration. My idea is that we could organize certain techniques into different categories (this video could be found in, say advanced -> platforms.) So we would basically need to have each of the techniques in a separate video where everything would be explained (how to do it, uses, etc...) and each technique contains video examples (like this: advanced -> platforms -> Isai Dropping -> Examples -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2DIACKDLxw from 0:47-0:52). Pro players who know this game well and know how to give good advice would be the ones commenting on these videos, and giving their insight.
Basically, these videos would be organized into general techniques (basics -> short hopping or advanced -> wavedashing) and character specific (Fox -> advanced -> waveshining) and maybe even move specific (Fox -> shine -> shine bair or Fox -> shine -> shine upsmash) for ideas to follow up after a shine. It would cover techniques, both common and uncommon (waveshining compared to shine grabbing) but it would be as comprehensive as possible. Besides techniques, there could be a category for "counterpicking" in general, like what to keep in mind while counterpicking (Luigi/Peach like big stages, like Dreamland) and there would be character-specific counterpicking (Fox likes small stages, like Yoshi's story, but can have trouble on that stage versus a marth. Dreamland wouldn't want to be chosen against a Luigi, but it's not a bad idea against a Marth - the platforms are bad for his sword, and it's easy to move around.) So for general advice on a topic (techniques, movement, counterpicking) there would be a "general" category, and a "character specific" category for character specific matchups, counterpicking, techniques, etc... We want it to be as comprehensive as possible while making it as organized as possible.
So what this accomplishes is that it gives everyone a single place to learn everything you'd need to know to improve at the game. You'd pick up useful techniques that are hard to pick from a video if you don't know what it was beforehand (like Isai Dropping, for example) and it would improve the metagame on top of that. It could be updated frequently with more examples, more techniques, and the information being modern and relevant. This way, we're keeping all the members to one spot that everyone references (and of course, linked to Youtube as well.) That way there isn't any confusion on where to go for information, and there isn't a flood of new information that could be overbearing. There should be an intro video on where to start for getting competitive, which videos/categories to check out first (start with basics, then advanced techniques, then work on movement and check out character specific techniques, etc...) There needs to be a sense of direction, so people aren't lost and discouraged.
So we've accomplished that, but it's not near complete. We want it to be kind of like a Smash Media Center - not a static website that doesn't change once all the information is there. This needs to be a centralized place where tournaments are listed (California -> July -> Genesis) where members can vote their "attendance" (not like online registration, it wouldn't be binding) so that people can get an idea of who's going and how many people. Smashboards has a tournament calendar (apparently) but I don't think very many people use it. It's a good idea executed incorrectly. People post tournaments and they get overlooked, or in a spot you won't read (I use the ATL North subforum, but I found a relevant tournament that was closeby in the Midwest forum, luckily) This stuff all needs to be listed. Heck, I should be able to type in "Charleston, WV" and get closest tournaments to that area. Maybe when posting a tournament thread, it would be linked to this tournament compendium so people aren't obligated to do both (which is why the tournament calendar goes unused a lot of the time.)
But that's useful, but truthfully not very interesting. We need something that'll capture people's interest. That's where the community comes into play. Each month, or week, there can be a segment of "funniest smash bloopers" for example. Users submit videos, and people vote, and they're all thrown together in one video ("Best Dropzone Ever" would be a great example of a clip that would be in one of these.) We could also have a monthly segment of top 10 plays. Again, people submit videos of awesome/flashy combos and whatnot to have voted on (or there could be a panel that decides.) This kind of stuff would inspire people to play, record, and be a part of the community. On top of this, there could be a list of popular matches. We know everyone's seen Armada vs. Mango and M2K vs. DaShizWiz. That's what would be featured in this corner, except they'd be more recent of course and popular matches would be continually updated.
There could be a Livestream corner, where each Saturday (and sometimes Sunday) links to live tournament streaming would be available. Besides my idea, streaming is a great way to get players interested, and it makes me really mad when TOs say "we're not going to have a stream because there's no excuse to miss this tournament" or whatever, short of not having the equipment or resources (good internet, for example.) First of all, that's stupid because no one can make it to every tournament, but having no livestream diminishes interest for sure. I don't know about everyone else, but when I see a livestream, it gets me really hyped up to play the game and make it out to a tournament and experience it myself. I saw the livestream for a California tournament (Good **** German) which I hadn't even heard about before. I watched the stream, and it was so hyped and just got me excited to play. While it didn't directly increase tournament attendance, it got people excited and that's what the community needs. So in any case, TOs need to work on getting Livestreams out there, cause I think that can benefit the community and attendance.
Aside from all the media coverage and resources, I recently saw a thread about trying to get an Elo Rating system for smash. I think it's a great idea (check it out here) and it could get people to want to participate in tournaments more, and give incentive for new players to improve. It could determine who gets to participate in an Amateur Bracket, where newer players can win money (like mentioned in this thread) and make sure no one leaves unhappy (On a side note, someone mentioned being nice to newer players - this is a great idea by itself. Try and talk to new players, give them advice, and make sure they have a good time - they'll be much more likely to try and improve and return.) It would be awesome to see a leaderboard to the side of the site, which shows the top players (and maybe country too if we want to do international rankings) and you could look at the whole thing. It could be updated monthly (or so) and arrows would indicate movement among the players (and previous ranking would be listed too.) People could use this to see how they're improving, how their region is improving, and hopefully would give people a drive to get better and attend tournaments. These rankings could be used for Draft Crews (also a good way of getting people involved). Team Captains could perform an actual Draft of players, using the ratings as an indicator of how good someone is. This would kind of bring players together, especially if teams stayed similar in tournaments across the nation (depending on who's able to attend.) MarthMan887 might really feel a part of Axe's crew, especially if they perform well together, and would feel like a part of the community.
I've seen the ability for people on Smashboards to donate to a good cause (with all these "Good Player Funds" around), we're a very generous community that I'm glad to be a part of. This generosity needs to be harnessed. On this "Smash Hub" idea I came up with, we could have a list of players (or we could "write in" players) that people might want to see at the next big tournament (these people would have to be talked to beforehand to make sure they can attend.) People can donate to one account and members would vote for who they want to see, and the money raised would be used for that player. If the money goes over what's needed for the fund, then it would be used for the next player at the next tournament. Most likely, these would all be foreign players we want to attend, but it can probably be used for anybody if it works out well (maybe even multiple people at one tournament!) This would directly increase tournament attendance (albeit just by 1 or 2 people) but indirectly as well (people wanna play Dark, Ice, Calle W, Javi, Twin, etc...) and they would want to attend. Say it's a West coast tournament, we could vote for one foreign player, and one EC player as well perhaps.
Lastly, we need a place where everyone can talk Smash. But we have that already - Smashboards. It's the perfect place with a large community and probably the biggest reason why most tournaments get large in the first place. There's no sense in making a new forum, but a new website would need a forum. Since Smashboards is what everyone's a part of already, perhaps this "Smash Hub" could be a part of it. Maybe at the top we could click on "Melee Smash Hub" or "Brawl Smash Hub" and be linked to this site that I've been explaining.
My apologies for such a long post, but I think all (or even just a couple) of these ideas would be great for the community. If anyone reads all this, let me know what you think (add your own ideas too!) It may seem unfeasible, but I really do think it would help improve the smash community, and maybe increase the longevity and perhaps become one of those things that always maintains a big community (maybe not quite like Chess or professional sports or whatnot, but who knows lol.) Basically what we would need are a few website programmers/designers, a ton of videos/people willing to make and comment on videos, and a lot of community support. I dunno, what do you guys think?
Fortress | Sveet
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I like the concept of this, but im unsure how many criticisms are accurate. There is potentially a future Melee ELO system that might work well in conjunction with this.
TheCrimsonBlur
Smash Master
Good post KrazyKnux. Reminds me of a post I had a while back:
In my head I like to think some of the admins read my post and revised smashboards. Whatever the reasoning, they did a great job and the site is a lot better than when I wrote that post a year ago. Regardless, there is still a lot to be done.You guys are thinking so...small.
Yeah, doing a "losers bracket" type thing would attract a few new people. 7 or so probably. Thats great, and definitely a change worth considering, but it won't bring Melee to the heights it can be. And let me tell you, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that it can't be huge, no matter what Dogy says. There is no problem with the game, our friendliness as a community, or the aptitude of our community leaders. The only problem is that we don't have a solid organization in place with standards that would make it from "a highly successful esport that is among the most popular and respected games in competition" to "a worldwide phenomenon."
First, lets dispel the notion that Melee's success is stymied because of new player's reluctance to play the game. Every competitive gaming community has people who are reluctant to play competitively. Its a numbers game; the shy people will come if they see how big, popular, and extravagant the events are. Don't worry about them. Its the people with the potential to have genuine fire to improve at the game that we aren't tapping into; the people who just plain don't know about Melee competitively, those who have heard of it but never put in the time to google it, and those who have a hard time finding local tournaments because we operate under a very disorganized message board platform. Just like DC++ was a limiting factor when we used it, and the number 1 hindrance in our community's growth back in the day, Smashboards has become archaic.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, it is our online platform that is limiting us. Videos at every tournament need commentators. Commentators should have their fees waived in entirety, and arguably even be paid a little for their efforts. Encourage competition among commentators so that each commentator fights to get the rights to commentate at a major event. Gradually, the presentation of our commentary will improve, and it will all be much more fluid. Have every video have a link to major resources for introduction into competitive Melee (if Wombo Combo or Shiz/M2K G4 had that, we'd be so much bigger as a community). Archive commentary on a central website (see SC2gg.com's VOD tracker) that updates whenever new subscriptions are updated. Allow users to search through popular videos of character matchups (see: streetfighterdojo.com). Provide a solid explanation of the advanced techniques in the game through video and text, followed by possible implementation. The Compendium of Knowledge doesn't have half the **** we know now. Thats not good enough. Provide a "article hub" that outlines Smash history (with videos of the tournament) and liveblogs upcoming events.
You guys may point to allIsBrawl but lets be honest. Thats a Brawl website, and a lot of its features aren't good enough either. Melee needs an equivalent. And beyond that, we need some local advertising ffs. Garage sales get 30 people to show up cause of 1 god **** sign. We can do that too. My college (University of Virginia) put up a few signs (5 in the entire university! Don't worry I was no part of it, Melee for life) for a Brawl tournament and they had 50 entrants with no Smashboards listing at all. NONE. My dormitory (only 300 people in it MAYBE) put out a email for Smash64 (again, I had no part in this) and we had 40 people (on 5 TVs lolol, I won free money lulz). Just see what happens with your attendance if you put a sign in front of Gamestop. I dare you.
Furthermore, do online advertising. I don't mean Google Ads, those are ineffective (most gamers have Adblock lets be real here). Make a concerted effort to put the community on the map on major gaming websites. People talk about how we want Esports to be on ESPN and SpikeTV but first we gotta get on Gametrailers, Gamespot, IGN, and Giantbomb. Socal people, call up Giantbomb asking to be on their podcast and see what happens. (they are in San Fran) I almost guarantee they will give you a spot as long as you are relatively eloquent. Make a thread introducing people on those websites to competitive Melee. A big thread. With a lot of links (once again, this goes back to a better online platform, we have very bad things to link to as is). The average gamer doesn't even know about us.
TLDR:
1. Smashboards is archaic. We need a new online platform. Preferably the same website, but with all the features I listed (and more!).
2. The video and commentary structure needs drastic revision in quantity and video organization.
3. Local advertising needs to exist. We have none, whatsoever.
4. Online advertising on major gaming websites
Its a miracle we are doing as well as we are considering we aren't doing some of the most fundamental things, or more accurately its a testament to the quality of Melee and the friendliness and openness of our community. If we get our **** together and try to do those 4 points, I can GUARANTEE 1000+ people tournaments by a year or two. No joke. We have all the tools, but we aren't using them. Just think about how hard it is to even be a new player these days and all the things we can do, and be grateful that we have survived this long (we are breaking tourney records every year wtf lol).
Millions of gamers plop down 60 bucks and 20+ hours of their time for piece of **** games all the time. We can beat Sonic 360 for gamers' time and money. We have a better product...for the most part, tournaments are the best game experience there is. No reason we can't be huge. No reason.
Well there might be a reason. And that is that no one will read this because of how long it is
Zivilyn Bane
Smash Master
Crimson and Krazyknux, really good posts from both of you. A few thoughts.
KrazyKnux, first off I just want to point out one thing you're missing that was a major factor in making melee what it is today, and that's MLG. To have a huge company with money and resources sponsor your game is priceless. Not only did they get people to play, but they made it worth it with huge prizes, sponsorships, exposure, and genuinely awesome tournaments. I remember playing at MLG Vegas 2005 (the year it combined with evo). My doubles partner and I played against some 10 year old kid and his dad. I'd bet a lot of money there isn't going to be any parent/children teams at Genesis 2. The reason is because MLG is an organization with a business license and legal requirements. Parents trust these types of credentials. If Melee could some day be picked up by a game company like MLG or Evo, it could rise to the heights we all dream of. I'm telling you right now if I ever won the lottery or somehow came into a large sum of money I would start a business to make Melee into something we could only dream about, and I guarantee it would be profitable. And yeah I'd definitely hire you lol.
CrimsonBlue, your post is one of the best I've read in a very long time. You really do have a strong grasp on the business aspect and potential of the game and have some great ideas on making melee bigger. I would also hire you in a heartbeat. I share much of your passion for this game and making it bigger, but I do find myself in a situation where I have more important obligations in life and can't put the time into my true passion as I wish I could.
I'm actually hosting a my first tournament this August and I'm doing several things to try to promote it. For one, we are sponsoring Axe. We are also providing money out of our own pockets for a bonus pot. We're running it at a local venue that has a lot of yugio/magic tournaments. We're doing flyers, signature ads, ect to get word out. I'm thinking in just two months notice I can get 100 people. We'll see.
KrazyKnux, first off I just want to point out one thing you're missing that was a major factor in making melee what it is today, and that's MLG. To have a huge company with money and resources sponsor your game is priceless. Not only did they get people to play, but they made it worth it with huge prizes, sponsorships, exposure, and genuinely awesome tournaments. I remember playing at MLG Vegas 2005 (the year it combined with evo). My doubles partner and I played against some 10 year old kid and his dad. I'd bet a lot of money there isn't going to be any parent/children teams at Genesis 2. The reason is because MLG is an organization with a business license and legal requirements. Parents trust these types of credentials. If Melee could some day be picked up by a game company like MLG or Evo, it could rise to the heights we all dream of. I'm telling you right now if I ever won the lottery or somehow came into a large sum of money I would start a business to make Melee into something we could only dream about, and I guarantee it would be profitable. And yeah I'd definitely hire you lol.
CrimsonBlue, your post is one of the best I've read in a very long time. You really do have a strong grasp on the business aspect and potential of the game and have some great ideas on making melee bigger. I would also hire you in a heartbeat. I share much of your passion for this game and making it bigger, but I do find myself in a situation where I have more important obligations in life and can't put the time into my true passion as I wish I could.
I'm actually hosting a my first tournament this August and I'm doing several things to try to promote it. For one, we are sponsoring Axe. We are also providing money out of our own pockets for a bonus pot. We're running it at a local venue that has a lot of yugio/magic tournaments. We're doing flyers, signature ads, ect to get word out. I'm thinking in just two months notice I can get 100 people. We'll see.
Massive
Smash Champion
Something I've seen in other fighting game communities that would be cool is a video database.
They have a lot of these for streetfighter, they can search by player name or character used.
It lets people watch matches between good players an pick up new tricks.
It's not really that hard to implement, and it'd likely be a really nice addition to what we already have.
They have a lot of these for streetfighter, they can search by player name or character used.
It lets people watch matches between good players an pick up new tricks.
It's not really that hard to implement, and it'd likely be a really nice addition to what we already have.