Respect for Competitive and Casuals

[pizzapie7]

And that's a lot of asterisks. Not to offend you, but people usually take what you say more seriously when you use potty language sparingly. It kinda loses it's novelty when overused.

not my fault smashboards censors a-hole haha
also i cannot like your posts hard enough

"This isn't Melee so it sucks" and "Why does this roster suck so much?" isn't what I'd call better.

They'll be better because they won't be filled with posts saying that we can't complain about anything because the game isn't out or finished yet.

 

[Deleted member 245254]

In response to the bolded text, get some help.

And, uh, I think that if you are getting aggressive with someone because they hurt your feelings over a forum, you need some serious help.

As someone who struggles with sometimes crippling mental illness, I can honestly say from past experience that taking things that people say about how you play a video game too seriously, is genuinely unhealthy.


Edit: You are boring me. I'm just gonna go sleep now.

Lol.

I'd like to see your psychology credentials before I let you decide how to handle mine and everyone else's actions.

Let me guess, 4 credits in a freshman or sophomore college class?

 

[DahremRuhar]

Lol.

I'd like to see your psychology credentials before I let you decide how to handle mine and everyone else's actions.

Let me guess, 4 credits in a freshman or sophomore college class?

Not quite, but it was certainly enough to completely derail this thread, amirite? I'm going to stop now, because this is going nowhere, and you are kinda just going ad hominim at this point in addition to other nonsense. Tl;dr of all of my posts in this thread. People get way too butthurt over internet posts, and you seem to be trying really hard to prove me right.

Good night, and I apologize mods.

 

[mario123007]

Do most people consider "competitive players" to refer to "players that attends tournaments" and "casual players" to mean "players who have no interest in attending tournaments"? Just wondering. I expect it's more complex than that for most people, but it'd be good to get an idea of what people see as being the one key difference between "competitive players" and "casual players".
As has been said, these two labels are not broad enough to cover all types of Smash players and this typically results in people getting offended for being bundled in with a group they don't really identify with. I have no interest in attending tournaments and am not good enough at Smash to do so even if I wanted to, but I almost exclusively play without items on neutral stages, I frequently watch tournaments of all Smash games and I keep up to date with a competitive Smash Bros forum. What would that make me?

That's what I had thought too, do you have to attend smash bros tournament to become a competitive player?

I will be reading through all the comments a bit later today and I'll do another write up. I'm glad to see many of your responses of how you feel.

Your welcome!

 

[Phantom High]

I think the "correct" way to label a Smash fan is either "competitive" or "yet to be competitive".

Think of it like this: we were all"casuals" once at one point. All we cared was having fun. Now after a few years, a "casual" will shelve a game (and considering it took some a few years to do it, that's pretty impressive). The ones who continued on playing start to understand the mechanics in this game.

As gamers, we want to find out how much we can push the game. I've seen FF6 challenges like go through the entire game low leveled, speed runs of say Super Mario, or even just going to play Hector Hard Mode on Fire Emblem. We want to be challenged...is just some people don't realize it yet.

only hate casual elitists because, IMO, they hold back some people who legitimately desires to improve and get better on the game they are passionate about.

I don't know that's NY two cents.

 

[Shuckle89]

I've never seen this around Smashboards. If you could point them out to us so we can see if what you're saying is indeed actually happening. If anything, you're talking about extremists and that also exists on your side of the pool, as well. I have however seen what you are referring to on Facebook and other media. A travesty. But maybe they also feel the opposing side is imposing the "Way to play Smash Bros is items off!" but that's a select bunch of people and doesn't encompass the whole group just as much as those people who say the way to play Smash is with items on. Again, it goes both ways.

Someone brought it up but really, if you're on Smashboards and are devoted so much into Smash, then you can't be a casual. You have the same passion just as a competitive player but maybe the way you view things aren't the same as the majority- who cares.

For the tier-list, personally it is irrelevant to me since I use characters I like. There is this misconception that the tier list defines the "best character" when really, from what I understand, it is based on who is being used the most and is winning most MUs. I don't know the exact details but its around that ballpark. And just because I don't know or care about how the tier list rolls doesn't make me any less competitive than anyone here. It is a good reference but that's about it.

But I think the sane people on both sides can agree to just enjoy the game the way you want. I don't really see much of this "Casual vs Competitive" and instead I see more of "Melee fans vs Brawl fans". I see people here are getting worked up the opposing side. Move past it.

Well, I've actually never seen such thing on smashboard, but i'm quite new here. However, I have seen this happening on gamefaqs.
I had already an account there, so I just wondered why it was that all the super smash wii U battles I could find on the internet were with 4 players and items and that I didn't quite understood why the usage of items in tourneys (with smashballs and stuff) because that doesn't really show the best player.

Well, a few people were nice enough to point out that it was to advertise. Because the most players are casuals who just like it for the chaos, they tried to reach a bigger crowd. So, I got my answer. However, along with a very select group of nice people, man, what a bashing. That I ruined the game if I turned off items and that I'd better remove my account, literally someone saying: All competitive players are assh**es and limit the game and the way it's being played and you need to play with items or you're not playing super smash. Stuff like that.

That's why I'm here now xD

 

[Eternal phoenix Fire]

Lol.

I'd like to see your psychology credentials before I let you decide how to handle mine and everyone else's actions.

Let me guess, 4 credits in a freshman or sophomore college class?

I would also love to see your degrees in political science and economics before you start talking politics.

I don't know what your deal is, but you need to cool your jets with this superior bravado you seem to believe you have. Calling out other peoples errors or making not-so-educated guesses do not indicate intelligence. It makes you look like a ****.

There is this common misconception in geek culture that has people believe that because of their hobby, they are intelligent, or atleast they think so; and then they confuse their game knowledge with their base knowledge (in some cases because it is all one would know). I know im not the smartest dude in the world, but at least I'm smart enough to know that criticizing a stranger on the basis that he/she is ignorant to a certain facet of information doesn't make that person any smarter or dumber, as intelligence is gauged through more things than what is inscribed through text.

As for the topic, are we using "casual" as a synonym for "lesser skilled" players? As no one here is really casual at all.

Secondly, as far as I can see, many of the people who decide to attack others are usually ill informed and refuse to learn or they are just angry, so I really don't care about what they do or whether or not I should respect them, because I can just passive-aggressively support my "I don't give a flying ****" clause, and continue to not respond to the ignorance. However, I do have friends who play competitively and friends who play it like default smash. I do know this, though:

No one from either side likes having their opinions intruded on, especially if it's a long winded hate spell that has no effect on the way you choose to play the game. Period.

There is a time and place for everything, so as long as each players keeps their opinions to their selves and respected peers everyone should be copasthetic, no?

 

[Shuckle89]

Anyway, I think that this thread can be closed. Most people here said what needed to be said. I think that this thread might eventually become exactly the opposite of what was intended and I think the poster of this thread made his point. If we can all try to respect each other instead of bashing even if we don't agree with each other, then we might make this board (and the world) a better place. I'm done ^^

Page one

 

[Capt. Butt Stallion]

I consider myself a mostly "casual" player because I think Smash is way funnier if you exploit everything it has, meaning all stages, all characters and all items. That said, Smash is a very customizable game. You can play the way you want to play and it's an option included in the game. I don't see why either side should attack or provoke each other just because they play the game differently.

If I have more fun using all items, why shouldn't someone who dislikes items be able to have fun by disabling them?

I've never understood the issue, really.

 

[Tagxy]

I can't wait for this game to come out, so y'all will have better **** to talk about.

lol sm4sh competitive discussions in a nutshell.

As for the Brawl vs. Melee thing, Brawl is a decent game casually, but unfortunately doesn't really support a healthy competitive metagame.

I can honestly say that I'm one of the most senior members of the community in my area, despite rarely attending tournaments.

The fact of the matter is, that Brawl has a low skill ceiling as compared to Melee, it has no hope for being a spectator (e)sport, and many character match-ups are nothing more than waiting games at a high level. Most high level games have far less player-player interaction than you would see in Melee as well.

I do like Brawl, to an extent, but the fact of the matter is that it's going to die when Smash 4 comes out. Plain and simple. There is very little that can realistically be done to extend its competitive lifetime, and there is really no reason to do so anyway.

These statements are actually incorrect. There's no argument that supports this, and unfortunately misinformation of the metagame for Brawl and other games from repeated statements or judgments on competitive viability cause incorrect knowledge to spread. Now if you do have a way to support your statements then by all means do so.

I can't say I disagree with what you said above Brawl. There are certain aspects of the game that makes it... complicated for competitive play. Still, it is a fun game and IMO much better than Melee. Why do people have such a hard time accepting that? I mean, I know Melee and PM are better for competitive purposes and I am fairly sure most Brawl fans/players know that as well, but that doesn't mean we should stop playing and enjoying Brawl.

Well, I would say dont necessarily believe everything you hear. Some people may not have enjoyed Brawl, but it has a very deep metagame. Deeper than PM forsure, though likely more frustrating imo.

 

[INs4niTY-]

Everyone's getting emotional again LOL. There's always going to be trolls on both perspectives, why let it get to you? Everyone's commenting on both extreme's of people which doesn't really make sense. Most people don't really care how someone else plays, it doesn't effect them anyway so why should they.

 

[Renji64]

Alright, let me give you a bit of my perspective on the Brawl vs. Melee debate. I'll edit this post a few times to add more, because it's gonna be a looooong one. Probably the wrong place to do this, but w/e.

First of all, I played Brawl competitively from Late 2009 to Mid 2013. I can honestly say that I'm one of the most senior members of the community in my area, despite rarely attending tournaments.

The fact of the matter is, that Brawl has a low skill ceiling as compared to Melee, it has no hope for being a spectator (e)sport, and many character match-ups are nothing more than waiting games at a high level. Most high level games have far less player-player interaction than you would see in Melee as well.

I do like Brawl, to an extent, but the fact of the matter is that it's going to die when Smash 4 comes out. Plain and simple. There is very little that can realistically be done to extend its competitive lifetime, and there is really no reason to do so anyway.

This is all true i just hope smash 4 doesn't end up like this.

 

[ShrekItRalph]

I think the "correct" way to label a Smash fan is either "competitive" or "yet to be competitive".

See I disagree, I've played a lot of Smash since Melee and I know how to play reasonably well, yet bu the labels that the Smash community gives I would be a casual because I prefer to play with items in free for all matches on horribly unbalanced stages.

I don't know why we need to have this rift in the smash community. We have the option to turn items on and off, or the choice to use what ever stages we want to play on. I think we would be better of if we got rid of such forced labels such as "Casuals" and just have "Smashers". Because when we get down to it, we are all here because of our love for this game, so what reasons do we have too fight? (other then in game, obviously).

 

[<π]

I'm surprized I didn't find this thread earlier... I actually made a video about this on my channel three or four weeks ago. I'll shamelessly link to it here

Basically I believe the concept of casual has changed over the years. A casual player is not defined by what the decide to do but HOW they decide to do it. The same applies for competitive players.

Casual:
1. without definite or serious intention; careless or offhand; passing:
a casual remark.
2. seeming or tending to be indifferent to what is happening; apathetic;unconcerned:
a casual, nonchalant air.

Competitive
1. of, pertaining to, involving, or decided by competition :
competitive sports; a competitive examination.
2. well suited for competition; having a feature that makes for successful competition :
a competitive price.
3. having a strong desire to compete or to succeed.

I find that most people play this game casually. Even players who may THINK they are competitive aren't competitive simply because of the nature of HOW they play.

Playing with no items does not make you a competitive player. By definition you have to be competition, you have to be out there on the grind working to be the best, for most that equates to hosting and attending fests. Traveling to events. Reading up on the game, surrounding yourself with people who want to improve.

But on flip side casual doesn't mean playing with items. For a long time the west coast played the game with items on. And for longer than that (WAY LONGER) stage hazards and all kinds of random "not competitive" stuff was legal. Players still learned the items, the stages, and the match ups. They still dove into the game with the passion fueled goal of coming out the other end the best!

During my prime I was considered by most to be the BEST brawl sheik, and back when I played melee I was considered by many to be a top level Samus (lol no results, but PC chris though) But I fought like HELL to get items on for competitive play in brawl. I worked my butt off to see as many stages as possible stay tournament legal. So what camp do I fall in?

A competitive player isn't defined by what they play but their mindset while playing it. And if the competitive community ever wants to grow it MUST turn casual players into competitive ones (the community won't grow if you are sitting at home with items turned off. Events get bigger when people attend them) instead of shunning them away for doing it wrong.

It makes me very upset when people shun away other people who play the game because they "aren't playing it correctly". One of the greatest accomplishments on sakurai's end with smash is that there is no one way to do this. No one way to enjoy yourself. Embrace that, enjoy it.

 

[The Slayer]

Gonna be honest here. I haven't noticed any real hate from either sides, mostly assumptions of hate from both parties. I get the impression each side thinks there's some sort of crusade out for them when in actuality no one really cares that much except for a select few peeps generating the negativity. I'm probably wrong though. Personally I like both sides. If you love smash as much as I do then you're awesome.

It's really more like competitive users and midcore users with (as in bold) some users arguing for the sake of increasing their post count. It's usually those people that really don't care about this game nor respect either side (not going to list name, but "ignoring" said people is a hint though).

 

[DahremRuhar]

It's really more like competitive users and midcore users with (as in bold) some users arguing for the sake of increasing their post count. It's usually those people that really don't care about this game nor respect either side (not going to list name, but "ignoring" said people is a hint though).

ME! ME! IT'S ME RIGHT?
But srsly, I don't care too much about my post count. And I really do love this game.

I really did go overboard this time tho.

I think laces really hit the nail on the head. A lot of the "hate" between these people is assumed. It's almost upsetting, because I think this perceived negativity might discourage people from playing competitively and competitive players might become reluctant to play with casuals, just because of the "negativity". Honestly, the last thing this community needs is another schism.

 

[Phantom High]

See I disagree, I've played a lot of Smash since Melee and I know how to play reasonably well, yet bu the labels that the Smash community gives I would be a casual because I prefer to play with items in free for all matches on horribly unbalanced stages.

I don't know why we need to have this rift in the smash community. We have the option to turn items on and off, or the choice to use what ever stages we want to play on. I think we would be better of if we got rid of such forced labels such as "Casuals" and just have "Smashers". Because when we get down to it, we are all here because of our love for this game, so what reasons do we have too fight? (other then in game, obviously).

Indeed you're right.
I mean we're all good people and both sides tried to understand one another.
It's that elitists from both sides (only seen casual elitist mostly, but I have seen a competitive elitist) make such a hurricane.

 

[κomıc]

Well, I've actually never seen such thing on smashboard, but i'm quite new here. However, I have seen this happening on gamefaqs.
I had already an account there, so I just wondered why it was that all the super smash wii U battles I could find on the internet were with 4 players and items and that I didn't quite understood why the usage of items in tourneys (with smashballs and stuff) because that doesn't really show the best player.

Well, a few people were nice enough to point out that it was to advertise. Because the most players are casuals who just like it for the chaos, they tried to reach a bigger crowd. So, I got my answer. However, along with a very select group of nice people, man, what a bashing. That I ruined the game if I turned off items and that I'd better remove my account, literally someone saying: All competitive players are assh**es and limit the game and the way it's being played and you need to play with items or you're not playing super smash. Stuff like that.

That's why I'm here now xD

I see what yo mean and like I've said, I have seen it in other media. I guess we can call both sides "Competitive Elitists" and "Casual Crusaders". Both are extremists. And those who probably sit in the middle are called "Independents", which I think is in tune with what I think and how I enjoy Smash Bros.

I do compete. I hold my own in tournaments (first one I went to last year I was ranked 9 with 2-3 others out of about 30; with a busted GCN controller mind you that decided to break that day). I love Free For Alls. I love Assist Trophies. I love the music. I love the characters. I enjoy collecting trophies and reading the descriptions. Hell, I even like learning about characters I probably never heard of or familiarize myself with.

It really got me thinking that maybe part of the reason why Sakurai is enforcing certain stages having FD-styles because his team is putting SO much effort into the game that a lot of people on one side are really missing out on the "music" which is what he was trying to drive home. And I agree- I was getting tired of listening to the same "Final Destination" theme or Battlefield because those stages were mostly chosen (thank Lady Palutena for Custom tracks!). I also like how some characters are making cameos in stages such as Kamek, Nabbit, Pokemon, presumably Dark Pit and others. It really brings things to life and is really catering to Nintendo diehards such as myself that love the extra detail and serve. Personally, Smash Bros is a fanservice first and foremost and a competitive game DEAD last in my view. But I don't enforce that idea unto others because it is my way of thinking and I wouldn't appreciate if someone tried to skew me into one view. I'm happy with my thought process and coincidentally, it is in line with what Sakurai wants it to be perceived. I don't really care if people don't see my view or agree with me. It isn't their problem as it shouldn't be. Just like how I percieve Melee to be clunky and unpolished compared to Brawl- I'm not looking at it from a competitive point of view or even casual point. I'm looking at it in retrospect, compared to other launch games of that time. I love all Smash Bros games for what they are and I as others, have a preference. Oh well.

I acknowledge flaws in all my favorite games and yeah, I did enjoy a game like NSMB2 or Paper Mario Sticker Star, but I'm going in on what was wrong with them. Same thing goes for Kirby games, my favorite series of all time- I'm going to rightfully criticize it and call things out for what they are. And the same goes for Brawl.

This is why I'm thinking this is more of a Melee vs Brawl. But it is clear it isn't and it is more than that.

It is sad the that the most vocal and most aggressive are the extremists who try to impose their views onto others as a one way track. Debates and disagreements are fine, but this is a forum. Not a dictatorship. And I'm disappointed that some even here, are one sided on the issue blaming Casuals for things or blaming competitive. Both sides on the extreme are wrong. They need to move past it.

 

[JV5Chris]

Give it time. The more Nintendo sponsors and holds community run tournaments, the further interests will overlap. Assuming this keeps up, the lines will continue to blur and the next wave of players will have a much better outlook.

 

[DoubleDeeEddBoy]

I see what yo mean and like I've said, I have seen it in other media. I guess we can call both sides "Competitive Elitists" and "Casual Crusaders". Both are extremists. And those who probably sit in the middle are called "Independents", which I think is in tune with what I think and how I enjoy Smash Bros.

I do compete. I hold my own in tournaments (first one I went to last year I was ranked 9 with 2-3 others out of about 30; with a busted GCN controller mind you that decided to break that day). I love Free For Alls. I love Assist Trophies. I love the music. I love the characters. I enjoy collecting trophies and reading the descriptions. Hell, I even like learning about characters I probably never heard of or familiarize myself with.

It really got me thinking that maybe part of the reason why Sakurai is enforcing certain stages having FD-styles because his team is putting SO much effort into the game that a lot of people on one side are really missing out on the "music" which is what he was trying to drive home. And I agree- I was getting tired of listening to the same "Final Destination" theme or Battlefield because those stages were mostly chosen (thank Lady Palutena for Custom tracks!). I also like how some characters are making cameos in stages such as Kamek, Nabbit, Pokemon, presumably Dark Pit and others. It really brings things to life and is really catering to Nintendo diehards such as myself that love the extra detail and serve. Personally, Smash Bros is a fanservice first and foremost and a competitive game DEAD last in my view. But I don't enforce that idea unto others because it is my way of thinking and I wouldn't appreciate if someone tried to skew me into one view. I'm happy with my thought process and coincidentally, it is in line with what Sakurai wants it to be perceived. I don't really care if people don't see my view or agree with me. It isn't their problem as it shouldn't be. Just like how I percieve Melee to be clunky and unpolished compared to Brawl- I'm not looking at it from a competitive point of view or even casual point. I'm looking at it in retrospect, compared to other launch games of that time. I love all Smash Bros games for what they are and I as others, have a preference. Oh well.

I acknowledge flaws in all my favorite games and yeah, I did enjoy a game like NSMB2 or Paper Mario Sticker Star, but I'm going in on what was wrong with them. Same thing goes for Kirby games, my favorite series of all time- I'm going to rightfully criticize it and call things out for what they are. And the same goes for Brawl.

This is why I'm thinking this is more of a Melee vs Brawl. But it is clear it isn't and it is more than that.

It is sad the that the most vocal and most aggressive are the extremists who try to impose their views onto others as a one way track. Debates and disagreements are fine, but this is a forum. Not a dictatorship. And I'm disappointed that some even here, are one sided on the issue blaming Casuals for things or blaming competitive. Both sides on the extreme are wrong. They need to move past it.

I'm with you there. Smash is about the fanservice and fun, and that's what it's really about. The competitive community is, IMO, a nice bonus to all that. That's why I'm happy that there are FD versions of most stages. Some songs get me more pumped than the FD theme.

That said, I do tend to go into competitive if I wanted to, even though I know I suck competitively. If an advanced technique exists, chances are, I'll use it or die trying, even though I know it won't help me if I use it willy nilly (and I say this because I can't wavedash nor l-cancel to save my life).

Though one user on Youtube really irked me saying that characters like Wii Fit Trainer and Villager are unfit for competitive play because they look like joke characters that people will only use on For Fun (even though it's been now proven that the two function well)

 

[Johnknight1]

If you want respect from both sides, you gotta punish people who insult either sides.

Sadly, that doesn't happen very often on this site thanks to staff policies, and most people only get warnings.

And they keep getting warnings with more and more offenses, with minimal things done about it.

We have almost all the same Smash 4 anti-competitive trolls left around without permanent infractions in 2014 that we had in 2012.

I think it's a major problem in the Smash 4 boards, and a major reason why many top players will probably never post here. Heck, it's why a lot of the Brawl players stick to other means (the trolling on those Brawl boards can get stupid).

===

Then again, I could go into all kind of forum politicking, like Mango telling the Midwest to stop making Johns about not winning and then being mad at him. Meanwhile, at the same time, Unknown can do all kinds of illegal and unethical financial things openly and troll the heck of out people, yet he went unpunished because he ran the Melee Back Room (into the ground after the full scale of what a jerk he was got exposed).

All this makes you not wonder why most top smashers now avoid this site.

 

[Shiliski]

I really have no interest in speaking to people who snap at me for something so stupid.

This. Regardless of side, this is how I feel about a lot of arguments. If people want to pretend that they're "better" because of having a shorter temper, well...



Anyways, moving onto the topic...

I think we're all ignoring the real culprit here. We're blaming the actions of a few jerks on people like Zero and M2K who, in my limited online interactions with them, seem like pretty cool people. We're putting the blame of a few johning crybabies on the vast majority of people who will buy and fund the game just because it has their favorite characters. Really, as much as it seems like casuals and competitives hate each other, it's really much more likely that both groups hate the same kind of person: Scrubs.

Think about it. Scrubs will whine about "how the game is meant to be played" and call you "cheap" for using "dishonorable" tactics like edgehogging. Scrubs will talk down to a "casual" player because the scrub needs to feel superior to everyone else. Scrubs are the ones who will call their own team-mates "noobs" and "feeders" when the scrubs themselves are throwing the game with their own scrub "tactics". Scrubs are the ones who will Scrubs are the ones who hate you for being different or, even worse, being better.

Thing about scrubs is... they don't admit that they're scrubs. The category "scrub" is really kindof a subset of the categories of "jerk" and "idiot". Most people wont admit to being jerks, and almost no one will admit to being an idiot, so what does the scrub call itself? Well, the scrub picks an acceptable label that they like more, which in this context is usually "Casual" or "Competitive". So scrubs assume a label that really doesn't belong to them, and make a bad name for everyone under that label, and as a result two completely unrelated parties start mistrusting or disliking each other for no real reason.

 

[STiCKYBULL3TZ]

Seems like most people in this thread are all for the respect between casual players and competitive players. But why does the disrespect seem so rampant in Smashboards in general?

The line between casual and competitive is blurred really. I see casual players as those who play just for the fun of it. They may or may not use items. They may or may not play on a tournament legal stage. They may or may not practice to be better. Just enjoying Smash the way any game is supposed to be enjoyed. Casual players may even join a tournament or two just for the heck of it to see how they stack up.

Competitive players I see as those who are actively trying to improve through research and hard work. They take the game seriously and when they compete they have every intention of trying to win. But here's the overlap: competitive players are also enjoying the game. They are also playing the game for fun. Their way of approaching Smash is just different from a casual player but both are essentially doing the same thing. I bet most competitive players will start Smash 4 with items and FFA before questing to be the best

We should be able to respect each other just because we both have love for the franchise. We're both supporting the same thing. This dispute can be compared to a lot of things but I'll use this one: This is like professional and college football players hating on those who play in their backyards, or play flag football, and vice versa. We were all casual at one point.

Side question: Is the lack of respect mostly casual against competitive, competitive against casual, or is it about even?

tl;dr Just be cool people. We all love Smash Bros. and that's what really matters.

 

[Shuckle89]

Seems like most people in this thread are all for the respect between casual players and competitive players. But why does the disrespect seem so rampant in Smashboards in general?

The line between casual and competitive is blurred really. I see casual players as those who play just for the fun of it. They may or may not use items. They may or may not play on a tournament legal stage. They may or may not practice to be better. Just enjoying Smash the way any game is supposed to be enjoyed. Casual players may even join a tournament or two just for the heck of it to see how they stack up.

Competitive players I see as those who are actively trying to improve through research and hard work. They take the game seriously and when they compete they have every intention of trying to win. But here's the overlap: competitive players are also enjoying the game. They are also playing the game for fun. Their way of approaching Smash is just different from a casual player but both are essentially doing the same thing. I bet most competitive players will start Smash 4 with items and FFA before questing to be the best

We should be able to respect each other just because we both have love for the franchise. We're both supporting the same thing. This dispute can be compared to a lot of things but I'll use this one: This is like professional and college football players hating on those who play in their backyards, or play flag football, and vice versa. We were all casual at one point.

Side question: Is the lack of respect mostly casual against competitive, competitive against casual, or is it about even?

tl;dr Just be cool people. We all love Smash Bros. and that's what really matters.

I think you have a very good idea of what's going on here. You really got it. The only problem here is that this thread is filled with.. lots of text that it gets lost. It would be nice if your text somehow sticks out cuz mine got all lost.

You're right that competive players and casuals are very alike. However, the way you use those two words (the correct usage) isn't used well. Casuals are sometimes decribed as: people that don't care about winning, people that turn on items and people that don't go to tourneys. But casuals are much more than that. It's not that they turn on items, it's that they don't care. They just don't get hung up on turning everything off. People that claim that the game can only be played with items and if you don't, you ruin the game, are not casuals. They are the opposite of it, really. I don't know a fitting word for that, as I don't think casual elitist would even fit them well, since, you know, casuals aren't supposed to care.

Competitive is a little easier to define, but then again, there are all sorts of people in between.

Like I've said in the first few posts: it's about respecting each other and their opinions. You don't have to respect them, but when you get offensive because someone doesn't agree with you, then you're the negative someone this thread was meant to... well, stop.

 

[Ryuutakeshi]

Personally, I'd just be happy if people stopped referring to us as filthy casuals and thinking we're the cause of their game being "ruined"

Yes, I know that the VAST majority of you don't fit that description, but I keep seeing it here and there and it gets annoying.

Seriously, I know it only applies to a small majority.

 

[Shuckle89]

Personally, I'd just be happy if people stopped referring to us as filthy casuals and thinking we're the cause of their game being "ruined"

Yes, I know that the VAST majority of you don't fit that description, but I keep seeing it here and there and it gets annoying.

Seriously, I know it only applies to a small majority.

Well, like I've been trying to point out, both sides are pretty much identical. I've seen the same thing about competitive players. 'casuals' (not really casuals. More the opposite of it, really) calling competitive players 'a-holes that are the cause of the game being ruined'. As long as you try to remember it's only a small group of people, I guess we'll be fine.

edit: I think every person in this board is biased. If you belong to the 'competitive' players you'll notice all the 'casuals' bashing on the 'competitive' players and if you belong to the 'casuals' the other way around. You don't really notice the other side. But, just because you don't see it much, does not mean it's not there.

 

[Deleted member 245254]

I honestly don't even separate people in to "casual" or "competitive" categories. At all. I only address "competitives" as a whole out of jest because said target has usually addressed casuals as a whole. I would not the consider my approach of Smash to be casual at all if I was force to categorize myself.

I judge people completely individual of who they are and what they think, and if what they think ruins counter intuitive to the success of Smash 4 for no other reason than the fact they'd like to validate their "concerns" and "criticism" by watching it crash and burn, I will go tough on those people, and it's really telling of their person when they all of the sudden turn the victim when a "casual" player gets up in their face on an issue.

The truth of the matter is I like playing in a no items, 3-4 stock, tournament-mimic way in even my free time to practice for tournaments and smash gatherings and I'm wholly interested in improving in the competitive sense, but I absolutely cannot stand people who cannot think or use their brains before hitting the keys.

 

[#HBC | Red Ryu]

I'm just gonna click this lock button right here since I don't foresee good things coming from this.