Smash Rundown for Spectators

[Kankato]

I recently watched a poker tourney on television & I noticed how accessible they made the game to an outsider. They opened with a simple explanation of the rules, showed every player's likelihood of winning with their hand, how much money was on the line, and took time for players to share anecdotes & tips with the audience.

I think Smash Tournaments would benefit from such developments. Imagine if every major tourney block (I.e. Top 8) started with a rundown of Smash's basic rules in 2-3 minutes. We could show the game to someone who knows nothing about PM & they could still follow along. Smash's basic concepts are very easy to grasp, so it wouldn't be difficult. If we have an approachable game for outsiders to enter we would see higher viewership, higher turnouts. We would also present ourselves more professionally & legitimize the game to unfamiliar demographics.

What do you guys think?

 

[Comeback Kid]

Street Fighter has something like that on stream with tips and tricks.

I would say the basic concepts of Smash aren't hard to grasp at all, it's all the advanced stuff people are using to run around the stage at 100 miles per hour that is hard to process for new people.

 

[Kaeldiar]

You're sounding a lot like Daniel Floyd of Extra Credits...if you don't know what I'm talking about, you can watch his video on Esports, which also explains why Poker was able to flourish as a "sport" on ESPN. He talks about this rule breakdown just like you are here.

I think that a quick explanation could be quite helpful. Wife has always been one of my favorite commentators, and he always tries to make the game accessible to the newer players. He doesn't talk about Shine Turnaround Bairs, but he'll talk about the simpler stuff that is easier to follow. Proper spacing, waiting for the right moment for an edgeguard, etc.

It wouldn't be too bad to follow Poker's template with a few infographics and a short explanation to help the new players along. ESPECIALLY at big multi-game tournaments. During deadtime for Smash at Evo, I found myself watching BlazBlue and I was excited about what was going on, but I had trouble following it...I would most certainly support the idea!
EDIT: Smash has a LOT of advanced techniques, so we don't have to explain EVERYTHING, but we could start with the essentials, slowly get more in-depth, and stop when it gets tedious.

 

[Kankato]

You're sounding a lot like Daniel Floyd of Extra Credits...if you don't know what I'm talking about, you can watch his video on Esports, which also explains why Poker was able to flourish as a "sport" on ESPN. He talks about this rule breakdown just like you are here.

You have a good eye. He's a bit of an inspiration for me :D I thought I would try to implement his ideas somewhere.

As for what to explain, how about:
* The goal of Smash (knock your opponent off the screen four times in eight minutes).
* How Percents work.
* How sets are structured & stage striking works.
* Attacks (7 ground attacks, 5 aerials, a grab, 4 throws & 4 specials, one of which is used for recovery.)
* Movement (Walk, Run, Jump, Double Jump, Air Dodge, Wavedash, Dash Dance)
* Shields (How they restrict movement to Grabs, Jumps, Rolls, Spot Dodges & Wavedashes)
* Combo Weight (fast fallers, floaties & in between)
* Edgeguarding (opponents offstage need to return while their opponents try to stop them. Recovery & Edgeguarding change character to character).

Then have Wife as a commentator & BAM! Beginner friendly tourney.

EDIT: Added Edgeguarding.

 

[A6stringthing (A6ST)]

I recently watched a poker tourney on television & I noticed how accessible they made the game to an outsider. They opened with a simple explanation of the rules, showed every player's likelihood of winning with their hand, how much money was on the line, and took time for players to share anecdotes & tips with the audience.

I think Smash Tournaments would benefit from such developments. Imagine if every major tourney block (I.e. Top 8) started with a rundown of Smash's basic rules in 2-3 minutes. We could show the game to someone who knows nothing about PM & they could still follow along. Smash's basic concepts are very easy to grasp, so it wouldn't be difficult. If we have an approachable game for outsiders to enter we would see higher viewership, higher turnouts. We would also present ourselves more professionally & legitimize the game to unfamiliar demographics.

What do you guys think?

Why isn't this a thing yet??? That's what I really wanna know!

 

[Mean Green]

I recently watched a poker tourney on television & I noticed how accessible they made the game to an outsider. They opened with a simple explanation of the rules, showed every player's likelihood of winning with their hand, how much money was on the line, and took time for players to share anecdotes & tips with the audience.

I think Smash Tournaments would benefit from such developments. Imagine if every major tourney block (I.e. Top 8) started with a rundown of Smash's basic rules in 2-3 minutes. We could show the game to someone who knows nothing about PM & they could still follow along. Smash's basic concepts are very easy to grasp, so it wouldn't be difficult. If we have an approachable game for outsiders to enter we would see higher viewership, higher turnouts. We would also present ourselves more professionally & legitimize the game to unfamiliar demographics.

What do you guys think?

I tell you what man I think it's a dang ol good idea man you know

 

[xXSciophobiaXx]

I feel quite strongly that this would be a good idea, as you said, to recap for the newer audience members. I assume that a simple 3 minute summary hitting the major points for smash would be helpful.

It might also be very simple to do it as a "script" of sorts with a overlay-screen that can be put up between matches, sort of like how the advertising is done on some streams.

I imagine the two commentators in an alternating discussing of the major points, (see kankato's second post) for 10sec per point. This would be done with the overlay screen put up. If it fits the timing well between games, I think it would be worth it.