The Future of the Smash Community

[Lozjam]

Now, with Smash 4 being released, more and more people are going to show up here. So what are we going to do to make this community bigger and better, and have more people join us? How will we make them feel welcome, and show them the ropes of competitive play while still providing interests for them. This community is one of the best videogame communities I know, the community as a whole is really nice and is not a place of constant flame wars thanks to our lovely moderators. So I would really love to see it grow and thrive, so how can we accomplish that?
Edit: I do not want Melee vs. Brawl discussions or any flame wars in this thread. I merely want positive input on how we can make this community better and how this community can attract more people.

 

[Pyra]

Man, every time there's a thread like this, at least two very loudly opinioned people on both sides of any argument spectrum come around and piss at each other and call it a "discussion" and ultimately get the thread locked.

The sentiment is nice though.

 

[Substitution]

I wonder how long this will last till Doomsday...

 

[BogartSmash]

Keep doing what you're doing. I just got here and I feel welcomed. This is probably one of the best community's out there.

 

[Lozjam]

Keep doing what you're doing. I just got here and I feel welcomed. This is probably one of the best community's out there.

Welcome to Smash World Forums my friend.

Man, every time there's a thread like this, at least two very loudly opinioned people on both sides of any argument spectrum come around and piss at each other and call it a "discussion" and ultimately get the thread locked.

The sentiment is nice though.

I am going to edit the OP and maybe contact some moderators, I do not want such discussions to take place and instead talk about expanding our community.

 

[Pyra]

I will say, however, that (besides a few outliers) this is probably one of the most tame Smash communities I've ever seen.
Everyone (mostly) is friendly with each other.

 

[Souless_shadow]

Keep doing what you're doing. I just got here and I feel welcomed. This is probably one of the best community's out there.

Welcome,glad to have you here!

 

[Dr. James Rustles]

I recommend everyone that is interested in growing the community to stick to their sphere of influence. Join your regional Facebook page and participate in the regional forums. Place fliers around college campuses that advertise Smash community portals and encourage younger players to form FGC clubs. Be patient. It may take at least a few months for most people to adjust to having a regular Smash Bros. event in their schedule. If you find enough interest, plan sufficiently in advance (at least 1-2 weeks for small groups and at least 1-2 months for 10 people and up).

If you scrape up a formal tournament and it's mostly new competitive players, graduate people into the standard ruleset. Things like counterpicking and Dave's Stupid Rule are deceptively simple in execution but the process can be confusing, time consuming, seem convoluted, and also a lot to learn at once just to play the game. Spend some time talking about it, give them something to study a week in advance, or use a simplified ruleset for your first event.

 

[Hokori]

I recommend everyone that is interested in growing the community to stick to their sphere of influence. Join your regional Facebook page and participate in the regional forums. Place fliers around college campuses that advertise Smash community portals and encourage younger players to form FGC clubs. Be patient. It may take at least a few months for most people to adjust to having a regular Smash Bros. event in their schedule. If you find enough interest, plan sufficiently in advance (at least 1-2 weeks for small groups and at least 1-2 months for 10 people and up).

If you scrape up a formal tournament and it's mostly new competitive players, graduate people into the standard ruleset. Things like counterpicking and Dave's Stupid Rule are deceptively simple in execution but the process can be confusing, time consuming, seem convoluted, and also a lot to learn at once just to play the game. Spend some time talking about it, give them something to study a week in advance, or use a simplified ruleset for your first event.

This. Going to have to start small (locally) because major changes won't happen overnight. I know a lot of Smashers claim to have no scene in their areas, but sometimes you just have to be that guy to start it yourself rather than wait around for someone else to do it (there are bound to be some players, as for others, it'll take a bit of warming them into Smash...it's work, but if you really care, you'll try to make something happen) - in the grand scheme of things, we wouldn't get too far if too many people were unwilling to take any form of action.

There are a lot of people that are coming into the community due to Smash 4 hype and there are also still people coming in due to the Documentary. Then there's a smaller percentage of newcomers that arrive due to recommendations, looking for others to play, etc and doing more within our respective areas will add up to make the entire Smash community bigger and better. We'll continue to grow if we start going about things as @ Dr. James Rustles suggested.

Crawl > Walk > Run > Soar...Baby steps will continue to take us a long way.

As far as making new people feel welcome on Smashboards, that's much easier. Take some time out some days and check on the Welcome Center to see who's around. I try to respond to everyone with a warm welcome, and sometimes just have a brief conversation with them, usually based upon their introduction. It's small, but I do think there are some out there that genuinely appreciate it.

There's a lot that we can do and there's a lot that we should continue to do. That's how I feel about things anyway.

 

[The Real Gamer]

I do not Melee vs. Brawl discussions or any flame wars in this thread. I merely want positive input on how we can make this community better and how this community can attract more people.

You heard it here first, folks. We've already have to lock 2 threads this week that were similar to this one thanks to a vocal minority, and we'd prefer to not have to lock a 3rd.

Anyone who instigates more Melee/Brawl/Smash4 flame wars in here will be infracted on the spot. If someone's trying to start something simply hit the "report" button instead of responding to them, and we'll take care of the rest.

 

[BogartSmash]

@ Dr. James Rustles and @ Hokori There's close to nothing in my area. I'm thinking about making a visit to a couple of the card community's and seeing if they would be interested into getting a community of smash together.
Do you happen to know if there is a thread for smashers in Arkansas?

 

[Hokori]

@ Dr. James Rustles and @ Hokori There's close to nothing in my area. I'm thinking about making a visit to a couple of the card community's and seeing if they would be interested into getting a community of smash together.
Do you happen to know if there is a thread for smashers in Arkansas?

Sure. Here's the thread for the Arkansas Smasher's Chat. Hope everything works out for you

 

[BogartSmash]

Sweet thanks man!

 

[Boss N]

I think instead of trying to reach out to other competitive players, in order to get exponential growth we need to start reaching out to casual players more. With Sm4sh being this seemingly perfect balance of competitive/casual play, and the possibility of nintendo doing more tournaments is really going to increase their curiosity, so we should make adjustments to make them feel more welcomed and inclined to at least follow the scene.

I MIGHT get flamed for this but I'm suggesting that we make adjustments, not be so hostile towards the possibility of items in tournaments again (at least on low and the REALLY broken ones like Starmen be turned off completely) and allow the more colorful stages. (imo utilizing stage hazards is a skill in itself but that's another thread discussion for another day) We really need to play up Smash not only as a fun game but as a spectacle sport, especially Sm4sh being the biggest spectacle out of any other competitive game right now.

Perhaps have tournaments that specialize in these conditions, and have the biggest events use the format we have now, that way newer players have a smoother transition and even if they still don't like those conditions they can still stay relevant in the scene and not have to give up the game they love so much.

 

[Jedisupersonic]

Only thing I have to do at job corps currently is play against the other students who play. I organize small tournaments and such in all the smash games.. but I'd like truer competitive play, darn job corps is so restrictive for that though.

That's why I'm pushing to throw myself into the fire at apex.

But to the topic at hand this place is very chill, arguments do happen but arguments happen all over but I'll at least try to be accommodating, because I love smash in its entirety and what it represents and how much freedom in how we can play :D

 

[TheDMonroeShow]

I think instead of trying to reach out to other competitive players, in order to get exponential growth we need to start reaching out to casual players more. With Sm4sh being this seemingly perfect balance of competitive/casual play, and the possibility of nintendo doing more tournaments is really going to increase their curiosity, so we should make adjustments to make them feel more welcomed and inclined to at least follow the scene.

I MIGHT get flamed for this but I'm suggesting that we make adjustments, not be so hostile towards the possibility of items in tournaments again (at least on low and the REALLY broken ones like Starmen be turned off completely) and allow the more colorful stages. (imo utilizing stage hazards is a skill in itself but that's another thread discussion for another day) We really need to play up Smash not only as a fun game but as a spectacle sport, especially Sm4sh being the biggest spectacle out of any other competitive game right now.

Perhaps have tournaments that specialize in these conditions, and have the biggest events use the format we have now, that way newer players have a smoother transition and even if they still don't like those conditions they can still stay relevant in the scene and not have to give up the game they love so much.

I hate to be that guy but I tried watching the invitational and watching competitive smash with items on is terrible boring..and almost frustrating. Like I LOVE items for casual but trying to throw items into the mix for competitive play..just is some weird mash up that is unenjoyable to watch and I imagine frustrating for some one competing

It's already super frustrating to watch a better player lose because of a mess up but at least when that happens it's their fault they deserve the punish and they learn from it..but just imagine with items. I mean you heard boos at the finals when zero camped to go into sd and that stadium was filled with casual smashers! Putting items on will create the same kind of scenario, they just plain aren't fair and that's not food for a competitive environment..it becomes luck based and who wants to get good just to leave it to luck?

Again I hate to be that guy but I would probably stop watching competitive smash if something like this happens and I say this as a casual player who loves to watch from the side lines

 

[Hokori]

I think instead of trying to reach out to other competitive players, in order to get exponential growth we need to start reaching out to casual players more. With Sm4sh being this seemingly perfect balance of competitive/casual play, and the possibility of nintendo doing more tournaments is really going to increase their curiosity, so we should make adjustments to make them feel more welcomed and inclined to at least follow the scene.

I MIGHT get flamed for this but I'm suggesting that we make adjustments, not be so hostile towards the possibility of items in tournaments again (at least on low and the REALLY broken ones like Starmen be turned off completely) and allow the more colorful stages. (imo utilizing stage hazards is a skill in itself but that's another thread discussion for another day) We really need to play up Smash not only as a fun game but as a spectacle sport, especially Sm4sh being the biggest spectacle out of any other competitive game right now.

Perhaps have tournaments that specialize in these conditions, and have the biggest events use the format we have now, that way newer players have a smoother transition and even if they still don't like those conditions they can still stay relevant in the scene and not have to give up the game they love so much.

Nah, no flaming will take place here. Good vibes, good vibes

But I do agree. While I know we're accepting of casual players here at Smashboards, it would be nice to have them at Smash events as well and not necessarily pressure them into becoming competitive. But if that ends up happening in the end, then so be it. Personally, I've always welcomed the idea of having different kinds of tourneys. The Invitational kind of showed how Item Tourneys could work. To those who aren't interested in them or don't support them, that's perfectly fine, entry isn't forced. But I do think they'll be more inviting to casual players that do prefer to play with items (not all casuals play with items, feel like that's a misconception) and take away some of the tension since it's all in good fun. Sure, it'll take some work, but I think it could happen.

Basically, just being a little more open-minded helps versus dismissing new ideas so quickly.

@ TheDMonroeShow - I think he probably meant holding separate tourneys for that kind of play, not to have that be the new thing for competitive Smash altogether.

 

[TheDMonroeShow]

@ TheDMonroeShow - I think he probably meant holding separate tourneys for that kind of play, not to have that be the new thing for competitive Smash altogether.

My mistake if this is actually what was meant

I could kind of see it as the "for fun" mode for the tournament scene

 

[Boss N]

Nah, no flaming will take place here. Good vibes, good vibes

But I do agree. While I know we're accepting of casual players here at Smashboards, it would be nice to have them at Smash events as well and not necessarily pressure them into becoming competitive. But if that ends up happening in the end, then so be it. Personally, I've always welcomed the idea of having different kinds of tourneys. The Invitational kind of showed how Item Tourneys could work. To those who aren't interested in them or don't support them, that's perfectly fine, entry isn't forced. But I do think they'll be more inviting to casual players that do prefer to play with items (not all casuals play with items, feel like that's a misconception) and take away some of the tension since it's all in good fun. Sure, it'll take some work, but I think it could happen.

Basically, just being a little more open-minded helps versus dismissing new ideas so quickly.

@ TheDMonroeShow - I think he probably meant holding separate tourneys for that kind of play, not to have that be the new thing for competitive Smash altogether.

Yeah you pretty much nailed it dude.

This next proposal is, admittedly, probably more complicated than it needs to be but just spit balling ideas out there.
How about 2 or 3 'levels' of tournament play? something like this:

Level 1:
Default characters ( no Mii Fighter), all possible stages, most items on medium (the most broken & unfair excluded)
FFA 4stock &/or standard smash, &/or event Smash

Level 2:
Default characters, including Mii Fighter, bit more selective stages (think page 2 of Project M) & far more restrictive item list on low.
FFA 4stock 8min &/or 1v1 4stock 8min

Level 3:
All Custom characters allowed, only neutral stages, no items.
1v1 4stock 8min

all of them follow the 4-stock 8min, or these only apply to level 2-3 & 1 will have standard smash (most kills in a time limit wins) FFA brackets can be available for 1 & 2, only the biggest events like MLG, EVO, & CEO will only use level 3.

The reason why I have custom characters only on Level 3 is because when trying to teach new players the concept of match ups, which is something probably gonna be especially important with the huge roster Sm4sh will have, throwing in players against custom characters will not only be jarring and confusing for them but also overwhelming since they're still learning about the characters and they already need to know the additional possibilities in order to compete. It's like forcing a new street fighter player to memorize combos for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER. This is also the reasoning why Sakurai has removed them from online play. Mii Fighter is enough of it's own unique identity to be an individual matchup and can be a "transitional" element to help players get comfortable with the idea of custom moves.

Last thing to note that players don't have to go through all the levels, the numbers are only there to help give the newer players a place to start and where to go, but those hungry and ballsey enough to think they got what it takes to immediately jump with the champs (or prefers this play over anything else) can dive straight into level 3, potentially cause upsets, and never have to touch 1 or 2 if they don't want to. Like wise for those who wish to remain at the lower ones.

 

[RascalTheCharizard]

Yeah you pretty much nailed it dude.

This next proposal is, admittedly, probably more complicated than it needs to be but just spit balling ideas out there.
How about 2 or 3 'levels' of tournament play? something like this:

Level 1:
Default characters ( no Mii Fighter), all possible stages, most items on medium (the most broken & unfair excluded)
FFA 4stock &/or standard smash, &/or event Smash

Level 2:
Default characters, including Mii Fighter, bit more selective stages (think page 2 of Project M) & far more restrictive item list on low.
FFA 4stock 8min &/or 1v1 4stock 8min

Level 3:
All Custom characters allowed, only neutral stages, no items.
1v1 4stock 8min

all of them follow the 4-stock 8min, or these only apply to level 2-3 & 1 will have standard smash (most kills in a time limit wins) FFA brackets can be available for 1 & 2, only the biggest events like MLG, EVO, & CEO will only use level 3.

The reason why I have custom characters only on Level 3 is because when trying to teach new players the concept of match ups, which is something probably gonna be especially important with the huge roster Sm4sh will have, throwing in players against custom characters will not only be jarring and confusing for them but also overwhelming since they're still learning about the characters and they already need to know the additional possibilities in order to compete. It's like forcing a new street fighter player to memorize combos for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER. This is also the reasoning why Sakurai has removed them from online play. Mii Fighter is enough of it's own unique identity to be an individual matchup and can be a "transitional" element to help players get comfortable with the idea of custom moves.

Last thing to note that players don't have to go through all the levels, the numbers are only there to help give the newer players a place to start and where to go, but those hungry and ballsey enough to think they got what it takes to immediately jump with the champs (or prefers this play over anything else) can dive straight into level 3, potentially cause upsets, and never have to touch 1 or 2 if they don't want to. Like wise for those who wish to remain at the lower ones.

This sounds like a reasonable, if rather complicated, approach. I think if something like this were to go through, you should pitch the idea to any communities you can find (not just Smashboards) to get an idea of the level of interest in the Level 1 & 2 tournies. I mean, no entrants is probably the biggest thing that could go wrong

Also another customs supporter! W00t

 

[Boss N]

This sounds like a reasonable, if rather complicated, approach. I think if something like this were to go through, you should pitch the idea to any communities you can find (not just Smashboards) to get an idea of the level of interest in the Level 1 & 2 tournies. I mean, no entrants is probably the biggest thing that could go wrong

Also another customs supporter! W00t

Got an ideas who/where I can start?

 

[RascalTheCharizard]

Got an ideas who/where I can start?

That's a good question... I don't really know many places that deal with Smash other than here (i guess there's All is Brawl, but that's a site specfically for Brawl, not Smash 4). You could try http://smashbroscentral.com/forums/, though they're slightly inactive by the looks of things. I think making some sort of channel/video on Youtube about your proposed tournaments would also be a good way to attract a wider audience, as opposed to just forum-goers. I don't know a whole lot about growing an audience and garnering attention for an idea/product, but I think we all know how effective social media is haha.

 

[Lozjam]

Yeah you pretty much nailed it dude.

This next proposal is, admittedly, probably more complicated than it needs to be but just spit balling ideas out there.
How about 2 or 3 'levels' of tournament play? something like this:

Level 1:
Default characters ( no Mii Fighter), all possible stages, most items on medium (the most broken & unfair excluded)
FFA 4stock &/or standard smash, &/or event Smash

Level 2:
Default characters, including Mii Fighter, bit more selective stages (think page 2 of Project M) & far more restrictive item list on low.
FFA 4stock 8min &/or 1v1 4stock 8min

Level 3:
All Custom characters allowed, only neutral stages, no items.
1v1 4stock 8min

all of them follow the 4-stock 8min, or these only apply to level 2-3 & 1 will have standard smash (most kills in a time limit wins) FFA brackets can be available for 1 & 2, only the biggest events like MLG, EVO, & CEO will only use level 3.

The reason why I have custom characters only on Level 3 is because when trying to teach new players the concept of match ups, which is something probably gonna be especially important with the huge roster Sm4sh will have, throwing in players against custom characters will not only be jarring and confusing for them but also overwhelming since they're still learning about the characters and they already need to know the additional possibilities in order to compete. It's like forcing a new street fighter player to memorize combos for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER. This is also the reasoning why Sakurai has removed them from online play. Mii Fighter is enough of it's own unique identity to be an individual matchup and can be a "transitional" element to help players get comfortable with the idea of custom moves.

Last thing to note that players don't have to go through all the levels, the numbers are only there to help give the newer players a place to start and where to go, but those hungry and ballsey enough to think they got what it takes to immediately jump with the champs (or prefers this play over anything else) can dive straight into level 3, potentially cause upsets, and never have to touch 1 or 2 if they don't want to. Like wise for those who wish to remain at the lower ones.

Hmmmm I am not sure I am fond of level 1 and 3 being separate. I mean, matchups will pretty much stay the same, but I do have an idea.
How about we have a tutor program? Where we go online, and through either text or Skype, while online with them. We teach them the basics of competitive play.

 

[Boss N]

Hmmmm I am not sure I am fond of level 1 and 3 being separate. I mean, matchups will pretty much stay the same, but I do have an idea.
How about we have a tutor program? Where we go online, and through either text or Skype, while online with them. We teach them the basics of competitive play.

Tutor programs would defiantly help for those struggling but the problem is that A. not a lot of pro's wanna do it (plus it's really hard as it requires a lot of patience and good communication skills) and B. that's not the underlying problem when it comes to addressing the casual crowd.

The problem with reeling in casuals is that for the most part, they disagree with how we play competitively. The whole Fox Only Final Destination Items Off trope spawned from the fact that many competitive players refuse to play in an environment that doesn't warrant neutral conditions, and because of that it removes the elements that make the game fun for everyone else; the spontenatiality and being able to quickly think on your feet and adapt to any situation. It adds a variety that no one single match would play the same. And that's what smash means to a majority of people and is why people are always calling out to us saying we're playing the game wrong, that we're not playing it to it's fullest potential.

This is something we can't force unto them, it's something we have to ease them into, which is why I developed the leveling system the way it is. The other reason I had mii fighters on level 2 and custom fighters on level 3 is because it gives them extra incentive to try these other styles of play and adapt to those conditions if they really want to experience those elements of the game. But at the same time we're letting them know they don't have to give up the game they love so much and we're just as accepting to their idea of play, which will lead them to accept ours.

 

[Ogre_Deity_Link]

I don't believe the community can be brought together until the answer to one single question is agreed upon: Just what kind of game is Smash Brothers?

 

[Lozjam]

Tutor programs would defiantly help for those struggling but the problem is that A. not a lot of pro's wanna do it (plus it's really hard as it requires a lot of patience and good communication skills) and B. that's not the underlying problem when it comes to addressing the casual crowd.

The problem with reeling in casuals is that for the most part, they disagree with how we play competitively. The whole Fox Only Final Destination Items Off trope spawned from the fact that many competitive players refuse to play in an environment that doesn't warrant neutral conditions, and because of that it removes the elements that make the game fun for everyone else; the spontenatiality and being able to quickly think on your feet and adapt to any situation. It adds a variety that no one single match would play the same. And that's what smash means to a majority of people and is why people are always calling out to us saying we're playing the game wrong, that we're not playing it to it's fullest potential.

This is something we can't force unto them, it's something we have to ease them into, which is why I developed the leveling system the way it is. The other reason I had mii fighters on level 2 and custom fighters on level 3 is because it gives them extra incentive to try these other styles of play and adapt to those conditions if they really want to experience those elements of the game. But at the same time we're letting them know they don't have to give up the game they love so much and we're just as accepting to their idea of play, which will lead them to accept ours.

Well I would be interested in making a tutor program. Furthermore, I like the different levels, it's just the custom movesets and vanilla being separated. People will most likely not use them and ignore the 3rd tier.

 

[Boss N]

I don't believe the community can be brought together until the answer to one single question is agreed upon: Just what kind of game is Smash Brothers?

That's the problem, Smash Bros means a lot of things to many people. To some it's a silly party game, for others it's an incredibly deep fluid fighting game, and for others it's about seeing how many kills you can get against your friends in 1 minute on super sudden death with nothing but bombs on high.

But one thing I think is universal about the game is this:

It's just about having fun.

No matter what kind of gaming background you come from, hardcore or inexperienced, young or old, it's a game you can pick up with just about anyone and have a garuntee good time with. & I find that magical about the game ^_^

So as long as we are accepting of other people's way of finding that fun, being open to playing different ways with different people and not proclaiming one way is superior over the other, we can all be united under the banner of fun.

 

[Boss N]

Well I would be interested in making a tutor program. Furthermore, I like the different levels, it's just the custom movesets and vanilla being separated. People will most likely not use them and ignore the 3rd tier.

A lot of people are really excited for custom moves, especially casual players, so if we have enough people using them in the 3rd tier, streaming tournaments and showing off all these cool combinations it will get them excited to join and serve as an extrinsic reward for trying this play style they otherwise wouldn't want to play our competitive style and for building the skill and understanding to use them in tournaments.

Also it's like Sakurai said, we shouldn't throw custom characters at players still understanding the fundamentals of the game and having items & CC on would seem way too overwhelming.

But I'm still up for having tutoring programs alongside it and when I get good I'm fully willing and excited to be part of that team!

Edit: Didn't mean to double post, don't crucify me

 

[Dracometeor]

I think instead of trying to reach out to other competitive players, in order to get exponential growth we need to start reaching out to casual players more. With Sm4sh being this seemingly perfect balance of competitive/casual play, and the possibility of nintendo doing more tournaments is really going to increase their curiosity, so we should make adjustments to make them feel more welcomed and inclined to at least follow the scene.

I MIGHT get flamed for this but I'm suggesting that we make adjustments, not be so hostile towards the possibility of items in tournaments again (at least on low and the REALLY broken ones like Starmen be turned off completely) and allow the more colorful stages. (imo utilizing stage hazards is a skill in itself but that's another thread discussion for another day) We really need to play up Smash not only as a fun game but as a spectacle sport, especially Sm4sh being the biggest spectacle out of any other competitive game right now.

Perhaps have tournaments that specialize in these conditions, and have the biggest events use the format we have now, that way newer players have a smoother transition and even if they still don't like those conditions they can still stay relevant in the scene and not have to give up the game they love so much.

Stage hazards are not fun. There is much less hype when a hazard kills someone compared to them getting comboed to death. It makes it more interesting and doesn't kill the hype of a tournament round. It also makes the players feel better when they die to other players and not a random hazard.

 

[κomıc]

The golden rule is to be nice and respectful. It shouldn't be that hard. But people make it seem that way.

 

[Amazing Ampharos]

@ Dr. James Rustles and @ Hokori There's close to nothing in my area. I'm thinking about making a visit to a couple of the card community's and seeing if they would be interested into getting a community of smash together.
Do you happen to know if there is a thread for smashers in Arkansas?

I will point out that a lot of advice you'll get about meeting people is centered on the high population coastal regions. Arkansas is borders Missouri so I can give a bit further advice.

Odds are, you are not going to have a great local scene. Try to scrape together as many people as you can and play with them as often as possible since whatever you can pull is going to make a huge difference in your ability to grow as a player, but you have to just accept that you're going to have a single digit number of strong local players. If you live in a small town, it's going to be really, really hard on that front. If you're in some kind of a city, you can do kinda okay. However, if you're willing to travel, you can do a lot more. I suggest plotting out every decent city within a four hour drive of where you live, and do your best when the time comes to attend as many tournaments in those locations as possible while trying to solicit the people there to go to your locals. If we aren't willing to drive and do some real travel, regions like ours cannot survive. I know some Arkansas players went to a few of the KC and Wichita tournaments back in the day, and that's likely a good angle for you if you're in the west. If you're further east, you have St. Louis, Tennessee, and Kentucky that are all probably reasonable. Of course, if you're further south, looking south to Oklahoma and Texas may be best.

 

[Boss N]

Stage hazards are not fun. There is much less hype when a hazard kills someone compared to them getting comboed to death. It makes it more interesting and doesn't kill the hype of a tournament round. It also makes the players feel better when they die to other players and not a random hazard.

Well that's your opinion and I respect it, I agree there's way more hype from a successful combo string but there's ALOT of people who find stage hazards fun. Besides, a skilled player can avoid stage hazards or cleverly use them to their advantage and the games are getting better at making less game breaking stage hazards, or at least ones that are very clearly telegraphed. I'm just saying it's best to keep minds open to new possibilities.

 

[BogartSmash]

I will point out that a lot of advice you'll get about meeting people is centered on the high population coastal regions. Arkansas is borders Missouri so I can give a bit further advice.

Odds are, you are not going to have a great local scene. Try to scrape together as many people as you can and play with them as often as possible since whatever you can pull is going to make a huge difference in your ability to grow as a player, but you have to just accept that you're going to have a single digit number of strong local players. If you live in a small town, it's going to be really, really hard on that front. If you're in some kind of a city, you can do kinda okay. However, if you're willing to travel, you can do a lot more. I suggest plotting out every decent city within a four hour drive of where you live, and do your best when the time comes to attend as many tournaments in those locations as possible while trying to solicit the people there to go to your locals. If we aren't willing to drive and do some real travel, regions like ours cannot survive. I know some Arkansas players went to a few of the KC and Wichita tournaments back in the day, and that's likely a good angle for you if you're in the west. If you're further east, you have St. Louis, Tennessee, and Kentucky that are all probably reasonable. Of course, if you're further south, looking south to Oklahoma and Texas may be best.

I'm smack dab in the middle. Traveling is kind of limited right now till I get maybe a group together that will enter into tournaments with me. Basically I'm checking around seeing how many people are willing to help start something here.

 

[bkslider]

I'm looking forward to whatever community develops. I've been a Smash player since N64 days, but never taken my game past my basement and group of friends.

I don't think the 3 level system is going to happen, but I would support a more casual-oriented rule set with items, final smashes, custom characters, and diverse stages in addition to standard competitive rules.

 

[SphericalCrusher]

Always good to be proactive, but at the same time, it's way too early to know what will become the Smash 4 community. We can only hope it's the most competitive and productive group yet!

 

[Dr. James Rustles]

Someone (I don't remember who) brought his Melee setup to a mall and offered 5$ to anyone that could beat him. It went pretty well I think because in addition to not losing any money (Lol) he got people that recognized the series talking about competitive Smash. That was pretty neat. I suggest anyone reasonably good to try that.

 

[TimeSmash]

As far as welcoming people in the community, people just have to be polite both online and off. If you go to college, or have any college near you or both, then I suggest searching their gaming clubs and seeing if any of them play Smash. I got particularly lucky in my area; my college didn't have anything special, but one about half an hour from me did and I met a lot of good people from it. A great thing players can do is inform themselves of how tournaments are played but more importantly the terminology. There are several good threads on this for all games in the series, but some are scattered, so if someone made a thread compiling links to all those threads, that would be nice. Or alternately, you could send links to the people you find are interested in it. Knowing the terminology and what things are helps bridge a gap between Smash neophytes and veterans, and makes teaching people a little easier. Also good to note is that if you have a community of veterans and a new person is coming in on the scene, those veterans need to understand that person is new and doesn't know a lot. Conversely, the new person needs to know that they don't know everything and talk about things they really have no idea about haha.

 

[Salmon]

I have been lurking since my account creation date. The community is friendly enough to get into and become a part of. The majority of conversations between everyone are polite (until it comes to your game<my game) and I see newbie threads pop up with older players having no problems to answer some questions.

Though, maybe an IRC channel or official mumble would be great? Imagine bunch of smashers online in a mumble for example. You could sit in PUG lobbies separated by region or just go hang out in a discussion lobby and listen and participate in some TRASHTALK or game discussion. This does sound a little bit far fetched as not everyone would be as nice as I described but hey. It's an idea.

 

[Octillus]

It'll come and go like the tide. Most of the new members will fall off when the new game comes out. I did, and probably will again unless the online isn't totally broken.

I'm an old man with a few too many responsibilities to get fully involved in any sort of tournament scene, but I'd love to play against some of the intermediates out there.

 

[TimeSmash]

While it's definitely true we'll see a large amount of players slough off (probably minorly after the 3DS version is released, much more after the WiiU version is released), I think it's really important to retain the people who have enough interest in one or more of the games in the community so we can add to it. Also, there's always the possibility people who have renewed interest in the game will come back, so there's always that. And we'll see small influxes of people here and there in between games, and it's important to keep them as well. I think that a thread like this is a great idea for introducing and encouraging people to join and hopefully stay in the community, because it could always be bigger haha