Link to original post: [drupal=3820]The Ideals of the Traditionalist[/drupal]
First, yes, I would like to say Traditionalists.
But as far as I know, I am the only one to exist.
Anyway, I should likely start off with start off with what I stand for, as the Traditionalist.
And what better way to do that than Q&A format? Well, I'm sure there's something, but guess what? I don't really care.
Q: What the heck is a Traditionalist?
A: Well, a Traditionalist is a Smasher who does not use super advanced technical techniques. Specifically those with very narrow windows of execution, or those that abuse or exploit the physics engine. As such, he's never going to win a tournament. But he does focus well on the mental aspect of the game and he probably has more fun than your average Smasher.
Q: You're nuts! Why would you use a playstyle that you know would never win a tournament??
A: Well, this will be answered in the essay section here. But suffice it to say I'm not nuts.
Q: So essentially, Traditionalist is a nice name for n00b.
A: That's not a question, person who wrote the questions. Which was me...
I'll address it anyway. A Traditionalist is not a n00b. A Traditionalist has a very high understanding of the mental aspect of SSB. A n00b doesn't. The only difference between a Traditionalist and a Professional Smasher is that a Traditionalist does not use extremely technical techniques.
Q: So you use no ATs at all?
A: No. Untrue. A Traditionalist simply does not use ATs that are TOO technical or that exploit the physics engine.
Q: So what ATs do Traditionalists not use?
A: In Melee: wavedashing, wavelanding, l-cancel, shffl (though shff can be used), among others that exploit the game, such as crouch canceling or jump canceling.
In Brawl: running U-Smash, crouch canceling, fox-trotting, any pseudo-wavedash, or anything else that exploits the physics engine.
Q: Those lists are kind of long. What ATs DO you use?
A: Short-Hop, SHFF, teching, edgehogging, chainthrowing (to a certain extent, say, 50%), powershielding, and other things I can't think of.
About the Traditionalist:
(Well, for this segment I'll use the other name I was considering for the Traditionalist Movement, the Grassroots Movement of Smash. Which you can use if you want, they're interchangeable.)
Why Grassroots, you ask? Well, it may come as a surprise to you pros, but we're not all gods. If that sentence offends you, substitute the word superheroes, I don't wish to offend. But anyway, we don't all have incredibly fast fingers, the kind necessary to wavedash, or use other techniques. And basically what we've been told by the community is that you cannot win without the wavedash or SHFFL, or basically performing minute operations within a tiny frame of time (yes, Brawl too). The Grassroots hopes to open competitive Smash to more people. People who understand the way the game works, but simply don't have the capacity to consistently wavedash. Or whatever.
The idea is this: We can be good too. Very good. Maybe not champions, but certainly pros. YOU DON'T NEED TECHNICAL SKILL TO WIN.
Plus, I think that the Grassroots will be beneficial to the community. Think about the metagames of Melee and Brawl right now. Brawl still has a thriving tournament scene, but most of the players main Meta Knight or Snake. Which ruins the fun, since you're playing the same two characters 80-90% of the time. As for Melee, the competitive scene is dying. Just look at the latest tier list for proof. A three way tie at the top indicates a dying metagame, since none of those three stand out from the rest.
Grassroots Smash would inject a new life into the metagame. It would be INTERESTING, and accessible! I think Grassroots could save Smash.
Finally, to close:
Goals of Grassroots:
-for 425 to break onto the tournament scene within 2 years playing Traditionalist style Smash.
-for 425 or another Smasher to place in the top 3 of a fairly major tournament using Grassroots style within 5 years.
-for Grassroots to become a commonly accepted style of play within 7 years.
-for Grassroots to gain a large enough following within 5-7 years to be able to operate Grassroots-only events, events where a Traditionalist can win a tournament.
-to balance Brawl, either by finding counters to Meta Knight using Grassroots, or by getting the BBR to finally ban him.
(Yes, I am pro-ban)
Feel free to ask questions or debate with me about how I'll never be good and whatnot.
I may eventually post about this in the Brawl or Melee boards, but I want to see a general reaction in User Blogs before I go out with this. And this is in no way a comprehensive FAQ. This is just my thoughts.
Oh, and please don't discuss the banning of Meta Knight here. This is not the idea of this Blog.
First, yes, I would like to say Traditionalists.
But as far as I know, I am the only one to exist.
Anyway, I should likely start off with start off with what I stand for, as the Traditionalist.
And what better way to do that than Q&A format? Well, I'm sure there's something, but guess what? I don't really care.
Q: What the heck is a Traditionalist?
A: Well, a Traditionalist is a Smasher who does not use super advanced technical techniques. Specifically those with very narrow windows of execution, or those that abuse or exploit the physics engine. As such, he's never going to win a tournament. But he does focus well on the mental aspect of the game and he probably has more fun than your average Smasher.
Q: You're nuts! Why would you use a playstyle that you know would never win a tournament??
A: Well, this will be answered in the essay section here. But suffice it to say I'm not nuts.
Q: So essentially, Traditionalist is a nice name for n00b.
A: That's not a question, person who wrote the questions. Which was me...
I'll address it anyway. A Traditionalist is not a n00b. A Traditionalist has a very high understanding of the mental aspect of SSB. A n00b doesn't. The only difference between a Traditionalist and a Professional Smasher is that a Traditionalist does not use extremely technical techniques.
Q: So you use no ATs at all?
A: No. Untrue. A Traditionalist simply does not use ATs that are TOO technical or that exploit the physics engine.
Q: So what ATs do Traditionalists not use?
A: In Melee: wavedashing, wavelanding, l-cancel, shffl (though shff can be used), among others that exploit the game, such as crouch canceling or jump canceling.
In Brawl: running U-Smash, crouch canceling, fox-trotting, any pseudo-wavedash, or anything else that exploits the physics engine.
Q: Those lists are kind of long. What ATs DO you use?
A: Short-Hop, SHFF, teching, edgehogging, chainthrowing (to a certain extent, say, 50%), powershielding, and other things I can't think of.
About the Traditionalist:
(Well, for this segment I'll use the other name I was considering for the Traditionalist Movement, the Grassroots Movement of Smash. Which you can use if you want, they're interchangeable.)
Why Grassroots, you ask? Well, it may come as a surprise to you pros, but we're not all gods. If that sentence offends you, substitute the word superheroes, I don't wish to offend. But anyway, we don't all have incredibly fast fingers, the kind necessary to wavedash, or use other techniques. And basically what we've been told by the community is that you cannot win without the wavedash or SHFFL, or basically performing minute operations within a tiny frame of time (yes, Brawl too). The Grassroots hopes to open competitive Smash to more people. People who understand the way the game works, but simply don't have the capacity to consistently wavedash. Or whatever.
The idea is this: We can be good too. Very good. Maybe not champions, but certainly pros. YOU DON'T NEED TECHNICAL SKILL TO WIN.
Plus, I think that the Grassroots will be beneficial to the community. Think about the metagames of Melee and Brawl right now. Brawl still has a thriving tournament scene, but most of the players main Meta Knight or Snake. Which ruins the fun, since you're playing the same two characters 80-90% of the time. As for Melee, the competitive scene is dying. Just look at the latest tier list for proof. A three way tie at the top indicates a dying metagame, since none of those three stand out from the rest.
Grassroots Smash would inject a new life into the metagame. It would be INTERESTING, and accessible! I think Grassroots could save Smash.
Finally, to close:
Goals of Grassroots:
-for 425 to break onto the tournament scene within 2 years playing Traditionalist style Smash.
-for 425 or another Smasher to place in the top 3 of a fairly major tournament using Grassroots style within 5 years.
-for Grassroots to become a commonly accepted style of play within 7 years.
-for Grassroots to gain a large enough following within 5-7 years to be able to operate Grassroots-only events, events where a Traditionalist can win a tournament.
-to balance Brawl, either by finding counters to Meta Knight using Grassroots, or by getting the BBR to finally ban him.
(Yes, I am pro-ban)
Feel free to ask questions or debate with me about how I'll never be good and whatnot.
I may eventually post about this in the Brawl or Melee boards, but I want to see a general reaction in User Blogs before I go out with this. And this is in no way a comprehensive FAQ. This is just my thoughts.
Oh, and please don't discuss the banning of Meta Knight here. This is not the idea of this Blog.