The Smash Brothers - Series Discussion

[Fives]

Made an account for this site after watching this series...Best gaming related video I have ever seen.

 

[Bones0]

Does anyone have a link to that crewbattle where Isai went ham?

^What this guy said. I can't find it anywhere (though the footage is obviously out there).

I don't really like the analogy Prog gives in episode 9 comparing Smash to jazz. It's been bugging me for a couple weeks now, just doesn't quite sit right.

Classical music isn't about playing notes from a sheet of paper. Anyone can just play the notes. Plenty of people can play the notes well. But far fewer people can play the notes well and bring life to them. To interpret the message the composer wrote, to express what the composer is trying to say, to express yourself, to speak to the listener. That is classical music. Just like in Smash, you are given a set of tools and rules, and you work with and within them.

The analogy is comparing PLAYING Jazz music vs. PLAYING classical because you don't sit down and compose classical music as high speeds like you do with jazz. The whole idea is to capture the element of improvisation which never comes into play with classical music, at least not traditionally. I guess you could try to create classical music on the fly, but that's not really what people think of since it's not commonly done (if ever). Another analogy you could use is freestyle rap vs. written rap. Unlike jazz vs. classical, it's the exact same genre. The only difference is one is being done on the fly while the other is preplanned to great extent. Neither is better, but most people find the former more impressive if it's done at a level comparable to the latter. A freestyle that sounds like it was written is amazing, but a written rap that sounds like it was made up on the spot isn't that impressive. When you require improvisation for these art forms, there is a much wider skill gap because there is a time restraint added into the equation.

 

[Mr.Jackpot]

I don't really like the analogy Prog gives in episode 9 comparing Smash to jazz. It's been bugging me for a couple weeks now, just doesn't quite sit right.

Classical music isn't about playing notes from a sheet of paper. Anyone can just play the notes. Plenty of people can play the notes well. But far fewer people can play the notes well and bring life to them. To interpret the message the composer wrote, to express what the composer is trying to say, to express yourself, to speak to the listener. That is classical music. Just like in Smash, you are given a set of tools and rules, and you work with and within them.

Yeah, the descriptions still generally stand but it was a Improvisation vs Written analogy rather than a Classical vs Jazz. I guess that's just the terminology he used because it's easier for more people to understand because those are the genre's they're usually associated with.

 

[dogg]

http://teespring.com/dontgethit
Just making sure to post this where fans of the documentary will see it. Buy the shirts!!

 

[foolssigma]

That was extremely enjoyable as well as very professional. I'd put it right up there with Indie Game the Movie. Great job! Hope it spreads to gamers everywhere.

 

[Cowsaymeow]

Not many of you guys here will know me (if any) but I am a member of the Halo community and run a large Competitive FPS console website & board that houses a majority of the Halo community ( Teambeyond.net/forum) and found this INCREDIBLE documentary on reddit. This was hands down one of the coolest things I have ever watched, its amazing how similar gaming communities really are.

One part that really hit home was when they said They went out and got Brawl during the midnight release, and realized it was not as good as Melee -and you saw a lot of players just stay on the older title. Seems like both the Smash and Halo communities have suffered from bad titles, being dropped from MLG, and were forced to either run grassroots tournaments or fade away. It was really awesome to see another big community overcome all kinds of adversity and still be able to keep their scene alive.

I really found myself "Connecting" with some of these guys in the documentary even though I have never met them haha. WIFE was my personal favorite from this documentary, he always kept it real. KoreanDJ seemed pretty awesome as well.

Anyways - just wanted to say this was amazing, the intro would give me nerd chills everytime.

NO YOURE HERE TOO

 

[Cowsaymeow]

Hey Samox, I know you're probably busy with IRL stuff and whatnot, and this may be a bit random but the Halo community is actually in that part of the Smash scene where Brawl was released and everyone is stopping to play the game in general and going back to other older games.

So the Halo community has actually viewed the Smash Documentary and made a thread of it on General Discussion, a lot are actually thinking of making a sort of documentary like this one because it seems the Smash/Halo scene have some similarities. Also the Documentary in general was just really good and community members would love to read how you and everyone involved did the documentary and how to do something like this right

Here is the link to the thread for the Competitive Halo community forums http://teambeyond.net/forum/index.php?/topic/3625-smash-brothers-documentary-discussion/

It'd be great if you could post some insight here or on the forums there.

Thank you!

Edit: Thank you Samox for posting at the Smash Doc thread for the Halo players!

 

[Omegasamurai]

So
Basically, there I really wish there was a way to get a DVD of this, but I gather that's not going to happen unless things pan out differently.

But I can hope =(

 

[itsbme]

Captures the essense of the game better than any video I have ever made.

The Isai part was the best. That MOAST set is even more significant.

Legendary.

 

[prog]

I don't really like the analogy Prog gives in episode 9 comparing Smash to jazz. It's been bugging me for a couple weeks now, just doesn't quite sit right.

Classical music isn't about playing notes from a sheet of paper. Anyone can just play the notes. Plenty of people can play the notes well. But far fewer people can play the notes well and bring life to them. To interpret the message the composer wrote, to express what the composer is trying to say, to express yourself, to speak to the listener. That is classical music. Just like in Smash, you are given a set of tools and rules, and you work with and within them.

Other people said the sentiment I was attempting to capture.

 

[IcedShadow]

I've only ever been very peripherally part of the Smash community, but still had to post about just how fantastic the documentary was. I really felt like the essence/spirit of the community came through and managed to drum up a powerful emotional response from me, an essential outsider. Kudos to all the people who made the documentary possible. I'll definitely be sharing it with my friends.

 

[KishPrime]

^What this guy said. I can't find it anywhere (though the footage is obviously out there).

Pretty sure the footage is actually not out there. I laughed when I watched that part. Truth be told, I totally forgot that event even happened at FC1 and it took some work to recall it. It wasn't exactly "WC vs. EC," given Corey's participation on the WC team, but they claimed the names. It was mostly just a crew battle for crew battle's sake with a token cash prize on the other side for the winner. Pretty fun though.

The footage was likely just grabbed from other places and spliced together for dramatic purpose, but I'm happy to be proven wrong! I'm pretty amazed there is as much video as there is from those days - we were doing VCR-Computer conversions at that time!!!

 

[Mew2King]

If anyone here is an artist to make indie video games with, msg me: www.facebook.com/mewtwoking

 

[Bakuryu]

Does anyone have a link to that crewbattle where Isai went ham?

Edit: Scratch that, that video was from when they almost had him play. I swear I remember watching him play though there has to be footage of it somewhere.

 

[Bones0]

Pretty sure the footage is actually not out there. I laughed when I watched that part. Truth be told, I totally forgot that event even happened at FC1 and it took some work to recall it. It wasn't exactly "WC vs. EC," given Corey's participation on the WC team, but they claimed the names. It was mostly just a crew battle for crew battle's sake with a token cash prize on the other side for the winner. Pretty fun though.

The footage was likely just grabbed from other places and spliced together for dramatic purpose, but I'm happy to be proven wrong! I'm pretty amazed there is as much video as there is from those days - we were doing VCR-Computer conversions at that time!!!

So the footage in the documentary was just random stuff from other Isai matches? If so, that's disappointing.

 

[itsbme]

I finished watching part 9. Really touching. I smiled while watching the credits, seeing all the names I remember from years past. I even saw my name. That little mention means a lot. I feel like I'm The King of Smash.

 

[The Real Gamer]

I know I'm beating a dead horse but Armada is literally the only person missing from this.

He may not be from the US but he was just as dominant as any other top player in his prime. Who knows how long he could have kept winning if he didn't retire/lose motivation.

 

[strawhats]

name of the opening song please of the smash doc please...been looking for it for a while now.

 

[Bones0]

name of the opening song please of the smash doc please...been looking for it for a while now.

https://soundcloud.com/westonemusicgroup/juicy-fruit-eds9

 

[GunBlaze]

https://soundcloud.com/westonemusicgroup/juicy-fruit-eds9

A .brstm version?

 

[dogg]

What's the song played for the pc Chris vs. ken match in anaheim? Episode five please. Anyone know?

 

[strawhats]

https://soundcloud.com/westonemusicgroup/juicy-fruit-eds9

thanks man...thought I'd never find it.

 

[Raspeball]

http://teespring.com/dontgethit
Just making sure to post this where fans of the documentary will see it. Buy the shirts!!

I really want that shirt. Hope there's enough fans willing to buy it. Based on, what seems to be an overall positive reception of the doc, both by smash-people and non-smashers, it shouldn't be a problem. Actually, two of my friends thought the documentary was so good, they're considering buying the shirt as well. I love the fact that even in the tiniest smash-communities, like the one I'm in, this documentary is a huge hit.

 

[SirPsychoMantis]

Just watched the whole series, super well done, so much nostalgia even though I was never a super serious player.

Is there any way to just straight up donate?

 

[Nintendude]

I finally finished the whole thing. Episodes 1 through 7 were freaking amazing. Episode 8 was a mess in comparison. It did a poor job of conveying any kind of storyline other than Mango winning an arbitrary tournament like 4 years after the events of episode 7 called FC Legacy, while at the same time not exploring the personalities of him and Hbox to nearly the extent that m2k, KDJ, etc. were explored. The negatives end there though, because the rest of it is just so awesome. I watched it with my roommate who barely knows anything about video games whatsoever, and she was getting really into the storyline conveyed in episodes 1-7 (she got really lost with ep. 8). Most of the time she was genuinely excited to watch the next episode to see what happened next. I think the fact that non-gamers can appreciate this really speaks volumes to how good this documentary is. Well done!

 

[Kone]

Watched this all through last night. Cried so often. Thank you

 

[Andy"SweetCandy"Wilson]

Haven't thought about Smash in years. Buddy threw this doc my way. Had to come back to chime in and say that this is phenomenal work. I'll definitely be watching more smash from now on.

Awesome job, and thank you.

 

[_A1_]

yes!!!! this series was SO awesome to watch. Great job to all involved in production and the smashers themselves!

 

[samox]

I know I said I don't care about view counts, but WOOT - 200,000 views on that first episode makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Glad to see people are connecting with the series and it's still spreading.
Continuing work on the remaster! Will update when I have something to add to the convo.

BTW: Because I also absolutely love the song that plays during the Ken/PC Anaheim showdown - it's called Fitzbonovich Gentonio by Jeffrey Felkowski and I don't think you can find it anywhere for the time being. I'm trying to
get a hold of him and a few other artists to potentially release a smash doc soundtrack.

 

[Alexastonishing]

for anyone who loves the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7xqo88w6nA

 

[Yeroc]

Bones, as Tim said there's no footage of Isai's performance in the FC1 crew battle. It was very much a side-event at the time (I don't think anybody had any idea how big regional crews would become, at least not before that first crew battle) memorable to me simply due to involvement, and the fact that Isai did so remarkably well. I can attest to the fact that the clips used in that sequence were for dramatic effect only. I remember that Isai played Dave's Falco on Rainbow Cruise, for example. Also the airdodge suicide of Azen's was actually from grand finals of that tournament, which is where "Azendashing" came from (a name I still think is horribly undeserved - Azen was obviously trying to tech away from the fsmash but he wasn't damaged enough to be in tumble, an honest mistake).

All that said, I like the piece for what it is, even if I hadn't been a part of it. It does a good job of setting up the rest of the episode, where Travis takes a look at how Isai just doesn't have an interest in Melee despite being phenomenally talented at it. It's very poignant, and rings true with my own memories and perceptions of the time period.

 

[-Philip Coast Philip-]

That kopimi entry on Wikipedia was a weird read. Ok. I watched the series over the last handful of days, a couple times way late at night, so I don't quite remember everything exactly, but I'd like to comment on what I do, if that's alright.

Samox - Well done dude, that was a really good documentary. That was a lot of work there. I don't comprehend the entirety of it, but congrats for finishing it all. I thought all the episodes were good, it's nice that each had its own mini-theme. I personally enjoyed episode 3 a bunch (though probably mostly for Isai's story/conquest), and I liked seeing how the pace picked up through 6 and 7. I thought some really minor artistic choices could have been done differently, but whatever, definitely on the whole you can see it all was really done well, it's a pretty pro looking documentary : ) I think you covered most everything, too, I mean, the message definitely gets across, and it's up to the individual to fill in their own blanks. It seems the end of the series gets a little scattered -I'm sure handling all that information and clips was a bit overwhelming at that point, if not at least a big beast to tackle coherently. Just sayin, the mingling of the players' 'themes' with the story of smash later on was inevitable, as you had to tell the recent history of melee. Anyway, great documentary!

Prog - Wow, I really enjoyed hearing you speak, good stuff, I enjoyed your commentary.

Wife - Seems you had to carry a lot of work in describing smash, but you're knowledgeable and I appreciated what you said, you have a nice way of speaking. Thanks! I think your commentary added a lot to the documentary.

Dr. 5ushi (narrator): Thanks for narrating!

HugS - Cool stuff, thanks for speaking. Also anyone else wonder what Hugs would look like with a fuller beard? PPMD knows what's up, though his is a bit lumberjack-y. Mang0 does a decent job. PC Chris could get a fine one I think if he trimmed it right. Sorry M2K, keep shaving.

Milktea: Way to represent and speak for the female smashers, too, I thought some of the stuff you said was really important.

Chillin: Cool to hear you, appreciated your insight and thoughts.

Wes: Seriously, after seeing you talk so much **** the way you talk on the Samus boards, I never quite thought I'd see you commentating so well in a documentary. Thanks for commenting. Also $10 says you'd lose to me.

Caotic: Thanks.

Yeroc: You are a handsome man.

SFat: Doesn't he have the cutest smile?? No homo

Hungry Box: Thanks for sharing all that, I thought it was all really cool to hear.

Armada: Hey greetings from US. It was cool that you were in the documentary, thanks!

Alright I think that's all.

 

[skstylez]

You have single handedly done so much for the Smash community. Right now people are picking up their gamecube controllers or purchasing Wii's to play this game. It's also showing people a side of smash that they didn't know or understand. I'll tell ya one thing, there's a damned good chance Melee will return for evo and rack up even MORE viewers! Oh, and MLG is suddenly interested in hosting Smash 4. Coincidence? Maybe..

One more thing, you SHOULD care about views! More views, more exposure, more chances that people like Sakurai see this or their PR realizes there is a huge crowd on the competitive side. For the most part, everything in Melee was put there by choice. L canceling, power shielding, teching, meteor cancel, wall jump, item catching, ledge sweetspots, hitbox sweetspots... and the list goes on. It seem strange that there is a training mode -with- detailed meters if it was meant to just be a "party game".

 

[Bola8xxx]

Really good video explaining a lot of things about the game and the community. I never played SSB in my whole life but this video has made me very interested in it !

 

[saberhof]

I came back to smashboards after so many years to see this Documentary, im glad you got down to finish it, too bad many others werent able to be in it, but im proud of this project. Good times.

 

[nightSN]

Just finished watching the documentary and i have to say that it was great to see this great history that melee had. And even learn about things i never knew about! Its been awhile since i have been on smashboards but i have to say a lot of things have changed. I wish i knew about about this project a lot earlier so i could have gotten a copy of this on DVD.

I also want to note, Y NO WOMBO COMBO

 

[mixa]

It seems strange that there is a training mode -with- detailed meters if it was meant to just be a "party game".

Maybe in 30 years we'll discover the Sakurai's Lost Diaries, in which he secretly admires the competitive scene, rejoicing with each discovery,

“they've learnt how to wavedash! o(〃＾▽＾〃)o”

“I must keep it to myself, Nintendo must never find out, or else I'm doomed! ((((；゜Д゜)))”

 

[Col. Dingus]

After watching this documentary, I need to say that I am amazed by the amount of creativity and effort put into this. It really blew me by surprise. This brings me back to when I was a kid I remember the first time I owned Melee which was around Christmas 2002. This game had to be the most played game I have ever spent on during my childhood. I remember when my brother had friends over we would have small tourneys against each other. It was so much fun. Even though being so young, I remember hearing a little bit about these major tournaments were going on with this game but I never knew they had such a deep and inspirational history with them after watching the film. This brings an entirely new thought to my understanding on video games and the communities around them as a whole. This was a game that was meant to be a party game but meant so much to a wide audience of gamers who just wanted to have fun and compete with one another. It's just people having fun with a game they love. I really enjoyed listening about each player's passion and where they come from. Especially Isai. I connect with him because I'm a guy who's also introverted and quiet but I have passion to follow a dream and motivate others. To be honest I thought that people who did this were all nerdy people like M2K but it turns out this proved that I'm way wrong about that. This is just ordinary people from different walks of life getting together and just bonding with one other over a great game. It's been nearly 12 years later and people are still enjoying this game. That was what I loved from this documentary and I'm sure this applies to any other aspects towards life. I just wish that Nintendo would understand all of this but the route they are taking towards targeting casual play won't make them thrive during the coming years with the upcoming next-gen systems. I just need to say thank you Samox and the Smash community as a whole. I know you are all great people and I hope you guys continue on a legacy to inspire future generations to come. This also made me make an account here and share my thoughts, I appreciate it guys.

 

[Cowsaymeow]

snip.

Yeah I kinda had the same thought process. Melee was a pretty big game that i played with friends, took a few years till I started playing competitively but stopped playing for years. The Doc has brought me back to start playing after my hiatus

Btw if you live around Houston, we have a tournament (PATS 3) around the end of November if you're interested in joining the local scene for Melee

 

[Grizzmeister]

I shared the link to the documentary on so many forums that I'm probably responsible for 10,000 views all by myself.

I love the Super Smash Bros. games (see pic) so I hope this wonderful documentary helps expand the fanbase, and fuels expectation for the next entry to the franchise on the Wii U.