DeeDaa
Smash Rookie
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2015
- Messages
- 9
Hello, my name is Andy (DeeDaa).
Background:
I'm 18 years old and am a freshman in college (Chemistry Major). My college is in Pennsylvania but my home is in New Jersey (45 minutes away). This plays a part because I occasionally go home to play with a close friend. I've dealt with depression for a few years now and have been unmotivated to do a lot in my life. Depression affects my motivation to do almost everything. It might not seem like it plays a part into this story but it does. I don't have many friends here at college and I plan on transferring to a bigger school in order to find a group of people that are like me. I don't have many close friends that hangout with me (here at college) so I just spend most of my time on my computer talking to my close friends from home. I've struggled with trying to find my place in life, and I always get attached to a sense of community and friendship (also plays a part). Friendship is the most important thing to me and my emotions tend to guide my decisions. I have a small group of friends at home that are also into smash but don't take it quite as seriously as me and my one friend. My thoughts might jump and be all over the place so I apologize in advance. I hope this doesn't come off as bad or mean to anyone or whiny. I just want to voice my experience with Smash. Thank you.
Beginning:
I've been getting into smash since the release of smash 4 for the Wii U. Of course I'm new to the scene and wanted to start by just dipping my feet in just to see how I'd like it. I began with just playing the game and trying to improve. I feel as if I'm not too bad. I started watching guides and getting into the spectator portion of smash. I started with the Smash Documentary, just like many other people are inspired by. I instantly got hooked to the idea of a community that is small and yet so tight. I wanted to be part of that. Melee just seemed so fast and a rapidly growing fan base. My first impression when watching players like Mew2King, Mango, Ken, etc. was that they are just at the level that is impossible to obtain. The hours and time they put in (10+ years) was just something I could never catch up to. The whole idea was overwhelming to me. Since I started playing smash more seriously with my small friend group, some of us took it more seriously and wanted to learn and put time and practice to get better. I picked up Melee after not touching it for basically 7 years. Like most people trying to start from the basic tutorial video to learn how to wavedash, lcancel, etc. The idea of doing all these things as second nature just seems impossible. I decided that it'd be a great idea to try to measure my progress since the beginning ever so often. I decided to try to make videos every now and then to mark my progress as a player. The first video is embarrassing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXud1RTvLTE
I barely even managing to do these simple things despite editing the video to just highlight what I could do even if it was not even close to consistent.
APEX 2015:
I live in New Jersey and my friend suggested going to Apex 2015 that is just an hour away. Of course why not. We signed up to do Wii U doubles and just most of all just wanted to spectate. (We got bodied hard btw. Not important.) Apex was something amazing that I wish other people could have experienced. Like a fanboy, I knew the majority of the best Melee players and Smash 4 players. I got signatures and what not but more importantly, I got to talk to a few of the players. My first impression was being nervous and what not but then I just realized that these guys are normal people. Unlike things like League of Legends pros, movie stars, whatever, these people didn't seem like "demi-gods" or what not. A many of them actually seeming as though they were just like me (just a nobody in a certain way). From a lot of them there was no ego, no annoyed because another kid wants something signed, but actually happy and wanting to talk to the fans. Some people that really left an impact on me were Mango, Nakat, and Acid (one of my favorite SSB4 captain falcon players). I know a lot of people have an opinion on Mango either being a fan or just hating on him for whatever reason. I fall into the category of a fan and he is my favorite player for several reasons. Whenever he got up from a game he was swarmed by around 10 people if not more wanting him to sign something or a picture. What really impressed me was that even when he was trying to go somewhere, he stopped and talked to everyone regardless. He never got irritated (or at least I didn't see it) and had a smile the entire time and talked with his fans for a while. He never seemed to give off a vibe of being cocky or being "higher than life", but he was genuine and normal. I don't know about other people in the smash community, but that is what draws me in. The idea of having a close relationship with everyone else in the community. Many games like League of Legends, you go into a stream and they will not read anything unless you pay, but there is this closeness given off by the role models of the community that draws me. The next player NAKAT was just as nice and friendly as all the others, but I guess what really got me was when he asked for my tag. Granted he probably forgot 30 seconds later and it would not mean much to him, but to me it felt as if he actually cared who I was. Most of the people it felt as if it was more about them, but in this one case it was about me in some way. I told him, and of course in my head I was thinking "oh maybe if I get good enough, he'll remember the tag" (something dumb like that). Although this is probably never going to happen, the inviting nature was something that was new to me. The last person was Acid, a relatively unknown SSB4 Captain Falcon main. I watched him on VGBootCamp and studying these videos of Captain Falcon to try to improve my play I got interested in the player. Surprisingly, I saw him at Apex and he was just standing around with his friends just as I was. I went up and asked for a signature, and I guess I was the first person to ever ask him to do so. I assume a lot of people would be happy the first time that someone asked for their signature. For me it felt good to at least make his day (or at least I hope I did). I could never imagine someone asking for my signature ever. If anyone reading this has been to Apex or any smash event I assume, the hype is unreal. We only went for the first day (basically the first & second were combined) so we didn't get to see any finals. The Salty Suite and the crowd in general was unbelievable. Keep in mind I've never been to a concert or any event really that has a hyped up crowd. I'm not the type of person to join in for chants but I couldn't help myself. I was SOOOOO into it. Here I am during the Salty Suite (blue hat guy): (https://youtu.be/Fq1vuTjUiUA?t=36s) Who couldn't be? It was a feeling that was just amazing. After Apex I basically had no voice at the end of the night and felt so pumped up.
Turning Point:
After that I decided that nothing really made me different from those pro players. There is nothing special that any other person isn't capable of. Just hard work and time in a game they love. A relatively new player, Albert, made a "get better at smash guide". I read it and could relate completely, and he was my proof of hard work paying off. He was playing smash competitively only 4 month and is able to almost beat the best player in Texas. Although he was practicing before this, it is amazing to see how much someone can improve with hard work. He plays Falco and as do I in Melee, so obviously that made an impact as well. His method of hard work, a stable schedule, was my type of idea to get better. Ever since then I watch countless VODs and streams in order to somehow analyze it and become better as a result. My personality is extremely determined and self motivating if I am really passionate about something. I don't know about a lot of other people in the community, but I don't feel passionate about a lot of things in my life. Smash is something that I just feel drawn to and am willing to grind and spend countless hours to improve. In my eyes it is similar to studying, but in this case I spent my own personal time doing it. As of now, I am 6 weeks into picking up Melee (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkaxdYLLl3E). I feel as if I have improved a lot as a player. I still have the desire to become more of a part of the smash community but I guess that'll be done in time. I practice tech skill but have garbage game sense and application because I don't have many people to play with in college. This gets me sad in a lot of ways because it is hinders my progress and I get bodied by players with no tech skill that don't practice. In my eyes I see myself as someone that puts 1 hour+ a day to get better and when I lose to someone that has not put in that time, it demotivates me. It's almost impossible to stay motivated and keep going because I still lose despite improving. I just keep looking forward to hopefully have the ability to be a good player.
It is just good to have something I am really motivated to work towards. If anyone has any suggestions of what I should do going forward it'd be extremely appreciated. Also giving me your story would also be amazing if you feel so obligated to tell. I would love to just hear other people's experiences.
TLDR:
I guess to sum it up, smash is changing my life and gives me a feeling of purpose. To me it isn't something that is unobtainable and just will take hard work. The community feels welcoming and something I would like to be a part of. The players are amazing (for the most part) and are supportive and humble. Thank you for reading this and for this amazing game and community.
Background:
I'm 18 years old and am a freshman in college (Chemistry Major). My college is in Pennsylvania but my home is in New Jersey (45 minutes away). This plays a part because I occasionally go home to play with a close friend. I've dealt with depression for a few years now and have been unmotivated to do a lot in my life. Depression affects my motivation to do almost everything. It might not seem like it plays a part into this story but it does. I don't have many friends here at college and I plan on transferring to a bigger school in order to find a group of people that are like me. I don't have many close friends that hangout with me (here at college) so I just spend most of my time on my computer talking to my close friends from home. I've struggled with trying to find my place in life, and I always get attached to a sense of community and friendship (also plays a part). Friendship is the most important thing to me and my emotions tend to guide my decisions. I have a small group of friends at home that are also into smash but don't take it quite as seriously as me and my one friend. My thoughts might jump and be all over the place so I apologize in advance. I hope this doesn't come off as bad or mean to anyone or whiny. I just want to voice my experience with Smash. Thank you.
Beginning:
I've been getting into smash since the release of smash 4 for the Wii U. Of course I'm new to the scene and wanted to start by just dipping my feet in just to see how I'd like it. I began with just playing the game and trying to improve. I feel as if I'm not too bad. I started watching guides and getting into the spectator portion of smash. I started with the Smash Documentary, just like many other people are inspired by. I instantly got hooked to the idea of a community that is small and yet so tight. I wanted to be part of that. Melee just seemed so fast and a rapidly growing fan base. My first impression when watching players like Mew2King, Mango, Ken, etc. was that they are just at the level that is impossible to obtain. The hours and time they put in (10+ years) was just something I could never catch up to. The whole idea was overwhelming to me. Since I started playing smash more seriously with my small friend group, some of us took it more seriously and wanted to learn and put time and practice to get better. I picked up Melee after not touching it for basically 7 years. Like most people trying to start from the basic tutorial video to learn how to wavedash, lcancel, etc. The idea of doing all these things as second nature just seems impossible. I decided that it'd be a great idea to try to measure my progress since the beginning ever so often. I decided to try to make videos every now and then to mark my progress as a player. The first video is embarrassing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXud1RTvLTE
I barely even managing to do these simple things despite editing the video to just highlight what I could do even if it was not even close to consistent.
APEX 2015:
I live in New Jersey and my friend suggested going to Apex 2015 that is just an hour away. Of course why not. We signed up to do Wii U doubles and just most of all just wanted to spectate. (We got bodied hard btw. Not important.) Apex was something amazing that I wish other people could have experienced. Like a fanboy, I knew the majority of the best Melee players and Smash 4 players. I got signatures and what not but more importantly, I got to talk to a few of the players. My first impression was being nervous and what not but then I just realized that these guys are normal people. Unlike things like League of Legends pros, movie stars, whatever, these people didn't seem like "demi-gods" or what not. A many of them actually seeming as though they were just like me (just a nobody in a certain way). From a lot of them there was no ego, no annoyed because another kid wants something signed, but actually happy and wanting to talk to the fans. Some people that really left an impact on me were Mango, Nakat, and Acid (one of my favorite SSB4 captain falcon players). I know a lot of people have an opinion on Mango either being a fan or just hating on him for whatever reason. I fall into the category of a fan and he is my favorite player for several reasons. Whenever he got up from a game he was swarmed by around 10 people if not more wanting him to sign something or a picture. What really impressed me was that even when he was trying to go somewhere, he stopped and talked to everyone regardless. He never got irritated (or at least I didn't see it) and had a smile the entire time and talked with his fans for a while. He never seemed to give off a vibe of being cocky or being "higher than life", but he was genuine and normal. I don't know about other people in the smash community, but that is what draws me in. The idea of having a close relationship with everyone else in the community. Many games like League of Legends, you go into a stream and they will not read anything unless you pay, but there is this closeness given off by the role models of the community that draws me. The next player NAKAT was just as nice and friendly as all the others, but I guess what really got me was when he asked for my tag. Granted he probably forgot 30 seconds later and it would not mean much to him, but to me it felt as if he actually cared who I was. Most of the people it felt as if it was more about them, but in this one case it was about me in some way. I told him, and of course in my head I was thinking "oh maybe if I get good enough, he'll remember the tag" (something dumb like that). Although this is probably never going to happen, the inviting nature was something that was new to me. The last person was Acid, a relatively unknown SSB4 Captain Falcon main. I watched him on VGBootCamp and studying these videos of Captain Falcon to try to improve my play I got interested in the player. Surprisingly, I saw him at Apex and he was just standing around with his friends just as I was. I went up and asked for a signature, and I guess I was the first person to ever ask him to do so. I assume a lot of people would be happy the first time that someone asked for their signature. For me it felt good to at least make his day (or at least I hope I did). I could never imagine someone asking for my signature ever. If anyone reading this has been to Apex or any smash event I assume, the hype is unreal. We only went for the first day (basically the first & second were combined) so we didn't get to see any finals. The Salty Suite and the crowd in general was unbelievable. Keep in mind I've never been to a concert or any event really that has a hyped up crowd. I'm not the type of person to join in for chants but I couldn't help myself. I was SOOOOO into it. Here I am during the Salty Suite (blue hat guy): (https://youtu.be/Fq1vuTjUiUA?t=36s) Who couldn't be? It was a feeling that was just amazing. After Apex I basically had no voice at the end of the night and felt so pumped up.
Turning Point:
After that I decided that nothing really made me different from those pro players. There is nothing special that any other person isn't capable of. Just hard work and time in a game they love. A relatively new player, Albert, made a "get better at smash guide". I read it and could relate completely, and he was my proof of hard work paying off. He was playing smash competitively only 4 month and is able to almost beat the best player in Texas. Although he was practicing before this, it is amazing to see how much someone can improve with hard work. He plays Falco and as do I in Melee, so obviously that made an impact as well. His method of hard work, a stable schedule, was my type of idea to get better. Ever since then I watch countless VODs and streams in order to somehow analyze it and become better as a result. My personality is extremely determined and self motivating if I am really passionate about something. I don't know about a lot of other people in the community, but I don't feel passionate about a lot of things in my life. Smash is something that I just feel drawn to and am willing to grind and spend countless hours to improve. In my eyes it is similar to studying, but in this case I spent my own personal time doing it. As of now, I am 6 weeks into picking up Melee (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkaxdYLLl3E). I feel as if I have improved a lot as a player. I still have the desire to become more of a part of the smash community but I guess that'll be done in time. I practice tech skill but have garbage game sense and application because I don't have many people to play with in college. This gets me sad in a lot of ways because it is hinders my progress and I get bodied by players with no tech skill that don't practice. In my eyes I see myself as someone that puts 1 hour+ a day to get better and when I lose to someone that has not put in that time, it demotivates me. It's almost impossible to stay motivated and keep going because I still lose despite improving. I just keep looking forward to hopefully have the ability to be a good player.
It is just good to have something I am really motivated to work towards. If anyone has any suggestions of what I should do going forward it'd be extremely appreciated. Also giving me your story would also be amazing if you feel so obligated to tell. I would love to just hear other people's experiences.TLDR:
I guess to sum it up, smash is changing my life and gives me a feeling of purpose. To me it isn't something that is unobtainable and just will take hard work. The community feels welcoming and something I would like to be a part of. The players are amazing (for the most part) and are supportive and humble. Thank you for reading this and for this amazing game and community.
