What to think while you play?

[DrewB008]

you just look at where they are and think of what options they have, you can usually instantly narrow it down to like 2 or 3 main choices, then do something that will work against one or more of those

 

[Zjiin]

you just look at where they are and think of what options they have, you can usually instantly narrow it down to like 2 or 3 main choices, then do something that will work against one or more of those

What an asshole.

 

[Masmasher@]

I try to think about what strafes are working and whats not. the moves that arent working dont exactly get edited out of the match as they might be useful for conditioning later on but they get used in standoff/positions/percents where if i get punished i'm less susceptible to the ****. The strafes that are working have to be tweaked a little in order for them to still be viable to use. patterns in smash get *****. More important i learn to tune out certain devastating moves that my opponent is using. for instance if im fox going against marth i walk into the battle knowing that the chaingrab is there waiting for me to get hit by it. when i finally do get caught in it you gotta learn to just focus on you self, DI right and continue on with the match.
Brush that dirt of ya shoulder.

 

[BROWNxEYEDxBEAST]

I've never thought about what I'm thinking, I just kinda play. Sometimes I'll curse how gay Marth is in every way if I'm fighting him. But I've also been wondering just what I'm LOOKING at. I kinda space out, I don't really focus on myself or my opponent, almost like I'm trying to take in the whole thing at once. It works for me I guess.

 

[Smo]

The problem is, at the moment I play the same people all the time... the same six people. Two are total noobs even though thy've been playing ages. They just clearly don't have the cognitive ability to consider which moves to do.

Three are quite good, but so predictable. Sure, I lose to them occasionally. But I know the strategy to beat any of them and they're not adaptable.

One of them is good and challenges my playing because he also thinks creatively about how to play the game.

So yeah, against my skilled friend, I tend to think 'don't get hit, counter his moves'
Against my less skilled friends I think 'well, he's obviously going to use Marth's Down B if I try to edge guard him, so I'll feint and then edgehog' or whatever.

 

[Eddie G]

Do not think, feel, it's like a finger pointing at the moon, don't concentrate on that finger or you'll miss out on all that heavenly glory.

Definitely this.

Once you reach this state of mind, and your fingers/mind already have the experience needed, your playing will be phenomenal. Well...such is the case with me anyway. Beating Vidjo's Marth on FD with Fox in 2007 was definitely a mile marker for me. ^.^

Basically, just take the time to study up on characters, what they can do on stages/to each other, watch some vids of top players here and there, practice what you studied against a lvl 1 computer (not a serious match obviously, just an application of what you studied), take what you've practiced to a tournament/smashfest against skilled opponents, play as many people as you can but also seek out the best players to really challenge yourself, gather feedback from those players, fix any potential mistakes or technical errors that you may have made more than once, practice more, then once you reach a great level of skill overall or with a character, just do some conditioning here and there to stay sharp. Works for me.

 

[sakuraZaKi]

I always try getting around and looking for openings and patterns, while at the same time trying not to go in my pants (actually, it's trying to stop my leg from twitching like crazy).

I get pretty nervous in any competitive match, unfortunately...

 

[Teczer0]

I know what I DON'T think about.

The mistakes I made during the match.

As for my thoughts during a game.... thats pretty hard to say.

Melee is a fast game. There are tons of things to think about.

 

[Panix]

"A knee right now would probably be awesome"

 

[falcofox121SHL]

What are you doing wrong, what are you doing right? If your punishes you approach with sheild into a sheild grab, you should be thinking how can I get past that? You can space attacks....or grab....predict it better....or just be less predictable.

You should always be asking yourself what your opponent is going to do and what your opponent is going to expect. So in other words, try to observe your opponent and see how he reacts to what you do or what you not do, then punish him the best you can every time you guess right.

couldnt have said it better myself

 

[hungrybox]

Yeah, and only 55 posts.

Posts Per Day: 0.03

 

[SpaceFalcon]

Well you could just get really technical and play with your mp3 and zone out entirely.

 

[MBreeto]

Basically, the only words that come to mind when I play smash are: nice, owned, ****, and bull****.

 

[IShotLazer]

Well to tell you the truth, you're not thinking about a billion things like people say you do all the time.
It really is just thinking creative, and being self aware. Self awareness and humility that you might have just done something that is your fault goes a LONG way. If you can correct a dumb mistakes you'll find yourself getting instantly better.
One of the best ways that got me better and made me think was when I would try to humiliate my opponent. The dumber the attack and my attack pattern that I got him with the better. Though it looked stupid on the outside, you actually are predicting on a much higher level.
Just do what you think will work, your gut instincts can do the job just fine with practice, just be self aware.
Chunking is the way the game is played, predict your opponent, and while all the practice you have done is paying off and you are moving literally pre-programmed with what you thought earlier, you can think about your next move (it's not quite that linear). Sometimes the best way to get your opponent isn't to think for yourself, but instead to think in his shoes. Think about if I was him right here, I'd probably LIKE to do this, however if my opponent did THIS, it would really annoy/kill me... and then you do the move that you just thought would be annoying. Of course putting yourself in your opponents shoes requires you to be observational of how they play so you can actually try to put yourself in his shoes accurately in the first place.

 

[idea]

Do not think, feel, it's like a finger pointing at the moon, don't concentrate on that finger or you'll miss out on all that heavenly glory.

if this is from what i think it is then i love you too. (it's either from the thing i'm thinking of, or that thing references it)

I don't think I worded the question exactly how I wanted too.

What I really wanted to know was what I should look for in my opponent. I know easy stuff like roll habits and teching habits, but after that it becomes much harder.

like most things, it really comes down to practice. the brain is really good at learning things on its own. throw a lot of melee at it and it will learn things on its own =) make sure to play people better than you too.

then i think once you get to a certain point of understanding about the game, you can start looking at what your character does that leads to you getting hit. it's much more important in this game for you to avoid getting hit than for you to hit the opponent.

if you focus on not getting hit, you might find yourself getting a lot of your own attacks in, in a "get the hell away from me!" sort of way.

tl;dr play really good people...once you get a feel for things, pay attention to yourself and them and make changes accordingly

 

[Phantom7]

When I play, I think about how Mewtwo and Roy are going to playing with Brawl fighters in Super Smash Bros. Crusade...

 

[Fletch]

Think about how they're going to react and notice any patterns. I picked this up while playing against Trail, he was playing Link against my scrubby Fox, and he would simply do things like notice I was teching away off of throws nearly every time, and he could nearly always follow it with another grab, when I noticed that, I changed to toward, that became a pattern, and he abused it. Basically, try to recognize patterns in your opponent's playstyle and ways to punish them.

 

[adumbrodeus]

My opponent is gonna do x, y, and z if I do A, B, and C, which means I can bait x,y, and z and do f, where f is tipper f-smash.


Mindgames!

 

[Garlic Wonder]

I can't wait to play Crusade. Is there going to be King K. Rool and Roy and Paper Mario?