Paul Gurtler

Professor Jean Coco

English 1001
6 December 2016
My audience is people who are new to the tournament scene.
Preface: After the teacher review I made sure to incorporate screenshots of the game to the
narrative of my paper clarify their purpose. I replaced some of my rambling and unnecessary
technical explanations with some basic and easy to understand concepts. I took Professor Cocos
comment on the focus on paragraphs two and three as a guide for how the essay should flow.
That worked out quite nicely. I fixed the roaming point of view pointed out during said review.
Overall I dont think Professor Coco said anything that I didnt find useful. All of the comments
helped refine my draft. A fresh perspective is always a useful opportunity to improve writing
regardless of circumstance.
Smashing Literacy.
Everyone has heard of this relatively new thing called ESports; it has gotten popular
enough that there is an entire section of ESPN labeled ESports. Now most people just pass it
by, dismissing it as a fad. However, any gamer who is serious about a certain game will look into
whether his/her game is considered an ESport. That is exactly what got me interested in video
game tournaments. My introduction to ESports began when I would go to my friend Bretts
houses. We would gather around his TV and we would play the latest installment in the Super
Smash Bros. series. It was officially named Super Smash Bros. For Wii U/3DS but it is
commonly called Sm4sh or Smash 4. We would just goof around in the beginning, testing out
characters and stages while seeing what styles suited us.
Eventually it got to the point that we would get together every Friday. The matches got
competitive quickly, and we developed our own power rankings. In first place was me with a
difficult sword character (Marth), the oldest of us, Josh, came in second with a projectile based

character (Robin), his best friend Hunter was close on his heels in third place with a combo
based character (Ness). Only the top three can win our fights. Despite the predictable winners,
everyone was hyper-competitive. Competition always needs a set of rules in order to be
accepted, so we made our own tournament rules. The only legal stage was Final Destination (the
only flat map with no moving objects or platforms), no items turned on, 2 lives per character, and
eight-minute time limit. The Final Destination stage is the first image in the top left. The other

images are of the other accepted legal stages, and they are labeled with their correct names. I
included these stages to provide a visual of what stages have platforms. Several of these images
were taken from my very own recording sessions of online matches. These rules created an
enviroment that eliminated most variables other than player skill. Unfortunately, there was a
large skill disparity between the top three and the rest of the group.
The skill disparity was clearly represented by the length of matches that each player had.
Josh and I would have matches that would last eight minutes because we struggle to land a
killing blow, while a match against Brett, who is closer to the bottom of the rankings, would last
three minutes. Human nature breeds arrogance, and the top three of our group grew overly
confident in our skills and convinced the group as a whole to venture to a local tournament. In a
cruel twist of fate, the entire group faced off against each other immediately. We fought until it

was just me in the winners bracket with Josh and Hunter facing off in the losers bracket after I
had knocked them out of winners bracket. My first match against a player who I had never faced
before was a member of the State Power Rankings. He utterly destroyed me, and I fought in the
losers bracket for a hope of winning the tournament. I won my next three matches, but in losers
quarter-finals I fought a someone who matched me blow for blow until he gimped (hit off stage
so that recovery is impossible) me for the win. That tournament made me realize how good I
thought I was, and how bad I really was.
I became determined to git gud, as the veterans of tournaments tell the newcomers, in
order to actually have a chance of winning. I thought it wasnt going to be easy to learn all the
required technical aspects for tournament play. I didnt account for the fact that I enjoyed the
game to the point that spending hours learning a singular aspect was actually fun for me. Now
Sm4sh is much more complex than it initially appears. In Sm4sh every player has their own style
and method of winning, and this is because there are 58 characters total and approximately 29
are considered generally viable (able to win a state tournament). Each character is equipped with
their own unique move-sets, frame data, movement speed, airspeed, knockback/damage
set/growth, abilities, etc. I included an image of the entire roster to give a visual representation of
the enormity of the cast, rather than just numbers on a page. Not only that, but in most
tournaments there are five starter stages and two additional counter-pick stages. Each stage has
its own advantages and disadvantages given to each character. I spent countless hours playing
with certain characters on certain stages in order to learn each stage and character inside and out.
There is also a lot of advanced tech that players use that takes advantage of flaws in the games
code, frame data, and character specific tech. It took me a week to learn how to properly do a
single character based tech called a B-Reversal. When done properly it looks like the character

turns around, but the inputs that I have to do in order to execute one are deceptively difficult. All
these little things add up to an incredibly complex game. Being able to play on a tournament
level requires time, effort, and regular sessions of practice that take multiple hours. I was more
than ready to commit all of these hours to this passion of mine.
Tournament play requires mental discipline and intense concentration because everyone
that plays has their own habits and as a fighter I have to adapt and capitalize on their mistakes
while making none of my own. This means that for any combo I attempt I have to know at what
damage percentage both players have to be at, whether the character Im fighting is a fast-faller,

heavy, floater, the hurt-box size, if they can air dodge out, or simply counter in the middle of the
string of attacks. I have spent hours repeatedly doing the same combo over and over against a
computer so that the combo is simply muscle memory. Every move that is thrown out is a
commitment to a calculation of risk vs reward. If a highly risky move is thrown out, and it
doesnt connect, then the opposing player has an excellent chance to use what would normally be
considered a risky move themselves with a low chance of getting retaliated against. This is called
a punish. The punish is a mind-game technique that I personally use heavily. However, in order
to play a punishing play style, I have to be patient, sometimes standing perfectly still for seconds
at a time in a game where a 2 frame mistake played at 60 frames per second can cost you the
round. Punish players have to use mind games and use reads to their utmost in order to win.
Reads are when I predict an evasive tactic or attack and avoid it while punishing the mistake

with an attack of my own. The downside to this is now you have to constantly adapt to stay
ahead of your opponent because you wont be able to win twice against the same player with the
exact same tactic.
Tournament matches are based mostly on character match-up, match-up experience, and
player experience. Character match-up is the evaluation of two characters meta-game; for
instance, if one character is both faster and has longer reach then he generally wins in that matchup. Match-up experience is how well each player knows how to fight the others character. I play
an almost un-played character, so few people know what to expect when fighting me, which
works heavily in my favor. Player experience is how well people manage their physical and
mental energy. An inexperienced player will burn all of his energy on his first match, but
someone who knows better paces himself throughout a set until he meets someone of equal or
better skill.
Most people are astounded that I play what seems like a simple game for about fifteen
hours every week. However, the top players in this game spend four hours a day minimum
practicing and developing new tech. That is what it takes to become the best. However, new
comers need to just come to their first tournament and start talking to better players in order to
learn what to do in their case, because everyone has a different starting point and style. It took
me months to find my own style, so dont get frustrated if it takes a while to start doing well.
Each style requires a different training method. The key to getting good is to never stop
practicing.