Feedback Episode 5: State of the Scene

[Komidol]

I don't think anyone was saying it was dying, more how can we prevent that from happening.  Though Ehrik makes a good point about long time mid-tier players.  Some people just struggle to "get better" at fighters.  Once the execution aspect stops needing tuning for their character (as in, you no longer need to learn mixups/combos) there's another element of the game in spacing, pressure, and decision making that requires just as much dedication and training (through playing) that requires improvement.  It takes a lot to apply these skills against a good player you haven't played much (as you often run into in large tournaments.) 

While I believe it fundamentally is different for everyone (these skills are something that need to somewhat be built into your reaction, playstyle, and decisions) but maybe it would help more if you guys could talk about player mindset in the game? 

Could you ask in interviews "What are you thinking in (under corner pressure, at disadvantage, at neutral) in a match?  What sort of things people are looking at for?  For example, I've gotten into the habbit of counting my opponents jumps and dashes - this is something more rookie players may not understand as important, but when playing a character like VAkiha, it definitely is.

This sort of information would be helpful for players currently in the community looking to improve (though I am largely impressed with how the skill level of the community has improved, including myself), not necessairly for expansion, I think it would help and get more people off the stagnation of "It's just another melty tournament, I don't need to goto this local or etc..."

[DarkLeviathan]

Real Talk, alot of ya'll niggas gave up way too fucking early. I've already gotten like 5 players interested, am starting a college scene, and have gotten good players around my area to start playing MB more. Go out there and actually do shit already, and stop crying already!

Speaking as one of those new blood players, I can give my two cents on how to get (and keep) some people interested. A lot of this comes from other message boards thinking about how to attract new players, as well as what I personally think.

More exposure would definitely help. Now, the fact that MB hasn't been released for consoles outside of Japan is not anyone's fault, but it's gonna make it that much harder to get people in the West to even hear of the game. I think there's been more exposure to MB lately thanks due to its presence at Evo, but I think even just having a setup or two for MB at smaller, local tournaments can probably help at least make players aware that the game exists.

If possible, try to get more than one person interested at the same time. I think people enjoy having someone to learn the game with them. Personally, I started learning MBAC this past summer, and I actually got another friend of mine to play at the same; that way, we both had someone on even ground to spar with, instead of always getting our butts kicked by my friend who was teaching us to play. It also helps players not to think that "there's nobody to play this game with."

And I think Rokunaya has the right idea. For people who are in areas where there are a lot of potential players (large universities, cities, or scenes with a lot of other fighting game players), definitely be more active in looking for people and showing them the ropes. And that's probably one other thing, I think that a way to get players to stay is to just help them out. Might sound like common sense, but just playing matches with them and giving advice can help players not get discouraged, especially in a scene where it seems like a lot of players are unreachably high-tier (maybe that's not actually the case, but again, impressions are a HUGE factor in keeping someone's interest).

[Zaelar]

Especially if those 5man round robins are in your home

http://shoryuken.com/f6/gdt-5-results-120114/
http://shoryuken.com/f6/gdt4-results-119461/

[AnFox]

Zealar, I hope you use that energy for more useful things. I dunno what, but bringing up threads from 4+ years ago on SRK is a great way to make a point.

[Komidol]

Zaelar guest interview imo

[Lord Knight]

mid tier players just have retarded mindsets

if people dont think about individual actions that they are picking up losses from, of course they wont improve

[GenericSuperhero]

the player interviews keep things new and are pretty much the only thing i listen to.  even if it's abbreviated or incorporated into the mechanics question answering, i think this show would be best if there was an interview in each ep

as for players stuck in mid tier, i think the best advice is to take a new approach if the one you're using isn't working.  as long as you keep trying new things you will inevitably improve