Should I Even Start A Scene?



Time Keeps On Slippin... Into The Future...​

Two of the most common sentences I have seen spoken and written within the Smash community are "I wish I had some people to play Smash with" and "There isn't a scene in my area". There is a solution to both of these problems: start a scene, and play with the people in it. Now this may not be as easy as it sounds but I believe anyone even with limited resources and a reasonable amount time can get a Smash scene started in their area.I really plan to back up this statement as well, as If I Can, You Can will not only be showing readers how to get a local Smash scene started in their area like many articles before it, it will be showing this to the readers as I actually go out and do it myself. You can follow along with my struggles and triumphs as I hopefully inspire you towards starting a scene of your own learning everything you need to know along the way.The best place to start with anything is at the beginning. The first real question you have to ask is:A large portion behind this is if you actually do have the time and resources to be able to start. It may be difficult but a small starting event could be ran off of a single setup (a television and console) which is something all Smash players are incredibly likely to have. To prove you can start with that limited of a resource, that is what I will be starting with for getting my locals going during the series. The biggest issue will really be in the time. Now this doesn't just include the time it takes to run the event the day of, but there is the time spent organizing it prior by arranging a venue, promoting the event, connecting to the community, and more.For the very well organized this can still be done even with limited time for those who are working or going to school but be honest with yourself. If you don't have the time to properly dedicate to the event the event will falter and do more harm to the possibility of a smash scene forming than just not running the event. So the next thing to think about is what are you actually capable of hosting?If after really thinking about it you realized it's really not possible for you personally to start the scene in your area that's okay, there are other ways to get things moving in your area and other places you can manage to play Smash but I'll cover that at a later. So you have the time and resources to run a Smash event, but do you have the mentality to run an event? Can you disqualify someone for coming to a match late, even though they are a close friend? Are you going to be able to set up and tear down an event all by yourself if people are too selfish to help? Sometimes TOing can be quite the thankless job as well, people do not always appreciate the hard work you put in, will you be able to handle that? Not to mention the stress of running the event itself, making brackets, and most of the time not being able to even play at your own event.It's a real mental transition changing the game you love from something you play just for fun into a business of sorts and it is something that can honestly make the game less fun for you if you aren't prepared. You can reflect on yourself a long time to see if this is really right for you, but if you really want to test it in a small safe setting without getting your hands too dirty you could always host a tournament online. Now these have their own unique struggles but a basic tournament just starting out will probably have a decent enough size of entrants to get that first taste of what TOing is really like and if it is right for you. Plus hosting online events can help those people that want to play Smash but lack the time to host their own events a place to play as well, so you're doing a great service to the community while you're at it!"So SmashCapps, how do I start an Online Tournament though?" That is a GREAT question, and is going to be the subject of my next If I Can You Can Article! I'm going to host an online event to show you a lot of things you will need to know to prepare not only for an online event but your live event including designing a ruleset, promoting an event, and the big one of actually hosting and organizing the event. Hopefully my online event will not only be something many people can join, but can help be educational for starting tournament organizers as well. I have ran several tournaments before from things like collectible card games, Playstation All Stars Battle Royale, Beyblade, and previous online Smash events so I'm excited to share my knowledge with people in a live setting so people can experience things as they happen.So be sure to tune back in on Thursday for the second article in the series: If I Can, You Can: How To Host An Online Tournament. If you want to keep up with the progress of my own efforts live, follow me on Twitter ! Also, if you have any questions or suggestions related to the article please voice them in the comments below! Until next time don't forget: If I Can, You Can!