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Despite Similarities None Of These Are The Same​

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The Super Smash Flash 2 Community Raising Game Awareness Through A Combo Video Series​

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It seems as if the community is standing on a precipice with Smash. Toes over the ledge looking down from a dizzying height trying to figure out the best way to proceed. The Smash scene wants to push forward and show the world the incredible games we love and how successful they can be, but I feel as though something is amiss.Players want to distinguish the game they play and its scene which is obviously admirable. However while doing so they are measuring their success against another game in the series (Melee) instead of looking at the game on its own merit. The irony is that in seeking to make the game something on its own they are taking the game and interconnecting it to another, thus fighting what they seek to achieve.This Tweet is a unique and curious example. Top Smash 4 player Zero was talking about some excellent things the community should be doing to support the game and they are all good ideas no question, but look at how it was worded. "Where's our MIOM equivalent?" Why is it not: "Where's our Smash 4 news hub?" Whether consciously or not, small comparisons like this are made across Reddit, Twitter, Twitch chats and more and they are not healthy. Even upon such a website being made with that goal, you find this line: "We’ve long heard the cries for a Smash 4 site in the vein of, our primary inspiration (<3) However, we also plan to do some cool stuff that none of our predecessors in the Smash universe have done yet." Soft whispers linger in the air that a new if subtle rivalry has begun.It feels almost like a weird desperation, forcing steps on a community that took Melee fifteen long years to get to. Most people know of the recent shots fired by Zero, calling out many top players, convincing many to step up their game, and even inspiring this bounty placed on him at CEO 2015 . While this has overall be quite a strong force in improving the community it feels like there is a sense of urgency to push forward, like something has to be done or else Smash 4 will slowly start to fade away. If the people playing the game are fearing for its life this will NOT inspire confidence in others to give it support.I'm not saying it isn't admirable to put in so much work to try and push the scene forward, more that the motivations behind doing so seem to be negative and may have an adverse affect over time. While it may not be intentional, many fans are spreading fear or pitting the game and themselves against Melee. While this rivalry may be motivating it could easily take a quite a negative turn when tensions are already so unnecessarily tight between all of the Smash titles.The worst part is they aren't even comparable as each game has so many unique things about it and its scene. Smash 64 is still being played on a console released in 1996 with strong tournaments in areas and a populated netplay community. Brawl still has its devoted fans and the modding community is as strong as ever. Project M continues to fight and thrive despite the difficult place it finds itself in. Super Smash Flash 2 has a vibrant and growing online community that is starting to really spread its wings and fly. Smash 4 is the newest title in the series with new players hungering to show their mettle in battle. How is what Melee is doing a fair standard to be made for these games? It seems all Smash games are having players trying to compare how successful they are to Melee which simply makes no sense to me.While there are many things that Melee does that makes it so successful, do not seek to just copy it to gain your own success. Just copying someone's homework doesn't mean you are actually learning. The games and scenes for every Smash game are so vitally different that the same approach may not always work. Fresh new ideas can be found everywhere and what works for one game may not work for another. While we all love the idea of Smash in general and have tournaments side by side, we must accept that there is a diversity in what we enjoy to watch and play and even embrace that to strengthen all of Smash as a whole.Players may set a goal for greatness, but do not base it on another game because whether or not that goal is achieved bitterness will result on one end or another. I have only ONE caveat to that aforementioned rule, the one and only comparison you will ever need to make with Melee to be successful. They are out doing instead of looking back over their shoulder or side to side for approval. There was a time when Melee not only wasn't accepted by the fighting game community, but was demonized and shunned. They played the game they loved, grew among adversity, and now are such a powerful force they cannot be ignored.Let's put this bluntly. Many Smash players are waiting for the golden egg to commit to their game, but there's no chicken that's going to lay it. People have made accusations that some games are just piggybacking off the success of the others and unfortunately this is difficult to deny with how little we are seeing players invest into their scene. If the game you love is such a good game, why are you not doing everything within your power to show that is the case?TOs want games that bring in players that are paying venue fees and game that can bring on the hype. No rulesets or other odd things will be what determines the future of Smash. It will be the players pushing their game forward in every capacity without worry of others that does so. If the game is no more than tolerated because it's bringing in numbers, it will be gone once the new flavor of the month comes out. You must make other believe in the game that you believe in.True success is creating your own definition, then living that. So create this definition, and see it happen. If your game is maybe getting around 25 entrants at your local weekly, work hard and bring that up to 50. If your game isn't even being hosted, host it yourself or bring a console and TV for friendlies to start interest. There is no need to have fear, if the work is being done by highly motivated people the scene has nowhere to go but up.This is just a vibe I have been feeling from the Smash scene at large and feel it is unhealthy and needs to change. It would be very easy to change as well, just a simple shift in how players are tackling growing the scene. Maybe I am completely off base however, and would be happy and open to discussion on how we can all promote Smash to greater and greater levels. I encourage readers to discuss this editorial within the comments, or get in touch with me on Twitter