tofucake Profile Blog Joined October 2009 Hyrule 17807 Posts Last Edited: 2014-06-10 17:15:42 #1 Interview With KDJ, Ken, HugS, Milktea, PewPewU, PPMD, and Prog



We sat down with a few of the Smash Invitational invitees and had a little chat. Predictions were made, stories were told, and concerns were raised. We got some insight into players and commentators for the upcoming Invitational tournament.







What was it like to be approached by Nintendo and to be asked to be a part of the event?



Prog

This year hearing from Nintendo about the Invitational...that's the ultimate...the highest bar. It means so much to me. I don't have words for it. I'm still in shock realizing what's going on.



When I first got contacted by Nintendo, it was just...disbelief seeing that domain name in an email. "Email from who? From... what?" Because we've always had this tepid relationship with Nintendo, and for them to reach out to the competitive community in this aspect...I can't even say it's a dream come true. In my wildest dreams and being in the community this long I never would have expected any of this. And it's amazing. Just having them reach out. It's...it's...I don't have words for it.



It's exciting, it's scary at the same time.



Milktea

Let's just say I slept only three hours that night out of sheer excitement. When the existence of a Smash Invitational was first announced, I specifically recall tweeting "Have fun to all my friends who are going! Will be cheering you on from work." Never in a million years would I have thought that I would be attending! I am so excited and will try my utmost hardest to represent the competitive community well. Without them, I would not be here.



HugS

When Nintendo appraoched me... So, they called me up when they told me about it and... I totally missed the call [laughs]. I missed it. And I checked my voicemail, well I didn't even check my voicemail. I always have my phone on silent and I hate when people call me, I'd rather they text me. So I see this call and I'm like "what the hell" and I'm kind of annoyed, so I call back and then it says "Hi. You've just contacted the headquarters of Nintendo of America" and I'm like "Oh.... Shit!" and then I just flipped out and I started scrambling and just going nuts. I was like "No, no, they have to call me back, I totally missed this, I can't miss this call" So I scrambled and I got a hold of the person helping us out and yeah, then they told me the news and I was just so excited. I couldn't believe it. I didn't suspect that they even knew who I was, that they hadn't seen any of my work, seen me in the documentary, knew of my existence at all. So when they invited me I was like "Oh man, these guys actually know who I am, they actually did their research." It's crazy. Like, when I picked up this game, I never imagined that the company that made all the consoles that I've played throughout my life and that made my favorite game of all time, would ever even know that I existed. So getting invited was one of the best things ever.



Ken

So... It's something like... I was on that show called Survivor, right? And I applied and when I got that call, I was like, super excited because I got that awesome chance to compete. And it was the same thing when Nintendo called me, but so much more so. You just get this strange, mysterious phone call, and then all of a sudden it's Nintendo asking you if you want to participate in this Invitational thing. And it was something, some tournament that they were running. Nintendo! And they hadn't really looked at us before, but now they actually are looking at us! And they're like, actually picking pro players to be part of their event. I mean, at first I was just shocked, then I was incredibly happy and now I just can't be happier to be a part of it.



PPMD

I was very excited. I was just so happy that they chose me. Not because, I thought it would be fun–even though it will be–but because I feel so fortunate to be chosen to represent the Smash community. Not just the Melee community but the Smash community as a whole. With Smash 4, I feel that we're all trying to become one unit and everything. I really want to represent us as best I can for Nintendo. They're giving us an amazing opportunity to show that they care about us, that they acknowledge the competitive community and that they appreciate all of our hard work and that they won't stand in the way of it, in fact they're going to help it along. And you know, it's almost poetic, that they're getting us to help people enjoy the game, in a way that we ourselves probably haven't enjoyed the game in a very long time, with the FFA and the items. You can enjoy the game in so many different ways, and they'll show that by also having the 1v1 on Battlefield at the end. And I think that that is just so respectful that they've tried to respect everyone's viewpoints. I'm so happy to have been selected to play and to be able to participate in that vision.



KDJ

The biggest thing about the Invitational is that I'm going to get to try out the game in a very competitive setting, playing against some of the best players in the world, and be in a competitive environment. Unfortunately, it is FFA with items enabled, and then there is the whole draft pick. So, I think that Nintendo isn't too entirely focused on the competitive; moreso they're just celebrating the game and welcoming the competitive side of the game for the first time, inviting these top players out to try out their game at E3 and demonstrate just what is possible.



PewPewU

The over-used word I like to tell people is "surreal". What I really feel is a mix of things. Of course it's surreal — but there's also a sense of wonder, adventure, excitement, even some dread for being on stage in front of that many people haha. I'm just very grateful that Nintendo actually decided to call me. I've only been playing for a little over 5 years, and I'm such a young player who is generally behind the scenes until lately this year, so it was a surprise



Overall, this is an absolutely PHENOMENAL opportunity for not only Smash, but also Nintendo. It's clear that there is an enormous market for eSports as of late, and I think Nintendo's original business plan of simply catering their sales to the "nuclear family" was flat out not working. With the invitational they've opened many doors to the future







So what are your expectations for the Invitational?



Prog

The Invitational... it looks like they're going after a large sect of the competitive community as well as esports in general—look at who was invited. You have players like aMSa who's risen to prominence in recent memory. You have players like the guys from Team Liquid, Ken and KDJ. You have Hungrybox on Curse. As well as Evil Geniuses in PPMD, so they've definitely got that esports vibe going. You have content creators. You have streamers. It's a good composite image of the Smash community. Although a lot of people will say it's very, very Melee heavy in terms of numbers. Basically, a lot of people feel like it's just ZeRo and Rapture representing the Brawl side. And where's the 64 side? That said it's Invitational, but it's not Invitational saying that "these are the top 16 players in the world." It's a microcosm of the Smash community. You have all different aspects of the grass roots scene. A lot of people who have built themselves up and made names for themselves. It's a lot of fun seeing who they've chosen.



My personal hope, I hope we get that kind of bend, since they are inviting competitive players, that we do see some of those advanced tactics from Melee come back. It seems like the speed is going to be between Melee and Brawl, and I feel like that's a good balance as well. I feel like multigame threats like ZeRo, who's invited, and ESAM and Mew2King when they gets their hands on it, they're going to have a huge advantage with that knowledge of both the Brawl and Melee engines. But that being said, I really hope that everyone has a lot of fun with it.



HugS

I expect to have a lot of fun. We're gonna be out there for E3 and the Invitational and we're gonna have a good time. I just wanna... I want to put on a show for everyone that's gonna be watching one way or another. So it's not so much about winning, although that would be cool, it's gonna be about putting on a show for everyone. I want everyone to see what the game is all about, see what these players can bring to the table, and just hype it up throw some spikes in there and kill some people like that or throw in some charge shots, something like that. I'll do what I can to hype people up as Samus.



Ken

Well, I mean, it's a new game, so I can't... I hope that there's some brand new things, some brand new aspects to play that we haven't seen before. I'm really hoping for aspects that just make the game fun and enjoyable to play. I'm looking to play this more for fun at first, but if I enjoy it enough, then I'll go tryhard into being competitive at it. But, right now, I honestly think I'm just a Melee player. But, you know, I'll see how it is with Smash 4. It'll be just like it was with Brawl. I went to EVO and I got second place, so... I mean, it's a Smash game, so I imagine I'll pick it up pretty fast. Eventually, I'll decide if it's worth really persuing. But it's gonna be really big though! A lot of people are pretty hyped about it.



PPMD

It's gonna be nuts. I'm gonna have a big, dopey grin on my face the whole time, I'm not gonna lie. It's going to be good. I'm gonna be up there with millions of people seeing what's going on. They're going to see Smash in a new way. Nintendo is really pushing it. As for FFA? It's going to be something different, something that I really haven't done in a while, and it's gonna be good for me to remind myself that there's no single way to play a game to enjoy it. And I think that this will be just as beneficial for the hardcore competitive players like myself, as it will be for the fans who are watching to see that there is a more competitive side. I think that's gonna be good for me to just kinda cut loose and go nuts, even if I get knocked out first round I'm gonna have a heck of time.







What character are you most excited to see/What character do you hope to play?



Prog

Right now I'm on team Lil Mac. I've always been a fan of boxers and monks and ground based fighters, like Dr Mario in Melee. So I think he's gonna be a lot of fun. Why down play it: he's going to be my first pick. But all that being said, I really want to see Lil Mac perform well. I feel like he's either going to be really, really good or really, really bad and I think he's going to fall on the bad end of the spectrum. But whatever, I'll play him anyway. I do want to see a couple additional characters added. Like everyone else I want to see Captain Falcon come back.



Milktea

I'm excited to see Megaman and Villager since they have never been in the Smash games before. I want to see what they are capable of. It would be hilarious if Villager was top tier! As for who I hope to play, who knows?



HugS

I don't think anyone will take Samus, because no one likes her as much as I do and they don't know how to play the character well. So the only reason they would actually do it would be to spite me, and I don't think that anyone is going to the Invitational just to spite me. Ken and PPU and gonna be fighting for Marth but that's about it, everyone's gonna leave Samus alone. Or maybe Lil Mac. I like Lil Mac. I might change my mind.



Ken

Knowing my luck, I'm probably gonna pick 16 out of that hat. Just, absolute dead last. I already put this all out on the table. It's either gonna be, like, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Sonic and Olimar as the last 4 characters that are picked. There might be one alternate there, I guess Olimar was ok in Brawl. I dunno, but the bottom 4 will be the bottom 4 for a reason. They'll be really crappy. Between those characters, I think I would just pick Donkey Kong. I know that no one's gonna pick Donkey Kong. So, I got a pretty good Dankey Kang. I definitely don't want Olimar. But, on the off chance that I get first pick? I definitely want Marth. Fox, also a good option I guess. Greninja, maybe Lil Mac. Actually, I'm probably not gonna pick Lil Mac. No chance for him.



PPMD

I have a list of characters I want, because I know there's a good chance I won't get first. There a few characters that I can see myself doing pretty well with. I kind of feel like my two picks right now are Marth and Fox. And I know “Oh, wow, big surprise coming from the Melee player” I know. But I like them because I'm familiar. I played Marth in Melee and Brawl and I loved him, so I'll probably still love him in Smash 4, and he probably won't have huge changes. Plus, if I get Marth, then the other guys who want Marth can't get him, which is definitely good! My only issue is that Marth isn't so good in FFA, with his lag and space. And also, he might not be fast enough to get items, which is definitely where Fox comes in. So those are my two. I can't really choose between them right now. But then I also have my backup list of characters who have their own reasonings. I'll be reworking it as I go and rewatch the footage that we've seen so far.



KDJ

Naturally I want to be playing a character like Marth or Zelda, since I think most Melee players are familiar with them, how they move, how to approach, just how to play them. But honestly, I really want to experiment with different characters. Worst case scenario, if I can't get Villager, which is my initial main choice, then... I suppose it would be between Rosalina and Greninja. I get the feeling, from watching footage and character design, that Greninja will be similar to Sheik in a way, with a strong projectile game, and some long reach. So, overall, I guess I just want something new.



PewPewU

Rosalina. To be honest, Rosalina has always caught my eye. She excites me far more than Greninja or Megaman or Little Mac, what everyone else seems to like. That being said... Marth is absolutely my #1 priority pick, as he is for the majority of the invitees.







How are you going to deal with the format of the event? How many false alliances will happen?



Prog

It's kind of a throwback, going back and playing with items...with competitive players. I haven't done that in years. And it's awesome to do. And of course with everyone being stuck with one character the entire time it's going to be a lot of fun to see how people develop new tactics and deal with characters they've seen for the first time.



And of course seeing those words. Finals on Battlefield. 4 stocks. 8 minutes. It's an homage to the competitive Smash community. It tugs at my heartstrings. It's fantastic to be part of this represenation. And I'm thankful to Nintendo for reaching out; not just to me but to the community in general. But, it's a testement to the community to how far it's come in the past few years. That progress has been made. It's a pleasure and an honor to be part of it.



Milktea

:x I think by default the characters who have never been seen before will cause the most hype! I think if any of the Marth mains (PewPewU, PPMD, or Ken) get Marth, that will stir a lot of excitement. Lastly, if DJ Nintendo gets Bowser, all will be right in the world (the guy carries a Bowser plushie with him everywhere)!



HugS

Collusion! I don't know how the FFA is gonna work. That's the whole problem with FFAs, is that people can team up and triple team someone. But there's the fan favorite tournament, right? So if someone's getting teamed up on, maybe the fans will sympathize, and be like "Oh, let's get that guy back in tournament" you know? So, I think of all the players in the Invitational, I'll have the least problems getting the character that I want, just because I've played her my whole life.



PPMD

Man, I wasn't sure if anyone was gonna ask me a question like this. I've played around with the idea I can't lie. I can't even lie. I've been thinking, you know, "Who can I homie up with, who's gonna be my friend here?" I need to make a lot of friends once we get to LA, because the general strategy, from what I've heard, is that they'll be 3v1'ing me in the FFA. So, making alliances might be very important to make sure that that doesn't happen. So I have that to consider.



I don't have a formal strategy laid. I don't think I'm a manipulative person. I think I'm gonna try and be pretty friendly with everyone. We're gonna have a lot of time, because there may be some extra days besides the tournament where we'll all be there and we or may not "hang out" and "relax" a little bit. So, you know, there are going to be bonding opportunities. So I feel like that alone may influence how everyone feels about everyone else, come tournament time and it'll be interesting. I don't have an explicit plan, but, I will at least tell them that it's messed up.



PewPewU

I think PPMD with anyone will be exciting. His gameplay is beautiful and I dare say eloquent, if there was ever an adjective to describe his play. And this will indefinitely transfer to smash 4. If he's feeling comfortable and playing well, any aggressive character and PPMD will put on a great show.



If everyone got their ideal character, I think there would be 5 Marths. But hypothetically, I could honestly see myself taking it! PPMD is the next candidate, but I think that I have a great chance at this. The 16 of us haven't really spoken about FFA backstabbing openly, and I'm sure there will be mild cases of it, but I think that we all see this tournament eye to eye in that it isn't just about getting the absolute win. If any collusion at all, it'll be pretty minimal. And I know I've made countless tweets at PPMD saying I'd 3v1 him, but that's all just in good fun :D







What character do you think won't get picked?



Milktea

Either Little Mac or Pikmin & Olimar.



Ken

Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Sonic and Olimar



PewPewU

I've worked this out on my super secret spreadsheet, and I think any character realistically has a chance of being picked. There's only one character I ruled out, and that's Wii Fit Trainer. It just looks so bored and emotionless, I can't see anyone ever actually wanting to pick her.



If you think about it, to us 16 it's going to be one great big party full of competitive spirit. We want to win, of course. Every single one of us wants nothing more than to get first place. But we also want to have fun, it's our time to not only to show that we're great players, but also a bunch of rowdy young adults that wanna go out there and have a ball. I mean, we're the first people in the world to ever play this game in a competition! How could being the world's first, world's best not just excite the living heck out of you?!







What are your hopes for the game in general?



Prog

right now, I'm just ecstatic coming to the community knowing what we want: in terms of players, bringing back the Gamecube adapter, and it sounds like re-releasing the controller with the Smash ball as the emblem. If you throw in Shulk from Xenoblade...or I don't even need Shulk. There can be a fantastic orchestral remix of



Milktea

I'd really love to see the scene continue expanding and maturing. In just the past two years alone, they've come a long way. The fact that there will also be a portable version of Smash 4 means so many more possibilities. I am envisioning a subway commute to work where I can spot at least a few others playing Smash on their 3DSes....!



PPMD

A faster paced game would be nice. I'm fine with Marth staying relatively similar. Some great stuff would be more interactive, but more lengthy. Melee got it so right with its combo system. It's interactive, in that you can't just repeat the same combo over and over, like you might see in Marvel or Street Fighter. It's never the exact same combo happening, because people can DI in such incredible ways. It's almost like an exchange between the two players every time someone gets hit, which makes it really impressive to 0 to death someone. It's like, you had to control them, manipulate them, react to them every step of the way. I feel like that interaction is part of what makes Melee so beautiful. If I could have something like that in Smash 4, it would make it one of my favorite games.



That and the fluidity of movement, the way you can just control your character around the stage so well, it really feels like you can do anything. I feel like I can express myself so freely, in the transition between the movement into the combo, which is also interactive. It feels like you're having, in an existential way of saying it, a conversation with your opponent, which is something that I really like. I would just like as many interactive elements as possible, without having something like in Brawl, where you could easily get out of combos, because that just favors the defensive side. I like it to be more even handed where both parties have a chance. As far movesets... You know, to be honest, if they've got the first two parts down, I can't say I'd be too upset with any changes in movesets. I hope Marth's is kind of similar. I hope that they didn't watch too much recent Melee and decide to nerf Fox or Falco real bad, that could always happen. I would be sad if they took out Captain Falcon, because he's our boy. He is justice. He is America. He's pretty great.



KDJ

I hope that Villager is good! I hope that Rosalina is good. I'm hoping that Meta Knight is in it, and that's he good, just that everyone else is on the same level as him. Because, I really do like how Meta Knight plays in Brawl, it's just unfortunate that he's that much better than everyone else. I really wish that the general mechanics of the game are a bit more sped up, that it's a bit more along the lines of Melee than Brawl. Things like more hitstun, more movement options, just things to make the game less campy than Brawl, since that was it's main issue. right now, I'm just ecstatic coming to the community knowing what we want: in terms of players, bringing back the Gamecube adapter, and it sounds like re-releasing the controller with the Smash ball as the emblem. If you throw in Shulk from Xenoblade...or I don't even need Shulk. There can be a fantastic orchestral remix of They Will Know Our Names from Xenoblade Chronicles...that's all I need.I'd really love to see the scene continue expanding and maturing. In just the past two years alone, they've come a long way. The fact that there will also be a portable version of Smash 4 means so many more possibilities. I am envisioning a subway commute to work where I can spot at least a few others playing Smash on their 3DSes....!A faster paced game would be nice. I'm fine with Marth staying relatively similar. Some great stuff would be more interactive, but more lengthy. Melee got it so right with its combo system. It's interactive, in that you can't just repeat the same combo over and over, like you might see in Marvel or Street Fighter. It's never the exact same combo happening, because people can DI in such incredible ways. It's almost like an exchange between the two players every time someone gets hit, which makes it really impressive to 0 to death someone. It's like, you had to control them, manipulate them, react to them every step of the way. I feel like that interaction is part of what makes Melee so beautiful. If I could have something like that in Smash 4, it would make it one of my favorite games.That and the fluidity of movement, the way you can just control your character around the stage so well, it really feels like you can do anything. I feel like I can express myself so freely, in the transition between the movement into the combo, which is also interactive. It feels like you're having, in an existential way of saying it, a conversation with your opponent, which is something that I really like. I would just like as many interactive elements as possible, without having something like in Brawl, where you could easily get out of combos, because that just favors the defensive side. I like it to be more even handed where both parties have a chance. As far movesets... You know, to be honest, if they've got the first two parts down, I can't say I'd be too upset with any changes in movesets. I hope Marth's is kind of similar. I hope that they didn't watch too much recent Melee and decide to nerf Fox or Falco real bad, that could always happen. I would be sad if they took out Captain Falcon, because he's our boy. He is justice. He is America. He's pretty great.I hope that Villager is good! I hope that Rosalina is good. I'm hoping that Meta Knight is in it, and that's he good, just that everyone else is on the same level as him. Because, I really do like how Meta Knight plays in Brawl, it's just unfortunate that he's that much better than everyone else. I really wish that the general mechanics of the game are a bit more sped up, that it's a bit more along the lines of Melee than Brawl. Things like more hitstun, more movement options, just things to make the game less campy than Brawl, since that was it's main issue.





We sat down with a few of the Smash Invitational invitees and had a little chat. Predictions were made, stories were told, and concerns were raised. We got some insight into players and commentators for the upcoming Invitational tournament. Interviewer: TeamLiquid Smash

Editor: tofucake

Graphics: Shiroiusagi, tofucake







The above are transcripts of video interviews. The content has been edited to reflect the change in format.

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