]343[ Profile Blog Joined May 2008 United States 10320 Posts Last Edited: 2014-06-05 17:49:41 #1 Interview With EMG | KirbyKaze







EMG | KirbyKaze



TeamLiquid.net had a chance to sit down with David "EMG | KirbyKaze" MacDonald, a Melee Sheik main ranked







Hi KirbyKaze! We haven't seen you at any major tournaments since Get On My Level nearly a month ago. Of the big three summer tournaments (MLG, EVO, and CEO), which will you be attending?



I will be attending MLG.



How confident are you about getting out of the cutthroat open bracket at MLG?



That's a difficult question to answer. Returning to the game since my retirement hasn't been incredibly smooth. That said, I have reasonable confidence that I can perform at a strong enough level to get through the event and place respectably.



I'd say I'm cautiously optimistic.



You took roughly a year off from Smash last year; what do you do outside of Smash?



For a while I was working for a catering company to try and get some extra money so I could finish up my degree. So I've been working and been in school.



In 2012, you were able to take sets off multiple members of the top 5, and were widely considered a top-8 player in the world. How do you think your current skill compares to your skill before your break?



I think my peak skill level is still very high but I am far less consistent than I was in 2012. I'm more prone to off days than I was back in 2012; I feel that my best trait as a player at my 'peak' two years ago was simply that my 'off days' were still very, very good. I've got a few ideas on how to correct this, but the improvement process for upgrading consistency is generally the most cumbersome part of improvement in any sort of competitive game IMO. It requires a lot of discipline and the rewards tend to be less noticeable in the short term.







KirbyKaze vs Mang0 at Rule 6, 29 July 2012



Lately, however, the top 5 have seemed untouchable to all but Leffen. What do you think sets them apart from the rest of the top 25?



On the flip side, what's the most important thing that the "second tier" or "A-tier" of players needs to defeat the top 5? What are you, in particular, working on to regain the ability to beat the top players?



I think the biggest things that set the top players apart from the rest of the competition is how they construct favourable situations in a manner that doesn't put them at huge risk. When I see players like Hax vs M2K (just this last weekened, in fact), Hax outplayed M2K for the vast majority of the match. Hax won more combat exchanges, got solid hits in, but ultimately he took risks that were completely unnecessary and offered him little benefit. Even Mango, who's reputedly one of the most aggressive players in the business, rarely puts himself into that sort of danger without a really good reason. The top 5 are less impulsive, have greater patience, and generally look to control a situation before risking anything on it.



As for what I'm doing to try and regain my status as a real tournament threat? A lot of what I've been doing lately has been studying matches and trying to approach the combat in the game as a series of action-reaction relationships. The interesting thing about games to me is that it's a player vs player interaction but it occurs within the constraints of a game. Meaning that while people might have goals in mind, what they can actually do in their current situation is limited by what their character can do too. Understanding this relationship in a more confident manner I feel is essential to combatting the control-oriented styles that are becoming more dominant; I need to know what my opponent is trying to do before I can actually beat him.



And aside from studying the game I'm trying to play more with the talented players in my region (Raynex, Weon-X, I.B, etc). I'm also actively practicing my movement and solo-techniques a bit more too. Anything to get an edge, really.



Canadian Smash doesn't get as much exposure as US Smash, so not many outside Canada know much about the Canadian scene and its history. Who were the top 5 most notable players around 2007, and who are the top 5 most notable players now? How do the top Canadian players stack up against the rest of the world?



I think in 2007 the best players in Canada were all Quebec players. Bam, Vwins, pkmvodka, Chesterr01, and Kage.



Toronto didn't really get good until about 2009 or 2010. I'd say nowadays it's probably a mix of me, EMG|Weon-X, Kage, Vwins, and I.B.



As for how we stack up against the rest of the world, I'd say we do fairly respectably overall. Kage got something like 17th at APEX 2014, I.B recently got 3rd at NWM in Seattle, Weon-X and I both got top 8 at ROM7, and Vwins never does poorly in USA (although he hasn't been there in a while).







Why do you think Toronto was able to surpass Quebec in the last few years? How did the Toronto-area Smashers (including you) improve so quickly?



I think the reason we were able to surpass Quebec was mostly because of the rivalries within our region. Toronto didn't really have a clear cut best player for a very long time and there was always a lot of contention for the top spot. So we were always very heated with one another. We were also a bit more academic about how we approached improvement so unlike Quebec we would study certain details of the game to understand them better. Chain grab percentages, character weights, dash ranges... anything that we thought could give us an edge, really. Quebec had been better than us for so long that they were kind of complacent and stuck to more traditional methods of improvement. Eventually we just sort of caught up.



Is there an East Coast vs West Coast split like in the United States, or is the Canadian scene divided differently?



We used to have an E.C. vs W.C. split, similar to that of USA. B.C. and the prairies were generally considered W.C., while Toronto & Quebec were considered E.C. At Toronto / Quebec regionals we'd usually subdivide E.C. to our provinces too. But at larger Canadian events if we had W.C. represented then we'd usually do E.C. vs W.C.



When I started following the Melee scene in 2011, you, Kage, and Unknown522 were the only Canadian players I'd really heard of. Do you feel like you represent Canada when you play internationally? What are the pros and cons of being one of "the" Canadian Smashers?



I certainly feel like I represent Canada when I play internationally, but more than anything I feel like I represent my part of Canada. I feel like I'm representing our unique way of improving and the community that I am a regular participant of.



I feel there are perks of being one of "the Canadian Smashers". There's some level of intrigue attached because the USA players don't get to play against you as often. But you also have to be comfortable playing with a crowd against you. And you also have to be prepared to fight styles you might not have had a chance to really practice against either. We're a smaller community, after all.



Thanks in large part to EVO 2013 and the Smash Brothers documentary, the Smash community is growing at an incredible rate. What does a local Smash community need to do to promote maximum growth, both in terms of number of players, and for each individual player?



I think Arcadian tournaments are probably one of the best things a community can do to improve growth within a region.



Arcadian tournaments are tournaments for unranked players within a region. I ran one with Raynex in Toronto recently and we hit 117 entrants. It was a really eye-opening experience for a lot of up & coming players who simply didn't have any experience playing in a long set vs players of their own skill level. People who hadn't had to really face the pressure of being in third round winner's bracket were thrust into an environment where the ability to adapt to stress and manage pressure had a premium attached to it.



We got a lot of positive feedback too, with players saying they felt motivated to come back and couldn't wait for the next one.



On the other hand, some veteran Smashers seem to be turned off by what they perceive as a shift away from "how things used to be." What's your advice to these players?



Change is inevitable. How things "used to be" pays tribute to a time where many regions couldn't hit 32 entrants for local tournaments. How things "used to be" involves a time where major sponsors wouldn't even look at us because of how lost and disorganized we were.



We are finally reaching a semblance of stability. Because we're learning from our mistakes. The grassroots era was wonderful for what it was, yes. But you can't stop the change -- it's already here.



As the community grows, the number of "intermediate-level" players—those who grasp their characters' tech, strengths and weaknesses, and matchups to some extent, but haven't yet had any results beyond maybe making it out of the first round of pools at a national level—is growing as well. You mentioned that Arcadians can teach these players to learn how to deal with tournament pressure; what else do you think these players are lacking, and what do they need to understand in order to succeed at the next level?



I feel very few people understand SSBM for what it is. And that's because this is, for many people, their very first competitive game. And it has the disadvantage of being cleverly disguised as a party game.



SSBM is a game about options. You need to understand your opponent's goals when you're in a match. What they want to do, what they can do, and how that relates to the situation at hand (which you're playing a role in creating too; your options and choices are therefore of paramount importance too). But a lot of players do not really understand the gravity of this.



I feel one of the biggest culprits for this is the fact that we have many "how to" videos that teach players how to perform techniques. But very few "why" videos and materials that actually explain why these techniques are important, or how they contribute to a combat mixup, for that matter.



I definitely agree with that!



It's so blatant. I recently talked to an up & coming Falco player in my region because he was bummed about his performance at the Arcadian. So I asked him what his understand was about Falco as a character, how he wins, etc.



He said "He can combo people hard."



So at that point I showed him some PPMD matches vs M2K and Armada and explained what was going on... The next day at the local tournament he beat one of our ranked ICs players and took a game off of Weon-X in pools.



I feel a lot of people have a lot of potential that goes unrealized simply because there are very few accessible resources to help guide them. And learning this game from scratch is... very hard.



Now more than ever, spacies players seem to be taking over the top echelon of Melee players. Do you think Sheik, as a character, is capable of beating the onslaught of increasingly technical Foxes and Falcos? What about Sheik's other "bad" matchups, Ice Climbers and Jigglypuff?



I don't think Fox and Falco are that bad. I don't think Puff is that bad either.



I think Sheik definitely has everything she needs to overcome the metagame. She has great defense, great punishment, and just enough harassment with her needles (and some gutsy high-risk / high-reward offense options) to give her everything she needs to win against the cast.



Ice Climbers are rough but doable. Ice Climbers are in general a very polarizing character. If you are capable of avoiding their grabs and subsequent punishments then you tend to be fine against them. I think Sheik is capable of doing this; players like Okami have taken sets from players like Fly before.



What's the one tech or skill that most mid-level Sheiks are missing?



TECH CHASING! Tech chasing by a mile. They also tend to be very inefficient with their movements, which is directly related to tech chasing.



Tech chasing & responding to a tech chase effectively is a very unique mix of understanding & reading your opponent but it occurs within a certain time window.



You need to distill from how they position themselves coming out of Sheik's throw (or attack) what their options are in their new situation. Which means figuring out what they can do if they're hit by certain options. Other times you'll notice players (especially punishment-oriented spacies) testing a Sheik player, trying to figure out just how good their reaction time actually is with her d-throw --> regrab. Which opens up a whole bunch of opportunities to put their stock away. But a lot of Sheiks don't get past the fact that tech stand --> shine is a tight window and write the situation off as guesswork. But really it's one of the best chances to really get inside your opponent's head and learn about what they're afraid of... and what makes them tick.







I'm learning a lot of stuff and I don't even play Sheik!



I could write a novel about tech chasing. It's such an interesting part of the punishment game.



What do you think of the E3 Smash 4 Invitational invitees and format?



It's cool. I don't like the draft but I see the reason for it.



Otherwise everyone would probably just pick a Melee character (or Brawl character, I suppose) they were good with and just try to make that style work in SSB4. Which wouldn't afford much room to showcase the changes to the roster on the whole (it seems like a lot has been changed).



I don't really like 4 player FFA in general but again I can see the merit of it. Some characters are probably designed for teams format & have crowd control elements and such. Which probably wouldn't get shown off very well in strict 1v1.



Do you think Smash 4 will be a viable competitive game, and will you play it?



Nintendo seems to be going out of their way an awful lot to show that they care about its competitive Smash Bros. community lately. They removed some of the less potent & glitchy moves from Sheik (her chain), have been giving characters like Zero-Suit Samus a makeover, and some of their new characters seem to draw inspiration from exisitng FGC characters (Greninja looks like an amphibian version of Ibuki in some of the videos) so I think they're definitely trying to make this a competiviely viable game, certainly.



As for whether I'll play it? I think I'll give it a shot. It looks fun. It feels like they're elevating the power levels of the characters as a whole so I'm expecting something very different from SSBM. I don't want to make any real predictions right now, but at times I find myself thinking that it looks sort of PM-esque.



Who are two up-and-coming players, one from Toronto and one outside Toronto, that we should watch out for this year?



In 2015, I think Frog from Toronto is going to get very good in SSBM.



Outside of Toronto? It's not a very original answer but Gravy could definitely be a force to be reckoned with. He's got a lot of drive and a lot of dedication.



What's Sheik's most underrated move?



I'm not sure she has one, haha.



What legal stage would you like to ban, and what banned stage would you like back?



I feel Pokemon Stadium is pretty silly at times. I'd probably resurrect Rainbow Cruise.



What's your favorite Melee set that you didn't play in?



Armada vs PPMD from Pound 5 Grand Finals.



Do you like Project M?



It's fun, but I tend to prefer Melee.



Are you going to ever again create something as amazing as your guide on SDIing Fox's up throw?



I hope to. But it would be difficult to surpass the amazingness that was Demo Kirby. That won't stop me from trying though



Does Canadian politeness interfere with being a competitive fighting game player?



I don't think so. I don't think politeness interferes with our competitive fighting spirit.



Most of Teamliquid.net is new to competitive Smash. What's the best way for someone new to the scene to get started?



To get started you should probably spend some time to get a feel for your character. I think studying and learning the game mechanically is a very helpful reference and learning tool but SSBM is a very organic fighting game so having a sense of how its physics engine works at a tactile level is very, very helpful.



And what are the three most important things for a new Smasher to practice in order to become a competitive player?



Beyond that, I think the best three things to practice are:

1) Aiming your character's hitboxes

2) Moving effectively

3) Thinking about what your opponent's goals are vs. what your goals are in a situation and how you'd go about either achieving your goals or countering what your opponent is going for (sometimes there will be overlap.)



Any last shoutouts?







I'd like to shoutout to prog for being one of the most driving influences in my life as a whole.



And beyond that I'd like to thank you for taking the time to interview me. It has been quite a privilege To the Toronto community for being such a wonderful place for growth and new ideas to develop. I think we have a very strong understanding of the game at a mechanical level within our community and I think we're gonna begin putting that understanding to good use this year.I'd like to shoutout to prog for being one of the most driving influences in my life as a whole.And beyond that I'd like to thank you for taking the time to interview me. It has been quite a privilege



Thanks so much for your detailed answers, KirbyKaze! Good luck at MLG, and all the best in regaining that consistency you were talking about!







Besides, I've achieved crazier things in this game that weren't 'feasible' haha, like beating HBox with Sheik My goal is to be the best player in the world by APEX 2015. I'm not sure it's feasible but frankly I think something like 'feasibility' is a minor detail when it comes to stuff like thisBesides, I've achieved crazier things in this game that weren't 'feasible' haha, like beating HBox with Sheik



I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do this year! Thanks again!



TeamLiquid.net had a chance to sit down with David "EMG | KirbyKaze" MacDonald, a Melee Sheik main ranked #9 in the world according to the Melee It On Me player rankings. KirbyKaze is known both for his deep understanding of the game and his ability to translate this understanding into his play. Interviewer: ]343[

Editor: ]343[

Graphics: Shiroiusagi

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