Problematising ‘Play to Win’
--Anthony Smith, 2008
Foreword: The ‘Play to Win’ philosophy that Sirlin is often quoted for is indeed what I refer to. However, I cannot say I am entirely familiar with his work. I am familiar with many of the arguments that have been made about Brawl citing Sirlin in their writing. What I know of Sirlin is what I have read in many user’s posts, including direct quotes most relevant to Brawl. Keep in mind that I’ve tried to write this essay as objectively as possible. My current beliefs and opinions are not necessarily represented in this entirely, bar one or two important points.
The purpose of this essay is to reshape and redefine our current notion of ‘Play to Win’ and explore its problematic effects on the Super Smash Bros. Brawl competitive tournament scene. I intend on highlighting several issues revolving around Brawl in its current state which can be interpreted to shift the current meaning of this familiar phrase, as well fault it for its effect on the Metagame. However, it is first important to define ‘Play to Win’ as we currently understand it, and how it applies to Brawl.
The concept of ‘Play to Win’ is one that isn’t very difficult to define. It is merely using every tool/element/rule at your disposal in order to win at whatever it is that you’re contesting provided it is within the boundaries of the rule set outlined by the ruling authority and of course not a criminal act. As it applies to Brawl, it means choosing the very best character and counter-pick stages possible as deemed by extensive research into the game and documented history of tournament character placement, as well as exhausting every stage strike, stage cancel, every advanced technique, and every other means you have of maximizing your shot at victory.
There are several obvious reasons for this. Many of them have nothing to do with, nor take into consideration the play to win strategy. Many people choose a character in Brawl because they find them aesthetically appealing, because it is a character from their favorite Nintendo franchise, because a character represents a certain facet of their persona, or even precisely because a character is low tier and unpopular. However there are also reasons for not picking Metaknight that arguably fit within the play to win strategy.
Despite Metaknight’s dominance both on paper and in practice, MK is not necessarily the best character for everyone. There will indeed be people who cannot work MK the same way other people can, and thus do better with different characters. For example, a player may have mained Marth, or Dedede or Diddy Kong from the day of Brawl’s release, playing to win in an emerging metagame where the question of who is the best is slowly being found. By the time Metaknight was declared best character in the game, they have probably become so comfortable with their main that they would actually do worse if they tried using Metaknight. People will argue that it’s merely a matter of investing some time into learning the character, however, if one were to follow the play to win philosophy, and they have not put any amount of time into learning how to play MK, at that point in time at least, it’s usually justifiable to merely stick with their main.
Referring back to the phenomenon of an emerging Metagame, for quite a number of months Snake was considered the best character in the game over Metaknight. What is interesting here is that people kept pushing Metaknight in terms of his metagame until he was considered better. Metaknight mains during that time kept on with him, perhaps because they preferred his playstyle, or MK was their favorite character, or more than likely, they believed he could potentially be the best character in the game, just as in the example I cited one paragraph ago. If you truly believe that your character is the best character or can be the best character in the game, then regardless of the state of the metagame, you are still playing to win.
Another factor to take into consideration is match up experience. If you are a Metaknight main, it’s more than likely you are forced to deal with Metaknight dittos. However, in situations where you’re pitted against another Metaknight, you might choose to play a different character. This sounds absurd at first, considering that Metaknight is his own best match up, but one must take into consideration the significance of match up experience. A metaknight main may be well versed in MK dittos, but might do poorly against Snake due to inexperience.
Many of the points made in this essay so far are all well and good, but it does not take much for anyone to dispute them. All of what has been said so far does not change the fact that Metaknight is the best character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl at the moment and if a new player were to join the scene wanting to win, he/she would be best off choosing Metaknight as their main. It’s this issue, the ‘Metaknight Plague’ as coined by Overswarm that can for a time be detrimental to the development of the competitive scene and its metagame.
The concept of ‘Play to Win’ is problematic because it causes over-centralization within a game like Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The theory is that since Metaknight’s worst match up is himself, other players are forced to main MK to defeat MK. Then they find they have to use MK in more than just ditto situations, and before they know it they don’t need their other characters.
A counter-argument to this is that MK may in the future not be as unbeatable as some may believe. MK has been developed by an army of players quite quickly in comparison to other characters, and due to this accelerated development, has seen greater success as his potential has been unlocked to a far greater degree. It may yet well be that G&W or Diddy Kong or any other character could be the best in the game, and it is up to the dedicated mains of each character to try and improve as much as possible.
The Melee tier lists reflect this phenomenon, and it is difficult to fathom where Brawl will be 2, 3 years from now. Brawl is still a relatively young game, and there is still room for growth. As character play styles and match ups continue to evolve and change our current play to win strategy will change as well.
Afterword:To put it bluntly, this essay is merely a means of justifying why people choose not to main MK. I kinda wrote this on a whim. I was having a shower this morning and this idea to attack our current notion of ‘playing to win’ seemed like a good way to spend a morning and afternoon. To summarize, play Metaknight if you want to win. Play other characters if you want to help the evolution of the game or if you feel more comfortable with other characters. It’s very possible that characters other than MK himself are a 50:50 match up with MK, but it’s not going to happen if you don’t contribute to your character’s growth.
Bibliography:
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw
tldr: You suck, read it you lazy mofo. Sonic for Steak Tier.
--Anthony Smith, 2008
Foreword: The ‘Play to Win’ philosophy that Sirlin is often quoted for is indeed what I refer to. However, I cannot say I am entirely familiar with his work. I am familiar with many of the arguments that have been made about Brawl citing Sirlin in their writing. What I know of Sirlin is what I have read in many user’s posts, including direct quotes most relevant to Brawl. Keep in mind that I’ve tried to write this essay as objectively as possible. My current beliefs and opinions are not necessarily represented in this entirely, bar one or two important points.
The purpose of this essay is to reshape and redefine our current notion of ‘Play to Win’ and explore its problematic effects on the Super Smash Bros. Brawl competitive tournament scene. I intend on highlighting several issues revolving around Brawl in its current state which can be interpreted to shift the current meaning of this familiar phrase, as well fault it for its effect on the Metagame. However, it is first important to define ‘Play to Win’ as we currently understand it, and how it applies to Brawl.
The concept of ‘Play to Win’ is one that isn’t very difficult to define. It is merely using every tool/element/rule at your disposal in order to win at whatever it is that you’re contesting provided it is within the boundaries of the rule set outlined by the ruling authority and of course not a criminal act. As it applies to Brawl, it means choosing the very best character and counter-pick stages possible as deemed by extensive research into the game and documented history of tournament character placement, as well as exhausting every stage strike, stage cancel, every advanced technique, and every other means you have of maximizing your shot at victory.
Brawl’s current strategy when it comes to playing to win is of course ‘Metaknight’, Overswarm being our poster boy for just that. Metaknight being a character that ‘arguably’ breaks the game’s counter-pick system in that he has no counters and no match-up that is believed worse than himself. He is a popular tournament viable character with ‘broken’ attacks that are both quick and powerful. A great, ranged character on the ground and in the air and off the stage on every tournament legal stage in the game. Despite this, and as in all fighting games, not everyone mains Metaknight.Sirlin said:
There are several obvious reasons for this. Many of them have nothing to do with, nor take into consideration the play to win strategy. Many people choose a character in Brawl because they find them aesthetically appealing, because it is a character from their favorite Nintendo franchise, because a character represents a certain facet of their persona, or even precisely because a character is low tier and unpopular. However there are also reasons for not picking Metaknight that arguably fit within the play to win strategy.
Despite Metaknight’s dominance both on paper and in practice, MK is not necessarily the best character for everyone. There will indeed be people who cannot work MK the same way other people can, and thus do better with different characters. For example, a player may have mained Marth, or Dedede or Diddy Kong from the day of Brawl’s release, playing to win in an emerging metagame where the question of who is the best is slowly being found. By the time Metaknight was declared best character in the game, they have probably become so comfortable with their main that they would actually do worse if they tried using Metaknight. People will argue that it’s merely a matter of investing some time into learning the character, however, if one were to follow the play to win philosophy, and they have not put any amount of time into learning how to play MK, at that point in time at least, it’s usually justifiable to merely stick with their main.
Referring back to the phenomenon of an emerging Metagame, for quite a number of months Snake was considered the best character in the game over Metaknight. What is interesting here is that people kept pushing Metaknight in terms of his metagame until he was considered better. Metaknight mains during that time kept on with him, perhaps because they preferred his playstyle, or MK was their favorite character, or more than likely, they believed he could potentially be the best character in the game, just as in the example I cited one paragraph ago. If you truly believe that your character is the best character or can be the best character in the game, then regardless of the state of the metagame, you are still playing to win.
Another factor to take into consideration is match up experience. If you are a Metaknight main, it’s more than likely you are forced to deal with Metaknight dittos. However, in situations where you’re pitted against another Metaknight, you might choose to play a different character. This sounds absurd at first, considering that Metaknight is his own best match up, but one must take into consideration the significance of match up experience. A metaknight main may be well versed in MK dittos, but might do poorly against Snake due to inexperience.
Many of the points made in this essay so far are all well and good, but it does not take much for anyone to dispute them. All of what has been said so far does not change the fact that Metaknight is the best character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl at the moment and if a new player were to join the scene wanting to win, he/she would be best off choosing Metaknight as their main. It’s this issue, the ‘Metaknight Plague’ as coined by Overswarm that can for a time be detrimental to the development of the competitive scene and its metagame.
The concept of ‘Play to Win’ is problematic because it causes over-centralization within a game like Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The theory is that since Metaknight’s worst match up is himself, other players are forced to main MK to defeat MK. Then they find they have to use MK in more than just ditto situations, and before they know it they don’t need their other characters.
A counter-argument to this is that MK may in the future not be as unbeatable as some may believe. MK has been developed by an army of players quite quickly in comparison to other characters, and due to this accelerated development, has seen greater success as his potential has been unlocked to a far greater degree. It may yet well be that G&W or Diddy Kong or any other character could be the best in the game, and it is up to the dedicated mains of each character to try and improve as much as possible.
The Melee tier lists reflect this phenomenon, and it is difficult to fathom where Brawl will be 2, 3 years from now. Brawl is still a relatively young game, and there is still room for growth. As character play styles and match ups continue to evolve and change our current play to win strategy will change as well.
Afterword:To put it bluntly, this essay is merely a means of justifying why people choose not to main MK. I kinda wrote this on a whim. I was having a shower this morning and this idea to attack our current notion of ‘playing to win’ seemed like a good way to spend a morning and afternoon. To summarize, play Metaknight if you want to win. Play other characters if you want to help the evolution of the game or if you feel more comfortable with other characters. It’s very possible that characters other than MK himself are a 50:50 match up with MK, but it’s not going to happen if you don’t contribute to your character’s growth.
Bibliography:
http://www.sirlin.net/ptw
tldr: You suck, read it you lazy mofo. Sonic for Steak Tier.
