MetaMindGames; A Q&A with Seibrik
What is a “
Top Player” really? Is it someone who beats most people most of the time? Is it someone who beats all people all of the time? Or if when you stop to think about it, is it really just someone when faced with a challenge, knows the best way to overcome it and adapt?
My definition of a “
Top Player” is not someone who is the best, but someone with the understanding of what it takes to get there.
What I am doing:
Twice a month, with dates disclosed at the first of every month, I will host a live stream chat most likely using Ustream. Each chat will be one hour long. The first 30 minutes will be my responses to questions I have received from the community. The last 30 minutes I will open the floor for questions from those in the chat. Try not to get personal, remember time is limited and we need to stay focused.
What I need from you guys:
Please PM me any questions you would like to get answered. I will say leave it to a three question maximum per person per Q&A. Any questions in this thread, and NOT PM’d to me will be ignored. I will then order the questions based on what I feel is most important, or most relevant to the topic I wish to talk about. The cut-off time to which I will no longer accept questions will be 24 hours before the scheduled chat. This will allow me time to get organized, and prepare certain answers. I will state the question and person who asked the question, unless otherwise asked not to. If you would like to remain anonymous, sign the PM as such.
-
Anonymous
I would like to leave this thread for any comments or questions in regard to the chat itself, times/rescheduling/topics ect. I am always willing to listen to new ideas that you feel will help make the chat a better experience for myself and the community. I will try my hardest to record each chat and upload them onto YouTube for those that miss it. I will also post the links to the videos in the first post of this thread, so you can stay updated. Any questions I do NOT answer in the chat I will do my best to answer at another time and post.
I just want to finish off stating, this is by no means an attempt to publicize myself in any fashion. Nor is this in anyway me saying that I believe I am better or smarter than anyone. I simply believe I have learned more than the average smasher about the psychology behind Smash, why things work the way they do, and how to best use what I’ve learned and apply it in my matches. I also feel that for some reason, I have an unusual ability to explain what I know, and an even more unusual interest to do so.
That being said, I want to start sharing what I know as much as I can, like I have been on the not so rare occasion when smashers ask me for pointers. The problem is, I cannot simply start going off with hints and tricks. The right questions must be asked for the right answers to come out. Do not expect to come out of these Q&A’s and see instant results in your game play. While I hope this is the case for some of you, most of you will need more experience before being able to apply what you learn. The point of these Q&A’s is not to improve the skill of isolated players; rather, the point is to accelerate the MetaGame of the community’s minds, and to get them on track so one can learn how to learn for themselves.
Next Chats:
3/13/2011- 10PM EST.
Link:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/seibrik
News:
-Second Chat completed! Send in your questions for the next chat!
Missed a chat? No problem! The videos will be right here as they're completed.
Links to the past Chats:
[Collapse=First Chat: 9/12/10]
Part one:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9542094
Part two: (contains the question of the week)
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9542292
Part three:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9542630
[Collapse=Question(s) of the Day!]
Nefarious B said:
I seriously was thinking yesterday that I was going to PM you to ask for advice lol, weird.
Anyways, what I was going to ask about is your reputation. I've heard from multiple people that you are well known for your ability to memorize an opponents playstyle. Actually, I think it was because I had the Norcal MLG crew at my house, and Sky was complaining about how he was beating you in friendlies and then got wrecked in bracket.
So my question revolves around that. How do you manage to (emphasis on -quickly-) figure out your opponent's playstyle. Most people would say just read them, but that advice doesn't really help. What habits do you specifically look for, and what situations do you tend to spot those habits? Any advice on reading other players in general? Would you say you just understand characters' options and are predicting the right one, or do you have some technique to see how a character reacts? What kind of tools are you using to read?
Thanks, and I think you're a beast of a player. I've seen plenty of your matches on youtube because I follow Nick closely, which has me convinced you're overall one of the smartest MKs out there.
Gadiel_VaStar said:
What's up Seibrik,
I know we talked a little bit about this earlier, but:
*What is the best way to come up with a systematic approach of playing Brawl?
*How can one figure out the "best" playstyle for their mindset and skill set?
Idk if I worded it correctly, but the 1st question was referring to when you told me how you d-throwed, then dash-attacked--to condition the opponent. Then you said the next time it occured, you d-throwed, uair. How can one figure out a system such as yours, but something that works for the individual?<<< That's what I meant, and it's because I want to be able to teach myself while learning from others.
If my question(s) is selected, you can use my name, but use Gadiel.
[/Collapse]
[Collapse=My notes on the QOTD:]
[/collapse]
[/Collapse]
[Collapse=Second Chat: 1/5/11 Co-Hosted By NickRiddle]
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/11843612
[Collapse=Question(s) of the Day!]
Anonymous said:
I've been playing brawl since it came out. I've hit a plateau with my character.
How do I get past a plateau and in general, learn to get better?
When you are stuck how do you figure out how to get better, as in what do I look at to figure out what to teach myself?
How should I approach improving my game?
[/collapse]
[Collapse=My notes on the QOTD:]
Seibrik said:
Well I can’t help but say you’ve come to the right place. I am here to act as your conscious mind until you learn to think about these things for yourself. The best thing you can do for a plateau is to use all the resources you have available to you.
EPSIOAS
Evaluate
Problem: Watch videos of yourself and find the areas in which you feel could use improvement. Is it spacing? Choking? Applying pressure? Is it killing? Is it a stage? A character? Handling pressure? Limiting options? You cannot improve until you pinpoint what it is that needs improvement. A tip; try not to work on more than one or two issues at a time, you won’t make any progress if you overload yourself with things to fix.
Subconscious/
Instinct: Once you’ve found the issue(s) and you’re consciously aware of what it is, use the first and most natural resource available to you; the subconscious. This is nothing more than trusting your instincts. Find a person that recently gave you trouble in the area you had issues, and try playing naturally without thinking. If you still notice the issue is present after a few matches, move on to your next resource.
Observe: Whatever it is that is bothering you, other people have probably dealt with before. Watch videos of other players, not necessarily just better or more widely known players, but other players playing your character or against the character giving you problems if it’s something character specific. You should not be just blindly watching the match as a whole however, watch it as a series of situations that arise, and you should be on the watch for the situation that most closely resembles the one giving you problems. Once you’ve found someone showcasing this same situation, pay close attention to find out how they deal with it. If they suffer just like you do from the situation try finding more updated videos of them, or simply other players. In the event that after countless hours of uninterrupted searching, and still you have yet to either find someone in the same situation (which is highly unlikely) or simply someone that has shown a clear example of how to get around it, then it is up to you to tap into what could possibly be your final resource.
A
Sensei: So you’ve tried everything. For some reason no matter how much effort you put into fixing the problem, even though you’re aware of what it is, you can’t seem to get around it. At this point it is time to call in for help. A sensei doesn’t necessarily have to be someone better than you, but it wouldn’t hurt to find someone that is at least on your skill level that you can debate things with, like how I have Afro for example, no homo. You can do this in not so serious ways by just asking around the boards for answers, or even picking someone out you have in mind from your character or state. Find someone that not only has dealt with the issues you have, but also can clearly explain his mindset on matters. This person must also be able to understand that he himself is not perfect and you may be right in some instances. A person who does not understand how to admit defeat is hardly someone you can consider a sensei. If for some astronomical reason, you cannot manage to find anyone that fits these criteria, that’s ok. That’s exactly what this stream is for so feel free to PM me any questions or problems you run into in the future.
[/collapse]
[/collapse]
Some Light Reading Material:
Get to know SenSeibrik!
Check out this interview by Havok:
http://theelectricscribble.com/2010/09/28/
Learn how to land!
Check out this informative Blog by RichBrown:
http://allisbrawl.com/blogpost.aspx?id=95512
