Melee Update Summer 2018

So there's been a lot of uncertainties since my `retirement` and I haven't done one of these in awhile; so let's kill two birds with one stone I guess. To quickly summarise why I stopped playing, it was mainly due to: stress, mental health issues, and a massive increase in challenges. The larger challenges would be settings larger goals for myself, I realised that right after being accepted to the Genesis 5 compendium that things weren't going to be easy for me. I then vanished.

So why am I here again? I don't know really. I wanted to come back to the community to see old friends and potentially fill a place that would be a bit different - like a coach or a tournament organiser. Now I've been drawn into playing and competing again, however without deliberately practising and preparing like I did before. This isn't as stressful, but it feels like a waste of time - if I'm not playing at 100% (even though it's fun), what's the point?

I went to the most recent Bailrigg, mainly as a chill out event to hang out with people. Then suddenly Prof and Frenzy signed up and I felt a weight on my shoulders:

"I don't want to have to try. If I don't try then I'll look bad".  Stupid things like that.

Me when being
 asked to go to a tourney

I was put in an uncomfortable, but familiar position where I had to actually compete. Sure, this is a choice, but like I said I don't like to do things half-assed. Along with this I was recently funded for Heir and this also got me thinking. What do I even play at the event? When I thought about playing other characters or just turning up hungover (LOL), it just didn't sit right with my competitive nature (yet again). So this means I will be playing Fox at Heir and try to be competitive; minus all the preparation like I usually do. Don't count me on this though, things can change and if I'm choosing not to compete that's a good sign in my books.

I hope this will be the last event I go to again for awhile and I'll try not to disappear after this one, as I very much need to focus on myself. I have let myself fall back in too easily, relapse if you will haha. It is sort of like an addiction when I think about it. It's incredibly annoying that 6 months away has not gained me much progress with myself, but my family seems to think I have so I can hold that.

Ideally, I can get better then eventually come back and hit my proper lifetime Melee goal. 42nd on the Heir rankings was good, but MIOM top 100 would leave me satisfied enough to properly retire.

Until next time, - Tmuff 

I Love Losing

Within the Melee community, relating winning with positivity and losing with negativity is commonplace. Winning in some form is the justification of your work and is essentially a direct reward for those actions. Losing on the other hand is a failure to adhere to your goals and wishes. This is a huge problem I see with a lot of players, especially with those on the cusp of reaching a higher level. The way in which most of us perceive winning and losing is the problem, it’s common to see things in a binary fashion; you work your way through a tournament bracket - you either lose or you win - achievement or failure. However, just like a tournament bracket there are many details which are glossed over and these elements are important.

Melee is traditionally 1v1, with the obvious exception of doubles. The only factor in your success is you - there isn’t any luck or chance involved really. I’ve been playing some League of Legends recently and in that game, my previous statement is quite in the contrary. If you’ve been living under a rock, or just don’t play that many titles other than our beloved Melee for the Nintendo Gamecube then you may not be aware that League is a team game. In team games there are more factors than just yourself - there’s the obvious 4 others on your team and 5 others on the enemy - matchmaking plays a part in the way it defines your skill level also. You are still a commonality in these games and you have an influence in how you will climb upwards the ladder, but luck is a factor in this case. Because of this, it’s impossible to win every game as that’s the nature of the system. Some games you get an inting team-mate (intentionally feeding), someones first time on the champion in ranked (for some reason), or maybe the odds are in your favour and a high elo smurf has graced you with his presence.

My point here being that despite looking to improve in a game with luck based factors; you can only perform with the cards that you have been dealt. Why focus on the outcome of the performance when the important details are hidden between the cracks? The outcome only tells some of the story and yes, it is actually useful to draw conclusions from, but it’s not the epitome. In fact in Melee, the cards you have been dealt are more defined by you than the dealer. In my opinion, what the majority of Melee players relate positivity and negativity with I consider quite the opposite. Consider the grey areas; the details.

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand" - Randy Pausch