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