There is Life, then there is Melee

Super Smash Brothers Melee!
Probably THE best came created for the Nintendo Gamecube. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I was going to write a whole blog dedicated to Melee. Andy I did some statistical analysis that I will post on this blog. Also, we tested everyones performance in a robin style battle. During the round robin, I had a pen and pad out and I jotted peoples strengths and weaknesses like a psychiatrist. I will also list the notes that I took from that.

Stats:
I've never explored how to manipulate the structure of blogs and I still don't care much to. But if I did, I would make this into a more graph like setup, but I think we will all be smart enough to understand what is going on.

At first we calculated some stats according to minutes played, but we then changed it to matches played because we felt that this would be a more accurate representation of people stats. The stats we selected were Knockouts (KOs or Kills), Falls (Deaths), Win pecentage, Loss percentage, and the amount of damage (%DMG) you cause during an entire match. Our matches are usually set up for 3 lives per match.

Min:
2428 matches-
KOs - 2.88 kills per match (1) (The number in the parenthesis represents your placement out of 9 people. So this means out of the 9 people, I earn the most kills per match)
Falls - 1.67 falls per match (1)
Win % - 64.8% (1) (You only earn a win if you get first place. 2nd and 3rds don't earn you anything)
Losing % - 5.9% (1) (You only earn a lost when you place 4th)
DMG % - 376% (1)

Jon:
1958 matches-
KOs - 2.43 (3)
Falls - 2.07 (2)
Win% - 40% (2)
Lose% - 18% (2)
DMG% - 359% (2)

Dick:
2017-
KO - 1.9 (5)
Falls - 2.47 (6)
Win% - 8% (6)
Lose% - 45.8% (6)
DMG% - 233% (4)

Daws:
827-
KO - 2.66 (2)
Falls - 2.62 (9)
Win% - 9% (5)
Lose% - 36% (5)
DMG% - 234% (3)

Benny (Mitch):
1205-
KO - 1.37 (7)
Falls - 2.58 (8)
Win - 4% (8)
Lose - 50% (7)
DMG% - 149% (9)

Dean:
445-
KO - 1.96 (4)
Falls - 2.47 (6)
Wins - 11% (4)
Lose - 30% (4)
DMG% - 226% (5)

Andy:
425-
KO - 1.52 (6)
Falls - 2.44 (4)
Win - 13% (3)
Lose - 29% (3)
DMG% - 217% (6)

Peter:
178-
KO - 1.1 (9)
Falls - 2.42 (3)
Win - 5% (7)
Lose - 53% (8)
DMG% - 190% (7)

Nick:
118-
KO - 1.14 (8)
Falls - 2.52 (7)
Win - 3% (9)
Lose - 56% (9)
DMG% - 171% (8)

Then we had two extra profiles that we didn't calculate yet because they didn't have enough matches under their belt. But keep your eye out for Red and Ving (Vince).

We then ranked each player. We added the ranking numbers and who ever had the lowest number was the best. For example, Nick ranked 8th in Kills, 7th in Falls, 9th in wins, 9th in losts, and 8th in damage. So his score would be 8+7+9+9+8=41.

Here is the list of statistical rankings:
1. Min (4)
2. Jon (11)
3. Andy (22)
4. Dean (23)
5. Dawson (24)
6. Dick (27)
7. Peter (34)
8. Mitch (39)
9. Nick (41)

?. Ving, Red.

Being that I not a numbers guy, I just don't think numbers explain how good or bad someone is, I wanted to rank everyone on performance. We set up a round robin like testing system where the statistically lower people we put up against each other and would fight to advance to the next round. I had a scoring system but I do not wish to write about it. The lowest scorer would drop out, and then the next statistically ranked person would hop in. Heres how we ranked.

1, 2, 3, 4: Min, Andy, Jon, Dean. There was no one to keep track after I got on the controller. We were the last four. I believe Jon and I split most of the matches. Dean may have won a couple and I'm fairly confident when I saw he won Final Destination.
5. Mitch
6. Nick
7. Red
8. Peter

It was interesting to see where Red would place since we couldn't rank him statistically. And it was nice to see there was a difference in performance and stats when Nick and Mitch climbed the ladder. Proves my point about numbers just a little.

Now I will list some of the notes I jotted down as I watched people play. There aren't any notes on me since I was the one writing them down. I will list some things about myself though. Who would know me better then myself? I do have information about everyone listed, but there is more written about the lower level players that advanced since I got to watch them more. Again, this is just what I saw. It may be true, it may not be true. Who is to say that my way of approaching Melee is the best way. These comments are my views and my views only.

Nick "Nickoli" Almberg:
Nicks main character is Samus although his claim on Samus hasn't solidified (We have a rule where if someone is known to use one character and has shown his loyalty to the character, no one can use that character. Only a few characters have been claimed). Altough Nick hasn't had much Melee experience, his style of play is slightly more mature than your average rookie. He molds his game nicely to fit Samus' style. He can often be found on the outskirts of the level or on the bubble of battles charging his charge up shot. This is effective for him because he hits a very high percentage of his charge up shots. I don't know why, but its really difficult to dodge his charge up shot. Its almost as if he shoots it off beat. It could also be because peope play Nick off since he is a rookie. Either way, he is uses the move well. Another thing I notcied that Nick does well is something I did when I used Samus in the original Smash game. When ever he shoots the charge up blast, he retreats and charges another one up immediately. He always has a charge up blast on stand by and that is key with Samus because she doesn't have a lot of finishing moves. The fact that he uses Samus a majority of the time should help his growth. Its important to know a characters weaknesses and strengths and learn the sensativity. Feel is very important in this game. I saw a couple of weaknesses in Nicks game, but most of them are to due his lack of experience and knowledge for the game. It will be easier to gauge what are really his weaknesses as he plays some more. For now, some general things I saw when he was playing is that he is a very stubborn fighter. There are some battles you want to fight, and some battles you should run away from, re-group and then go back. A couple of times I saw Nick getting stomped pretty bad but he kept trying to attack. Also the battles he picks sometimes aren't the smartest. Sometimes you need to weigh risk and reward. Pay close attention to players percentages, where they are on the map, and what the other players are doing. Another weakness is that he doesn't see thrown objects that come from a distance. He can see short term objects that are thrown from someone he is focusing on, but you've got to know there are two other players on the map and they like it when you aren't paying attention to them. But for a rookie, he is very composed and most of the time stays calm. He uses smash attacks at the right times. Some people don't understand that a quick attack is needed sometimes to set someone up for a smash attack. I forgot to mention that his close quarters combat and 1 on 1 fighting is the sharpest. Only time will tell us where Nick can go.

Peter Leisen:
Peter has a lot more experience with Melee then the others do because he got to play with Weum, but that is a seperate network and I'd like to think our network is more skilled and competetive. I only have a few notes on Pete since he was the first to be elminated. I noticed he is a very defensive player and because of this, his offense takes a blow. This is good and bad. Good because it makes it so he will be alive later in the match, but bad because he needs to get more practice attacking. I don't think fighting Weum is the same as fighting Jon. I look at it like this, even if you are alive at the end after Jon kills anyone, if you aren't sharpening and honing on your fighting technique and can't even touch Jon, there is no use to being alive in that position anyways. This hurts because you aren't fighting the lower level players either then. Lets think of it in DBZ terms (we all went through a big DBZ phase in junior high so its the best parallel I can use right now), if you are Yamcha lets say, you wouldn't let Krillin and Tien fight Cell all alone. You would all gang up on him cause it would be the best chance that you all live. Peter also suffers from the Risk and Reward choices, which seems to be a trend in our lower level players. Makes risky choices that have low rewards and passes on high reward risks. Also I would say that Peter is one of the more panicky players. Along with the panic, I sometimes see that fustration sets in earlier with him then in other players. Playing with a clear and calm mind can be seen on screen. I would suggest that he should pay attention to players that are further away from him as well. He tends to get hit by a lot of projectiles and that have to travel some distance. Peter claims to have a lot of prior melee experience so I don't know how much room there is to grow. The tough thing is he doesn't have a permanent character to grow into.

Mitch "Benny" Hauschildt: I got to study Mitch a lot more since he was the longest lasting lower level player. Mitch is a very offensive minded player and doesn't plan to dodge much. I also saw that he doesn't use objects well. He doesn't look to projectiles and when he does pick them up, he throws them right away. Many of the lower level players do this. It is okay to hold an item as long as you aren't being attacked. Use the item when the time presents it self, don't force it. Also he isn't very aware of the environment, another lower level tendency. The environment can be your best from for retreat and setting up an oppenent. The best example I can think of corners and gernades in Halo, but only Jon and Ben would understand me here. For those of you people fighting Mitch, all you would need to do is learn how to dodge. I would say 75% of Mitches physical attacks are smash attacks. Smash attacks are power, but they are slow. Mitch doesn't believe in setting an opponent up with some quick attacks, but no lower level player really does. Stretched out combos come when you know the game and your character. Again, weigh in the risk and reward factor. Along with Peter, Mitch is one of the most panicky players. He also needs to work on his projectile defense. Vision is key in this game. Don't focus on just one player cause other people will be throwing items at you. Mitches offensive minded approach works very well against other lower end players (as we saw in the testing. He made it into the higher level pool by advancing) but against the higher level players, it just doesn't work. His moves are to obvious to higher level players and he continues to attack dead ends. His struggles in one on one situations with high end players. I've also noticed that he excels at certain levels and struggles in others. This is a weakness because you need to be ready for everything. It can also be viewed as a strength, because it can give him confidence when he knows he will be getting a home feild advantage. It also seems like he falls asleep on defense sometimes gets hit by obvious moves. I noticed one time, Dean was charging up Jiggyfucks spin attack and Mitch continued to walk strait toward him. Mitch lost a life shortly after. Mitch is starting to become a everyday Falco user and that should help. If he will stay will Falco or not is unsure. He tends to be a long term switcher where he plays with someone and gets a slight feel for them and then switches. Mitches matches are getting up there and he should be entering his prime soon. Mitch might be a case of take a step back to take two steps forward. His attacking style isn't versatile enough to keep up with the high level players. He may need to demolish then reconstruct his technique. He also needs to work on his composure. Passion and intensity is good as long as you know how to focus it. The last thing I am going to mention about Mitch is that he lets wins get to his head. After he harvests a couple of wins vs lower end players, he tends to brag and lets his guard down. He then becomes tender meats for smarter players.

Red: I've only seen Red play maybe twice now. To young to discribe his game. He will learn and mature as his melee knowledge grows. From what I can see, Red has natural gaming talent. When playing well, his dodges were crisp and attacks timely. A lot of potential to be harnessed in this camp.

Ving: I think I've seen Vince play melee once now. He is in the same camp with Red. Has shown flashes of greatness, but ultimately the lack of sharpness and knowledge catches up. Lots of potential to dig into. It is very exciting to think there could be two atleast middle level players joining our crew. With the proper nourishment, I am hoping these two can grow into something beautful.

Dean "Den" Kong:
Dean is still a fairly young player even though he has the game for the longest. I don't think games against little David count and training. Dean has played only a third of the matches Mitch has played. I can't quite place Dean in the higher level or middle level. Sometimes he has shown flashes where he has fustrated Jon and I, but sometimes he looks like a Jigglypuff. Time will sort this one out. Dean is a player that has enough brains to point out his own strenghts and downfalls. With a little more study of the game, he should be able to evolve by himself. Very composed, and you need to be when usuing Jigglypuff because you don't want to attack to soon with it. Also you need to know when you attack with its knockout attack. And I think Dean does understand this. He seems to plan out his moves ahead of time and uses a great balance of offense and defense. Also mixes quick attacks and smash attacks very elegantly. Dean pretty much has a lockdown on Jigglypuff. If he hadn't tested and goofed off with other characters I would say he would have his claim, but in a short time he will have his character. Dean understands items much better then lower level fighters but it sometimes seems that he isn't willing to fight for them. He weighs in risk and reward nicely here, but sometimes you have to take a chance and try to take away a green shell or a star rod here and there. Projectiles make it really tough for Jigglypuff since it floats when it jumps. A projectile cuts off many of its paths. I also mentioned to him that he needs to expand his vision a little. He seems to know when attacks are coming, but objects and the environment matters to. I saw he is begining to understand because he pointed out a couple of times when I saw something first and then he caught on. Dean has very valuable one on one skills. He has a way of minipulating lower level players with his float or puff as we call it. He has a very good feel for his puff and knows when to attack. Is a very smart striker in the sense that he lets to other person attack him first and attacks openings. I also think in team battles, Dean would be a valuable partner. Dean only has a few minor weaknesses but I believe in time, those weaknesses will wash out.

Andy Christenson:
A very solid middle level player and has the potential to move on up with Dean. Again, a very young player even though he has had the game for a while. I think playing with Jon and I takes you to a different level of play. Once a great original smash player and should be able to move up the melee ladder. Andy has natural video game quickness and he uses speed very well. I would also consider him one of the smarter players and uses strategy to his advantage. He understands items and jumps to claim them quickly. He also understands the concept of clearing out space to get those items. Is more offensive of minded, but is always defensively aware. He understands outside players positions. Like dean, uses a good balance of attacks and knows when to attack. With a more thoughtful mind like Dean, he would also make a strong team player. The only other player then myself to point out that there are times it would be better to work together a little bit. With experience, he should able to polish himself into a higher end player. He is smart enough and understands elements where he can teach himself where other players may need more guidance. An obvious weakness is that he doesn't use the same character. He has no feel for the sensativiy of a character. Although he stays composed, I believe it is able to get under his skin a little.

Jon Franklin (Zelda/Sheik):
Not many weaknesses come to mind when you think of Jon. I think he is easily the most talented Melee player. The most ultimate edge defender we have. You do not want to get into a cliff hanging ballet with Jon. If I had to put a number on it, I would say he kills at least half of his edge victims. He is by far the sharpest player. He is a combo master and has the ability to juggle lower end and some middle level players. Often he doesn't allow them to touch the ground. The second quickest to items and understands the concept of clearing room. The good thing about Jon is that he uses one character and has pretty much used Zelda since the begining of time. Jon connects about 40% of all his attacks which is pretty high in our Melee world (I think I am second around 35%). Its pretty impressive with all the darts that he throws. A minor weakness with Jon is that he is open to medium/short projectile attacks. I think once he gets to a certain reach, he has a kill mode where he doesn't stop for anything in his way. I also think Shiek is a low traction player and can't stop on the dime. All of Jons skills are painfully obvious. The only major weakness Jon has is he isn't a thinker (in a previous blog, I wrote that Melee is an extension of our personalities and this fits perfectly. Even on the football feild, Jon is the most talented, but maybe not the best player). The only thing that can beat Jon is a brain. Even in other games, Jon picks brute characters (which is weird since Shiek is such a sleek character). His favorite weapon is the shotgun in Halo2. He plays off instincts and in most situations, his instincts are good enough to get him where he wants to be. But somewhere, there has to be more high end players with brains that will give him a fit.

Richard "Dick" Lee:
The unknown one. Do not let his statistics fool you. For easliy more then half his matches he had to play 3 person matches with Jon and Me. Because of this, all his stats suffer, but I've played with him long enough to understand his ability. If we were to cross him with DBZ, he would easily be the Gohan of the group. Full of skill when he wants to play. Dick gets teased the most for switching his character often, but I think the only players that can really tease him for that are Dean, Jon, Dawson and Me. Lately he has been usuing Marth and he has been growing. Dick is in Jon's ship where he doesn't play with much thought and just plays off instincts. Unfortunately for him, his instincts aren't as sharp as Jon's (usually). He has at times given Jon and Me trouble. It is to hard to gauge what his skills are. He has played enough games, but his inconsistency is worse then Minnesota Timberwolves basketball. He still easily falls into the Middle Level.

Andy "Daw" Dawson (Roy):
The killer should be his nickname. Known for his powerful swing of the sword. Roy is his character of choice and pretty much was since the beginning. Dawson is known for his high kill rate. He is also known for his high death rate. Again, this fits perfectlly with my idea of how your personality is infused into your style of play. Dawson has always been the head first, act now; think later, Kamikaze, rambo style player. His stengths and weaknesses are quite obvious because of this ying and yang style. He would fall into the middle level class because he gives lower level players a fit. He disposes of lower level players with one swing. His favorite level is flat zone, but he also has the ability to adapt. Even though statistically he is the worse defender, his defense is underrated. He has some dodging abilities that he doesn't always get credit for.

Min Lee (Dr. Mario):
Hard to talk about myself so I'll make this short. I think I have the biggest view of the entire map and I use my mind to fight. Sometimes my mind plans so far ahead, its a weakness. I should learn to stick to the basics when fighting lower level players. A couple of times, I'm so ahead of the lower level players, I actually dodge into their attacks. I see a chance for someone to attack me and I dodge in advance, but the lower level player reacts to slow and doesnt attack. Well, when he doesnt attack, this leaves me open because I have to recover from the dodge, but he doesnt attack me while I'm recovering from the dodge either so I dodge again right into the first position. I though I stay composed most of the time, some trash talking does get under my skin because I think being humble is so important. There is a lot of things I keep to myself and I think its unfair when people praise them selves. I probably understand items the most.