Determination: Essays About Video Games and Us | Page 34

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Nairo hugging ZeRo after Nairo wins Grand Finals for Smash Bros . 4 at MLG Finals 2015 .

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competitive scene .
As time passes , the Smash Bros . 4 community has thrived and developed more than many people , even professional Smash players , initially thought . The meta is progressing and changing daily , with people discovering new ways to improve their character ’ s options and abilities both on the whole and in specific match-ups . Complicated combos requiring an absurd number of inputs are being developed and exploited in order to make taking a stock ( a “ life ,” in standard video game terms ) off of an opponent easier and more optimal . Yet , the majority of top players are still able to compete against each other evenly , winning and losing often enough to make the competitive scene relatively even .
It is always a thrill for American players or fans to see Japanese players come to play in the States , due in part to the fact that they come from a place where the Smash Bros . 4 community is so different from the one present here . The competitive scene in the U . S . is just that : it ’ s a competitive scene in which players constantly strive to be the best , inventing new strategies and putting them to use at tournaments against others to win both prestige
and prize money . In Japan , though , tournaments cannot give out prize money due to gambling laws , so their competitive scene is more a community where players help each other learn and grow so they can be stronger as a country . Both of these approaches to a gaming community have their own benefits and drawbacks , but both communities have continually gotten stronger and larger over the past two years .
The Smash Bros . 4 community has a great game to play , a swath of competitive players with personality , skillful technical staff and tournament organizers , and tens of thousands of loyal fans who love to either play the game or watch the professionals . People find ways to support their favorite players , continually develop the meta for the characters they love , or just tune into a tournament stream every once in awhile to watch some good ol ’ esports . People love this game . Both competitors and casual players are driven to create and discover new things with all fiftyeight characters , linking moves to moves , making stronger , more optimal combos , and in the process making both the competitive scene and overall community more exciting , engaging , and fun for everyone .