Never trust strangers... unless smash is involved. That seems to be the philosophy of anyone who has ever traveled to a far off place for a smash tournament. Competitors are willing to fly to a state or country they have never been to, be picked up by someone they have never met before, and stay overnight (sometimes multiple nights) at that someone's home. This requires an unbelievable amount of trust on both sides. The one traveling has no idea if the host is planning on trapping him and mugging him with the help of his buddies. The host has no idea if the one traveling is planning on pulling a knife and robbing the place on his way out. These are obviously quite radical takes on the situation (and if any parents are reading, know that I completely made them up), but honestly, how are traveling smashers able to trust one another so faithfully despite all we were taught in our youth?
I remember my kindergarten teacher explicitly using Nintendo as an example. She said, "Never get into a car with a stranger, even if he offers a Nintendo!" Ironically, last year, I flew to Colorado and rode with a stranger because he promised to play Nintendo with me (big tournament in Broomfield). My kindergarten teacher would be so disappointed in me, but seriously, what drove me to do this? Reputation plays a big part in this. This "stranger" is now my good friend InterimOfZeal. He was an active member of the Colorado smash community, so I knew I could trust him.
The second best thing to traveling out of state for a tournament is hosting traveling smashers because it is a fresh experience for both parties involved. For the host, it is like "traveling without having to travel" since the 'foreigners' came to them. The only loss here is that the host cannot experience the foreign environment. Personally, I always look forward to doing a 360 in a new place and absorbing my surroundings. Seeing the smash venue is always a treat as well. This all adds to the implied trust since the host is equally excited to the travelers.
Traveling alone is uncommon in the smash community, anyway. It is safer and more fun to travel as a group. This is particularly beneficial when driving a car since riders can all pitch in for fuel costs.
What effect will Brawl's WiFi have upon the traveling smashers? I suspect that tournaments will remain relatively unaffected (if you do not believe me, check Halo 2 at MLG). However, smashfests will most likely take a downward spiral. My neighbor and I both have Mario Strikers Charged. Even we were too lazy to physically walk over and play each other since online play was available and relatively lag-free. If Brawl's online play is feasible, it will most certainly impact the way practice sessions are run. I definitely will have more people to play with than are currently available in the abyss of eastern Idaho.
TO READERS: What are your thoughts on traveling to smash with strangers? Is it exciting or scary? Share your thoughts by posting a comment!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I've traveled out of state and stayed at people who i've never met in my life's house,and i agree,it is a great learning experience.
In response to the effect Wi-Fi will have, I don't think it will have much of a negative impact.
Wi-Fi will allow you to play matches with people in other places, so yeah, it won't be necessary to travel. However, I think almost everyone would agree that what makes smashfests (or playing with your neighbor) so fun involves the actual presence of the persons. KO'ing your friend is not that different than KO'ing the AI; what makes it much more fun is then shouting at him PWNED! or something of the sort (varies between people). I know that was not a good comparison, due to the skill difference, but it gets my point across.
Wi-Fi will sure make it much easier to find better challenges, but it won't replace the fun you can have in a smashfest with everyone laughing off whenever something funny happens (plus the many other things you can do besides play smash; after all, that's not everything in life... or is it? xD).
Post a Comment