Today, I want to write about Smash Bros. Maybe no one here is interested in this topic, but I'm afraid that I’ve decided not to worry about that this time.
I’ve been playing Smash Bros. Ultimate since its release in 2018, which means I’ve been doing it for about six years now. At that time, I was in university, and Japanese university students generally have a lot of free time. They can study whatever attracts them, and my main interest was competitive video games, especially Smash Bros. That wasn't really admirable, but anyway, I played this game with friends and participated in a local tournament every week. Competing with others who were keen on the same game was amazing. I really enjoyed getting lost in the matches and hanging out with them after tournaments to discuss the results or something. Those moments were some of the greatest time in my life.
Now that I work full-time, I still enjoy playing, but I feel my momentum for this game is fading. I don’t have enough time to practice, and my desire to win has diminished compared to before. Even afer all I was extremely engaged in it a couple of years ago, I couldn’t create any results. I don’t think I can win more than I did back then. While it’s disappointing, it’s a natural progress, you know?
At this stage, I need to rethink how I relate to this game. I’m still keen on playing, but my skills get lower. Is playing this game a waste of time? Of course not. It helps me escape from reality temporarily and gives me the energy to power through difficult parts of my life. However, I can’t shake the feeling that it's pointless and I should exercise or study something instead.
I feel guilty about spending endless hours on the same game.
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What characters do you like to play? I used to play this game a lot, but it was too addictive so I had to stop. I also was never going to have the dedication that you must have to compete -- studying frames for different attacks, practicing against specific opponents, etc.
The only game in the genre I played is Brawlhalla, and it's so hard! I could say the same about more "classic" fighting games (like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter) as well — you need to have a very good reaction time, learn your and your opponent's moves, etc. The skill floor is way too high, in my opinion. I only play those with bots or my friends who are just as bad as me.
I sunk a good chunk of time into some competitive games, but with time, I decided that I'd rather play a lot of single-player games and enjoy them than waste it while failing to get better at a single game, frying my brains in the process.
Interesting. I too have had hobbies when I was younger, that took up all my time, like you. I was breakdancing / doing capoeira, and more recently, speedcubing. As life got busier, I stopped a couple of years ago doing it consistently. Since I am no longer consistently practicing, and my hands get older and more rigid (partially due to weightlifting), I'm afraid that beating my elusive 6.5 seconds on the 3x3 is no longer possible. Learning to re-identify oneself is a long process, I guess.
@hhh777 I play Luigi. In those days, I memorized the frame data for all of the attacks of everycharacter and various combos depending on the percentages. But I've been there. It's so demanding.
@BalaGi Yeah, every time I play a single-player game, I feel like I should spend more time on it. It's decent and enjoyable fun, as you know. But I can't help craving that ecstasy of fighting games. They're highly addictive.
@hdrx We're on the same page. I'm not sure which one would win if my present self fought against my past self. Time to re-identify myself.