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Recently, there has been a discussion on the Internet about a certain issue that is often talked about in fighting games, mainly on Twitter.
格ゲーで「勝てないからつまらない」って言うなら、せめてガードとかキャラぐらいは覚えてから遊んだほうが良いのでは。って話をこないだつぶやいたら、「そういう初心者お断りが格ゲーの衰退を招いたんだろ」って言われてるのを見かけて、「初心者お断りのハードル高いな！」ってなりました
— 一石楠耳 (@isikusu) October 25, 2018
It can be said to be an eternal debate in the fighting game world,
“The decline of fighting games is caused by the trend of refusing beginners” vs. “I want you to study at least the basics”
This is the problem.
Every time there is a discussion, various opinions are exchanged, but they are always rough and each other’s opinions follow parallel lines.
I was originally a so-called “video group” who enjoyed watching fighting game videos. I recently started playing Street Fighter V and came across this issue as a new user, but when I saw the interaction between the two sides, I felt a bit confused.
This is not to say that either is wrong, but I feel that there is a right part of both statements.
Furthermore, the opinions of both sides, such as “beginners are not allowed” and “I want you to study at least the basics”, are not unified, that is, the meaning of “beginner” and “basics” differ from person to person, which I feel is accelerating the confusion of the discussion.
Why does this happen?
I think this is because there are people in various positions, from advanced players, beginners, to even retired people and video players, and the era and culture of encountering fighting games are completely different.
The opinion of “no beginners” is different depending on the “era” of what people talk about
First of all, the meaning of “beginner” in the opinion of “beginner refusal” is not unified, but I think this is because the era of experiencing fighting games varies from person to person.
This is because many of the opinions that come out about refusing beginners are assumed to be in the heyday of game centers a long time ago, such as “I was unilaterally hunted by an advanced player at a game center (*)” or “I tried to practice but was intruded (*) and I couldn’t practice”.
*Being hunted = being defeated
by an overwhelming difference in skill *Intrusion = forcibly transitioning from computer battles to interpersonal battles
And I feel that those who are based on their experience at the game center do not realize that there are now overwhelmingly more users who play online than game centers. Nowadays, it is mainstream to play at home by connecting a computer or game console to the Internet.
Beginner hunting in online battles is caused by problems with the game’s system, such as “matching is not perfect and you will hit someone with a difference in ability”, or a problem on the player’s side, such as “a person with obvious skills hunts beginners with a sub-account”.
However, at least, unlike the game centers of the past, you need to consciously choose the menu to play interpersonal battles, so if you practice in computer battles, you will not be broken into by advanced players and beaten up. In competitive mode, you basically play against players of the same strength, and you can recruit players of the same strength as opponents through Internet communities.
Of course, the game center competition still exists, and it is not completely a thing of the past. However, there is a passage that is confusing because many people talk about the “old beginner refusal problem” as it is as it is as the “modern beginner refusal problem”.
The opinion that “I want you to study at least the basics” is that the level of “basics” is different for each person
Next, regarding the opinion that “I want you to study at least the basics”, I think the problem is that the level of “basics” is different for different people.
For example, the Twitter opinion quoted at the beginning shows the “minimum basics” in the true sense of the word, such as knowing how to move guards and characters.
Learning these controls is a matter of course when playing games, not just fighting games. I have to say that the counterargument that “that is not allowed for beginners” against the basics of this stage is certainly unreasonable.
However, it is certain that there is a reality that “you can’t win just by learning how to move”. In the first place, there is also a problem with fighting games themselves, such as the difficulty of successfully performing combos (continuous attacks) and the difficulty of guarding the opponent’s attacks.
Therefore, some people say, “It’s boring if you can’t win, so working hard to the level where you can win is the minimum basis.”
This is where the trouble begins, and the effort to this winning level is further subdivided.
There are infinite knowledge and skills necessary to win, such as “system characteristics for each game”, “combo practice”, “character countermeasures”, “guaranteed counterattack”, “frame”, etc.
Of course, you need to learn it at some point in order to improve, but it is inevitable that some people will refuse to start beginners if they are suddenly forced to “learn this much” the systems and techniques of fighting games that have increased over the years.
Because the definition of this “minimum basics” is different, the way of perceiving “beginners refuse” has been misaligned. This may also be a factor in the confusion.
Beginners are indispensable, at least don’t let existing players take a “no beginner” attitude.
With the spread of e-sports, fighting games have come to the fore. Along with this, I think the number of beginners like me who become players from video games is increasing.
Recently, you can watch battle videos, and advanced players and professional gamers are distributing videos of their practice. Some of them are professional gamers who deliver courses for beginners and teach techniques directly to beginners who come to the competition. Fighting games are still a tough genre for beginners, but it can be said that the environment is definitely friendlier than in the past.
However, even so, in some cases, unnecessary conflicts have arisen, such as extreme arguments and slander over the above-mentioned “no beginners” and “minimum basics”. The current situation where such conflicts are noticeable is not pleasant to watch.
「勝てないからつまらない。でも勝つための努力はしたくない」
何事も他人に勝るには努力が必須です
それを「その初心者お断りの姿勢が衰退を招いた」だのなんたらかんたら…こういう人間は全てに文句垂れるので何言っても無駄です
対人ゲー向いてないんで素直にマリオとかやっといた方がいいですよ— 天帝わんちゃん（格闘ゲーム激うま天帝バーチャルユーチューバー犬） (@gekiuma_dog) October 30, 2018
I understand that people are angry at those who say “it’s boring because I can’t win” without even making an effort to win, and it’s a fair argument. However, radical remarks that are more than necessary are just self-satisfaction, and there is no need to cut them off by playing other games.
Since the definition of the debate is already different for each person, I should have criticized the troublesome beginners at first, but before I knew it, it spread to beginners who were trying to do their best seriously, and I feel that it is starting to have a negative impact on the whole.
Now that you’ve had the opportunity to attract more new players, many players want the game they enjoy to thrive as much as possible. That’s why I hope that some existing players will not take an unnecessarily high-pressure attitude so that they don’t go out of their way to refuse beginners.
