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Gallant Hero

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I've come to a pretty big epiphany concerning my place in the fighting game community.

There's a fourth type of player out there besides casual[AKA beginner], intermediate[AKA skilled], and elite[AKA competitive/pro].

I still don't have a name for it, but I do have a description, so if you could, I'd like you all to help me figure out an appropriate title for this fourth type, if one that I don't know of does not already exist to describe it.

Due to my familiarity with the series, I'll use Smash as my game-of-example....[though I still love games like Guilty Gear and Blaze Blue] :

I enjoyed Melee and Brawl equally because I was always fighting people who were on even turf with me and so our matches were always close and epic.
I was never crushed (save for rare occasions) and I never crushed my friends (again, save for rare moments.)

I play not just for fun, but for a damned good fight, and for the sake of improving myself.

I value the journey over the end result, whether that be winning or losing, but I play both more often than a casual and less often than an elite. I am serious about giving my best effort towards the games, but not so much that winning or losing against other human players particularly affects me.


So, any ideas?

And for the sake of discussion, which of the four types do you consider yourselves to be?

Interesting Codger

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Uh... better than casual, but not quite advanced? Sounds like you just described intermediate... unless there's some reason you're not intermediate...

Gallant Hero

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Sadist Sedated
Uh... better than casual, but not quite advanced? Sounds like you just described intermediate... unless there's some reason you're not intermediate...


I've always viewed an intermediate as an "Advanced in training".
It's different in that they get to that point of being advanced, with the goal of moving forward into being a competitive, or even pro, player.

I don't feel that quite fits the particular situation I'm trying to describe here.

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Lol I totally get what you're saying and it sounds at the very least to me that your are a family player with a competitive side.

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It sounds like you play just like me. Can get competitive, but you really play for fun and the excitement of a challenge as well. Go easier on friends and family, but rough on the A.I. Yep. It does sound just like me, lol.

Honestly, we never thought of a name for it, but it could be classified as a skilled casual. Maybe...

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padawan??
low class warrior??
Chunnin??
I don't know.

Gallant Hero

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NightmareX72
It sounds like you play just like me. Can get competitive, but you really play for fun and the excitement of a challenge as well. Go easier on friends and family, but rough on the A.I. Yep. It does sound just like me, lol.

Honestly, we never thought of a name for it, but it could be classified as a skilled casual. Maybe...


A skilled casual, huh? That sounds pretty close....if possible, though, I'd like to think up a name that doesn't necessarily ascribe to either core or casual, if possible. In core circles, being called a skilled casual would just get you laughed out of the room sometimes. I'd prefer a creative name that doesn't stir feelings towards an already-in-use description.
Does that make sense? Or am I sounding like a babbling idiot....^^;;

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NightmareX72
It sounds like you play just like me. Can get competitive, but you really play for fun and the excitement of a challenge as well. Go easier on friends and family, but rough on the A.I. Yep. It does sound just like me, lol.

Honestly, we never thought of a name for it, but it could be classified as a skilled casual. Maybe...


A skilled casual, huh? That sounds pretty close....if possible, though, I'd like to think up a name that doesn't necessarily ascribe to either core or casual, if possible. In core circles, being called a skilled casual would just get you laughed out of the room sometimes. I'd prefer a creative name that doesn't stir feelings towards an already-in-use description.
Does that make sense? Or am I sounding like a babbling idiot....^^;;
It makes sense, lol. Well, to classify such a name that doesn't describe you as something that is already-in-use, but at the same time, classify you as something others to understand your level, that would be a tricky endeavor.

Feral Vampire

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I think JonTron described what I am perfectly in one of his Game Grumps videos: I'm good enough to curbstomp all my friends, but not even close to good enough to kick much a** at competitive events. I dunno what to call that.

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>playing for the sake of improving yourself

This is the mentality every person who plays FGs should have. As Jiyuna once stated, the main difference between NA competitive players and Japanese competitive players is that Westerners play to win while the Japanese play to better themselves, which is why America cannot stop being free to Japan. While our top players reach a plateau in their skill and stagnate, top Japanese players are continuing to explore the game and get better at it - inventing new tech with their characters or gimmicks and such. We in America hardly do that at all.

Regarding the topic of this thread, I think the four ways to describe FG player-levels are:

Beginner/Casual
Plays the game to mash buttons and watch flashy stuff come out as a result of their button mashing. Easily beaten by anyone who has a basic grasp on fundamentals. Has no real desire to actually learn the game.


Intermediate/Semi-Casual
Plays the game a bit more and has learned a few things, such as a few short combos and has a rough idea of how the game works. Good enough to curbstomp friends/family/Casuals, but not good enough to hold a candle to anyone higher on the hierarchy due to a lack of comprehending mindgames. Has trouble blocking mixups. Usually very flowchart playstyles. Can be outplayed easily. Usually just sticks to netplay and doesn't have much drive to improve.


Advanced
Plays the game a lot more than the average Intermediate player. Lots of experience/good fundamentals. Knows mains in-and-out and has broad knowledge on a number of character matchups, but nothing too extensive. Has good understanding of how the game works. Decent yomi skills (baiting, predicting, 50%+ HP punishes, etc.). Good reaction skills (like blocking overheads on reaction). Curbstomps anyone who doesn't have a clear clue about what they're doing. Usually make good fodder experience for competitive players. Usually on netplay, but some go to local scenes to improve themselves.


Competitive

Plays the game with an intense passion. Great fundamentals - can defeat even Advanced players' mains with subs they hardly use. Extensive amounts of matchup experience. Experts at how the game works. Matches between competitive players are filled with mindgames and active thinking. In general, they are a more advanced type of Advanced player. Curbstomps nearly anyone who isn't also at their level. Mostly play and practice offline at local scenes, but a few competitive players go on netplay.




For the FGs I play:

Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend - somewhere in the middle of Intermediate and Advanced
Persona 4 Arena - lower end of Advanced

Gallant Hero

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Not Nytemair v4
>playing for the sake of improving yourself

This is the mentality every person who plays FGs should have. As Jiyuna once stated, the main difference between NA competitive players and Japanese competitive players is that Westerners play to win while the Japanese play to better themselves, which is why America cannot stop being free to Japan. While our top players reach a plateau in their skill and stagnate, top Japanese players are continuing to explore the game and get better at it - inventing new tech with their characters or gimmicks and such. We in America hardly do that at all.

Regarding the topic of this thread, I think the four ways to describe FG player-levels are:

Beginner/Casual
Plays the game to mash buttons and watch flashy stuff come out as a result of their button mashing. Easily beaten by anyone who has a basic grasp on fundamentals. Has no real desire to actually learn the game.


Intermediate/Semi-Casual
Plays the game a bit more and has learned a few things, such as a few short combos and has a rough idea of how the game works. Good enough to curbstomp friends/family/Casuals, but not good enough to hold a candle to anyone higher on the hierarchy due to a lack of comprehending mindgames. Has trouble blocking mixups. Usually very flowchart playstyles. Can be outplayed easily. Usually just sticks to netplay and doesn't have much drive to improve.


Advanced
Plays the game a lot more than the average Intermediate player. Lots of experience/good fundamentals. Knows mains in-and-out and has broad knowledge on a number of character matchups, but nothing too extensive. Has good understanding of how the game works. Decent yomi skills (baiting, predicting, 50%+ HP punishes, etc.). Good reaction skills (like blocking overheads on reaction). Curbstomps anyone who doesn't have a clear clue about what they're doing. Usually make good fodder experience for competitive players. Usually on netplay, but some go to local scenes to improve themselves.


Competitive

Plays the game with an intense passion. Great fundamentals - can defeat even Advanced players' mains with subs they hardly use. Extensive amounts of matchup experience. Experts at how the game works. Matches between competitive players are filled with mindgames and active thinking. In general, they are a more advanced type of Advanced player. Curbstomps nearly anyone who isn't also at their level. Mostly play and practice offline at local scenes, but a few competitive players go on netplay.




For the FGs I play:

Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend - somewhere in the middle of Intermediate and Advanced
Persona 4 Arena - lower end of Advanced


I guess that sounds pretty close, yeah. I always felt that advanced and competitive have a step between them so small that they actually blend, though.[add that to the "will it blend" list.XD]

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I've spoken to you about this before. =D


...by the way... 'fourth'? What was the third? Casual, Hardcore, ___? Oh, the in-between. Ehhh, I don't know if you can really count that one, since a lot of people in the so-called 'fourth' categories tend to slide into that realm.
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