In other fighters, I'd agree with you, but Super Smash Bros. already has like a billion options that aren't even glanced at in tournament settings since it's just the kind of game where there's a bunch of fun modes and variations that aren't based around a standard ruleset.
The custom mode isn't gonna be stillborn because a bunch of people who don't play tourney Smash are gonna look at it and be like "whoa look at all this crazy shit we can do" and then they'll do it.
I was largely considering the competitive scene and any groups willing to develop a standard ruleset amongst themselves. It being a separate mode gives it a stigma on its own (I know, somewhat ironic considering the scene).
The core gameplay has hardly evolved since Melee, when there's so much more they can do, without convoluting its presentation through mode/content bloat or its accessibility.
What Brawl and these upcoming games make me think of are the Japanese equivalent of Western AAA tumescence. The multiplayer can't be shoehorned in, since it was there from the start, so you keep tacking on these other (meaningless) distractions to add bullet points to the back of your box and ad campaigns. Meanwhile, the core gameplay either devolves from some lofty (often times nostalgic) standard or changes little, which is meaningless to some, great for some, and spiteful and horrible to others. In the end, it doesn't matter, because the
perceived value of the product ultimately outshines how the game
actually plays in relation to its predecessors and sells to the average consumer anyways. Then some sit back some months later and can't put their finger on what wasn't the same.
The hype surrounding the Direct kinda falls into my point. In this thread in particular.
What are you guys hyped about? You know nothing about how the game plays. How the game
feels. But you're hyped because you were presented Little Mac? And Pokemon? Because Sakurai GIFS? Trophy guessing games? A mode that was thrown in in hopes to salvage ideas that were tossed to the cutting-room floor?
What about how precise the
control over your most interested character is going to be? What about the game's speed? What about the tension of the edge-guard game? In what capacity is that relevant? Any new additions to the baseline mechanics, such as the Toadstool jump in Brawl? Hopefully something more
meaningful? How are the physics? How is controlling Mario going to
feel? etc. etc. I'd think being fighting game players, you'd all care more about that stuff.
It seems like what happens when certain developers/designers stick around too long, is that they stop thinking about pure mechanics and dynamics and they start thinking more about content and presentation. The majority of the fan base follows suit, and I think neither content, nor presentation, actually make a game good.
And if so, what were the major topics? (Unless you were sleeping and don't know)
