Indeed.
Hey y’all, welcome to another edition of the MYMer Interviews!
This week we got smashbot226. Believe it or not, he’s actually been in MYM since MYM2 I believe. Anyway, without further ado, here’s the interview!
What do you consider your best moveset and why?
Dr. Facilier, obviously. The rest of them are MYM2/3 era, barely above newcomer status, or Battleheart. That said, I think the reception for Facilier certainly told me I had improved from the days of MODOK/Rocket Raccoon and that I could improve over time.
What are your favorite Make Your Move movesets not by yourself and why?
To be perfectly honest, I don’t really have a particular “favorite” set. Some inspirations, certainly, but no favorites. If held at gunpoint, I’d probably say Cyrus, Trainer Joe, and Beezwax. In no particular order and again, these are just a few of my favorites.
What do you look for in a moveset?
An idea. Yes, this probably sounds conceited, but if a set puts forth a concept/idea/what have you, makes it playstyle-relevant, and centralize it without making it the only thing worth mentioning, it’s a set that gets some respect. There are obviously other elements as well but for me, the big thing is probably how well a set does with a concept/idea. Hence my formerly burning hatred for momentum.
Where do you get inspiration for movesets?
Most of the inspiration comes from the character himself. As in what can this character do to make an interesting mechanic or how said character can work in the Brawl, or MYM I should say, engine? Otherwise, some other sets like Cyrus help me with developing other sets as well, but not in the way I might imply. It’s more of a, “how can I expand upon said set’s concepts” rather than “how much can I get away with before anyone figures it out?” I try and keep that to a minimum though.
How often do you cut movesets?
A lot, though not all of it is entirely my decision. As some of you may recall, one of my roommate’s friends decided to screw around with my WIP Magneto set and replaced a bunch of keywords with… well, you know the nickname at least. There was also Adam Jensen but he had an overwhelmingly huge concept that I’d have to dedicate half a contest to just to figure it out. As for lesser known plans, there was a Weighted Companion Cube set I was working on in MYM4 and an Emperor set in the making. Hell, I promised the latter for this contest but it might not see the light of day until MYM13, at least. Cutting sets is an unfortunate habit I’d like to break, nonetheless.
How did you discover Make Your Move and why do you continue to create movesets for it?
I was actually aware of Make Your Move during the very first contest and held some amount of respect for everyone who participated. Actually joined in MYM2 and put forth around ten or so movesets, with Meme Man taking 4th. Even if the set quality was considerably lower back then, so was the general stuffiness of the contest. As for why I’m still around, that’s a question that still doesn’t have an answer. And trust me on this, I’ve been looking for one.
What can you tell us about you in real life? Do you have any interesting quirks or trivia about yourself to tell us?
Well, other than being the only actual Heb in the contest, I’ve been to a few different places around the globe. There’s potential that I could’ve met up with a chance few of you, though I’d have no idea why you’d want to do that in the first place. Born and raised in Southern California- Beverly Hills for a few years and it was a living hell- which I partially despise due to the subculture prevailing over any sense of individuality. Feel free to call that hipster mentality but you can’t say anything unless you’ve lived down here for as long as I have. What else… ah, I’ve got a couple of scars that I claim was a dog attack but in reality, one was from tripping on an escalator- I was running up it, the story for that is quite tragic, really- one from getting a plastic water gun thrown a couple inches above my right eye, and three from getting my appendix taken out.
What’s the inspiration for your username?
Jeez, that’s something even I can barely remember. Well, I like smash, robots, and 2/26 is my birthday. Keep in mind I joined in 2007 and everyone was still retarded back then due to Brawl hype.
Who do you consider your closest friend in MYM?
I was under the impression that everyone hated everyone (d). In all seriousness though, I’d probably have to thank everyone who gave my sets a look and helped me out a lot with the development phase. Even if some of the feedback wasn’t entirely helpful in the long run, their willingness to actually take time out of their day to look at a set that’s not even their’s is admirable.
Who is your favorite Pokemon?
Marowak. I’d make a set for him if he had barely any potential beyond “swing bone like a boomerang”.
What is your favorite video game of all time?
Consistently, I’d say Okami. It’s the best Legend of Zelda game I’ve ever played, to this day, as well as one of the best games I’ve ever played period. Up there would probably be Banjo Kazooie and Melee.
What would you consider your least favourite set of yours?
Battleheart. There was a period in time where I stopped midway during a sentence and literally spoke out loud, “Why the hell am I STILL working on this?” It was a turning point for me and turned Battleheart from an ambitious project to a chore. I suppose this is why I’m so quick to bash on it and why I’m confused Junahu defended it. While I can’t argue with the downplay or original ideas that work outside Brawl’s engine, if there was ever a point during development when the creator flat out HATED working on it, you know it had problems.
FAggot asks how’s it feel to have only 1 good set? :3
How does it feel to be ridiculed more than PLORF nowadays, Bobby?
How did it feel to come back to MYM (in the 10th edition) after a long hiatus?
If you’ve ever seen that film Shawshank Redemption, it was like I was Brooks Hatlen without the whole hanging yourself ending. Admittedly, I came from a period when the priority was having fun with making movesets, not placing the Top 50 or getting into leadership. I did leave after MYM3, however, due to the mass amounts of leadership fapping that occurred throughout the thread. While I hear it wasn’t as prevalent, the numerous failures during my hiatus gave me pause when I debated actually participating again. Nobody would really remember me except the old men like MarthTrinity and Kibble. Hell, I could barely remember anyone when I came back. The unsubtle ridicule was also apparent. I’m fully aware even now I’m generally considered a joke within the community, even if it’s not to the Plorf or PPL extent. The only thing separating me from those two is that I don’t have an IRL pic to relentlessly shoop.
More on that, why did you decide to come back after a long break?
None of you will believe me when I say this but I came back on a whimsy. Not even the site, but the contest. It was less a matter of nostalgia and more a matter of sheer chance. Whether or not it’s good or bad luck is a matter of who you ask.
Why do you hate Penguin so much?
While this might not be in the most excruciating detail as people (See: Warlord) may imagine, I’ll gladly defend my position on this. Penguin as a set is unremarkable. It’s playstyle is keep hiring minions to do your dirty work while you move around in the air with a Brawl-Tier set. You could argue he has aerial potential due to the slowfall and it’d have merit if his aerials were worth a damn. Sure, the manipulation of his own aerial momentum is clever but it’s nothing special. The grab game is minimalist as hell and ground normals generic.
It’s a chock above newcomer set and why it’s gotten such good reception is beyond me. That being said, my own opinion of the set was lukewarm. Didn’t really expect it to get as much attention as it did and ignored it. Then the Top 50 came out and the results were generally expected- Death had an unstoppable hype train matched only by Dracula’s in MYM3, everything that was expected to Top 10 except maybe Vader got Top 10, etc. And then I got to see Penguin at 32. I was confused at first, wondering how said set got above Jack Skellington, Medusa, hell even Le’Quack. Yes, you could argue the makers of those three had genuinely better sets except Jack, but nonetheless, seeing Penguin THAT high up was a little disturbing for me.
I’m fully aware that Warlord can’t cover every set in his comments/rankings and that his word has weight in Make Your Move in general. But this all sort of clicked for me: he had actual rankings for Penguin and Batman but not for, shall we say “other” sets. Sets that deserved some real recognition but got none due to Warlord possibly glancing over it. Yes, Jack got votes, and I would’ve SV’d him if I had less faith in the community and had less of a MYM2/3 mindset of positive thinking. But good lord, I honestly think Penguin is shifty WV material, let alone RV material.
Allow me to reiterate people are entitled to their opinion. But here’s where I take issue: whenever I do genuinely ask why Penguin was as high as he was, I get rebuffed, ignored, or get the entire point flipped toward me and my obsession. I’m not obsessed, Penguin just isn’t getting defended AT ALL. I mentioned that Penguin can summon minions and little else. So why doesn’t anyone actually defend the set or their vote instead of make me look like a fool? Because it’s easier and it means you don’t need to justify the reasoning behind it?
If it seems like I’m implying people don’t read sets and simply follow comments such as Warlord’s, you’re right. Call me a pessimist or a cynic or an @sshole, whatever. But I genuinely do believe that sets going unread is a major problem and a marker on the bunker won’t do very much to change that. It was an issue with Trainer Joe, who I genuinely believe deserved Top Ten, though that’s an entirely different issue. One that apparently stemmed from community suggestion and solidified the “always do the opposite of what MYM says” rule in my own mind. It’s an indicator of how much people aren’t willing to do their own reading and defer to the comments of Big Daddies like Warlord or Smady.
Ready my coffin for the inevitable *****storm.
Any movesets for the future?
Outside of dealsets like Tommy Wiseau and Cheshire Cat? I’ve got a couple ideas but nothing really ironed out so far.
Sundance Question: What is the best soda ever made?
PC (hug) We need to play TF2 some more, my medic needs better patients (sad)
The Bunker 
UserShadow remicks. (D)
By: Davidreamcatcha on March 28, 2012
at 11:35 pm
Feels bad man. Feels bad.
By: forwardarrow on March 28, 2012
at 11:50 pm
I’m never going to hear the end of Jack Skellington, aren’t I?
By: professorpeanut on March 29, 2012
at 2:26 am
Well unless Kat interviews Dave and he’s feeling charitable, this is probably the end of it.
By: smashbot226 on March 29, 2012
at 12:57 pm
I’ve seen an independent side of you confirmed now, and I genuinely respect you more so than before for it.
By: katapultarr on March 29, 2012
at 9:48 am
I’m surprised the one comment actually directed toward me is a positive one considering what I said about this community.
By: smashbot226 on March 29, 2012
at 3:45 pm
Alright, let’s talk Penguin.
“I mentioned that Penguin can summon minions and little else. So why doesn’t anyone actually defend the set or their vote instead of make me look like a fool? Because it’s easier and it means you don’t need to justify the reasoning behind it?”
Maybe… or because this criticism makes it sound like you didn’t read it very carefully. Which, y’know, is understandable, because as soon as you try to read lots and lots of sets, you’re going to spending less time and thought on each one individually and trying very hard to get that simple, concise thumbsup/thumbsdown impression from it ASAP. Otherwise, how can you possibly sort through so much work being put out there so efficiently?
Suffice to say that Penguin does summon minions, yes, but that playing him as if he’s then just an entirely hands-off coward is an awful idea. He has to engage very actively with his disloyal minions, not only because there’s a cap on them and because they’re relatively weak, but because you want to be there when they bite the dust.
From there, we can establish that just about every move has, at its simplest, two potential applications: on the foe and on a minion. You can take the shortest, most “generic” move in the set – let’s talk UTilt – and already it serves to cut off an enemy taking to the air to flee a thug (and pushes them right back into their clutches) or to halt the momentum of a thug on his way off-screen. When you add the nuances that are placing yourself properly to be able to do either of these things (see how much of Penguin’s moveset is dedicated to mobility and getting precisely where he needs to be?) and losing the thug’s complete loyalty (is it a worthwhile trade? probably it is, because if you lose cash, you start losing thugs, and Penguin doesn’t like to fight alone – he’d rather even fight multiple foes, using one as a weapon against another, than fight one-on-one) and you’ve got plenty of playstyle depth already.
So saying that it’s only minion distraction while you move around in the air is just plain wrong. Yeah, there are minions distracting them, and yeah, you’re moving around in the air, but none of it is arbitrary, meaningless or disconnected. You’re moving around in the air to get where you need to be to puppeteer the ongoing brawl. You’ve got factors compelling you to both keep your distance and stay close – it’s a very sophisticated style of spacing born at least partially of the way your minions are very usable as weapons, recovery method, or whatever else. This is all without taking characterization into account, and that’s definitely one of the set’s great strengths, but you can’t dismiss the idea just because it’s front-loaded.
I also believe sets going unread is a serious problem. Always have. Just now, not doing anything about it, I know. But this mentality of analytical quantity-over-quality leads to some really discouraging misreadings or misconceptions – and, at worst, actual hate (though not in this case, I guess). Let me tell you, folks: as a general rule, if you flat-out hate a moveset, you’re either not trying or not paying close enough attention.
By: KingK.Rool on March 29, 2012
at 8:56 pm
“if you flat-out hate a moveset, you’re either not trying or not paying close enough attention.” I think the original Hook would like a word with you, Rool.
Yes, I actually did read that set and thoroughly. I quite frankly wish it still existed just so I could show you how bad it was. But alas. Seriously though, I do think that there are in fact some sets that don’t have any good qualities to them even if you squint. At a certain point you are just making stuff up.
Not that you’re necessarily wrong about The Penguin, I’m just saying. Though partially because I refuse to budge in my opinion on -THAT- set, dear Christ.
By: forwardarrow on March 29, 2012
at 10:45 pm
I would love to read it and be able to point out where the seeds of Hook 2.0 (which people seem to regard as more valuable) were planted, and therefore where the set deserved at least muted respect. We don’t condemn sets for executing their (good) ideas poorly. Not everyone knows how to do that sort of thing, or rather, how to do it ALL of the time.
But then again it totally ripped off Jafar’s organization which I gave to Dave without question or qualm so I probably should hate the bloody thing.
By: KingK.Rool on March 30, 2012
at 12:05 pm
I liked Penguin, because it was a moveset that I liked. It’s pretty much as simple as that. I don’t exactly see how personal preference is something that needs to be held under public, or even private, scrutiny.
By: Junahu on March 31, 2012
at 11:07 pm