Metagame Development
Sept 20, 2011 10:45:41 GMT -8
Post by t3h Icy on Sept 20, 2011 10:45:41 GMT -8
(This is probably structured poorly, but I just wanted to get a bunch of thoughts out.)
When a new game comes out and becomes competitive, there's the jump between casual play to playing strictly to win and the exploration of how to increase the chances of winning. As viable options are discovered, evaluated, compared, etc the metagame grows, and a healthy, competitive game will have arguments about what's the best, what beats what, etc. Of course, there are always objective facts about the game, but luck and a player's abilities affect what happens in a match. Even Chess which has 0 luck and requires 0 technical abilities and dexterity has a metagame due to the sheer size of possibilities.
The main purpose of this community is to push the RBY metagame as far as possible and knowing all the facets of the game, and the competitive scene helps show this. I was talking with WaterWizard last night and exploring the old competitive Pokemon site, Azure Heights, and reading how things have changed over the years.
One of the interesting things I found is how rules changed over the years. Mewtwo and Mew were legal, OHKO and Evasion moves too, and for Nintendo's tour, they would have 3v3 and a 10 minute timer. Kind of neat. But the main thing I want to discuss is the discovery part of a changing metagame.
Way back in 2000, one of the top Pokemon today was considered subpar (I'm assuming BL/UU level today), which is Chansey. From a thread on Serebii forums titled "The Monumental 10":
Chansey used to be considered a poor Pokemon. On top for many non-pros, Chansey's Defense was the worst stat percentage-wise. When a stat can vary by 93 points, Chansey's Defense often hovered around 30-40, instead of 108 that everyone knows about today and have for many years. Suppose a player was fortunate and their Chansey had 54 Defense. That would mean that Chansey would be taking double the damage she does in battles now. On top, Chansey is tied for the fastest experience growth in the game, meaning she often didn't have all the Stat Experience for maxing out Defense.
Now, pros knew about max stats and formulas, etc, but with this Defense problem for those that didn't, it made it even easier to overlook her. The metagame at the time didn't really consider Chansey all that good either. But Pokemon like many competitive games is about objective facts, and whether or not Ian Garvey discovered her, someone would have eventually. He gains the fame and success for being the first though.
And now warping to today, another Ian (WW) has the best Chansey (very subjective), and Chansey is considered by almost all players as one of the top 3 OU Pokemon (a lot less subjective).
So that's a nice history lesson about metagame development, but my purpose in writing this is bringing this topic to our lovely RBYPlus project. Currently on Smogon for Black and White, there are 53 OU Pokemon, ridiculous numbers of players, and it's a huge mess trying to figure out all the best stuff, as the metagame is still developing. With Plus, it'll be 81 in our small community.
Along with all the hype and cool ideas with Plus that we've pushed for many months, there's the whole aspect of metagame development. On paper and with tons of theorycrafting, it seems balanced, but once it comes alive, there will likely be some Pokemon that stand out more than others. With our community and only up to 12 Pokemon per battle, there will be a lot of fun and excitement in discovering the game.
One of the anticipated sub-topics about development is how the players use their favorites. Let's suppose Player X really likes Flareon and develops his/her team around Flareon. Chances are that player will be the best user of Flareon and make her look a lot better than she is. Basically, there will be "Obsessed Players" playing to push the metagame of individual Pokemon much faster than others. Think Subsmoke's Victreebel looking OU and the gap that exists between his Viccy and anyone else's. I'm assuming he's going to try using her in Plus, and Garrin with Alakazam, and become a player of that type. I'm hyped to see what happens! =D
Anyway, I just wanted to write about the fun there will be in developing Plus's metagame. Perhaps RBY's top players will still prove dominant with their superb natural abilities, but maybe someone will make a discovery like Ian Garvey did with Chansey and dominate everyone. Let's also not forget that we'll always have the abilities to change the game itself. =)
When a new game comes out and becomes competitive, there's the jump between casual play to playing strictly to win and the exploration of how to increase the chances of winning. As viable options are discovered, evaluated, compared, etc the metagame grows, and a healthy, competitive game will have arguments about what's the best, what beats what, etc. Of course, there are always objective facts about the game, but luck and a player's abilities affect what happens in a match. Even Chess which has 0 luck and requires 0 technical abilities and dexterity has a metagame due to the sheer size of possibilities.
The main purpose of this community is to push the RBY metagame as far as possible and knowing all the facets of the game, and the competitive scene helps show this. I was talking with WaterWizard last night and exploring the old competitive Pokemon site, Azure Heights, and reading how things have changed over the years.
One of the interesting things I found is how rules changed over the years. Mewtwo and Mew were legal, OHKO and Evasion moves too, and for Nintendo's tour, they would have 3v3 and a 10 minute timer. Kind of neat. But the main thing I want to discuss is the discovery part of a changing metagame.
Way back in 2000, one of the top Pokemon today was considered subpar (I'm assuming BL/UU level today), which is Chansey. From a thread on Serebii forums titled "The Monumental 10":
The Monumental Ten:
"The ten most earthshaking changes and events that changed the Pokemon Gaming world"
This thread will consist of what I believe to be the ten most monumental changes or events in the pokemon videogame series (including R/B/Y, G/S/C, Ru/Sa/Em, LG/FR). You may post other massive events or occurences after or and changes or disagreements you have with my selection.
"The ten most earthshaking changes and events that changed the Pokemon Gaming world"
This thread will consist of what I believe to be the ten most monumental changes or events in the pokemon videogame series (including R/B/Y, G/S/C, Ru/Sa/Em, LG/FR). You may post other massive events or occurences after or and changes or disagreements you have with my selection.
6: Ian Garvey uses Chansey in the 2000 US Pokemon Championship:
Until September 2, 2000, Chansey was often used as a damage sponge, due to its massive HP potential. In the first generation of games, Chansey had the highest number of hit points of all 151 then-existing Pokémon, alongside a high Special rating, offset by a below average speed rating and the lowest Attack and Defense statistics in Pokémon (any version). Thus, Chansey was believed to be useless as a battler in Pokémon competitions because of its limited selection of offensive moves. However, in the Pokémon United States Championships in Seattle, 2000 champion Ian Garvey used his Chansey (nicknamed "Molly") to defeat the competition with the moves Seismic Toss, Thunder Wave, Minimize, and Softboiled. After this, Chansey has emerged as a favorite among combatants. Chansey's reign, however, was cut short by the great special schism of the G/S age.
Until September 2, 2000, Chansey was often used as a damage sponge, due to its massive HP potential. In the first generation of games, Chansey had the highest number of hit points of all 151 then-existing Pokémon, alongside a high Special rating, offset by a below average speed rating and the lowest Attack and Defense statistics in Pokémon (any version). Thus, Chansey was believed to be useless as a battler in Pokémon competitions because of its limited selection of offensive moves. However, in the Pokémon United States Championships in Seattle, 2000 champion Ian Garvey used his Chansey (nicknamed "Molly") to defeat the competition with the moves Seismic Toss, Thunder Wave, Minimize, and Softboiled. After this, Chansey has emerged as a favorite among combatants. Chansey's reign, however, was cut short by the great special schism of the G/S age.
Chansey used to be considered a poor Pokemon. On top for many non-pros, Chansey's Defense was the worst stat percentage-wise. When a stat can vary by 93 points, Chansey's Defense often hovered around 30-40, instead of 108 that everyone knows about today and have for many years. Suppose a player was fortunate and their Chansey had 54 Defense. That would mean that Chansey would be taking double the damage she does in battles now. On top, Chansey is tied for the fastest experience growth in the game, meaning she often didn't have all the Stat Experience for maxing out Defense.
Now, pros knew about max stats and formulas, etc, but with this Defense problem for those that didn't, it made it even easier to overlook her. The metagame at the time didn't really consider Chansey all that good either. But Pokemon like many competitive games is about objective facts, and whether or not Ian Garvey discovered her, someone would have eventually. He gains the fame and success for being the first though.
And now warping to today, another Ian (WW) has the best Chansey (very subjective), and Chansey is considered by almost all players as one of the top 3 OU Pokemon (a lot less subjective).
So that's a nice history lesson about metagame development, but my purpose in writing this is bringing this topic to our lovely RBYPlus project. Currently on Smogon for Black and White, there are 53 OU Pokemon, ridiculous numbers of players, and it's a huge mess trying to figure out all the best stuff, as the metagame is still developing. With Plus, it'll be 81 in our small community.
Along with all the hype and cool ideas with Plus that we've pushed for many months, there's the whole aspect of metagame development. On paper and with tons of theorycrafting, it seems balanced, but once it comes alive, there will likely be some Pokemon that stand out more than others. With our community and only up to 12 Pokemon per battle, there will be a lot of fun and excitement in discovering the game.
One of the anticipated sub-topics about development is how the players use their favorites. Let's suppose Player X really likes Flareon and develops his/her team around Flareon. Chances are that player will be the best user of Flareon and make her look a lot better than she is. Basically, there will be "Obsessed Players" playing to push the metagame of individual Pokemon much faster than others. Think Subsmoke's Victreebel looking OU and the gap that exists between his Viccy and anyone else's. I'm assuming he's going to try using her in Plus, and Garrin with Alakazam, and become a player of that type. I'm hyped to see what happens! =D
Anyway, I just wanted to write about the fun there will be in developing Plus's metagame. Perhaps RBY's top players will still prove dominant with their superb natural abilities, but maybe someone will make a discovery like Ian Garvey did with Chansey and dominate everyone. Let's also not forget that we'll always have the abilities to change the game itself. =)