I think back to the first video game that I played. It’s hard to remember but I have fond memories of playing Sonic 2 on the Sega Genesis. I would either play solo or co-op with my brothers. With the in class activity it brought back memories of all the games I have learned over my lifetime. There are countless games that I have played, but the best part of learning games is the experience you share with others. As we discussed in class, most games are inherently social even if they are intended to be a solo player experience. For me I find great comfort in playing video games with my friends and enjoy the shared time with them. It is through this time that I not only distress but also get to laugh and be more of myself. I don’t consider myself the most competitive per say, but at times I can be.

One of my fondest memories of a social game is playing Smash Bros Brawl with my younger brother and a school friend. In Brawl you can only do a four player fight. However, in later instalments you are able to play with eight people. Within Brawl there is a mode known as special smash, which allows you to modify the rules of smash and play however you wish. It is within this game mode, that me, my brother and my friend played smash. To a smash enthusiast, this would be an impure way of playing smash. A competitive player sees the pure way as 3 stock, a select amount of stages and using only the top characters. As stated by Payne and Huntemann, “Rules have a way of erasing that which lies beyond the field of play, just as it normalizes actions within the game space” (How to Play Video Games 48) For us, play smash meant, playing the most ridiculous way we could. To a bunch of 9-year-old kids we saw the game for what was given to us. A roster of characters and a list of stages that were meant to be played.

When you start the game, Smash bros doesn’t tell you the rules. Rather you are forced into the game and learn the controls as you go. Spending more time with the game you spend time learning combos. Eventually you learn one or two characters and advance with them, learning the ins and outs of their move set, kill percent and other jargon. With these basics rules we know the following that Payne and Huntemann state “The word rule possesses at least three definitional inflections: (1) a guideline, convention, standard, or regulation (“Whoever cheats, is out”), (2) a social regularity (“Don’t go to school naked”), and (3) a predictable phenomenon (“When you let go of this crate, it will fall to the ground”)” (How to Play Video Games 42) With these set of guidelines competitive players are able to play in tournaments and compete on a national level all across the globe for smash. The online community thrives and will continue to do so. Fan projects have been released such a project M as a way to improve the core mechanics of the game. To the game I feel in love as a child and I will continue to play, thank you for the memories you have given me.