Q&A: Inside the mind of a Smash Bros. super fan

Despite being a 15-year-old game, Nintendo’s “Super Smash Bros.” fighting game series continues to be a popular competitive event played around the world — including Pitt. Here, Scott Collins, a junior mechanical engineering major, runs a club dedicated to the series’ second title, “Super Smash Bros. Melee.”

This is Collins’ first year as president of the club. Initially, it began with only about 20 to 30 people but soon expanded its membership to as many as 80 with their weekly competitions. With such high interest in the game, competition and dedication — like that seen in athletics — abounds.

Saturday, during a 134-person tournament held at the O’Hara Student Center, The Pitt News spoke with Collins — who has won quite a few matches himself — to learn more about the game’s enduring attraction and his club dedicated to it.

TPN: Why do you think “Melee” has continued to be so popular with players 15 years after its original release?

SC: Just by nature of what “Smash Bros.” is, it’s a crossover fighting game with lots of Nintendo characters from all their franchises like “Mario” and “Pokémon.” They’re characters that a lot of people love, so a lot of people get into the game as a kid and try it out, get attached to it and love it. And in “Melee’s” case, as people have been playing more and more, there’s so much depth and so much potential to “get good,” so to speak. It’s a beautiful mental contest between two skilled opponents, and as you get more into it, you just love it more and more.

TPN: What do competitive games offer to people who are not interested in sports but interested in friendly competition?

SC: Competitive games, all of them, are essentially just really fast mental challenges — mental duels — between two competitive people. They love the game. They like interacting with each other. It’s very intimate in a way: if you’re a top player playing against another top player, with potentially thousands of people watching both in person or through a stream, it’s an amazing experience. And you can do it all without having to run around a field for six hours.

TPN: How do you balance having fun and treating the game as a competition when competing in tournaments?

SC: That’s something I’ve struggled with myself mentally, balancing my desire to win, compete and prove myself, versus if when I lose and get down on myself and not have much fun as I have. So I personally try to meditate a bit before any competitive match. Just focus on the here and now.

TPN: Lastly, what advice do you have to anyone who wishes to take part in the esports scene?

SC: A lot of people, especially in terms of “Melee,” say that they don’t think they’re good enough to come to tournaments. Don’t say that to yourself — everybody starts out bad. Just go and have fun. Accept that you are going to lose probably for a long time. Don’t worry too much about winning or how you perceive your own skill relative to other people. Play, make great friends and have fun.