The Gods of Melee

Mango, Armada, Hungrybox, Mew2King, Dr. PP, Leffen, Plup. The Seven Gods of Melee. Has a nice ring to it, yeah? Or maybe it doesn't. The actual list of gods at this point can be debated, I'm sure. If this article promotes discussion and debate on who the gods currently are, what rank/order they're in, that's great. I believe there are seven though, and the point of this article is to discuss the dynamics of the gods, and the effects they have on the community.

Probably what I like about Melee the most, and what has always attracted me to the game, is the extremely high skill cap in the game. Even the gods in 2016 have room to improve their game, and for me personally, Melee evolved from a game that I wanted to be the best at, to a personal challenge and journey of self growth. I started playing Melee in high school, and throughout the span of my career, which is coming up on ten years now come December 2016, the whirlwind that is life has certainly taken me for a ride.

Since December 06, when I first came across the competitive community, I've enrolled in college and dropped out. I've started business endeavors, failed and learned from them. I moved out of the house I grew up in, and since then have lived in 3 different apartments. I've seen the death of my brother, my mother as well. I've made friends and I've lost friends. I've been sponsored, and I've lost that sponsorship. My goals in the game have evolved, my career and what it stands for has transformed. Melee has gone from my ultimate passion, to a stepping stone towards greater things for me in life.

Throughout all of this though, there has been one constant: I am always watching the gods. Since I started this journey way back as a seventeen year old, I have always looked to the gods. It's quite a phenomenon, to be so inspired by how someone plays a video game, and as such, my goal in this article is to capture just what is so special about the gods, and how in my opinion, they are the ultimate driving force behind the thriving, platinum era, e-sports level of Melee we are enjoying today.

What is a God?

To begin with, it's probably important for anyone that isn't familiar with the Melee scene to understand that when we say "god" we're definitely not worshiping anyone. We use the term gods to describe the handful of players that play the game on a different level than everyone else. Generally speaking, the gods play the game at such a high level that the only people they lose to are other gods. This dynamic is the driving force behind why Melee has lasted so long, especially during times when the community may have been in a downswing, or dwindling for whatever reasons.

The gods set the bar for everyone else to jump over, and if you ask anyone that's not a god they'll tell you that this bar is extremely difficult to reach, let alone jump over. You might even say it's seemingly impossible at times. Even the tier below the gods, filled with players that for years have been on the heels of the gods or at least some of them, will tell you the same thing: The level of play the gods are currently at is mind blowing, especially if you've been following the scene from the early days.

There's no formula that can completely break down why the gods are so good, although if I had to scribble one down off the top of my head, it'd probably be a combination of the following: extreme levels of dedication, incredible amounts of hard work, willpower matched by the highest level of athletes humanity has to offer, unnatural talent, and a willingness to do whatever it takes, day in and day out, to maintain their god status.

You can probably sum it up easier by saying, they simply refuse to lose. I've had multiple opportunities to play with the gods, in fact I'm good friends with one of them, Dr. PP, and am still friends with Mango who I usually catch up with for at least a few minutes whenever we see each other, which is rare these days. Despite all of the gods having different play-styles, and me having different experiences every time I play them, one thing remains the same: If they're trying, you can literally do everything in your power and you're still going to lose.

That's not to say they're invincible however, and that's not to say they don't slip up at times. I've taken games off gods in friendlies, and I'm sure many people have. Some gods are stronger than others, and players close to their level may take a game or two in tournaments. On the rare occasions, a god will drop a set to a non-god, and those are exciting times for the community. It serves a fresh reminder that, despite what all the evidence points to, they are still human after all...maybe.

Trickle Down Inspiration

I think when all's said and done, the biggest purpose the gods serve is to inspire, and in a Nintendo Gamecube game that's now 15 years old, I also believe that inspiration is the key as to why we've not only survived, but thrived this long, and as far as I can tell it will probably play a huge factor as to why we will continue to grow, and continue to defy the odds.

In this e-sports era of Melee, we have it better than we've ever had it before. Out of the basements and onto ESPN as I like to say. Sponsorships, huge cash prizes, glory and even small levels of fame. It's truly a sight to behold, and I knew from the age of 17 that Melee had this kind of potential. To say I'm happy and proud to see it being realized, would be a massive understatement.

What got us to this point though, was none of the above. In fact, I was in the extreme minority of thinking Melee could ever get to this point. Back in the Smashboards era of communication, people thought I was crazy for basing my life around Melee. Sponsorships, money, none of that mattered at the time, especially considering Major League Gaming had dropped Melee from its roster and it was looking like Brawl was eventually going to take over as the premiere Smash game.

So what was it then, that kept everyone playing, until the scene eventually blew up to the point that it's at today? Two things: Love of the game, and the drive to beat everyone else. It's very common in all fighting game communities for everyone to be fiercely competitive. The themes of evolving, conquering opponents, and rising through the ranks can be found equally in all of the most popular fighting games, and these themes permeate the melee community just as much if not more than every fighting game.

The reality is even nowadays, unless you're at the upper echelons of the game in terms of skill, you're probably not going to be making a living off of Melee, and you may not even be making much at all. One of the only rewards you have, again, aside from the love of the game itself, is the challenge of increasing in skill, and testing yourself vs. others at tournaments. It's this dynamic that the magic of the Melee community springs from, and the gods play by far the biggest part in keeping this dynamic fiercely alive.

Behind all the glitz and the glam of the modern day Melee community, behind the beautiful molding of the scene into an e-sports friendly environment, where interviews are common and top players are now under the microscope, lies an undeniable force that can and never will be taken away no matter how much the scene continues to grow or change: The hearts and fighting spirit of the community.

We Will Never Fade

No one exhibits the fighting spirit more than the gods. There is something very personal going on between the gods, and there always has been. It's not as on display as it once was, between Smashboards and Facebook being used loosely like they used to be. People are more professional, and it's a beautiful thing to see. But make no mistake. The gods are in it for much more than what's currently at stake, and they always have been. They'd travel across the world, put themselves in a financial deficit, and play someone in a basement if they had to, to prove they are better.

You'd never see that happen of course, it's not a practical scenario. But they would or at least, that's the force inside of them that manifests itself in all of these beautiful sets we're so privileged to watch nowadays. This is the feeling we all get when we watch them play, this is why through a computer screen, we get the irresistible urge to turn on the Gamecube, or I guess these days our 20XX Wiis, and practice the same button combinations over, and over, and over.

This is the same force that drives the world to get together once every four years, and test ourselves against every other human who thinks they have what it takes in the Olympics. Competition is innate in our nature as humans. It can be both fierce and simultaneously beautiful. It may not make much sense, to find it so healthy and alive in a fifteen year old Nintendo Gamecube game, but as the gods have proven to us time and time again, it doesn't have to make sense to make it very real.