[quote=@agentnumalol]

Yeah, I get where you guys are coming from. I personally like learning all the techniques and the ins-and-outs of fighting games. Learning and applying game knowledge is rewarding. It's less about trying to dominate other players so much as seeing how much farther you can get with what you learn. It also makes pro play understandable and more appreciable. 

I'm still a scrub, though. But hey, being bad at something is the first step to being kinda okay at it.

[/quote]

Basically this. Like, I don't have [i]quite[/i] the dedication to git gud at fighting games the same way I do other genres that encourage close examination and stylish application of the mechanics like beat 'em ups (doing a full S-rank run of DMC4 at the moment) and stealth games, but I do spend a fair amount of time playing around in training rooms trying to figure out the properties of all these moves and how to link them together on the fly. And I think the idea of competitive communities are pretty rad, with a bunch of players going over the mechanics and systems of a game they're passionate about with a fine-toothed comb and putting any claims of "depth" to the test as they climb that skill curve and better both their understanding of the game and their skills as players. And then they all meet in these big tournaments and put everything they've learned to the test against one another. And then you see these games really open up, with games that might be played as simple button mashers at a low level turning into this fast-paced minute-long package of strategy and epic mind games where everyone's carefully gauging their actions and making these calculated gambits based on how their opponents might respond.

[i]sighs[/i]

But yeah, I love watching tournaments and seeing people have fun as well as seeing what creative new tech I might glean from them. I kinda hate this whole "competitive players ruin the fun/hate on you for not playing the game right" stereotype because I never see this from them or the communities and instead always see stuff like this discussion where you have people going on about how engaging in the metagame and learning how the mechanics work is somehow demeaning it as a game or something and it kinda rubs me the wrong way, you know? Like damn, let people play the game how they want to.

/rant