Pishi is one of the few A-grade mapping experts that this community has to offer, the quality of his videos just like the pace at which he puts them out are superb, knowing no equal.N0thingSpecial wrote:
Good read.
Might sound circle jerky but I've always question people who thinks pp is ruining mapping: what if pp never existed? Does that still make mildly challenging jump maps bad? I think a very good example is ame to asphalt, it is considered pp due to the huge diff spike at the end, but it was ranked before the current pp system is in place, so as the player base re discover this "pp map" they just bash the mapper for blatant pp mapping when the pp system was not yet in place, so people like pp mapping before it was even pp mapping
But as a mapper I would still agree on pishi's view point on focusing on representation rather than player enjoyment, the video itself explained that the mapper's perspective sometimes includes player's enjoyment, they are not mutually exclusive so I don't think that's the end of the world for pp mapping. For example I personally find myself to be able to be immerse in the music if it's more visually stimulating, hence I make maps that focus on visuals. There are hundreds of mappers out there who will map the 7th miiro for you so I'm not worried about that.
But the lack of variety this year is concerning, it's either retardedly unimaginative or retardedly complex, there's no middle ground, but that would be a completely different topic
It's exactly because of this, that we have to scrutinize him more than anyone else.
Take the fun vs. good video, for example. Most of what he says is correct as far as I can tell, and yet he's supplanted his technical correctness with some outrageous statements, getting away with it because they are hard to notice among all the other brilliant points that the video makes. But trust me when I say that there is something seriously wrong here. This is the final statement from the video, the one he wanted to emphasize which is why he put it at the end (and I quote):
"When people claim that certain maps are good because they're fun, or certain maps are bad because they're not fun, it makes me think that certain players don't really see what a map is beyond a platform to click circles."
And this is where everything goes terribly wrong. Pishi seems to be under the impression that players should, in fact, see a map as more than just a platform to click circles! How did he come to that conclusion? It's the artist within him that wants people to think of maps as more than... being part of the game that is meant to be played. When the players don't do that, he forces out a distinction between fun and good, which while at times being reasonably founded, at other times also marks maps like call me it (which is technically flawless, in the sense of timing etc.) as "bad". Even though call me it is super popular and technically flawless!
But no, people don't have to see the map as "more", and they certainly don't have to share the "mappers perspective". The mappers perspective is lost on the majority of the playerbase. The majority of the playerbase doesn't care about technicalities. They just want to play, that's why they are the playerbase.
This is exactly the disconnect between mappers and players that I've been talking about.
"The mappers perspective to be the best way to judge a map, because it takes into account all types of gameplay the players find fun, while also maintaining the purpose of a map in a rhythm game: To reflect a song."
Reflecting a song isn't the purpose of a map, the purpose follows its function, and its function is that it serves the player as a means to enjoy the game. It's simple really. Song-reflection is merely a byproduct of the main-function: The providing of fun, enjoyment.
The fact that he got this wrong really is concerning.
This mindset also has implications for the ranking-process, as QAT's tolerate "bad" (read: unreflective) maps less and less. Maybe things would change a bit if people focused more on the question of "is this fun to play", instead of wondering "does this actually reflect the song".
Now an even more interesting question would be: Why did he get away with making such a horrid statement? Maybe it's his voice. Maybe its the fact that his videos are otherwise excellent. Maybe it was too subtle. I DON'T KNOW.