Button Mashing: Difference between revisions

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The act of frantically hammering at the buttons on a controller or arcade console.

In a [[Fighting Game]], the idea is that random button-pressing will somehow unlock a super-powerful attack or result in a series of attacks that will overwhelm your opponent. As you may presume, this is the act of an amateur, and is derided by [[Stop Having Fun Guys|"serious" players]]. Only someone completely unfamiliar with the game or their chosen character has to resort to this tactic. Of course, it can be a bit infuriating for these [[Scrub|"serious" players]] when, due to some poor design decisions, their skillful finesse on the joypad leads to them getting walloped by someone who just taps the "punch" button so fast they can never get a move in.<ref>Same "serious" players would never cut a newbie a moment's slack to get oriented with the controls, and take it as a personal shame when they get trashed by a [[~~Beginners~~ Luck|random neophyte as a result]]. What a pity.</ref>

In a [[Fighting Game]], the idea is that random button-pressing will somehow unlock a super-powerful attack or result in a series of attacks that will overwhelm your opponent. As you may presume, this is the act of an amateur, and is derided by [["Stop Having Fun!" Guys|"serious" players]]. Only someone completely unfamiliar with the game or their chosen character has to resort to this tactic. Of course, it can be a bit infuriating for these [[Scrub|"serious" players]] when, due to some poor design decisions, their skillful finesse on the joypad leads to them getting walloped by someone who just taps the "punch" button so fast they can never get a move in.<ref>Same "serious" players would never cut a newbie a moment's slack to get oriented with the controls, and take it as a personal shame when they get trashed by a [[Beginner's Luck|random neophyte as a result]]. What a pity.</ref>

Certain characters, those with simple moves that can be performed via [[Button Mashing]], are often dismissed as "only for button mashers". Note that many [[Fighting Game]] characters have moves that are performed by [[Spam Attack|repeatedly hitting one button]]. Examples include Chun Li, Blanka, and E. Honda from ''[[Street Fighter]]''. This does not mean the character is only for button mashers, although someone who abuses the move may be accused of such.

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With the advent of motion control in video games, the term "[[Waggle]]" has been used describing a similar practice in which one simply shakes the controller frantically.

Television shows that employ [[Pac Man Fever]] will often show the characters playing the video game doing nothing ''but'' [[Button Mashing]], regardless of what KIND of video game is being played; more often than not, the screen will show a character walking slowly or merely jumping, while the person "playing" will be frantically mashing buttons.

Television shows that employ [[Pac-Man Fever]] will often show the characters playing the video game doing nothing ''but'' [[Button Mashing]], regardless of what KIND of video game is being played; more often than not, the screen will show a character walking slowly or merely jumping, while the person "playing" will be frantically mashing buttons.

[[Smashing Survival]] is when you need to do this to break free of [[Harmless Freezing]], shake off a [[Personal Space Invader]] or free yourself from some other trap. If [[Button Mashing]] proves more advantageous than reasonably forseeable, it can fall under [[Fake Skill]].

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* A deliberate use of [[Button Mashing]] was used for ''[[Track and Field (Video Game)|Track and Field]]'', where the primary may of winning is to hit the fire button as fast as possible. Some gamers have created unconventional methods to press the buttons - stuff like putting a sheet of hard plastic and moving a pen over the buttons, or hitting the buttons with a vibrating ruler - while other have actually created mechanical button pressing devices to help their progress through the game.

** In ''[[Lucky Star (Anime)|Lucky Star]]'', Konata [[Deep Immersion Gaming|imagined herself playing this game]] while running a real footrace, using the ruler method.

** In ''[[Lucky Star (Anime)|Lucky Star]]'', Konata [[Deep-Immersion Gaming|imagined herself playing this game]] while running a real footrace, using the ruler method.

** Parodied in ''[[Niea 7]]'', when the final round of a video game tournament uses this game. The winner? An old lady with the shakes.

** Alternating buttons to run / build power / whatever was pretty much ''de rigeur'' for '''every''' damn sports game released on anything in the 1980s; ''Track & Field'', ''Hyper Sports'', ''[[Daley Thompsons Decathlon]]'' (and ''[[Daley Thompsons Super Test]]'') and even the ''[[Viz]]'' sports game used it, to name but a very select few.

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[[Category:Video Game Tactical Index]]

[[Category:Button Mashing]]

[[Category:Trope]]

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