Beauty in Design: Splatoon on Ice

Splatoon is a secret celebration of the coolest game on ice (shots fired, Curling). 

You may feel like it is part paintball, part skateboarding, and all Nintendo, but every great Splatoon team member is a hockey coach at heart.

From Turf War to Tower, Splatoon PVP is all about zone control. An unspoken rule between veterans of Splatoon is play the map, not the people. Splatoon victories, like hockey victories, are not delivered by a lone wolf. 

Take any Splatoon map and you can divide it into the same 3 zones that exist on the ice. There is an offensive zone, a neutral zone, and a defensive zone. These zones are played in Splatoon in the same way they would be played in hockey, although you are much less likely to spend time in an Offensive Zone in Splatoon. The most important zone in both games is the neutral zone.

Goons, Grinds, and Backchecking: It may seem different, but a good check in hockey does what a good splat in Splatoon does. The only reason we play the player is to remove them from the play. Losing your feet in hockey doesn't just mean you lost a battle. It also means you aren't available to help. You are behind the play. Essentially you are waiting for a respawn. In Splatoon we splat with a purpose. Hockey isn't MMA. Splatoon isn't Call Of Duty.

A good Splatoon team has a good backcheck. In Hockey backchecking means a player is assigned to the sole task of chasing down the opposing puck carrier with the goal of regaining puck control. In Splatoon you don't carry the puck, you carry the map. A good Splatoon team doesn't full charge into the offensive zone. You will always have a player in the back chasing opposing paint in the neutral zone and taking it out as quickly as possible. As in hockey you may have one devoted backcheck member, but you should always have a support member close enough to sub if your back checker gets splatted. Since back checkers are the root of any winning Splatoon team they need to be able to splat. Their the only role where covering the map is as important as covering the players.

Neutral Zone Trap: Infamous in Hockey, but essential in Splatoon. In Turf War your team only needs more paint than the opposition. Consistent wins come from pragmatism, not bravado. A good team does the math, pushes up to about 50%, then creates a wall of paint from the neutral zone. It isn't flashy, it isn't complicated, it just works. When all you need is 51% only a rookie gives a full 100%.

Offensive Zone: Some Splatoon modes don't allow a team to stay neutral. Zones and Tower will require a team to push forward. Even here, Splatoon resembles Hockey. Vision in Splatoon is as important as it is in Hockey. When on offense it is important for the offensive team to fluster the defense with a classic Wayne Gretzky tactic. Using a 1-2-1 approach, a team of four can keep 1 defensive player maintaining the line between the neutral and defensive zone. The next 2 players pushing further up are doing a majority of the noise making in the neutral zone. Staying mid-range and applying constant pressure against the defending team while consuming attention and vision. This gives the strongest offensive player the ability to move up, behind the general area of defensive focus and vision, an area in Hockey referred to as "The Office", and either flank in Tower or cause panic and disorder in Zones. 

Circles and Spheres: Perhaps the most hidden similarity between Hockey and Splatoon is the faceoff circles. In Hockey, the faceoff circle is where every play begins. Both teams meet in the center of the circle, the puck is dropped, and one team prevails by moving the puck away from the center and to the control of a team member. Splatoon doesn't have a puck to control. As in Hockey there are places in Splatoon that are crucial areas that give a team better access to control of the map. In Hockey a player that wins faceoffs is a role player. The same can be said in Splatoon. Role players in Splatoon may not bring in splats or cut lanes through the defense. These role players have the right set-up to lay down the most paint from the most advantageous position while giving their team members a spot to jump in, or simply maintaining critical lanes. Sometimes the most critical role in a winning game is that of a solid role player. Since Splatoon is a game played on a 3-dimensional surface it is best to think about these areas as spheres instead of circles. These critical points cast abnormally large spheres of influence in a game. Get to know the areas of the map with highest visibility and the highest elevation. Use these points and a mid range, high volume weapon to keep your team in the game. Unlike Hockey, in Splatoon it is not advisable to attempt to be a role player in the offensive zone. A good role player can hold a defensive position and a great role player can hold a neutral position.

These are just some of the rather basic similarities that Splatoon shares with Hockey. Perhaps the greatest similarity is what happens after a game. In Splatoon someone must be cleaning the paint off the map. Most likely using a hose to clear away the never-dry paint. In Hockey it was tradition for the losing team to resurface the ice rink by hosing it down hence the term "hosers". I would like to think that this term may apply to Splatoon as well. Maybe the question should no longer be "Are you a kid or a squid" and instead be "Lay paint and don't be a hoser".