Inside the Analytical Mind of Daramgar — Smash, Brawlhalla, Cooking and More
When it comes to esports there’s no space that is as diverse and storied as the Fighting Game Community. Within the FGC the Super Smash Bros. scene is one of the most colorful, whether you're talking about competitors still carrying around CT monitors for Brawl, or talking about the Five Gods of Melee.
It’s not just the games or competitors that help to bring a game to life the way the Smash does. A community is built on several pillars and one of those that is necessary is the commenters. Daramgar, is a Smash Color Commentator who identifies as transfem (it\its pronouns) who started as a competitor before finding its way behind the mic.
Daramgar has a love for food and traveling — two things that complement the somewhat nomadic lifestyle of a Smash Commentator. Dara also has a very analytical and passionate view of the game that helps to make its own individual style of commenting on the game shine.
The Smash Scene
Like most great things in life, Daramgar’s start in the world of Smash Commentary wasn’t something that was planned out. A friend of Daramgar’s, Fang, noticing how analytical and studious Dara was about the game, suggested jumping on the mic together for some pool play.
Dara says after that, “I just started doing my weeklies,” and quickly found a passion and joy for commentating despite only having a little bit of on-camera experience from a cooking show. Though Dara also mentioned having done some stand-up comedy when it was younger.
For Dara, what makes good commentary comes with a few different metrics. Dara says that you have accepted that different people are watching esports competitions for different reasons. You can please everyone and so one of the early choices that you need to make is what kind of audience are you catering to?
According to Daramgar, there were two sides to commentary — those who come purely for the entertainment value of competition and those who want more out of the analytical aspect of the competition. Dara’s style leans more into the analytical nature of play, which is complemented by the fact that Smash is already one of the most entertaining games to watch in the FGC.
A strong analytical ability in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is particularly impressive given the game's enormous roster. With nearly 90 playable characters, understanding the intricacies of every matchup is a near-impossibility. Prioritizing analysis of the game over straightforward color commentary requires a significant level of time, practice, and passion.
Dara’s time in the Smash Scene and passion for the game inevitably led further than just the Nintendo Switch and into the world of another platform fighter, Brawlhalla.
Brawlhalla and Finding Your Voice
Just like with Ultimate, Daramgar turned to Brawlhalla at the suggestion of a friend. Dara says there’s a lot of analysis that can carry over, but that Brawlhalla and Smash are still two very different games.
How is Dara able to cast in both games despite their differences? According to Dara, it’s all about passion. As knowledgeable as a person may be in any given game, passion and excitement for the scene is what really sets color commentators and casters apart.
Daramgar also praised Brawlhalla’s accessibility as a free-to-play game, noting that you can play it with literally any kind of input, console, controller, keyboard, etc.
But Dara notes that Smash and Brawlhalla take two different approaches to casting. With Smash, Dara has seven years of experience and knowledge that spans varying storylines, character match-ups, how characters have changed and the way they interact with one another. It’s all muscle memory and first-hand knowledge.
But Brawlhalla takes more study time and Dara says that is reflected in the commentary style. Dara goes out of its way to be more studious about who everybody is. There’s also a more general approach to combat, such as asking questions like, “Why did this person get hit?” or “What about their positioning made them vulnerable?” as opposed to more niche topics or points of view like in Smash.
This led to Daramgar sharing some advice for any aspiring color commentators of casters, regardless of the scene. “Look at what your favorite commentators are doing,” Dara said. “Try to break down the logical process of what they were saying, what are they trying to do?” It’s not just about what they say, but why they’re saying it.
Food Is Life
Smash and platform fighters are obviously a major part of Daramgar’s life, but it's not the bigger part or even what Dara’s best at. In Daramgar’s own words, “I eat, I talk about food all the time. It is the thing that I do most amazing.”
Dara’s favorite thing about traveling around for different tournaments and competitions is getting to experience the local cuisine. While most competitors at Smash Tournaments will prefer something quick and familiar to get back to the action, Dara says, “If I'm in a different place, I may as well get something that's good around here.”
With no shame, Dara even admits that sometimes it feels as though it spends more money on food than it makes on a trip to do commentary for a tournament.
One of Daramgar’s current goals is to set up and host a cooking stream on its Twitch channel.
With no help in sight from Nintendo and a number of prominent organizers exiting or reducing their activity in the scene, sustainability for a Smash commentator is always a tricky subject. But with a strong analytical mind, a willingness to diversify (Dara even mentioned eyeing a possible move into the Rocket League space) and a chance to further build its brand through food and cooking, Daramgar is set to continue rising through the ranks of today's top esports commentators.
