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Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Hero_Swe on April 22, 2011, 12:30:38 am

Title: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Hero_Swe on April 22, 2011, 12:30:38 am
What the title says basically.

What would you do if a massive cascade of bad hit you and you started being bad at videogames?
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: esarai on April 22, 2011, 12:31:49 am
I dunno... probably sleep more and let my mind return to full capacity.

I guess I wouldn't mind that much since I don't play that many.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Nuclear1 on April 22, 2011, 12:33:09 am
Go do something else.  My life doesn't revolve around games.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Shivan Hunter on April 22, 2011, 12:33:39 am
do some more texturing.

When I first saw the title I thought this was another marcov thread
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Hero_Swe on April 22, 2011, 12:35:45 am
Yeah I'm kinda tired so I don't really give a **** about making it look pretty, it has fulfilled it's purpose anyway.

I dunno... probably sleep more and let my mind return to full capacity.

I guess I wouldn't mind that much since I don't play that many.

But what if the suckage stayed with you after you slept. Like you awoke the next day and you were fully rested yet you still sucked.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Mura on April 22, 2011, 12:38:44 am
I would get good again.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: PsychoLandlord on April 22, 2011, 12:41:53 am
Steadily go insane due to the loss of my skill and my passing from the top of the totem pole, then become a Supervillain.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Qent on April 22, 2011, 12:51:50 am
I wouldn't notice the difference. :nervous:
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Hero_Swe on April 22, 2011, 01:02:59 am
Steadily go insane due to the loss of my skill and my passing from the top of the totem pole, then become a Supervillain.

Precisely what I'm going through
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: newman on April 22, 2011, 01:17:15 am
Games either require good reflexes and motor skills or good cognitive abilities - or both. "Sucking at games" is probably much too broad a term - sucking at DCS: Black Shark isn't the same as sucking at Half Life 2 or Super Mario.
However, in theory, if you suddenly got inexplicably bad at some type of games and it wouldn't go away, it would probably be a good idea to consult with your doctor as a sudden loss of reflexes/motor skill/congitive ability can be a symptom of a much larger problem than sucking at video games.
If this wasn't really a hypothetical question I'd advise someone with said problem to do just that.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Dilmah G on April 22, 2011, 01:43:20 am
Go do something else.  My life doesn't revolve around games.
Yeah, it's not like gaming is the only thing you're good at and that makes your life worth living. I'd personally get some sleep in, go out with the guys and then come back and see if there's a difference.

If there isn't, I'd watch the replays of whatever game I'm playing and look at exactly what I'm doing bad. If it's just a matter of him pulling the trigger faster than me then I'm probably just not flanking enough to negate that, if my arms are aching too much for me to execute evasive maneuvers with enough stick then I'd tone down my fitness regime, so on etc.

What exactly is it you're having trouble with, HS?
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: BlueFlames on April 22, 2011, 01:49:35 am
What would you do if a massive cascade of bad hit you and you started being bad at videogames?

The status quo (http://home.comcast.net/~blueflames/Committed.png) would remain so perfectly intact that neither myself nor anybody else would notice a change.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: zookeeper on April 22, 2011, 02:03:27 am
I'd play on the easiest difficulty level.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Hero_Swe on April 22, 2011, 02:53:16 am
Games either require good reflexes and motor skills or good cognitive abilities - or both. "Sucking at games" is probably much too broad a term - sucking at DCS: Black Shark isn't the same as sucking at Half Life 2 or Super Mario.
However, in theory, if you suddenly got inexplicably bad at some type of games and it wouldn't go away, it would probably be a good idea to consult with your doctor as a sudden loss of reflexes/motor skill/congitive ability can be a symptom of a much larger problem than sucking at video games.
If this wasn't really a hypothetical question I'd advise someone with said problem to do just that.

Just getting worse at every game, which I guess there is a problem in my brain then.
What would you do if a massive cascade of bad hit you and you started being bad at videogames?

The status quo (http://home.comcast.net/~blueflames/Committed.png) would remain so perfectly intact that neither myself nor anybody else would notice a change.

Dude! Nice ****ing air! I don't even know how you did that!
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Davros on April 22, 2011, 03:41:57 am


The status quo (http://home.comcast.net/~blueflames/Committed.png) would remain so perfectly intact that neither myself nor anybody else would notice a change.

Dont mention Teh Quo
(http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/21/tehquo.png) (http://img222.imageshack.us/i/tehquo.png/)
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Snail on April 22, 2011, 06:30:37 am
Maybe turn down the difficulty.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Nuke on April 22, 2011, 07:13:45 am
its called getting old. these days fps games make me nauseous. i cant play button mashers no more (thumbs get stiff and go numb). i find rpgs to be a boring numbers game. im about as good as ive always been with joystick games and it takes me longer to get the hang of and to beat new games.

i generally suck at multiplayer. there are exceptions, i was so good at etqw that the game became boring, and i seem to hover in at silver in sc2. i think the problem is ive spent years playing with people who were not very good gamers. i started playing multiplayer games back in the mid 90s, probably starting with descent and quake. needless to say the number of people who played those games was never exceptionally large (probably because a computer cost upwards of $2000 where a console could be had for around $200). most gamers i knew back then played console fighting games. i dont think the problem is so much with us than it is with all these kids who have grown up playing games from a very young age. i mean i had games (atari, nes, snes, some computer games) but these were nothing like what we have today. were talking kids born post descent/doom who grew up playing nothing but 3d games. and us with out distractions like work and women and booze and other illegal substances just arent getting as much practice.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: General Battuta on April 22, 2011, 07:47:24 am
Trash talk more (this always makes me win, and there are good neurological reasons for it too!)
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Mikes on April 22, 2011, 08:53:24 am
What the title says basically.

What would you do if a massive cascade of bad hit you and you started being bad at videogames?

Play more video games ? ;) lol :)

More interesting would be: "What you do if you get carpal tunnel syndrome" ;)
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Pred the Penguin on April 22, 2011, 09:27:10 am
If I suddenly got bad at a games? I'd stop playing... or maybe keep playing, it's not I'm particularly good now. :lol:
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Grizzly on April 22, 2011, 12:10:38 pm
Games either require good reflexes and motor skills or good cognitive abilities - or both. "Sucking at games" is probably much too broad a term - sucking at DCS: Black Shark isn't the same as sucking at Half Life 2 or Super Mario.
However, in theory, if you suddenly got inexplicably bad at some type of games and it wouldn't go away, it would probably be a good idea to consult with your doctor as a sudden loss of reflexes/motor skill/congitive ability can be a symptom of a much larger problem than sucking at video games.
If this wasn't really a hypothetical question I'd advise someone with said problem to do just that.

Just getting worse at every game, which I guess there is a problem in my brain then.
What would you do if a massive cascade of bad hit you and you started being bad at videogames?

The status quo (http://home.comcast.net/~blueflames/Committed.png) would remain so perfectly intact that neither myself nor anybody else would notice a change.

Dude! Nice ****ing air! I don't even know how you did that!

Dude, it's Malysia :P (or it looks like it...)
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: BlueFlames on April 22, 2011, 01:43:13 pm
What would you do if a massive cascade of bad hit you and you started being bad at videogames?

The status quo (http://home.comcast.net/~blueflames/Committed.png) would remain so perfectly intact that neither myself nor anybody else would notice a change.

Dude! Nice ****ing air! I don't even know how you did that!

I came way wide out of the last corner and wound up hitting the ramp-shaped rock at the bottom of the screen.  In fact, it was just the driver's side that hit, so the car was turning over as many RPM's as the engine.  In first-person view it was just skygroundskygroundskyground*WHAP*.

More to the point of the thread, though, rally stages are what I tend to be "best" at in Dirt 2, and when that's a typical performance, I'm obviously not doing all that well.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: redsniper on April 22, 2011, 02:35:34 pm
I'm already bad at games. That's why I don't play multi much and when I do, it's for the lulz.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Enzo03 on April 22, 2011, 03:01:21 pm
I'd do what newman said, and for the same reasons.
Put into that light, it'd genuinely scare me if that happened at my young age of 19.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: StarSlayer on April 22, 2011, 03:13:39 pm
I'd do what newman said, and for the same reasons.
Put into that light, it'd genuinely scare me if that happened at my young age of 19.

Yeah might be worth practicing bouncing and catching a tennis ball off the wall or some basic balance drills and make sure you aren't suffering any noticeable decrease in skill level.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Hero_Swe on April 22, 2011, 08:28:20 pm
I'd do what newman said, and for the same reasons.
Put into that light, it'd genuinely scare me if that happened at my young age of 19.

I AM 19, that's why it's freaking me out. I've been gaming since I was 4 too.

I always knew I would never be as good as I was when I was 10-15. But damn, It seems like I've been hit with "The Suck" bug
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Dilmah G on April 22, 2011, 09:19:03 pm
Bah, it's just games, man. All sucking at videogames means is that now you get the job of coordinating attacks at LAN-parties rather than spearheading them.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Hero_Swe on April 23, 2011, 08:26:58 am
Bah, it's just games, man. All sucking at videogames means is that now you get the job of coordinating attacks at LAN-parties rather than spearheading them.

Man I used to do both...
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Grizzly on April 23, 2011, 09:25:38 am
If I suddenly got bad at video games, I think I would check whenn I last slept, and just quit and do something else.

It will probably go better next day.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Dragon on April 23, 2011, 10:08:27 am
I'd go read a book, decrease the difficulty or replay training missions.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Grizzly on April 23, 2011, 12:28:05 pm
Heh. If you are getting bad at a video game, you've been playing for too long :P.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Androgeos Exeunt on April 23, 2011, 12:30:05 pm
I'll read a book and sleep early.

I might exercise more too.

Heck, I might even forget about getting bad at it and become good at it again, as I experienced first-hand from playing Tyrian 2000 way too much.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: X3N0-Life-Form on April 23, 2011, 12:58:10 pm
I'll switch the difficulty to medium or easy.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Liberator on April 23, 2011, 06:41:00 pm
What the title says basically.

What would you do if a massive cascade of bad hit you and you started being bad at videogames?
What are you talking about, I'm already bad at video games.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Marcov on April 24, 2011, 07:27:58 am
Suddenly got bad? To what level?

If I got so bad that I couldn't play it at easy, I dunno...probably cheat it off, or create my own scenarios where things are easier.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Nuke on April 24, 2011, 10:03:37 am
i think the biggest issue when you get old is you dont get the same performance out of your hands that you once did. like tonight i played starcraft 2 for 3 hours, and now my mouse clicking finger is in a lot of pain right now. it used to be i could play starcraft for 16 hours straight and feel no strain at all. seems those days are passed. i also noticed fps games were making me nauseous. ive played a lot of those in my day. but i was playing fear several weeks ago and i just had to stop. these dont much affect my performance yet, but they do affect my endurance. at some point they will affect both.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: mxlm on April 24, 2011, 05:00:36 pm
Trash talk more (this always makes me win, and there are good neurological reasons for it too!)
Please do go on.

I mean, in League of Legends something fun is to insult someone's mother, and then when they stop moving because they're typing jump out of the bushes on them. But I don't think that's what you mean.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: General Battuta on April 24, 2011, 05:04:14 pm
Well, once you're good at a skill (hitting a golf ball, playing a game, whatever), it's moved into a subconscious part of the brain. Conscious attention to your performance therefore degrades, rather than enhances, your ability to use that skill.

So by distracting yourself with creative trash talk you allow your skill to work unimpeded.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: JGZinv on April 24, 2011, 06:29:11 pm
Well if you get to the point where your skills playing games have diminished... start making/modding games.
You lead, you organize, you manage, invent, teach.. whatever.

I may not be as good as I was even 4 years ago, but I've definitely shifted from a consumer to a producer role.
You hit 20 and your gaming ability starts falling off at about 8% a year. Least that's how I've seen it.

A lot of burnout is just playing with people that have found that groove, and you get left in the dust. Patience is
shorter, free time is shorter, jerks are in overflowing supply, games cost more, etc.  This is partly why cell phone games and the "3 minute game"
has taken off - for all the gamers that still have that itch, but can't regularly play.

I was competing in Blur when it came out, and we were one of the top ten teams in the world. The game flopped, we got out, and decided
to get back in it a year later. Well now everyone and their dog knows a lot of the tricks we figured out to begin with. Some players that have
stuck around have elevated certain skills/play styles to an art form. Where as before we could walk in any game and take over, now it's often
a win-by-a-hair regular event. You don't play regularly... you get sloppy. You get old, your abilities degrade.

Don't worry about it... unless you're going pro and have to perform for your job - it's normal.

There's plenty of gaming clans out there for the 21 and older group too, where brains over brawn (or er... reflexes) win out.
Try stomping around a FPS game with a full team of 24+ age shooter lovers, you "almost" feel sorry for the little twerps, almost.

Play other games... buy/install an old system and visit titles that you never got the chance to play. The "latest and greatest" is often life sucking...
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Dragon on April 24, 2011, 07:32:42 pm
Also, if your reflex decreased, it may be time to start playing adventure games, such as Myst, Schizm, one of numerous old Sierra adventurers, or perhaps a puzzle game, such as The Incredible Machine (try it, it's really, really fun :)). These ussualy don't require too much reflex (there are exceptions, of course, but not as demanding as shooters), relying on logic and thinking instead. There are also Elite style games, which combine elements of flight sim and economic simulation, such as X series, Privateer, Freelancer or (of course) Elite. Some of them can be played just fine as a trader, X series (aside from X1 and XTension) in particular (it requires a lot of time though).
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Pred the Penguin on April 25, 2011, 04:54:08 am
Minecraft!!!! :nervous:

The damn game is eating me up...
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Nuke on April 25, 2011, 10:29:05 am
one of the reasons the death of the joystick sickens me so much is because its the input device that is easiest on the hands. im not a big fan of games that try to make the right mouse button the do everything button. at least sc2 gives your other hand something to do. but it remains a very click intensive game. its not as bad as 99% of mmorpg games though. fps games mostly revolve around moving the mouse and less around clicking. clicks to fire weapons are less repeditive, especially since there are really 2 types of guns in fps games, those that fire fast, and those that fire slow. the fast firing guns just let you hold the button down, and the sow firing guns (think railguns and sniper rifles) dont require rapid clicking. stil the wasd fingers always end up sore. i dont like games that fail to spread the input around. use other fingers! thats why i like a decent hotas, because it makes sure you have at least one button under every finger.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: IceFire on April 27, 2011, 08:08:49 pm
Glad it's not just me... and I feel much the same as Nuke actually.

It's not that I suddenly got bad at games... it's just that I'm not as good as I used to be. I compensate well using accumulated knowledge to make it easier on myself but ultimately there are quite a few people out there who are waaay better than me. In FPS games I usually have a middling performance unless the scenario features less twitch and more tactics. I can't play fast deathmatch games any more. In Bad Company 2 I'm a very good sniper but that's about it... I spot guys, I use motion sensors, I play smart and I can hit guys with a 90 degree deflection angle in the head across the map - I take my time to set up the right shots.  In the twitchfest up close I'm not as good as I used to be...

About the only thing I'm good at is combat flight sims like IL-2. Good enough I should say....even then I tend to favor mud moving where I set up my attack on slow moving or stationary targets on the ground.

Games are just something I do when I'm bored anyways.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Mr. Vega on April 30, 2011, 03:50:14 pm
I'd read books every waking moment and then die from forgetting to eat. Thank you video games!
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Marcov on May 04, 2011, 08:09:59 pm
Well, once you're good at a skill (hitting a golf ball, playing a game, whatever), it's moved into a subconscious part of the brain. Conscious attention to your performance therefore degrades, rather than enhances, your ability to use that skill.

So by distracting yourself with creative trash talk you allow your skill to work unimpeded.

I actually don't see myself getting weaker at something that I've been practicing at/am good at already when I put my full consciousness there.

As I see it, putting your full attention might require more energy, and thus the energy gets depleted faster, so you suddenly lose your control/attention.

Once you've got something perfected, on the performance, you won't need to be so conscious of it, but being conscious doesn't remove the performance capability, either.


Back ontopic, I just somehow CAN'T beat the crap out of Warcraft III. On Medium? No. Don't even think of tryin'. Easy? Not even! Try to make as many military units as possible, and you're 90% sure the enemy has amassed a larger army than yours!
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: General Battuta on May 04, 2011, 08:15:42 pm
Well, once you're good at a skill (hitting a golf ball, playing a game, whatever), it's moved into a subconscious part of the brain. Conscious attention to your performance therefore degrades, rather than enhances, your ability to use that skill.

So by distracting yourself with creative trash talk you allow your skill to work unimpeded.

I actually don't see myself getting weaker at something that I've been practicing at/am good at already when I put my full consciousness there.

As I see it, putting your full attention might require more energy, and thus the energy gets depleted faster, so you suddenly lose your control/attention.

Once you've got something perfected, on the performance, you won't need to be so conscious of it, but being conscious doesn't remove the performance capability, either.

This is a nice thought, but unfortunately laboratory science has proved you wrong.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: StarSlayer on May 04, 2011, 09:17:24 pm
It's good to still be able to think tactically in a situation, for example to set up a move later in the bout, but the actual motions/moves and especially reactions will be much faster and when they come from muscle memory rather then conscious thought.  Controlled anger is also pretty useful, you'll be able to hit things harder and faster, but you need to hold it in check else you get stupid.

but yeah, thinking it out doesn't work so hot... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyyonI_COz8&t=4m47s)
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: General Battuta on May 04, 2011, 09:19:41 pm
It's good to still be able to think tactically in a situation, for example to set up a move later in the bout, but the actual motions/moves and especially reactions will be much faster and when they come from muscle memory rather then conscious thought.  Controlled anger is also pretty useful, you'll be able to hit things harder and faster, but you need to hold it in check else you get stupid.

but yeah, thinking it out doesn't work so hot... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyyonI_COz8&t=4m47s)

Unless you're Sherlock Holmes!

And yes, cognitive attention can be devoted to higher-level tasking rather than interfering with expert processing.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: StarSlayer on May 04, 2011, 09:37:39 pm
Exactly, if I'm sparring in Kendo I might plan on hitting a kote do strke (you make a strike to the hands but really your looking to follow up with a horizontal cut across the abdomen) in order to set that up I'll attempt kote men (strike to the hands followed by a strike to the head) a couple times in order to get my opponent to expect to protect their head so I have a clear opening to the torso when I do strike kote do.  The strikes themselves, and especially my reactions to my opponent's moves need to come from muscle memory though, its to fast to be caught thinking about what to do.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Vidmaster on May 05, 2011, 10:01:47 am
I'd lower the difficulty.
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: MR_T3D on May 06, 2011, 10:46:32 am
I`d keep playing, just not taking any of it that seriously
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Marcov on May 07, 2011, 10:21:22 am
This is a nice thought, but unfortunately laboratory science has proved you wrong.

How about giving me examples of experimentation that has proved focusing one's attention on performance ending up in worse results than without much concentration?

Anyways, personally, I've experienced several times that I get to hit the flying shuttle cock even while laughing at something funny that happened in FreeSpace, but that doesn't mean I don't get to hit it when on focus mode.

Are you talking about Sports or Performance Arts?
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: General Battuta on May 07, 2011, 10:25:46 am
This is a nice thought, but unfortunately laboratory science has proved you wrong.

How about giving me examples of experimentation that has proved focusing one's attention on performance ending up in worse results than without much concentration?

Anyways, personally, I've experienced several times that I get to hit the flying shuttle cock even while laughing at something funny that happened in FreeSpace, but that doesn't mean I don't get to hit it when on focus mode.

Are you talking about Sports or Performance Arts?

Both.

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a790265733

http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2001-05320-007

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/xge/133/4/584/

off the top of my head, there are loads more
Title: Re: What would you do if you suddenly got bad at video games?
Post by: Hero_Swe on May 07, 2011, 10:12:28 pm
Looking back, quite a few funny posts. Safe to say, I was on a bad losing streak. It's was alright though, turned out they were cheaters :P. So yeah, back in form :)