Shmups and the flow state

[shmupsrocks]

Shmups are really hard and I try different psychological approaches to increase my performance but the most effective one seems to be entering a so-called flow state. Is that the "right way" to play these games for high performance?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)

[Kiken]

Core A Gaming recently uploaded a video discussing this very subject.. they even referenced Raiden: https://youtu.be/g4-EyNJhcQ8

[ShotOfSelf]

If you play videogames or do any activity you're interested in you'll be entering a state of flow. Being immersed in something you love, everything else melting away and losing track of time? Happens when you draw, vidya, play an instrument, read a book, absolutely anything you like to do. If you weren't entering a state of flow you'd most likely be uninterested in what you were doing.

Anyway, you're doing it the right way and there is no other way as far as I know. Any other approach besides immersion and concentration will make you fail in most games and render you kinda useless in most hobbies. Out of curiosity, what were the other psychological approaches you attempted?

[CyberAngel]

My rule of thumb is to concentrate on process and not goals. That's what "flow" essentially is so yeah.

[shmupsrocks]

Core A Gaming recently uploaded a video discussing this very subject.. they even referenced Raiden: https://youtu.be/g4-EyNJhcQ8

Great video! It's this kind of thing that got me into shmups in the first place.

If you play videogames or do any activity you're interested in you'll be entering a state of flow. Being immersed in something you love, everything else melting away and losing track of time? Happens when you draw, vidya, play an instrument, read a book, absolutely anything you like to do. If you weren't entering a state of flow you'd most likely be uninterested in what you were doing.

Anyway, you're doing it the right way and there is no other way as far as I know. Any other approach besides immersion and concentration will make you fail in most games and render you kinda useless in most hobbies. Out of curiosity, what were the other psychological approaches you attempted?

I would try basically holding different concepts in my mind like "minimize movement", "think of it like a maze", or "just don't get shot" but entering a flow state is certainly the most enjoyable and also the highest performance technique I've found. Sometimes it's hard to get there or stay there though.

[ShotOfSelf]

I would try basically holding different concepts in my mind like "minimize movement", "think of it like a maze", or "just don't get shot" but entering a flow state is certainly the most enjoyable and also the highest performance technique I've found. Sometimes it's hard to get there or stay there though.

Thanks for explaining, now I understand. When learning how to play I did all of those things and still do when practicing but once you have a game down pretty well, a flow state should be easy to enter. Don't worry if you're not 'in flow' while learning, it comes after getting everything down perfectly. Of course if you keep switching games and/or credit-feeding too much(me), it's hard to get things down. Maybe that's your problem as well.

Another thing is there seem to be 2 states of flow. One is when I'm practicing intensely, dodging a crazy bullet pattern or just winging it in a game I enjoy. Then there's the other which happens when I'm going for the elusive 1cc, nothing else in life matters at that moment and I become the ship. Guess the former is a lite version of the latter. Does that happen with you?

[casualcoder]

It really comes down to focus. Getting those neural pathways to form shortcuts through repetition, reduced anxiety yet heightened attention.

To me its a scale. An absolute flow state for me is relatively rare and very palpable. It's almost like reality itself shifts. The game is the only thing that exists. Things become brighter, I seem to see more frames of animation, patterns slow down and become more recognizable, my predictive analysis seems intuitive.

In most cases I'm somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. It can take a distracting environment, life issues or even boredom with the game in question to knock a few points off of the scale.

When you get there though, it's magic and a really great time to push for that magic run you've been aiming for (which might knock you out of the state though if your nerves start getting to you).

If you're wondering if top players are always in flow state. Probably close to it. But I don't think there's any secret sauce. It's from sheer hours of practice and dogged determination for the most part.

That's the reason I always recommend players to pick one game that they can obsess about. And use that to build a fine grain understanding that will end up translating to other games.