I play better when I'm not concentrating. What the hell?

[1up]

When I focus too hard and try to beat a hi-score here on symups.com I make stupid mistakes and dont get very far compared to when I just pick up and play. Maybe its because I take more chances or maybe its like someone here said, that your eyesight narrows??

All I know is I also get a lot madder when im that serious lol and stuff sometimes break...

[Davey]

Yeah, I've had some pretty good runs when my mind was preoccupied with other things and the game itself was just background noise.

On the other hand, I also make more stupid mistakes as I become more familiar with a game. Once I've played the first few levels a zillion times, I get in a habit of playing them the same way over and over (even if it's not the best way). So it becomes second nature, and I kind of just zone out and play on autopilot. Then I end up making more clumsy mistakes early on, not sure if it's because of boredom, overconfidence, or what. In any case, I usually lose interest in a game once I hit this point, as it ceases to be fun.

For me, I have the most fun when I first get a game and my scores keep going up. Then they kind of "plateau", and I put that in quotes because my performance far from consistent. I may get 6 million one run, 8 million the next, then 5 million, then 4 million, then 10 million... I always wondered how my consistency compared with other people's.

In any case, it's at this point where I stop seeing much (if any) overall improvement, and my only chance for a better score is getting in the zone, which AFAIK isn't something you can force, it just happens from time to time.

I think I lack the discipline (and interest) to play a game once winging it no longer results in progress.

[Bingo]

Haha yeah I think we do more than just concentrate when we try hard. It usually means we're trying to stick to our scoring plan. Everything narrows down at this point, mind, vision, possibilities of playing a certain part. When you're locked in like this you'll often lock up, at least I do. I stop being able to respond dynamically enough, I start to force it and it kills me. I do the restart thang. Over and over. I narrow down to where not getting the frist enemy wave perfectly already annoys me.

There's a positive side to this narrowing down, but we're pattern whores. Sometimes it destroys our ability to see anything else, not seeing the forest for the trees. Sometimes when I'm manic I swear I can count the leaves on those trees, excessive specialization.

You know what I do when this happens? I immediately stop playing shooters. Hyper focus is bad for them. I apply it to something where I can keep the variables in check to a degree where the hyper focus becomes beneficial, stuff like Ridge Racer or Wipeout. When you're that in control it doesn't matter that the focus locks you in.

[Bishamon]

I used to notice this same phenomenon many years ago, back when my brother and I used to play on the old Atari VCS and then later on the C64. If I really wanted to do well in whatever game I was playing, I would ask my brother to come in and speak with me. If I was carrying on a conversation while playing I would kick serious ass.

I figure higher brain functions were actually impeding my reaction times. I've heard that fighter pilots are much better if they don't think and just react.

[1up]

I think its like when you are asked to answer a question at an examn. You pick the first thing that comes to mind. The the moron asks you if you are absolutely certain.
Then you start thinking and thats when you choose wrong.

[DeBurgo]

I'm just the opposite. Usually I do my best on my first run when everything is fresh and I'm forced to act in a dynamic fashion, but then subsequent runs are much more frustrating, and I'm forced to focus. It might be, though, that I am actually relaxed on the first run because I don't have any real expectations for score or progress.

I think the optimal method for making clear progress in a shooter requires a certain kind of discipline that involves seeing certain nuances in your own gameplay, and adjusting them accordingly. There's an emotional/tempermental aspect to it as well, though, that involves a fine re-adustment of expectations and generally just knowing when you've reached your limit in a particular area of focus.

Not to mention there's the fact that there are numorous pitfalls that can really destroy a player that doesn't have clear plans/expectations for what they want to accomplish in a run. It's easy to fall into a black hole where you just have to make a PERFECT run that is done a certain way, and consequently not make any progress because you're just biting off more than you can chew.

[stuffmonger]

well, I'm now trying to 1cc my first game (gigawing), and I must say... I played better when I was just playing straight out.

[Ed Oscuro]

Try 1CC'ing an arcade gaming session of Atari Games' Klax on just one credit would seem too daunting a task for most people but it can be done.

Nobody's replied to this yet, but I wanted to say that's a damn cool anecdote.

Of course most of the world's real highscores will never be recorded in the history books, because as has been mentioned random events can conspire to award a great player with a highscore at any time.

Personally, I think it's not the 90s anymore, and as such there is no more time for Klax ;) But regardless that is a great story.

[Icarus]

Then they kind of "plateau", and I put that in quotes because my performance far from consistent. I may get 6 million one run, 8 million the next, then 5 million, then 4 million, then 10 million... I always wondered how my consistency compared with other people's.

Just described me quite accurately there. Some days I can beat my record score on the first credit, other days it'll take me a whole evening to register one on the scoreboard. Consistency is something I don't have.

As for 'the zone' that seems to crop up every now and again in these discussions, I remember I once stated that it's 'play first, think later'. The way I see it is concentration is a part of it: not in the actual playing (go here, do this, do that), but in observational skill.

When you practice, you should be going over strategies you have for each stage with constant repetition, trying to get stage movements down until you can do them without thinking, and observing your strategy in action, tweaking as you go. Commiting to memory things you see that can help improve your strategies, small nuggets of info that can help build a whole strategy. When you come to go for a score-breaking run, you should be playing through muscle memory only, the actions for each stage should be almost second-nature.

I find that if you concentrate too hard on what you should be doing - 'maybe I should be going here?', 'where was that secret again?', 'I always break my chain here somehow...' - your thoughts can and often will distract you from your task. My best games have always been towards the end of a practice session, and usually after a bit of a rest, as it gives my mind a chance to 'digest' all the information I've been gathering while I've been practicing.

[Carmen]

I say... just play. I've tried far too hard to rationalise this sort of thing in any video game... with no result. There are times where I'm not concentrating (just chilling) and I'll do fantastically, but likewise there are times when I am concentrating and I'll do as well if not better. The same is true vice-versa - I've had terrible runs in both conditions. The only thing I can say for sure is that when I start becoming angry (like this ), then I'll do poorly - but thats the only consistant thing I've come 'round to.

So, just play