Skill Erosion

[CKR]

I've been thinking about this for awhile. I'm 34 years old, and I've been getting into shmups for the last year. This forum consists of many younger people, so I'm competing with people at their peak. I was wondering if anybody here has noticed any erosion in their skills as they have gotten older, or maybe like wine you've performed better with age.

[To Far Away Times]

I think the reflexes decline at some point, but a big portion of these games is memorization and planning, and there's no reason why I couldn't see someone in their 40's beat R-Type or Futari or something like that. I knew someone in their 60's that could do the mine cart levels in DKC, so I think it's plenty doable. Unplanned, twitch dodging might be a bit more challenging though.

[Captain]

at 7 years I could beat anything anytime, then I got worse, now I'm almost as good as then, but due to sheer training.

[Mischief Maker]

The complete opposite here. I'm blasting through games that floored me when I was in my 20s.

[Blackbird]

Your reflexes might decline eventually, but your wisdom will increase. You'll figure out more effective ways to train your skills if you persist, and become just as good or even better than you were.

[ratikal]

IIRC, Clover-TAC is in his 30's and he's still going strong!

[Kollision]

this thread is making me feel like shit because I'm old

[BIL]

I know a guy in his nineties who beasts Moon Patrol and Burgertime all day who swears by bouncing cock pushups and regular amniotic fluid injections directly to the brainstem.

[shmuppyLove]

I thought the topic was "Skull Erosion"

[CKR]

this thread is making me feel like shit because I'm old

I enjoy reading your blog. You definitely are a skilled player. Congratulations on the 300 1CCs.

[Squire Grooktook]

While I could see someone's reflexes declining in their 60's or so, mid 30's it's definitely not happening lol.

Also playing games like this regularly will probably stave off that decline a bit. Probably a pretty decent way to keep your brain active, all things told.

[Jonst]

Well,I'm 39...my gaming days started around 1984,played many different types of games conistantly from then until now,mostly shmups these days and I find I'm improving little by little all the time,I don't think age matters,it's how you apply that counts.

[broken harbour]

When I was a kid in the late 80s I could beat nearly any game.

Now... er not so much, Mario Bros 3 gives me trouble. But I think it's that my game time went from hours per day to hours per week (If I'm lucky) as I entered adulthood. Plus now I really like having a wide variety of gaming experiences, so I don't go and dedicate myself to a certain game and play over and over to get really good at it like I used to.

[Squire Grooktook]

Mario Bros 3 gives me trouble too, that's why it's my favorite Mario game

[Kollision]

this thread is making me feel like shit because I'm old

I enjoy reading your blog. You definitely are a skilled player. Congratulations on the 300 1CCs.

Tks
I think I actually have improved over time
thing is I don't like the idea of getting older, my birthday is the saddest day in the year for me

[Eaglet]

Age is just an excuse.
The longer you keep at something and practice efficiently - the better you will get.
I think the reason alot of young people are among the top scorers have to do with having more time to play and piroritizing the game more than others.
Older people with steady, demanding jobs and expanding families will surely find less time to use on something as non-essential as games.

[CKR]

this thread is making me feel like shit because I'm old

I enjoy reading your blog. You definitely are a skilled player. Congratulations on the 300 1CCs.

Tks
I think I actually have improved over time
thing is I don't like the idea of getting older, my birthday is the saddest day in the year for me

My birthday is increasingly becoming a sad affair for me, as well. A big part of my job is to do physical manual labor. My recovery time from the most strenuous parts of my job has increased over time. I am not a top tier shmup player, so I just wondered if some of the better players experienced any troubles over time. People try to gain an advantage by modding an arcade stick to have a faster engage response, so I thought reflexes would be a significant factor. Clover-TAC is an interesting example of an aging top tier player. Is he still at the top of his game? I know who he is, but I don't follow him. Thanks everyone for your responses.

[near_miss]

I'm 35, and I feel I've gotten much better than say, when I was 8. I don't think I'll ever be an elite, but if you just compare yourself to yourself - your own progress, it stays fun. Finally getting Ketsui for ps3 tomorrow, and wondering if I'll ever make it to Doom!

For age: I could see twitch reflexes getting tougher, but really, I'd fear mortality before fearing losing my shmup skills. I think you no matter what happens, nothing can take away from the joy of it. Instead of competing with your younger self - Consider fading reflexes a new even more hardcore difficulty level to master!

this thread is making me feel like shit because I'm old

And @Kollision, I also enjoy your blog, it's awesome; it's one of the places I check when I'm trying to dig up something new to play. So don't feel bad! You love what you love, and we all benefit.

[Aleksei]

I'm here to throw Kollision some love b/c I too recently discovered and read his blog, I've found many titles I've never hear of there.

[brentsg]

I've been thinking about this for awhile. I'm 34 years old, and I've been getting into shmups for the last year. This forum consists of many younger people, so I'm competing with people at their peak. I was wondering if anybody here has noticed any erosion in their skills as they have gotten older, or maybe like wine you've performed better with age.

It's definitely a real thing. I've personally found that things like carpel tunnel kick in to let you know it's time to let it go. It sucks though for sure.. Stuff I could do for months on end when I was younger start to cause persistent pain in days/weeks now.

I had a couple steroid shots in my hands/wrists and the doc told me to stop using my computer/mouse, etc. I couldn't man up and tell him I was playing arcade games.

[Captain]

I thought the topic was "Skull Erosion"

Same here, I even made a post about it before I saw the error.

[nasty_wolverine]

Mario Bros 3 gives me trouble too, that's why it's my favorite Mario game

I have 1LC'ed contra and super contra, but havent cleared mario bros 3. I am not really good at platformers.

[cools]

I had a couple steroid shots in my hands/wrists and the doc told me to stop using my computer/mouse, etc. I couldn't man up and tell him I was playing arcade games.

Get one of these and use it regularly (I'm office bound so use it a few times a day at my desk): http://powerballs.com/

It's really helped me, more so than any change to special equipment - of which I've tried pretty much everything over the years.

[Ruldra]

Get one of these and use it regularly (I'm office bound so use it a few times a day at my desk): http://powerballs.com/

Damn son!

EDIT: This actually looks very interesting. RSI is something that really bothers me and that might be just what I needed. Will look out for one in my area.

[cools]

I've had problems for about 15 years from mouse use (couple of years back I taught myself to mouse with my left hand just so I could give the right a rest). Dug out a cheap Science Museum ball I've had for a long time, wondered if it'd help at all and started using it regularly - noticed a very quick improvement so invested in a HQ official one.

Definitely worth giving a go if you're having wrist problems. Cheap, takes up no space. Far better investment than my Fingerworks Touchstream was.

(Exercise beats changing technology)

[emphatic]

When I was younger and didn't have grown up things to do all day, every day, I was a lot better at shmups. Go figure.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Silicone rubber mousepads are highly recommended, as are good chairs. Good chair does NOT have to be expensive, yet most people use bad chairs. Then everybody who spends a lot of time sitting needs to walk a lot (varices haemorrhoidales, musculi dorsorum and stuff).

[Plasmo]

While I could see someone's reflexes declining in their 60's or so, mid 30's it's definitely not happening lol.

Also playing games like this regularly will probably stave off that decline a bit. Probably a pretty decent way to keep your brain active, all things told.

Nominated for best reply in this topic.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I'm certain playing games where you need to keep track of moving things all the time (so you can't focus on any particular spot for too long) is good for the player's eyesight. When I play racers, shmups etc., my eyes work differently from when I watch movies. I need to take in so much it's almost thousand-yard stare.

[charlie chong]

i definitely got better as i got older but i put that down to aggregate knowledge and pattern recognition.
saying that i could marathon atari 2600 asteroids and centipede when i was real young so i guess it's just what types of games you are playing in the moment and how much practise you put in.
i do have ketsui claw/cramp from doing empty lock when i wasn't good enough for it to help my score anyway
also i am now shortsighted which i put down to working at a computer and staring too close to them telly screens.