Quake II Metagame Series - By Jehar

[[BTF] Reflex]

Nice read,  and very pertinent.  Awareness is a key factor.
That word was drilled into my head and I forgot about it's importance.

To combine with another point in one of your articles...
The Zone happens when you have pretty full awareness.


(hehe,  I was looking thru my basement again for a ps2 mouse adapter,..  and guess what I found

MY OLD MICROPHONE!!!!   lol)

[vibes]

I have thought about this for a while now, and this thread gives me the opportunity.

Compare Quake to Golf


4 of you set out and play 18

Your last score on this course was 100, naturally you want to do better.
This is the challenge to oneself.

You play the 18 and score 90, during the game you make 90 shots. But, of those 90 , 5 of them are supurb. Like a World Class Pro.
That's what makes your whole game. Those 5 shots.

Your other 3 friends have a similar experience.
If you win 1st place out of 4 Great ! if not, it was still a good game.


Nice work, Jehar

 

[[BTF]Jehar]

Heeeeeres Johnny!

http://jehar.tastyspleen.net/meta5.html

It's late, and I probably spouted a lot of bs that nobody agrees with. I'm not qualified in any way to talk about what I am... and *I don't care*. Yell at me. Disagree... but post dammit.

[[BTF]Gator]

Good article, and one i havent seen written about before.

i have lots of slumps.  There are two types. The one where you are just tired, distracted, sun shining on monitor, etc.  The type where you have some usually physical problem with your game that handicaps you.  But i suffer from the second type of slump.  Seems to sneak in and last for about two weeks every three months or so.  Its the type where i just can't seem to play to my ability.  And that is actually the reason i still play the game, is to try to stretch or meet my own personal highest ability.  To me, its not about the scoreboard, just how i feel about how i did in each particular game.

How i deal with it:
If i see i am clearly off or starting to fall off, i normally just stop playing for that time period.  Usually its just a few minutes to an hour or so.  If its a chronic period, i'll take a few days off.  Get really grounded in life again before coming back.

Also, i can see how working out or not working out really affects my game.  If i dont work out, i can feel that i am not properly grounded.  And when i'm not, i dont play well.  My mind and body get a touch out of sync.  And in my game is usually the first place i notice that i havent worked out recently.  Sometimes i get busy and forget to, and its usually my game that reminds me i need to go work out, LOL!

Anyways, great article Jehar.

[[BTF]adam]

that happens to me so much :\ im incredibly inconsistent and have too many downswings compared to upswings good read. 

[LittleLamb]

You hit the nail on the head, man.  It's all about the way you look at your losses.  I definitely have my quaking slumps as well... kinda feel like I'm in one now, actually.  And, yes, there is a lot of outside stress from the real world on me.  The worst time to have a slump is when another player you're familiar with is having quite the opposite, and they're just hitting shot after shot, timing everything perfectly, and here you are hitting gib after gib with your rockets and trying not to fall off any ledges.  And that's where you need to accept the fact that slumps do and will happen.  You're not always going to be on top of your game.  There are days you will be beaten pretty badly.  Taking a break, like gator said, is a great way to deal with these slumps.  Refresh yourself, and come back with a more positive attitude!

Good stuff, guys.

LL

[[BTF]Jehar]

To me, its not about the scoreboard, just how i feel about how i did in each particular game.

That's exactly it man; I tend to base my definition of a 'good game' based on my own performance, and whether it just felt right. This doesn't always mean I'm on top, of course, but it does mean I'm really performing at a level that I know I deserve of myself.

[PANTONE 7717C]

I have noticed that when I get 'the slumps' it is because I am focussing too much on one thing, and in a way it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Whether it's my aiming, a stupid mistake, movement/jumps, a certain opponent or worries about kill-death ratio.
If you can't hit shit with Rail, stop using it for a while and use other weapons. But whatever you do, don't start to think about it. When you're focussed on one thing it will be at the cost of other important things like timing, smart weapon use and deciding on where (not) to go. Desperately trying to "fix" the problem and making it your top priority, will only result in more deaths -> more frustration -> less accuracy. This isn't easy to do when you're getting smacked around but try not to let it get to you and don't worry about it too much. Usually all it takes to 'get back in' is one good frag.
I read your article about being in the zone and how sometimes everything you do works out. I believe that the difference between "the zone" and "the slumps" is in the way you deal with your mistakes. Missing a couple of crucial shots in a row can totally throw you off but it surely won't get better if it's in the back of your head when you're about to get a new chance. (Uh-oh almost the same situation, I cannot screw up again!! Whatever happens don't make the same mistake! And boom, same mistake.) Unconsciously you're creating a self-fulfilling prophecy and it messes up your confidence. At least that's what I think is happening.
When you know your aim is dead on and you're confident, you don't worry at all about what happened earlier, what weapon you're using or what position you're in. But as soon as your attention starts to shift towards one aspect in particular you're immediately out of "the zone".
I really believe that the exceptional players are somehow able to close themselves off from emotions and enter what I like to call the zombie-mode. They focuss on their game as a whole and not on one aspect like aiming, their opponent or their own shape of the day. (Most likely they too have cursed and cried but they have learned that frustration will only make things worse, so they know how to ban these thoughts from their mind). I've seen players who managed to make a comeback against equally skilled players after they had fallen 10 frags behind. That is a clear sign of being cold blooded when it matters. Anyway I'm rambling, good articles Jehar.

[[BTF]Jehar]

Self-fulfilling prophecy is exactly the relevant phrase here, thank you for the clarification. You make some excellent observations, and I thank you.
And indeed, that is why the 'zone' is called as such, everything just flows naturally, almost faster than you can think. It's the better players who have awareness of the whole map, their opponents, and themselves. They know what must be done in order to make a comback, or to keep the advantage. They don't let anything disrupt their mental attitude, and they simply react to whatever happens, moving on.

Again, thanks for your input.

[[BTF]DeathStalker]

Yup, you can't let things not going your way get to you.
When you do, things like mouse buttons "mysteriously" come de-soldered and quit working. lol
I had a bad slump here while back, couldn't hit a wall with a Rocket Launcher.  A few days away, and my rail can't miss.