The art of failure

vbraun pointed out this article yesterday. It is an interesting article on the concept of "choking" under pressure. I'm posting this under Xonotic general because it can be applied to gameplay. Some interesting ideas here...

http://www.gladwell.com/2000/2000_08_21_a_choking.htm

Under conditions of stress, however, the explicit system sometimes takes over. That's what it means to choke.

You know, this is funny, because vbraun also showed me this link last night. Perhaps he decided to show you too....it's a very interesting article, and for the most part, can be related to nexuiz. I do in fact find myself "choking" when I get frustrated during a game from several causes. If I miss like 3 nex shots in a row, for example, I try to actually concentrate on hitting the next one, even though normally I wouldn't need to. Chances are, I would miss it. Why? Once, if I remember correctly, I remembered that clearing your mind before you do anything, whether it be sports, gaming, or even just a test, would greatly benefit your performance. I think it's because that when you're thinking of things like aiming, it takes more time to process in your mind that you would normally do without thinking..perhaps causing delay? I dunno if this is exactly true, but it would make sense if it does..

I'm the kind of person who expects too much from himself. Because of this, I can easily frustrate myself, and ultimately take my concentration away from the game, giving away frags, weapons, and megas, and sometimes, get lost. Lost? I don't mean lost physically on the map, I mean lost as in you don't know what to do next. From here, this can even go so far as to help you become panicked, which would, technically, be a total different playing style, but you still won't play fluidly.

Some people, like panzer, get nervous when they play some of the better duelers. You can consider this panicking...because when you're panicking, as described in the article, you rely on instinct and second nature entirely rather than actually thinking. Now, this may not always be a bad thing, but it takes your concentration off of things like mega timings, weapon collection, and map routes, and has more of a focus on things like aim and moving around.

Of course, you can avoid choking or panicking by practice, which gives you experience. However, you must remind yourself that if you're not willing to go the extra mile, put in all the effort you can, it will take a much longer time to really get good at it. Now I'm not saying I do it all the time myself...I'll admit I still get frustrated when I'm playing sometimes, but I'm working on that.

Yup, I do get some level of nervousness when playing someone clearly better than myself, but I try to use that nervous energy and translate it into flick/reflexive shots that I would normally never make playing relaxed. Downside is, when you're nervous, tunnelvision tends to set in and even if you do have the presence of mind to see what time the megas are taken, it takes a whole different level of concentration to look at the clock often enough and see when the 30 seconds have passed. Something that I have been working on while playing 1v1's is to use the 3 second interval from when you're fragged to the time you respawn to take a deep breath and relax just a little bit. It does me no good to shake my mouse violently and become increasingly frustrated because it is only a downward spiral from there. *cough cough Madskillz* Article was interesting to read and made some good points.

I understand the mechanism of choking and experienced it also myself, but never while playing Nexuiz or any other computer game. Though it may not be reasonably applicable especially for ladder players, I'd like to tell you why - maybe you'll take it into consideration:

I simply don't care about winning. Seriously. Therefore, the "pressure" of making good frags (as synonym for "having fun" in this respect) is constantly at the same level, no matter what the scores are. Though I doubt that "not caring about winning" is a realistic option for anyone that plays competetively, I am sure that it helps against choking or building up pressure and, by that, might actually make you play better.

I played already with really good players (and lost terribly) and also with players that are only a bit better than me and I found that just caring about the fun I am having enables me to concentrate on the game and to keep absolutely cool. The more relaxed I am, the better I am able to concentrate on the moves of the opponent and the gameplay itself. It's like clearing your mind in order to make room for the game. As a positive side effect it keeps the atmosphere of the entire gameplay much more friendly and fun.

What can be absolutely amusing is when you don't care about winning, but your opponent quite obviously does. But that's another story.

I vary. Some days I really want to win, other days I really couldn't care less. Most of the time I blame my team mates for losses in CTF

I used to just get pissed off and lose my concentration, but instead now I just use that to play more aggressively which seems to work that bit better.

On normal games, preferably with lots of players, it's like i had a coffee.... or two. In 1-on-1 matches it's like, well, it's why i don't play 1-on-1 matches, anymore.

Too much text

Did not read

Interesting article indeed.

It is not so often that psychology is the topic of a post...
Excellent post then.

As for myself, I realized that the really same mechanisms (choking, then panicking) always occur, no matter what sports/games i did.
Eveything is based on the expectations we put onto a given game.
That also explains the well-known "beginner's luck".

I feel that Nexuiz is a perfect model of a game where you can either panic or choke. Because everything is very fast (letting few time to clear your mind), intuitive and depending on epsilons of accuracy.
In that sense, Nexuiz is a damn good therapeutic mean.

Intriguing. I work best under pressure.

If a casual Nexuiz match is too slow-paced, I'm usually react slowly and make a bunch of stupid mistakes.

I feel I perform much better in faster and more serious matches, because the adrenaline not only quickens my reflexes, but makes them more precise. Additionally, my thoughts quicken, and become more focused on the game and my objectives, which is also a benefit.

If I get too excited however, my whole body starts shaking from the rush, and my aim goes to crap. xD

In slow games i tend to occupy myself with "thinking". (why the "apostrophes"? o.O)
When i'm fit and get distracted - by talking to someone, for example - i find myself winning.

Effectively, this results in two distinct playing styles: the reaction-based impulsive (when fit), and the concentration-based, strategy-oriented contemplative (when tired)

my number one way of choking is forgetting i have the nex when im running the flag and i accidentally crylink a guy in the face, he laughs and nexes me.