Not playing something for a while.. and .. getting better at it?


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A weird thing just happened.

I popped in Street Fighter 4 (on 360). Jacked up the difficulty to the hardest, and proceeded to play all the way through it.. no sweat.

A few dozen months ago when the game came out I could never have done this.. but I took like a good six month break .. and now.. just came back to it.

What the heck just happened..? :blink:

Has this happened to anyone else on any other games?

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Same thing has happened to me with other games. The usual thing is that I stop playing a game, then pickup up a game that is faster and requires a better hand-eye coordination and so I improve. Then when I go back to the other game, its looks easier.

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This has happened to me in TF2 multiple times before. I play TF2 in spurts....I'll play for hours a day for a week or so, then go another week without playing hardly at all....last time I played scout I went 15 kills with 0 deaths on Gravelpit on defense (over a round).....next round I had only 1 or 2 kills per death.

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Happened to me in the original Unreal Tournament (UT99). I think that when you play a game for too long, you build up a lot of bad habits and you don't realize it. Stepping away from the game makes you lose those bad habits, and once you get over the initial re-adjustment, you're better off for it.

What sexypeperodri said is also true. I remember playing Day of Defeat: Source after playing Quake Live a bunch. DoD felt like it was moving in slow motion.

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Happened to me in the original Unreal Tournament (UT99). I think that when you play a game for too long, you build up a lot of bad habits and you don't realize it. Stepping away from the game makes you lose those bad habits, and once you get over the initial re-adjustment, you're better off for it.

I agree with this.

I've noticed this a lot myself. I can play something constantly for weeks, and progressively get worse to the point where I just stop playing it. I pick it up a few weeks later and play the best round I've ever played.

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I agree with this.

I've noticed this a lot myself. I can play something constantly for weeks, and progressively get worse to the point where I just stop playing it. I pick it up a few weeks later and play the best round I've ever played.

Same here. I'm a pretty regular player of Left 4 Dead 2, and I'm generally pretty good. But over time I find that my performance degrades quite drastically, and the easiest fix is to take 2 days off, and flush out all the frustration. Works a treat!

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I think this happens with anything no matter what you do. Which makes sense, because I always hear about how "Professionals" play games, sports, or whatever they do in moderation (hour or so a day, or few days a week). I'll play to the point where I get completely frustrated and stop playing the game for weeks or months.

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I think when you start focusing on getting good at a game rather than just playing for fun, you start to try too hard. This makes you over think things rather than just being in the moment.

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I think when you start focusing on getting good at a game rather than just playing for fun, you start to try too hard. This makes you over think things rather than just being in the moment.

Exactly. If I play for a few hours, I'll eventually turn into a perfectionist. Guess it's due to me realizing what I'm doing and wanting to be better but instead getting worse. lol

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I think when you start focusing on getting good at a game rather than just playing for fun, you start to try too hard. This makes you over think things rather than just being in the moment.

This. Whenever I'd get too competitive, I was more prone to slipping up. Solution? Watch funny cat videos or something. Once you're laughing, you're skill goes right back up. :p

Also, with Wolf: ET... I jumped back into that game after 6 months of WoW and just tore my old sister clan's server apart. Of course, these days the server is now appearing to be dead. Oh, how I'll miss that game...

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A weird thing just happened.

I popped in Street Fighter 4 (on 360). Jacked up the difficulty to the hardest, and proceeded to play all the way through it.. no sweat.

A few dozen months ago when the game came out I could never have done this.. but I took like a good six month break .. and now.. just came back to it.

What the heck just happened..? :blink:

Has this happened to anyone else on any other games?

I think I might give Street Fighter IV a crack later on and see if I'll have the same success as you. I'm 99% certain I'll still be crap at it though. :p

Back on-topic, oddly, Guitar Hero and Rock Band seem to be the most prominent examples for me. My form on the guitar seems to go up and down most days though. Last night, for example, I actually managed to 4*

in Guitar Hero: Van Halen. Doesn't sound like much, but listen to the song in the video I linked to, and you hear how tough it is to play.
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It sounds ironic but it's true, I've found when I get stuck at a certain part in a game I'll leave it for a while, come back to it and breeze through that section without a hitch.

Really weird.

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Seth is still an absolute C-WORD though.

He's not so bad, his teleports are what can kiss off, but once you start to learn where he's going to go and what he does after the teleport, he's a piece of cake.

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Its a known thing. Lots of people involved it the pro gaming industry to "it". They skip a tournament, not even practicing at all, then come back slightly better and "rested" for the next tournament. <- Just an example. Though this can be seen on most people.

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It's like approaching a problem from a different angle. You won't make the same mistakes or fall into the same habits. And generally, that's what makes you "bad" at the game in the first place (trying the same thing again and again).

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