🚀 go-pugleaf

On Sat, 24 Sep 2016 09:11:35 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallsh...@gmail.com> wrote:

>I've never claimed to be the greatest gamer in the world, but I don't
>think I was that bad. But these days, man, it is increasingly obvious
>that my age is catching up with me. Forget keeping up with the kiddies
>in online FPS matches, I have noticed my skills flagging even in
>arcade racers; if I get much above 180mph, I just don't have the
>necessary reflexes anymore... so sad. There's no point in my grinding
>to get the super-cars because I'll never be able to handle them at top
>speed :-(
>
>Of course, given how my generation has grown up with, still plays and
>will probably continue to play games until we die - and that we make
>up a significant chunk of the market - I wonder how long before
>developers start noticing our declining abilities and make adjustments
>to the gameplay in our favor. "Easy, Normal, Hard, Over 50" difficulty
>levels, maybe? ;-)

Never judge your reflexes by driving games alone.  There are so many
factors that come into play with them, even with a proper wheel much
less a controller.  God help you if you're trying to play with a
keyboard.

In some driving games getting the physics model of the car the
properly match up to the controller setting so that it somewhat
resembles the feel of an actual car can take some tweaking.

I think most folks' reflexes don't decline as quick as they think.
I've had friends that start complaining of diminishing reflexes in
their 30s -- the reality was that the amount of time they were
spending on gaming was diminishing from other aspects of life like
raising kids or whatever, and any time you practice less at anything
you become less adept at it, regardless of your age.  Contrast that
with another friend I had, who was disabled and in a wheel chair, and
remained a twitch gamer until he died recently in his late 70's.  Even
up until the last year before his illness and subsequent death, you
would not know he was older than the average gamer by watching him
play.  Why?  Because it was one of the things he enjoyed most in life
and he stayed with it, and his skill increased with practice.

The other day I entered a game of R6:Siege, where there was a guy on
the enemy team that knew the map REALLY well, and he was using it to
his advantage, making life hell for the team I just joined.  So I kind
of watched what he was doing (via the surveillance cameras) and
planned a sneak attack on him by rapelling up the building and trying
to get behind him right after the round beginning (not that easy
because he kept changing which side of the building he was attacking
from, as if he had considered my flank plan and was keeping on the
move as a result.  To make matters worse, he kept entering the
building through different windows).  I basically waited him out a
little to give him "confidence" nobody was coming in behind him.
Meanwhile he is systematically picking off my teammates as they try to
approach the building with the hostage.

So I decide where to attack from, and I rappel upside down down the
building, ready to fire inverted if needed.  I rappeled all the way
down, and he didn't come around the corner of the building until my
feet touched ground.  When he did sporadically come into sight, he was
kind of far away and had no idea I was encroaching.  I was lining up a
good shot when he quickly turned around, spotted me, and started
firing almost uncontrollably too.  I was still about a second behind
being ready for that so I had no choice but to crouch down and return
fire, which was a recoil disaster as we were both spraying all over
the place.  

So he got me and I died.  Properly humiliating after such a well
thought out plan to get the drop on him.  So everyone on my team (who
by that time was so sure I was going to put an end to their plague)
starts chastizing me over the microphone:  "What the fuck dude, were
you even aiming at him"? etc...  so I just said "sorry it didnt work
out".  lol.  And no I don't mind that kind of trash talking shit, its
how teams roll.

But my point is that I had not played the game in like a week and a
half.  My reflexes were not warmed up.  I was playing on a map I was
largely unfamiliar with.  My only mistake was trying something so
brazen before I was warmed up.

I should know by now that gaming reflexes are use them or lose them,
and even if you do use them, they don't just come back to you
instantly.  It takes time to get warmed up.  It was the same for me 20
years ago and its the same today.