Does being drunk affect your gaming performance?

Recommended Videos

Gitsnik

New member
May 13, 2008
798
0
0
Drunken UT with the boys back in the old office. When we made it back the next day we were hungover as hell only to find that the two helldesk boys (myself included) had the highest kill score - at this point I'd never played an FPS in my life.
 

Kerig

New member
Jun 12, 2008
4
0
0
Usually, my gaming skill goes to hell for FPS games such as Counter-Strike and CoD4 when I'm drunk, but on the rare occassion I'll do just as good, if not better than usual. I scrimmed on CS with my friends clan a few nights ago drunk and I clutched the round, drunk, the other team didn't hear the end of it. :)

As for games like WoW...I find my char hitting on the ladies for some reason when I'm drunk...sad...I know...;)
 

Chrausis

New member
Jul 2, 2008
11
0
0
Spacelord said:
When drinking, my (normally abysmal) skill in FPS'es goes up exponentially, while my skill in all other game genres declines very rapidly with every beer. I'm a freak of nature.
You are not alone. I think as you get more drunk, you get more into the game. Therefore, you actually avoid death as if it were really about to happen. Either that or alcohol is manufactured to create super soldiers
 

Mnemophage

New member
Mar 13, 2008
287
0
0
I become the Blood Master of Killing People in RTS games when I'm drunk. I have no idea why; the less I remember, the more skilled I seem to be.

Furthermore, the most fun I've had playing an MMO has been done while I've been high out of my hollow, googly-eyed gourd. City of Villains and pot mixes so very well.
 

HizerKyte

New member
Feb 15, 2008
26
0
0
When wasted I play the freeplay version of the level in Episode III of Lego Star Wars where Vader is created. If you play it as Jar Jar and "accidentally" double-flip him into the lava pit to watch him get respawned before "accidentally" doing it again, four hours of Gungan ass-kicking just flies right by. The score for that level is always abysmal, but my mouth hurts the next day from laughing so much.

UT variable gravity levels seem to have been designed with cannabis in mind, as after two spliffs I know guys who turn into zen masters capable of picking off players from miles away whilst in mid flight. I just end up giggling a lot.
 

BlueMage

New member
Jan 22, 2008
715
0
0
When intoxicated (mildly at least) I find my skill in FPSs increases. Not substantially, but more that when not intoxicated I'll be more steady and deliberate whereas when I've had a few, run'n'gun baby! And hey, sometimes that gets rewarded more than slow and deliberate.
 

Specialist1924

New member
Jun 23, 2008
53
0
0
I definately did not perform up to par at CoD4 when drunk.

I also got perma-banned from a server for the following while drunk:
1. Admin tells someone I didn't know to watch their language
2. I say to the admin that it's an 'M' rated game and the Marines' side script will say 'Damn, we lost' anyway.
3. He replies that it was his server and therefore his rules.
4. I shot back in my drunken stupor 'get off your power trip' and was perma-banned in front of two clan superiors and a clan recruit :(
 

Droshi

New member
Jun 29, 2008
104
0
0
For some reason, no matter how smashed I am, my typing never takes a hit. I type more haphazardly but my instinct still leads me to correct my mistakes before moving on.

The same goes for gaming. As long as I'm familiar with the game in question, my ability to play doesn't really change, and it's strange. Almost as if the television screen is a window looking out into the world of sobriety. Haha.
 

DEC_42

New member
Jan 25, 2008
130
0
0
I remember an instance like that, Specialist... Have I seen you?

Well, I've never been "drunk" drunk, as in with large amounts of grain alcohol, but a blood sugar issue or sheer fatigue can bring on symptoms like being drunk. I remember one time in Frets on Fire with a couple of buddies. There was this song that I had a hard time with on Amazing. My friend cranked it up to Amazing without telling me, and so I played, and whacked someone in the process, but acquired the high score regardless.

So drunkenness doesn't help you by way of the chemicals within your system, it increases the placebo effect some more (albeit due to those chemicals, but go with it).

Had the same instance in COD4, had the difficulty up on Veteran (I knew it was all the way up there this time), and I just mowed the Spetsnaz down =)

A bit off topic, but in CS:S, admins can install Mani Mod. If you were playing on my server and being a dick (although I wouldn't have complained about language unless someone was going all Samuel Jackson on us), I would have just but a beacon on you till you apologized. The beacon makes you super-easy to kill, as everyone knows your position, and you're glowing red.
 

BallPtPenTheif

New member
Jun 11, 2008
1,468
0
0
in FPS games, i find my accurracy and my ability to spot small targets diminishes. to counter act this i usually switch to short range weapons as i get more drunk. MP5 when i'm well buzzed and shotguns and nades when i'm slurring drunk.

on driving games... i usually handle booze well, but there is an eventual plateu just before i pass out, where the game is unplayable. while just drunk, my driving is different but i compensate well.... so instead of doing a solid turn, when i'm drunk i'll drift through it barely missing a light post.
 

osaka35

New member
Jul 5, 2008
14
0
0
alcohol is the bane of society. never been drunk. though watching other people play games while being drunk is fun. they seem to think they're doing better.
how sad.
 

kazamisan

New member
Jul 5, 2008
1
0
0
one time my friend and i were playing super Mario sunshine (don´t ask me it was his idea) and i thought... you know what this game needs? alcohol... so an hour and a bottle of brandy later we beat this boss that had been pissing us off all day without any trouble whatsoever... and then he proceeded to start throwing up on everything (in the game obviously) with a Yoshi... it was extremely hilarious, and if you own super Mario sunshine, don't play it unless you are royally smashed, cuz that's when it is best
 

BallPtPenTheif

New member
Jun 11, 2008
1,468
0
0
osaka35 said:
alcohol is the bane of society.
i doubt it since it's an inanimate liquid. it just makes people do what they wanted to do in the 1st place... and badly. maybe you should question the motives of others rather than an arbitrary liquid.
 

Droshi

New member
Jun 29, 2008
104
0
0
osaka35 said:
alcohol is the bane of society. never been drunk. though watching other people play games while being drunk is fun. they seem to think they're doing better.
how sad.
As long as it isn't used in excess and only for the occasional good time, it's no big deal. Don't blame alcohol, blame the people who abuse it. I don't know anyone in person who thinks alcohol makes them a better gamer. For me I just don't get much worse at a game, but it can be so much fun when you've been drinking.
 

DEC_42

New member
Jan 25, 2008
130
0
0
But what benefits do alcohol give one? Does it make everything 'better' by numbing your senses to something? Does it taste particularly good?
 

Specialist1924

New member
Jun 23, 2008
53
0
0
Taste: definately not 'particularly good'...quite the opposite in my opinion

Benefits: sort of an 'out of body' feel, not as particularly strong as some substances can create, but still an enjoyable experience in moderation. Think of a really strong sugar/caffeine buzz (definately different than those, but that's the closest I can think of for anyone who's never done it).

Next morning: always the 'I'm never going to do that again' speech for me...then a week or two later I don't remember the hangover, only the fun I had while drunk
 

strangemusic

New member
Mar 20, 2008
28
0
0
Oh, glorious alcohol! Like mixing with any other liquids, it seems to have varying effects on me when games come into the picture. The "Mario Party 4 Drinking Game" was one of the worst nights of my life, but I get incredibly good at SSBB ("Fear the wrath of MISTER SQUID AND WATCH!") after a beer or two. Wario Ware for the Wii: strangely enough, i have trouble with the "drink water" microgame while sober, but can pull it off while drunk! Guitar Hero is similarly variable... I get in a bizarre zone and rip through certain songs, even after a bit to drink, Cult of Personality, tough Expert tunes, you name it... but then somebody puts on "The Seeker" or "Barracuda" and I fall all over myself. Much to the amusement of friends and housemates.

Back when I used to play EVE, alcohol was the Alliance-wide social lubricant for very, very extended boring escorts or gate camps or being trapped in certain stations/systems, or even just going out to smash people's shiny ships. A bottle of something nice, and Teamspeak, and a crew of bored Goonfleet guys... aaahhhh the good times.

Also, don't ever try Audiosurf and alcohol together. It sounds like a MADD commercial, but it's true!