So it feels to me like I've been slowly getting worse and worse at FPS's over the years, and instead of simply giving up on a genre I love I've decided to figure out what it takes to excel at them and also take an inventory of my mind and body right now.
In my opinion the FPS playing style is all about quick reflexes, but it's not enough to simply have a faster reaction time. One must also posses a high level of dexterity to point the mouse where it needs to be so that initial burst of fire doesn't go wasted.
This all leads to one thing in my mind: number of neuron connections. For those of you who never took any biology, a neuron is a filament-like structure found in the billions upon billions within the human body which are responsible for transmitting electrical impulses and neurotransmitters throughout the body.
Now the number of neurons and connections would generally mean faster action, so I'm assuming that the best FPS players have many more of them in the areas that count; mainly the hands. Obviously a higher neuron count in the brain is the primary deciding factor in reaction time, but the neuron count in the hands should (correct me if I'm wrong) control for accuracy in shot placement.
In terms of myself, I feel like I have the reaction time, though the last time I played Black Ops, I was finding myself dead right as I had my finger on the mouse. I'm basing this on those moments in which myself and the other player both round corners and see each other at the same time. Where I'm seriously lacking though is the accuracy department. Even when I do get the drop on someone, I more often than not scrub the fight and fire too inaccurately, unable to properly center the mouse on target, especially if the target is moving.
This though could be less about accuracy and more about a lack of trigger discipline. I would define it as a "freak-out" moment, when even though you know to fire in short bursts, you freak out or jump the gun and keep the trigger held down. For this, I can think of no other solution than continuing practice. Though it seems that in the past, FPS's forsake "realism" and didn't feature much recoil.
The third point of improvement I'd wish to make is in multitasking and threat assessment. This applies to just about any genre of online game, especially MMO's in which you are constantly making lists of actions and reacting to new developments. In my opinion MMO's are great practice for such tasks. It feels like since I started playing heavier into WoW, I've been much better at assessing a situation and coming up with mental lists. This means less freak-out moments where my mind locks up.
As for solutions for the first two, I can't imagine what steps to take, although it's scientifically proven that the more you do something the more neurons will be connected in those areas of the body. My problem though is that if you are in a state of suck, continuing to suck doesn't seem to help much. It would be like trying to climb out of a hole without the proper equipment.
So I ask you all: are any of you familiar with any exercises/diets/whatever that have been known to help reaction time/dexterity/mental acuity? Or are there any steps you've taken to improve your FPS performance?
In my opinion the FPS playing style is all about quick reflexes, but it's not enough to simply have a faster reaction time. One must also posses a high level of dexterity to point the mouse where it needs to be so that initial burst of fire doesn't go wasted.
This all leads to one thing in my mind: number of neuron connections. For those of you who never took any biology, a neuron is a filament-like structure found in the billions upon billions within the human body which are responsible for transmitting electrical impulses and neurotransmitters throughout the body.
Now the number of neurons and connections would generally mean faster action, so I'm assuming that the best FPS players have many more of them in the areas that count; mainly the hands. Obviously a higher neuron count in the brain is the primary deciding factor in reaction time, but the neuron count in the hands should (correct me if I'm wrong) control for accuracy in shot placement.
In terms of myself, I feel like I have the reaction time, though the last time I played Black Ops, I was finding myself dead right as I had my finger on the mouse. I'm basing this on those moments in which myself and the other player both round corners and see each other at the same time. Where I'm seriously lacking though is the accuracy department. Even when I do get the drop on someone, I more often than not scrub the fight and fire too inaccurately, unable to properly center the mouse on target, especially if the target is moving.
This though could be less about accuracy and more about a lack of trigger discipline. I would define it as a "freak-out" moment, when even though you know to fire in short bursts, you freak out or jump the gun and keep the trigger held down. For this, I can think of no other solution than continuing practice. Though it seems that in the past, FPS's forsake "realism" and didn't feature much recoil.
The third point of improvement I'd wish to make is in multitasking and threat assessment. This applies to just about any genre of online game, especially MMO's in which you are constantly making lists of actions and reacting to new developments. In my opinion MMO's are great practice for such tasks. It feels like since I started playing heavier into WoW, I've been much better at assessing a situation and coming up with mental lists. This means less freak-out moments where my mind locks up.
As for solutions for the first two, I can't imagine what steps to take, although it's scientifically proven that the more you do something the more neurons will be connected in those areas of the body. My problem though is that if you are in a state of suck, continuing to suck doesn't seem to help much. It would be like trying to climb out of a hole without the proper equipment.
So I ask you all: are any of you familiar with any exercises/diets/whatever that have been known to help reaction time/dexterity/mental acuity? Or are there any steps you've taken to improve your FPS performance?
