Has anyone got better at gaming, as they've aged ?

[Tanooki]

There's where I'm stuck on it. Back in the day even if I had it better than it appears with many, I still ended up with some mediocrity among the now and then known greats and I stuck with it. No job, no bs, just school and some friends left crazy hours to apply to any quality of games. All that is the opposite. I can schedule a little here or there some afternoons, and evenings if not whipped from the day I can put a few hours on it most nights. I can't commit, so I can't commit to tolerating agigatating, infuriating, B or C tier formerly passable crap as it's a waste of time. I don't finish much, as little is worthy finishing when I just want to enjoy passing the time and not wasting it. I know when I find one I can knock out I can still go all out, did with the likes of Breath of the Wild for a lot of hours. Then there are others I'll nibble at and stop or stop for a long period finished or not but usually being mostly satisfied like Wonderboy on Switch. I loved Mario Odyssey, but I got tired of it and distracted into other things due to time, regret still not finishing it, but don't consider it a waste of time or money for all the value so far either. It's all a mixed bag based on the game. If I can focus enough I can knock it out as well as I did 20-30 years ago.

[mbd30]

I'm a better gamer in my 40s. I don't believe that reflexes diminish that much or at all with age.

 

But also having the internet helps. I couldn't instantly bring up a video walkthrough for every game when I was a kid.

Edited June 28, 2018 by mbd30

[pacman000]

Sure, practice makes perfect. Or, in my case, practice makes mediocrity. (From pathetic looser-ism.)

[thetick1]

Seems like I'm better as I can google for documentation and/or cheats....

[lago]

I think the amount of time spent gaming has a lot to do with it. That's what I tell myself at least. I've gotten a lot worse. My gaming time has been cut by 1453.96385% This does lead to some hilarity, though, as I struggle with stages I used to absolutely destroy when I was younger. I have flat out jumped into some enemies and been like ... ugh ... why did I do that.

[Lord Thag]

I'm better at gaming in general, I think... when I have the patience to stick with a game. Used to get a few games a year as a kid, so I played the hell out of two or three, even if they were bad or unfair. Nowadays, I only play through the really, really good stuff as there is just so MUCH to play. That's the difference. I'm as good or better of a gamer, with way less patience.

[Classic Pac]

Honestly, there was a point not too long ago where I stopped playing altogether. But since I started to play them again, I think I am getting better. I think the old saying is true the more you practice at something the better you are.

[Mr SQL]

Cool thread discussion!

 

I think players get better at games and develop faster reflexes over time the more they play, practice makes perfect.

 

I've conducted related research studies with WARPDRIVE:

 

http://javatari.org/?ROM=http://relationalframework.com/WARPDRIVE_AFP.bin

 

WARPDRIVE requires a consistent 30th of a second response time to complete, some of the players on this thread can likely do it.

 

But throwing the BW switch doubles the speed requiring a 60th of a second response time - I've not encountered anyone fast enough to complete the game at that speed leading me to believe it is beyond the outer limits of players reaction times.

 

Perhaps this limit is artificially set from having grown up watching 30 fps and not 60?

 

[80s_Atari_Guy]

One Atari 800 game I absolutely loved, but sucked at, was "The Great American Cross Country Road Race". I played this to death, but always found it frustrating - probably because I just wanted to go flat out, all the time.

 

Today, after years of Outrun, ChaseHQ, Colin McRae Rally, Dirt Series, Project Cars 1 & 2, etc... I now find the game a little too easy. Although I still enjoy it.

Would love a updated modern version of the game.

[Space Friend]

Definitely a nope for me. There have been long gaps in my gaming history and my reflexes died somewhere along the way. I wish I could get them back.

[atarilovesyou]

Quick answer: yes, better now that Im older. But I guess I wasnt as good back then as I thought I was, lol.

 

I think I just relax better now. Tenseness makes me play like shit. Im even better at Kaboom now than ever.

 

For me, my biggest weakness is that zen factor. Like missing one of the bonus round enemies in Galaga when it counts. Or archery in NES Track n Field. Damn archery! Like golfer who cant play for shit when the tv cameras are on him...video game yips? Possibly a confidence thing, sure, but its a time in thing too. The more direct experience i have being good consistently at a game, the better. I still put up best personal scores on Galaga, even though might be months between games.

Edited July 9, 2018 by atarilovesyou

[roland p]

[derFunkenstein]

That could have been me playing Crazy Taxi at Up Down in Des Moines last fall. I had a crowd of mostly kids (but also my wife and sister) watching as I got the "AWESOME" license at the end. Most of those kids had probably never heard of the Dreamcast, but all the credit goes to the home port. No CRAZY license for me, though. LOL

[Duke75]

I do think I've gotten better. I think it's because I'm better at just watching the game and analyzing my strategy, whereas when I was a kid I would just pick up and play and rarely think about what I was doing. A good example is Castlevania - as a kid I would jump all over the place and never thought deeply about which subweapons were best and the result was that I usually topped out somewhere around the Grim Reaper battle. Playing it as an adult, I realized the keys to success were jumping and attacking only when necessary and generally hanging on to the holy water for most levels and this helped me beat the game pretty handily.

 

I don't think my reflexes have necessarily slowed down, but I play when I'm tired more often (playing late at night vs. afternoons) and I tend to think so much that it just naturally delays my reactions compared to the mostly instinctual/reactive way I played as a kid.