I play better when I'm half-asleep?

[theeboredone]

So I had just come off losing to a snake player who used all of his explosions and projectiles really well against me. I figured I could be aggressive and try to keep him off balance, but it only led me into falling for more of his traps. My friend messages me and asks me to help train his Marth which I agree to. The first few matches were close as I played how I usually did, with me coming out on top. Then I started to feel bored, because I wanted to play his main that had recently been kicking my butt. In my boredom state, I felt like taking things a bit slower and not playing aggressive...rather the whole "Not trying" mode. The catch was...I was doing better.

So he pulled out his main (Ike), the one who I constantly would lose to and by then, I was so bored and not in the mood that I really didn't care. Then out of no where, I was beating his main...and not even barely...there were a few matches where I just beated him down to 2 or 3 stocks. I was dumbfounded on the fact that I could beat him so brutally when I was not even trying. I told him about it and decided I would try to play my usual way. It was hard to get back into my "normal" state, but from what I could muster, he won a few and I won a few. Then I went back to the whole I'm not trying mood and proceeded to win easily over him...

So here's my question. What gives? I play Ike...I've had some good success at my weeklies and tournies by playing him aggressive, flashy, and making the opponent do what I want him to do. Whether it's a campy projectile spammer, or a close range fighter, I made the opponent do what I want by pressuring him constantly. However, this method did not work against my friend and when I wasn't putting effort into my aggressiveness playstyle...things were clicking for me. I was winning pretty easily. I'm not sure how this would apply to other characters because I only had the luxury of trying it out on his Marth and Ike, both close range characters. Can anyone explain what could have transpired in my mind that elevated my playstyle to a higher...or should I say different level?

 

[Crystanium]

Maybe it's just a different style that you played. I kind of did that when I brawled with a friend. I was losing, so I thought, "Whatever. I'm just going to take Tudor's advice and 'play gay.'" I got a two-stock in that match and performed better in the other matches.

 

[Atria]

Yeah, probably the reason why you played better against your friend was because you altered your play style to a different one which probably your friend wasn't accustomed to playing against. Like, you mentioned earlier that you liked playing aggressively against your opponents right? Well, when you play against a certain person often, that's what they'd expect you to play like and can kinda predict what you may do in that battle because they know that you like to get up close and give them no room to breathe because that's what aggressive players do mainly. However, since you got bored which altered your play style, this time, you were taking things much more slowly which your friend wasn't expecting. Therefore, the next time you played against him, he got caught off guard because his usual strategy against your aggressive play style didn't work because you were playing differently against him.

When you play against a certain person a lot, they will eventually pick up your habits and know how to counter your moves accordingly. However, when you altered your play style like that, all of a sudden, they have no clue what to do against you because you were playing differently from last time which caused their strategy against aggressive players to not work as they thought that you were going to fight them using that play style. Therefore, due to their lack of experience against this new play style you use, they had no idea how fight against you like they were able to before. Also, they couldn't predict you well at all like they did before when you did play aggressively which gave you an upper hand in that fight.

Although just a warning: Don't all of a sudden, keep using this new play style just because you are winning more easily. Because if you do, like last time, your friend will pick up your habits and know how to counter you accordingly. That's why it's important to alter your play style every now and then so you don't become predictable. If you are predictable, it is much harder to win fights, even if you know what you're doing because your opponent can read you like a book and predict your every move which is bad. So don't forget to alter your play style once in a while to avoid becoming predictable. I've also only just realized how important this is if you want to keep winning matches easily. Mix up your play style and don't become predictable!

 

[SuperFudgeChoco]

I get like this sometimes too. I actually play better when I get distracted and let my sub-conscious and muscle memory take over, when I zone back in I notice that I'm actually doing well. Honestly I've considered taping myself when this happens to see what I do differently.

 

[Richard7]

I play better when I'm playing lame and overpowered characters like Falco, Snake or MK (even though I don't know how to play them).

 

[Splice]

Sometimes, playing against my friend, we just talk and we dont even concentrate on the screen at all, sometimes I look away from the screen as we talk, and still we play normally, better even. Sometimes I win when im thinking about stuff and he's concentrating, despite him being way better than me. I guess its one of those games where naturally your fingers know what to do without your mind having to speak to them. Same for mario kart with me...

 

[Blad01]

I think you were just getting unpredictable and patient...

 

[_Keno_]

Sometimes, playing against my friend, we just talk and we dont even concentrate on the screen at all, sometimes I look away from the screen as we talk, and still we play normally, better even. Sometimes I win when im thinking about stuff and he's concentrating, despite him being way better than me. I guess its one of those games where naturally your fingers know what to do without your mind having to speak to them. Same for mario kart with me...

I have similar experience with video games, where I'm either very tired ,or talking (not really playing attention in some way), but I still do decently and make less mistakes (although my play worse than when I do pay attention, unlike the point of the topic). Oh well, its different for everyone i guess. Maybe it has to do with muscle memory and/or stress.

 

[theeboredone]

Yeah, probably the reason why you played better against your friend was because you altered your play style to a different one which probably your friend wasn't accustomed to playing against. Like, you mentioned earlier that you liked playing aggressively against your opponents right? Well, when you play against a certain person often, that's what they'd expect you to play like and can kinda predict what you may do in that battle because they know that you like to get up close and give them no room to breathe because that's what aggressive players do mainly. However, since you got bored which altered your play style, this time, you were taking things much more slowly which your friend wasn't expecting. Therefore, the next time you played against him, he got caught off guard because his usual strategy against your aggressive play style didn't work because you were playing differently against him.

When you play against a certain person a lot, they will eventually pick up your habits and know how to counter your moves accordingly. However, when you altered your play style like that, all of a sudden, they have no clue what to do against you because you were playing differently from last time which caused their strategy against aggressive players to not work as they thought that you were going to fight them using that play style. Therefore, due to their lack of experience against this new play style you use, they had no idea how fight against you like they were able to before. Also, they couldn't predict you well at all like they did before when you did play aggressively which gave you an upper hand in that fight.

Although just a warning: Don't all of a sudden, keep using this new play style just because you are winning more easily. Because if you do, like last time, your friend will pick up your habits and know how to counter you accordingly. That's why it's important to alter your play style every now and then so you don't become predictable. If you are predictable, it is much harder to win fights, even if you know what you're doing because your opponent can read you like a book and predict your every move which is bad. So don't forget to alter your play style once in a while to avoid becoming predictable. I've also only just realized how important this is if you want to keep winning matches easily. Mix up your play style and don't become predictable!

I guess your statements ring true to some extent. Compared to Melee, Brawl is more of a campy and defensive game, and maybe this was also a factor in me having success. While I was not necessarily camping with my character, I was taking things at a slower pace and reacting to whatever my opponent tossed at me. I guess I'll continue to experiment with both play styles (though trying to make myself play when I was half-asleep will be tough), and see what method works better on what characters.

 

[Geist]

There are a bunch of reasons I can think of why this happened.
It's been said here that Brawl is campy and defensive by nature, and you weren't doing as well as you could have you played aggressively.
Second, and I know this from experience, when you were "half-asleep", you weren't concentrating as hard as you were, and that relives a lot of tension and stress, the same stress that can make you mess up and make mistakes.
In the rest of your matches, try to find the right place between trying to do your best, and relaxing.

 

[Kawaii Poyo]

iono, but Boss does better in tournaments when he gets no sleep the night before

 

[Volts]

Well supposedly in that kind of twilight state a person is able to react slightly faster. This is due to the fact that you body relies more on you central nervous system rather then your brain to complete actions. This in turn is faster then normal processes because it takes less time for a signal to travel from your spine then your brain.

But that is just what some people think.

 

[damezguy]

when you cant be bothered that over adrelanin is probably not there and your more relaxed and its easier. or im wrong. take a pick.

 

[Noobicidal]

I play well when I don't "think". Muscle memory is just too pro sometimes.

 

[Kais3000]

I play better when I'm playing lame and overpowered characters like Falco, Snake or MK (even though I don't know how to play them).

I actually get enraged by these sort of statements. Falco got so high because of the people playing him and playing him well. Yes he is a good character but there are much easier ones to use, G&W and Dedede spring to mind. Also Falco looks flashy while he pwns your ***.

But yes I find it much easier to play Brawl in a much more relaxed *ahem* campy *ahem* way. To my knowledge most characters play better this way.

 

[BanjoKazooiePro]

Usually I can play an aggressive or defensive style with my Marth, but defensive works more. Brawl in my opinion has more to do with waiting for your opponent to make a move than it does going in their face and being aggressive. This applies to pretty much any character except MK.

 

[damezguy]

lol of course you play better with better characters. its like saying, i learn more stuff at cambridge than i did in nursery. blatant stuff, my friend.

 

[d4bA]

It's called baiting. If you were reacting to your opponents offensive aggression, then you will most likely punish his spacing or lack of mixing it up. Not every character has the best offense like MK or Marth. If a player is going to go offensive, however, they will need to be able to come up with strings of attacks that do not commit them to a chance to be countered. Some people will tell you that this is called "spacing" but it applies to defense as well as offense.

The best players in this game will be able to mix up between defensive and offensive regularly in a match. This is called changing gears. Whoever has the SAFEST defensive and offensive options and exercises them to be unpredictable and effective will overcome. This is a reason why snake and MK are soooo good. Snake's general game is very defensive, but when he goes offensive...it's hard to adjust. Mk is the same way, strong offensive options, but when played defensively...hard to adjust. Use your character to develop strong offensive and defensive safe options and see how far u can take that character. All this mixed in with matchup experience will make you a strong fighter.

 

[ExCeL 52]

I play well when I don't "think". Muscle memory is just too pro sometimes.

This is usually sooo true for me...
Missing attacks .. usually helps me ...

 

[Eddie G]

This sounds very broad but...experience. If you've seen it once you've seen it all, one would say.

Once technical applications, stage data/exploitations, and matchup knowledge become second nature to you, experience does the rest. I suppose some players still perform well when they're sleepy; I've had those moments. Pretty weird but still gratifying.

 

[Yuna]

This has happened twice to me:
After simply not sleeping for an extended period of time, I went into Bullet Time Mode where everything was like normal, only I was a little bit wonky and whenever I sat down to play fighting games, the game seemed to move in slight slow-motion to me.

I managed to react much faster than I usually do and punish things I usually didn't have the time to punish. My opponents went down like a ton of bricks.

So, yeah. Being half-asleep can help.

 

[Ryusuta]

I actually get enraged by these sort of statements. Falco got so high because of the people playing him and playing him well. Yes he is a good character but there are much easier ones to use, G&W and Dedede spring to mind. Also Falco looks flashy while he pwns your ***.

I would certainly argue that Falco is definitely easier to use well than both of those characters.

 

[Vel]

This has happened twice to me:
After simply not sleeping for an extended period of time, I went into Bullet Time Mode where everything was like normal, only I was a little bit wonky and whenever I sat down to play fighting games, the game seemed to move in slight slow-motion to me.

I managed to react much faster than I usually do and punish things I usually didn't have the time to punish. My opponents went down like a ton of bricks.

So, yeah. Being half-asleep can help.

I've had a very similar experience, and was able to finally beat some Brawlers who had previously 3-stocked me . . . except I used alcohol to achieve the 'no thinking' frame of mind. Just enough beers to get me buzzed, but not enough to actually make me tired - it's a delicate balance (getting there and staying there), but one that has undeniably good results

 

[SexTornado]

I would certainly argue that Falco is definitely easier to use well than both of those characters.

I think I would have to agree.

 

[Eddie G]

I would certainly argue that Falco is definitely easier to use well than both of those characters.

Who isn't easier to use in this title, honestly? That's how I feel anyway.

 

[Firestormzero0]

cuz when ur half asleep, ur half way conscious. and half way sub-conscious. Well believe it or not ur sub-conscious mind is incredible. and when staring at a game when play sub-consciously, you can do wonders. :D

 

[James1119]

With any character and any game, most likely, you will do better when your not focused. Great example.. Guitar Hero.. When your really putting the effort in.. You started to get confused from all the notes. But when you just let go and play, your fingers do it all. Same with Brawl for me.

 

[DemonicTrilogy]

... All I'll say is that you most likely changed your playstyle so much to being relaxed that you won. This is most likely because when you normally were playing aggressive, you were always being punished. Since you were half asleep, you were more on the defensive side where you just watched what your opponent did and punished that way more than you were attacking him offensively. A rule about brawl is that the approacher is always putting him/herself at risk because there is no such thing as a 100% safe approach. This is why people may find themselves doing better when they were just walking around and shielding more often compared to when they were attacking recklessly...

 

[Sudai]

It's all about finding the right mindset to play. I know people that play best slightly inebriated. I know people that play best under serious pressure. I know people that play best under all kinds of situations. My personal best situation is when I'm depressed, believe it or not.

Just pay attention to when you play your best and once you figure that out, figure out how to get yourself in that mindset for tournaments.

 

[AndreVeloso]

Its about reacting to what your opponent does. If you're approaching an opponent, you need to attack and react to his/her defense. However, if you're waiting for someone to approach you you only have to react to his attack. There is more pressure on an attacker and more danger, but you can't have a game if you have 2 defending non-projectile users

 

[James1119]

... All I'll say is that you most likely changed your playstyle so much to being relaxed that you won. This is most likely because when you normally were playing aggressive, you were always being punished. Since you were half asleep, you were more on the defensive side where you just watched what your opponent did and punished that way more than you were attacking him offensively. A rule about brawl is that the approacher is always putting him/herself at risk because there is no such thing as a 100% safe approach. This is why people may find themselves doing better when they were just walking around and shielding more often compared to when they were attacking recklessly...

I wasn't specifically referring to Brawl. When I play GH3 I get confused with all the notes coming at me, but if I just relax, my fingers do everything without me concentrating on the game.

 

[teluoborg]

When you're focusing, paying a great amount of attention to the game makes you think forward to what you're going to do in the near future.
It's the gap between those predictions you make and what really happens that gets you into mindgames.


To the contrary, when you're not into the game you're no longer making predictions, just seeing things and reacting to them, thus immunising you to your regular mindgames.

But well, like Atria said (the more I write the more I see I'm making a tl;dr version of his post), this playstyle can be mindgamed if you let your opponent read it.

So, be unpredictable.

 

[Nibbles 2]

Not meaning to repeat what everyone else has said, but it wouldn't be that you were tired, it would be because you changed the way you were playing. Either because you're opponent wasn't expecting it and was caught off guard, or it's a more effective way of playing your character. Either way... stay up late and get real sleepy when you want to win .

 

[Wylde]

Play Style Changes With State Of Mind.