What makes a noob and what makes a pro?

[Echofinder]

i really don't know that's why i am asking

 

[emk451]

This is from David Sirlin's book, Playing to Win. He uses the word "scrub" instead of noob. When he talks about playing "a scrub who was actually quite good," he was playing some game in the Street Fighter series.

The derogatory term “scrub” means several different things. One definition is someone (especially a game player) who is not good at something (especially a game). By this definition, we all start out as scrubs, and there is certainly no shame in that. I mean the term differently, though. A scrub is a player who is handicapped by self-imposed rules that the game knows nothing about. A scrub does not play to win.

Now, everyone begins as a poor player—it takes time to learn a game to get to a point where you know what you’re doing. There is the mistaken notion, though, that by merely continuing to play or “learn” the game, one can become a top player. In reality, the “scrub” has many more mental obstacles to overcome than anything actually going on during the game. The scrub has lost the game even before it starts. He’s lost the game even before deciding which game to play. His problem? He does not play to win.

The scrub would take great issue with this statement for he usually believes that he is playing to win, but he is bound up by an intricate construct of fictitious rules that prevents him from ever truly competing. These made-up rules vary from game to game, of course, but their character remains constant.

I once played a scrub who was actually quite good. That is, he knew the rules of the game well, he knew the character matchups well, and he knew what to do in most situations. But his web of mental rules kept him from truly playing to win. He cried cheap as I beat him with “no skill moves” while he performed many difficult dragon punches. He cried cheap when I threw him five times in a row asking, “Is that all you know how to do? Throw?” I gave him the best advice he could ever hear. I told him, “Play to win, not to do ‘difficult moves.’” This was a big moment in that scrub’s life. He could either ignore his losses and continue living in his mental prison or analyze why he lost, shed his rules, and reach the next level of play.

Any player that is seriously good, and is considered to be "pro" by the community, had to go through continuous improvement of their game. A noob, or "scrub," is not willing put in the effort to improve.

A few other things:
1. Calling a new player a noob isn't accurate, because noob is almost always a derogatory term. A new player who plays badly isn't a noob; they're just learning.
2. People sometimes refer to players who are rude or obnoxious as noobs, whether or not they play badly.

 

[Zeroxius]

Bravo! Well put. I totally agree.

I remember back to when I wasn't playing to win when I said I was. I lost a lot.

 

[-Kiros-]

When I played the MMORPG Maplestory, there were different kinds of "noobs."

nube: beginning player

noob: player who doesn't know how to play the game on a high(er) level

n00b: annoying little maggots who don't know anything about the game and spam randomly and annoyingly about things which they have no idea about

nooblet: a nice nube who you want to help become better and is generally very pleasant, asking questions about how to play on a higher level and taking your advice

I dunno if this answers your question, but it was helpful for me to understanding noobs.

 

[Warlock*G]

A pro is constantly trying to improve to become the best;

a noob is constantly trying to prove that he's the best without improving.

 

[Blobby]

I just say noobs as people who just... die a lot... Like 0/5.

While pros are people who actually win.... Unless if the opposing team is horrible... Then I don't know...

 

[lordvaati]

When I played the MMORPG Maplestory, there were different kinds of "noobs."

nube: beginning player

noob: player who doesn't know how to play the game on a high(er) level

n00b: annoying little maggots who don't know anything about the game and spam randomly and annoyingly about things which they have no idea about

nooblet: a nice nube who you want to help become better and is generally very pleasant, asking questions about how to play on a higher level and taking your advice

I dunno if this answers your question, but it was helpful for me to understanding noobs.

guess I'm a nooblet/rookie combo.

 

[Virgilijus]

Please use the Search Function or the Q&A Thread before making a new thread; chances are the question has all ready been asked.