Thinking that you suck is one thing, but having a win/loss ratio sitting on your screen as evidence of that fact is something else altogether. So, I would spend the majority of my time online playing in player matches. This offered me a few benefits. First and foremost, I would not have any idea as to how good my opponent was prior to playing them. Seeing someone with an impressive win ratio join your game can have a psychological effect right off the bat, and set you up for a loss you might not normally take. Second, without a rank showing on my opponent, I was much more willing to request rematches, and, thirdly, in player matches you can request rematches.
Rematches present a great training opportunity. The most frustrating thing in the game is having your opponent steamroll right over you, but if you really want to improve, these are the people that you need to keep pestering for rematches. As frustrating as it is, keep requesting a rematch and trying to break down their offense and see if you can hang in there. Whenever I request a rematch, I'm usually thinking about a few things before the next match starts:
- How did the opponent beat me?
- How can I counteract the above?
- Was I frustrated after losing? Why?
Was he using some move that I've never seen before, in which case I need to block more? Was I getting predictable, and letting him exploit that? What about evades? Was I using that crutch far too often? Did he beat me using only 2P?
If I'm being predictable, I try to figure out new ways to achieve the same effect. For Brad players, a large part of our game revolves around moving in and out of his stances. If I'm constantly using KP to enter his stance, then I know that it's time to either take a shift away from his stances and going for more juggles, or start using different strings to enter his stances, like 4P, 4PK, and 6P. Is my opponent always successfully blocking my moves? Then it's time to start mixing up my rhythm and introducing some throws and charge moves into my offense.
Usually the simple act of asking myself this question helps quell my frustration. Usually I'm frustrated because I lost, and I think that I'm capable of playing better. But how can I play better? What should I be doing differently? Return to the top two questions and reiterate.
Back when I spent a lot of time practicing funk styles and dancing, many of the old schoolers would persist the following statement: "To each one, teach one". The idea is that everyone should take the time and effort to spread the knowledge, and teach someone else the tricks that you have learned moving forward. Do you find that you're on the other side of the fence, and absolutely crushing someone in player matches? If a rematch is requested, go for it again. My attitude is that I don't pull my punches when I'm playing newer players, because that will not help them improve the same way that forcing them to think under pressure will.
If you don't like aggreeing to rematches just because it's helpful to the other player, do it for yourself. It is important to play both stronger and weaker players; stronger players will force you to adapt quickly under pressure, but weaker players will allow you the opportunity to make use of the skills you have practiced, and to properly set up for the moves and combo strings that you want to use regularly. I wrote earlier that failure is only a failure if you don't learn something from the experience, and by the same token, a victory is hollow if you don't understand why you won. Make sure that you are winning because you are executing your game plan, not because you are flailing or taking advantage of a lower player's bad habits. Take playing weaker players as an opportunity to practice fixing the bad habit that drives you nuts. It is by aggreeing to rematches in player matches that I have been able to slowly eliminate some of the wreckless dodging I'm doing, and fuzzy guard consistently after connecting with the last hit of Brad's PPK string.
That's a pretty strong case for player matches. Why even bother with ranking then? Jerky VFDC captured some of the essence of ranked matches for me, when I asked him for advice and he told me, "Play ranked matches against strong players. They will build up your mental endurance". Ranked matches will force you to accept that you are playing someone with a proven track record, and, with something on the line, you will find that your play style changes considerably.
Suddenly you'll notice that you start consistently falling back to your perceived safe moves whenever you are down a round in a ranked match. For the longest time, I could not shake my habit of spamming 3PP as soon as I noticed that I was getting low on life. Why? It's not a good move, but for some reason, I mentally perceived that it was safe and would get me out of trouble. Against good players, it just led me to more punishment.
One other benefit of ranked matches - you can do chores in between each match. I manage to get everything done around the house and play Virtua Fighter because I can complete everything I need to do in between each match. Yah, this is a silly reason to play ranked, but it makes a difference to me.
Train in player matches, and then put what you've learned into motion in ranked matches. In player matches you will get the opportunity to play consistently against the same person, and this will provide you many opportunities to adapt to their style, exploit their weakness, and then have the tables turned as they adapt to you. Once you feel like you're winning consistently, switch over to ranked and play there for a while. When you start to feel like you're getting stale and predictable, switch back into player and play multiple matches against people that are able to pick apart your game. You will be stronger for it.
Above all, remember the importance of requesting rematches - everytime you feel yourself getting frustrated, force yourself to reflect on why you are frustrated, how you lost, and hit that button to request another match.
That's all for now. As an aside, if anyone reading has something specific that they would like me to cover, drop a comment and let me know. I very much enjoy the opportunity to write about different aspects of Brad Burns and Virtua Fighter as a whole, and every chance to write about something is a chance to learn it a second time, as I'm required to break it down and think the whole thing through from start to finish.
Lastly, if you're looking for matches, don't hesitate to add me on XBL. My gamertag is Deathsushi, and I'm always up for games.
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2 comments:
The part about ranked missions, that you can do choirs while waiting for another match was pretty funny. :) I'll add you to my friendlist, but I got the game three weeks ago and don't have much experience with serious fighting games. So, if you're looking for a disciple, someone who you can learn the stuff that you just mastered yourself, I'd be honoured.
And as for your request for new subjects to write about: Maybe you could write something about the flow of the game, or specifically Brad? What moves do you typically string together to play good defense and offense? When I watch Youtube movies of good Brad players, their games flow quite beautifully, whereas my games feel really sluggish.
Hey Kapitein,
Don't worry about have little experience, sometimes that's the best way to approach something new.
Virtua Fighter can definitely present a challenge for players that come from a 2D fighting game background, as there is much greater emphasis placed on knowing a large move vocabulary, and understanding concepts like advantage and yomi (knowing the mind of your opponent).
Next time you see me on, send me a request for some games!
I'll cover your request about rhythm and flow in the next post.
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