| Chance's Quake Bible |
Chance's Quake Bible: Part 1 |
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August 09, 2009 at 12:44 AM |
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To start off myEG's week long Quake theme, we're releasing part one of Chance Lacina's very own "Quake Bible". This Quake Bible has been in the making for many, many long months, so if you've just started playing the game, or for those of you avid players out there, this guide is sure to help you along the way. Don't expect any "play by play instructions", though. Instead, you'll be greeted with something much more than that, philosophy. This will teach you how to make the right decisions, both in game and out, to improve tremendously -- more so than any instruction manual could.
Introduction
Practice, Practice, Practice. The famous words of Champion Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel. We've all heard it before, and we all know how important it is to reaching the highest levels of play, but what about those guys who practice all day every day and seem to never improve? I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. That guy who's been playing for the last 4 years and in the 240 hours of game time he's logged, since the Quake Live beta opened, has barely managed to etch out a positive record. Well, this article intends to help those players - and any player ready to patch up holes in their game that prevent them from reaching higher levels of play. Unlike other articles, you won't find play by play instructions here. Quake is about choices. From the second you spawn in, every single thing you do matters. As we'll see more into this guide, even every single thing you think about doing matters.
This article is structured around insight. Insights are the foundation for your improvement; the building blocks of your game. They enable you to make the right choices at the right times. Without them, you can't build a structure strong enough to carry you into the next level. Remember that in every step forward there is an often hidden insight holding it in place that you must find in order to further establish it as your strength. Meaning, if you're playing great - there's a reason why. You have to find that reason to retain that level of play. If you're playing miserably, there's a reason why. You have find that reason and stamp it out.
The following sections primarily contain insights to help you improve your game on your own, this is the most important thing you can learn. You won't always have someone to tell you how to play. Irregardless I cover a few key subjects that should be your primary focus every time you play. Those two subjects are enemy status and timing. We'll get to them a little later. For now, we need to understand some principles to keep your head together.
Discipline. (Willing forward the strongest formula)
Create no waste. Discipline is probably the most difficult and synonymously important strength of a competitor. Discipline is often what separates the aforementioned soft practice junkies from the hardened veteran masters. The practice junkie plays, and plays, and plays, but while he does so he'll be thinking about doing his laundry. Or what about that new episode of Lost? A thousand superfluous thoughts are floating through his head while he's drunkenly dropping into the void like a bewildered klutz or missing the easy jump pad rail. Players like Fatal1ty will tell you, even when you practice you need to focus 100 percent on every game, the entire game. If you can keep this up for 8 hours a day you're going to come out with some serious results. If you can do that, by the way, you may have some kind of gift ;p. There are few people I know that can play more than a couple hours without reaching "burn out." Don't concern yourself too much with the quantity however, because the quality is what counts.
So discipline is largely about staying focused, and staying focused has a lot to do with your emotional state. You can't be getting too angry, excited, or relaxed when you need to be completing a crucial task like timing red armor or dodging behind a pillar. An example of the kind of excitement that creates problems is when that energetic excited feeling takes your mind out of the game. i.e. "I'm doing so good! That shot was amazing! Wait.. what was the armor time again?" Herein lies the difference between an amateur and an expert. The expert player will simply move onto the next frag, perhaps increasing or maintaining the same level of energy and readiness whenever necessary.
All that matters is that at the very least you're ready to accept and deal with the current situation, rather than acting on your emotions regarding the current situation. On the whole, emotional features like excitement will, by nature, lead to what are called "leaks." Unintentional holes in your game that, despite knowing what you should have done in a situation, you went ahead and did something else. Leaks commonly arise from emotion, but they may also come in a more dangerously subtle package; thoughts. Anytime you have thoughts floating around that don't pertain to the game at hand you generate leaks. Disciplined athletes have little to no leaks.
In order to prevent leaks you have to be aware of your current state of mind. Keeping your mind clear of fog will allow you to take on any and all information presented to you, and process it in an unbiased, no-nonsense fashion. With a clear mind, you stay out of your own way and focus on the critical information you need to make your next move. That is what strong discipline is about and that is the core purpose of discipline.
Don't think of discipline as a strenuous exercise. A large part of it is making yourself comfortable with giving it your all and ensuring you're ready to play irregardless of what might have or could happen inside and outside of the game. There is an "easy way" to attain a leak-free strong discipline without breaking your routine down into thousands of meticulous details and then making yourself remember them all when you need them. This leads us to our next insight.
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