Gaming theory
My first serious foray into online gaming was back about 20 years ago with a game called Ghost Recon and then, Ghost Recon 2 - before moving to Battlefield. I owned Ghost Recon along with one of my brothers, which prompted our move to BF, as GR was just too damn easy. The problem was that we had such high game skill and understood the game and the potential players so well, that we were near unstoppable - when we made the move over to Battlefield, it was a different story at first, but we soon got the hang of it and largely picked up where we left off.
One of the reasons we did so well wasn't because we were necessarily faster (we generally were) and we definitely weren't on better rigs - we just predicted the behavior of other players better than most. Players tend to think themselves "unique" yet if you have observed enough players, they tend to slide relatively cleanly into identifiable patterns of play. I think that for us who would spend a lot of time chatting away with each other while we played, a large part of the enjoyment was identifying what types of players we were dealing with and then cutting them down in ways they didn't expect.
While I am pretty negative about the state of gamers in general, the games themselves could be used in various ways to develop personal skills, including patience and emotional control. Most gamers rage when they get owned, especially when they assume that they are good at the game, as they tend to rely on their wins and play to their successes, rather than learn from their failures and shore up their weaknesses. There are big differences in the way the average person plays a game and the way a "professional" person does - the average player plays the game as if each round is new - the professional plays to the probabilities as well and the expected behavior of players. A game of professionals is different to that of amateurs - just like in any sport.
Amateurs tend to be predictable and like six year old kids playing a ball sport, they all go for the ball, not where the ball is going to be. They look for the easy kills, the low-hanging fruit and they get wholesale slaughtered in blind explosions as grenades pepper the same spots where people gather. Each map comes and goes and the same people are dying in the same ways over and over.
I find the similarities to the way people behave on Hive interesting, where many accounts will continually chase the "easy kills" instead of building up their wider skillset to develop their own style of play. They follow the pack. There is nothing wrong with following the pack, but being in the pack means being an average player - not a fringe player that backs their own judgement. Fringe in approach, not in popularity.
Building a personal style is something that I believe goes a long way to building an account and copying the style of others who are already popular, is a good way to make sure an account doesn't get seen. The rule of thumb in this is generally, find something you actually enjoy enough to be very good at it, and do it a lot. It doesn't really matter what it is, as long as you are truly passionate about it, people will start to be interested. Just think how many of you drink beer - but are you passionate enough to deliver something interesting about it? I don't even drink beer and think it tastes worse than stale cat piss, and I still read most of @meesterboom's Saturday reviews. I am not interested in the beer, I am interested in his delivery.
But it takes time to build an audience around a topic and when continually chasing the "ball of the day" like news events, even if the content is good, it isn't going to build an audience around it - each piece will be a one-off and therefore have to compete with all other "topic of the day" posts. As said, people crowd around the map where everyone dies - hoping to get a lucky nade in and when they do, they think they are good.
Any attention gathered will probably be lost when the news cycle changes and the 15 minutes of fame is over - as the audience will disperse to consume multiple topics - not caring about who the authors were on the last. This makes the authors nameless and disposable, as they haven't actually built relationships with their viewers, as all they have offered them is a little entertainment for the day.
I think that no matter what the platform or forum, most people do not actually pay attention to the games being played and their potential position on the field. They go in and do what they want, chop and change topic as the ball gets kicked from one side to the other and keep chasing wherever there is the chance for them to get a little attention. They get a comment retweeted on a famous Twitter account and think it makes them somebody, even though their own account is dead. People compete in a saturated market with people who are potentially far more talented than themselves, hoping they will get lucky.
I would predict that while luck plays many roles, the vast majority of accounts on Hive that would be considered successful are so, because they have consistently worked to build their own niche, through their content offerings and their personality. I would also predict that most people on earth would be unwilling to take that journey, if they could see how much background work has gone into it. Well, they will think they are ready, but very few will actually go the mile and cite all kinds of reasons including "the platform is broken" as a reason why they didn't get there.
What I have loved to see is some relatively small accounts get traction and then work hard to build upon it and are now getting some consistent support. I love seeing them in my feed, often with payout figures larger than I get. What I would want them all to know however, is that there are ebbs and flows, and support comes and goes - don't take it for granted, don't assume or expect that once you have support, it will always be there. Learn to play your game, but more importantly, have a very good understanding of how other people play theirs - sometimes you will be out all alone without support, but you will know that you have the skills and you are doing what you love.
If you have to cheat to win, you aren't very good at the game.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
By the way, as an after thought I am going to plug an intiative by @theycallmedan's calling for Hive mentors. Hopefully people will take part in this and be true and honest in their approach. I often get asked to mentor, but a lot of my blog is an open page of support for users here - at least from my perspective - and I will keep doing what I do in this way, because this is where I enjoy working.
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 0/21)
Thanks :)
I am pretty certain that many a beer I have tried has tasted exactly like cats stale piss :0D
It's always been a frustration of mine that some people try to copy what they see is successful and exactly as you say they don't stand out instead of following their passion and doing it amazingly and carving out a niche of their own.
You are somewhat a specialist on cats piss by now. I am surprised you have any taste buds left after what you have treated them to over the years.
They seem to be remarkable healers!! :0)
I think they have been shocked so many times they have run away.
I think I would rather the cat piss.
Many people chase popularity by trying to be like everyone else - I don't get it.
!ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.I agree. Imagine someone trying to copy you to get ahead. Faced with the original... They won't stand a chance!
Hehe, I don't think too many have tried to copy me right enough but yes, finding your own path is always the best way!
Your accent is too unique, your personality too, it would be hard. I would definetely have a hard time trying😂😂 Being yourself is always the best choice as long as we are always striving to reach our best potential
I find slow and steady wins the race and the growth that way is insane over a period of time. Consistency with how you do things along with enjoyment is a must and it is a good habit to stick to. I will have a look at mentoring as I haven't found any candidates yet. Just looked at his post and not the way I would do it regarding mentoring. For me it is the wrong approach as upvotes shouldn't be part of it. You do it to help not for the reward.
Funny I also watch his Saturday reviews to see him hopefully spit it out. Typical Scotsmen though as he tends to swallow the bulk of them no matter how bad it is.
I am hoping that some of the people who get involved are actually those who are already doing similar on their own accord.
It's what brings all the boys to the yard
!ENGAGE 20
Lol. Yep in his yard every Saturday night. Think he should have a whisky or gin tasting once a month to add to his portfolio. There are so many gins around now it is viable.
Gin has exploded the last couple years. It makes me happy.
It is one drink I can sit and drink all night. A few years back I checked into a hotel in London and they had a specialist Gin bar with hundreds of various types. I could have sat there for days but the prices were too rich for me. Gin and tonic has always been one of my favorites along with a Mojito.
ENGAGEtokens.I didn't have the chance to get into the same or similar types of games you mentioned but it's interesting what you mentioned. I have watched, learned, and seen exactly what you were referring to. I can agree completely and from my own perspective of a case and point. When I played chess in the past I used to be able to figure out a little bit about the person based on the style they approached the game with. Everyone kind of fell into three catergories. (I am no chess master by any means)
The experts that know the move sets and patterns, the people that know how to play and compete with a gameplan that is more reactionary, or those that are just moving peices figuring it out along the way. I beat some of the master players by offering a calculated defense early in the game and then coming at them assymetrically from what their expectations dictated. I matched those in the middle with a little cat n mouse. I lost sometimes to the easiest targets that should have been crushed. Chess only has so many options but I have alway intentionally not wanted to learn the presets. I have always tried to take each game as a new experience but also calculating that the other player won't always let it be new.
It is interesting you mention chess, because I suck at it - but beat better players than myself, especially when we first start. I have ko game plan, know no moves. It frustrates real players :D
It is interesting what it is possible to predict about people by their behavior in something seemingly unrelated. It is part of the reason that when looking for a partner, make sure you see them dance first to know if they have rhythm and can use their body :)
Exactly! Throwing some not predictable moves in there is one of the best strategies vs. the really good planners and then other times you can tell the one's that don't react are the one's that have their own methods. I don't know the moves on purpose because it kind of takes the fun out of the game (imho) but I did win one time with a pawn and a king. I was dancing for a long time until i eventually check-mated the other person. Most people give up.... then there was me! hahahaha
:D
Oh - do you compete?
!ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.I don't understand gaming at all. Never learned how to use my thumbs in that manner :) Except for maybe a bit of online poker if that counts. I tend to be much better in person for that game.
But I do understand passion and doing what you love. I can't imagine spending time doing something some one else loves... Unless, of course, the possibility of sex is thrown into that mix.
I guess it comes down to success and ones definition of. If the idea is to 'make' the most, or get the most votes, or be like Mike because Mike is successful then they are probably in for the wrong reason and any hardship is enough reason to quit-and go be like somebody else. It's a closed loop.
I have never managed to get into console gaming, I was always PC.
What we will put up with if there is the potential to have sex. It is the only reason houses have second floors, doors and gardens at all.
Unless actually enjoying what one does, most people won't survive doing it for the votes.
Ghost Recon Island Thunder FTW! hahaha Awesome story
:D
If we ever played together, on GR I was always [TJ]
I was always fatalbadass. I actually used to be at a top ranking player back in the day. The only leaderboard rank I was able to make the top 5 in my life! Was my prime gaming days hahaha!
I triednplaying CS:GO a few years back with @acidyo - and sucked hard. I went cold turkey in 2010 and other than those few games, haven't played at all.
you should get back on! I'm playing dayz now. I just made a post about why it's perfect for hive. For me it's more about RP in my old age!
Re: Support. I agree and in the beginning, was very naive on how this whole Steemit/Hive thing worked. I had no idea. I was even delegated and had no idea what that meant. Seriously.
Know the game before you even start playing. And know the rules change.
Support is wonderful. I am grateful for every upvote I get. I also know that it can go away overnight. It's nothing personal either. There are just only so many people that a person can support and if you were given any at some point, you should count yourself lucky. I try to support as many as is possible, I do remember what it was like to get a post for less than 20 cents.
I am glad you wrote this. I cannot tell you how many people take it personally when the support is no longer there.
Upped and Reposted
!tip
I think that is about 23 steps ahead of where I started. I literally had no idea what I was doing, I just wrote and posted, didn't know what staking was, voting, didn't realize there was automated votes, trails, bots... it took me months to figure anything out and I repped to something like 61 or 62 in about a month :D
Everyone needs to understand how quickly we get comfortable with conditions, especially if they are good. It never feels great to lose support, but many take it as a personal affront and as if they were targeted. As you say, people only have so much support to give and tastes and thoughts change. I personally don't like supporting people who I think are taking it for granted.
Thanks for the tip!
OH, wait! The best part was one of my friends asked me how I got so much money. I didn't know what a wallet was. I did the same. In hindsight, I know when I was delegated to, but, it wasn't until he took back the delegation before I even knew who it was (it was @Twinner) and I had no idea what that meant. I actually thought he gave me the money. Right? I was clueless!
Oh, yeah! I was liking this place!
I wrote and posted, never hanging my hat anywhere. I did a lot of flowers and poetry... oh, what has changed? I have evolved a little. :) But, eventually, I grew. I posted every day. I loved it and it started liking me back.
It never feels great to lose support and at one time I did. The people stepped away from Steemit and suddenly, my big vote was gone. I didn't take it personally, but, yet, you can feel it.
Thanks for the Engage Tokens!
Ah, those were the days...
I like watching the evolution of accounts and I have changed content myself quite a lot since I started. I used to take part in various photography challenges in between writing, but stopped because I was earning too much and it seemed too easy. I wasn't earning much at all and it wasn't easy - but that was my thinking :D
I think that everyone who gets some decent support should experience what it is like to lose it and go backwards - it will test if they are actually doing it because they enjoy it, or just for the votes.
!ENGAGE 25
Thanks again for the Engage Tokens!
ENGAGEtokens.🎁 Hi @tarazkp! You have received 0.1 HIVE tip from @dswigle!
@dswigle wrote lately about: Those Lazy Daze Of Summer Feel free to follow @dswigle if you like it :)
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i LOVE THIS :
ITS SO TRUE, Support comes and goes, one person criticizing you can scare off support, regardless of the validity of the compliants, because people avoid drama and confrontation. But if you refuse to participate it resolves and you move on to engage with others and keep building. If the old support comes back, you now have mre support then before.
Engagement, patience, persistency are key to success.
And dont measure your success by the success of others, focus on your successes, dont belittle them because of the gains of others. Focus on what works for you and enjoy your little gains, big gains and successes.
Be present,
@shortsegments
People often lose their way because they can't avoid letting their emotions guide them.
Eyes on your own plate :)
They really do XD Even my youngest (autistic/adhd and not very good at reading people) and eldest (who is somewhat oblivious and knows it) describe themselves as certain types of players (what type depends on the game) and can pick other people really quickly and easily (doesn't always help them as they often play with people who are some combination of being faster/better at picking types and that play way more than they do, plus youngest's reflexes kind of suck XD). There's even a term for it now ("main") as a lot of the people who game a lot have their "main" style and play around with others.
I'm the same with boomy, I actually hate beer but his reviews are hilarious XD and I especially love teasing him when he has to "make sure" a bad one tastes as bad as his first impression XD
And this is why my kids decided they didn't want to try doing Youtube when I explained to them the amount of work that their favourite Youtubers have to do "behind the scenes".
The middle child is understanding more now I think as she does "edits" these days (throwing a bunch of stills and live pics/very short animation clips together into a video to music, she's actually not bad, and always cites the sources for her "sounds" aka short music clips and images because I was anal about that and it really hit home when someone from the school she tried out for a year stole one of her edits and tried to pass it off as their own) and is slowly branching into animation and realises just how much work it is to both create the stuff and build the accounts. And also in the case of her cosplay how much money it costs XD
Relating this to games not hive, the excuse I've heard for it from people caught cheating is that they allegedly don't care about the game, they're just interested in the technology and seeing what it can do XD
I think that if an AI could get access to all the game data and enough player data, it could probably predict personality traits (among other things) based on game play styles.
I think for many kids, once they start actually creating something they begin to have the illusion of "living off the internet" wiped away and most won't continue - and instead become consumers only. Work is hard, ain't nobody got time for that.
I wonder if they crash their car into a tree to see how the airbags open?
It is hard, but so immensely satisfying XD
now all I need to do is find something the boys are interested in working on
Probably not, they only
cheat"experiment"(by cheating)with game technology XDthough having said that in the case of Pokemon Go during field test I did once tell off someone for bragging about driving while playing and they were insisting it was fine because they were driving slowly
As long as they only kill themselves, people can do what they want in their car :D
Wouldn't mind so much if that was more often the case!
!ENGAGE 25
ENGAGEtokens.I used to play battlefield when I was younger, but the shooter that really gave me an addiction of around 8 years was the Counter-Strike series. And just like you said, some people are good doing a specific thing or playing a game, and some are not, but that should not feel like an opportunity to use hacks and cheat to win, because that's not going to contribute on your evolution and all you can do is just to break the fun of other teammates. This is also the thing that kind of made me stop, because I was starting to get more and more against this kind of users and was affecting both my game but my health too since I was getting angry and the tension was affecting my family too. Though, I still find gaming a good way to escape from reality and relax :)
Just started up CS:GO to see what would happen - won't even load a map :D
I have never got the cheating thing - what is the point? There must be some very sad individuals who do it. Just imagine their self-esteem.
I believe in having the courage to show your unique personality. I often return to a user because of how they deliver their content and because of their personality/character. I value people who embrace being unique and are not afraid/ashamed to show it
I think it is better to think long term. Trying to look like someone you are not just to gather fame and popularity on any plaform will be exhausting. Those users will not last. Authenticy will. I'll always have more faith in those who have faith in themselves.
!ENGAGE 20
Awww! thanks for the compliment. Didn't see that coming. };)
😊
ENGAGEtokens.