Two Plus Two Older Archives  

Go Back   Two Plus Two Older Archives > 2+2 Communities > Other Other Topics

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 10-22-2005, 05:58 AM
kbfc kbfc is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 14
Default Video Game Supremecy

I'll say at the outset here, that I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this......

This was inspired by the Phil Ivey story on barrygreenstein.com as well as some posts on here a week or go or so.

Within almost every group of friends in the high-school/college-age males demographic (or those who, like me, fit that demo in the not-so-distant past), there is a sort of hierarchy of video game skill. This almost inevitably results in escalating boasts that flow over outside the group's boundary. "I'm the best SF2 player ever!" "I'm unbeatable at Mario Kart." etc...

Oftentimes, if the conversation turns to videogames with new social acquaintances, heated arguments will erupt. It has been my experience that there is a pretty wide range of results when challenges actually take place. Some of the time, one of the contestants will soundly trounce the other, thus proving that "best player in group A" is more likely than "best player in group B" to translate into "best player ever," although not generally saying how likely that is on an absolute scale. Other times, it will be a close struggle, and might cause an observer to wonder, "hrm...perhaps this stalemate is actually due to 2 players at the top of the game butting heads." Either way, I'm always amused when stuff like this happens, whether or not I'm a participant.

Videogames, more than most anything, cause people to lose perspective. Just because you say you're the [censored] at Tony Hawk, and you can beat up all your friends, that don't mean [censored] on its own. Do some research.

In college, a friend and I played TonyHawk2 on dreamcast nonstop for probably 2 years. We only played headsup for points, 2 minutes, hangar level. We got good. Real good. Good to the point where I was convinced we were playing the game close to its theoretical limit. A year or so ago (probably 3 years removed from my THPS2 glory days), conversation with the drummer in my old band got around to that very subject, and the standard boasts->challenge sequence followed. I think I ended up winning a series of matches by an average score of like 3-4 million (about half of what I was able to average when I used to play a lot) to 500 thousand. Obviously some worlds exist on different levels.

The moral of this story, though, is not my amazing awesomeness. It is that, at the peak of my THPS2 playing days, I went online to check what sorta stuff was considered good. I'd say I matched up pretty well with most, but then I came across a site with videos of a guy putting up like 50 million point tricks, doing [censored] I didn't even realize was possible. That was some perspective for my ass.

With online gaming, it becomes much more apparent how good you really are. Back in the day, I played quakeworld team deathmatch at basically the highest levels. My clan (god, I'm shivering in embarassment even writing that word. and no, I'm not going to disclose names publicly) was something like the KC Royals of QW. I knew I was good, better than probably 99% of the Quake players then, but I also knew how much better the real top players were. Starcraft was similar, except I was nowhere near as close to the top of SC, maybe Double-A level. Either way, there was a lot more realistic perspective in these games than in the console arena.

So that all said, give me a week to practice, and I'll take anyone at the following:

- Soul Calibur (random character selection)
- Mario Kart64 (battle mode on the blocks level, or race mode on Wario Stadium, with or without shortcuts)
- Marble Madness (you must allow me to smoke out beforehand, though. you can join in if you want.)

As quick postscript: there are a few things that one could say, specific to the game in question, in a boasting match that automatically give away the fact that he's not at the same level. For example (this happened recently), if anyone tells me they're a MarioKart expert and then claims anything other than "koopa was the best in super mario kart, toad in mario kart64," they're immediately disqualified in my book. no challenge necessary.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10-22-2005, 06:55 AM
Yeti Yeti is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 30
Default Re: Video Game Supremecy

I liked this post.

To brilliantly illustrate your point, when reading your QW paragraph I instantly thought 'wtf, i bet i'm better than this guy'.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 10-22-2005, 07:19 AM
kbfc kbfc is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 14
Default Re: Video Game Supremecy

If you were actually better at QW than me back in the day, I can almost guarantee you that I'd remember you by screename/clan. [censored], i have gigs and gigs of recorded matches still sitting on a hard drive somewhere.

Anyway, I was trying to write the post as much as I could in the style of the boasting I was writing about. I'm glad it had that effect on you [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 10-22-2005, 07:29 AM
Yeti Yeti is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 30
Default Re: Video Game Supremecy

You won't know me, firstly because I hit the scene pretty late, and secondly because I live in England.

Such fun memories. Really an amazing game, it seems sad to admit it but it was probably the most fun time of my life.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 10-22-2005, 07:49 AM
kbfc kbfc is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 14
Default Re: Video Game Supremecy

I don't know what you mean by late, but I played seriously all the way until Q3 came out. When Q3 came out, it put a dagger in the whole QW scene, which was a shame, cuz Q3 was almost as shitty as Q2. QW, in my mind, is without a doubt the best computer game ever. Starcraft was remotely close in 2nd, but nothing else was even remotely close.

I loved playing quake like no other game, but given the chance to go back and give it all up, I would in an instant. That [censored] game (and then SC, once it died down) ruined my social life for a couple of years, including meaningful relationships and my musical ambitions. It's far enough in the past now that I can talk about it, deal with the embarassment, and not get bogged down in it all. For a few years, though, that was not the case; it was basically just an unmentionable period of my life.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 10-22-2005, 08:13 AM
Yeti Yeti is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 30
Default Re: Video Game Supremecy

[ QUOTE ]
QW, in my mind, is without a doubt the best computer game ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course.

I think I played seriously from around 98/99 to the summer 02.

I know it could never happen, but I like to daydream about a QW boom, and an interface like the poker clients, where you could play duels on DM4 for $100+9.

That would be the easiest money ever.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 10-22-2005, 08:50 AM
JackWilson JackWilson is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 455
Default Re: Video Game Supremecy

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
QW, in my mind, is without a doubt the best computer game ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course.

I think I played seriously from around 98/99 to the summer 02.

I know it could never happen, but I like to daydream about a QW boom, and an interface like the poker clients, where you could play duels on DM4 for $100+9.

That would be the easiest money ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have been reading this thread and having been heavily involved in gaming in the past, I was getting a little bit nostalgic, remembering some good times etc, but it wasn't until you mentioned DM4 that my knees became weak, my pulse quickened and I started slobbering all over myself. God...that game was GOOOD. Flashbacks of LakermaN and Thresh videos replaying themselves in my head now...
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 10-22-2005, 09:28 AM
Blarg Blarg is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,519
Default Re: Video Game Supremecy

I used to be one of the top online Total Annihilation players, and a good number of times beat the guy, Hawk, who won the nationwide contest for best player, and he was certainly far above even most pretty damn good players. However, frequently beat him didn't mean he didn't kick my butt most of the time. It was definitely frustrating to be playing a great game and get soundly beaten anyway. Some of the games I beat him in are still fond memories today, quite a few years on.

But I remember when I first got online with the game. I was being wiped out within minutes in a RTS that sometimes lasted hours.

That's why RTS's especially are all about the online play. Human players are so much better than computer AI that it's extremely difficult for even a really good offline player to beat a middling online player. Plus, fighting a human is much more interesting and devious than playing a computer AI, and has an inherent heightened feeling of fun competitiveness that fighting a computer AI can't give you.

There are definitely many levels in playing games, and it's very easy to think you're doing well, and then suddenly realize how surprrisingly far from the top you are. It can be bewildering, frustrating, and finally, inspiring. After all, who wants to be wiped out by every Tom, Dick, and Harry? You want to at least be able to hold your own with the middle of the pack. And the skill level of the middle of the pack rapidly drifts upward, too. So you dust yourself off and try to charge up that hill again. Trying to become or remain truly competitive can be great fun.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 10-22-2005, 11:39 AM
Phoenix1010 Phoenix1010 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Where the beer flows like wine
Posts: 282
Default Re: Video Game Supremecy

Great post. Males like to prove their skills against each other, and we need to satisfy our egos. Videogames provide a nice venue for immature guys like myself to show how awesome we are. Unfortunately, most people aren't nearly as good as they think they are. I remember when I actually thought I was good at Halo. I played a home p*ker game with a member of the local Halo "community" and he beat me 25-1 during a smoke break. I used to play SF2 30+ hours a week with a group of about 8 friends and thought I was the tits at that too. None of us even knew that Guile was the best character (although cheesing was strictly looked down upon there). Until you play a game online or in a tournament agains the best competition, you have no idea how good people actually get at these games.

Games I'm actually pretty good at:

Tekken 3. I placed highly in a few local tournaments. I'm far from the best, but I'll put my Heihachi up against anyone (Lei and Eddie as backups). Good King/Jin players dominate that game though.

NBA Jam T.E. I won my store during the Blockbuster tourney years back, but didn't go to the main event. I think Sponger did too and actually went to the national tourney.

Perfect Dark. The amount of time I played this game... I just refuse to accept that I'm not at least decent.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 10-22-2005, 11:47 AM
whiskeytown whiskeytown is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 700
Default Re: Video Game Supremecy

Um, this is really sad, but I used to kick ass at my Atari 2600 games.

I can think of at least three cartridges I wrapped the scores around on back to 0 or whatever - beating the tough ones like Raiders of the lost Ark when no one else could...

Then there was Track and Field, an arcade game where you'd alternate between two buttons to move the runner forward - but I found a way to rub between the edge guard of the button that kept you from just slapping it, and so I got some great fast vibration out of it.

I wrapped around the score on a Galaga machine in college, which I was really impressed with. But after that I kept playing for a while longer before losing my last guy.

But to be honest, until recently, I hadn't played the newer gen. consoles - I'm working on Forza Motorsports, though.

RB
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:21 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.