Poll of the Day > Are you getting better or worse at video games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

So, they say your reflexes deteriorate as you age. In light of what you've observed, are you getting better or worse at video games?

This topic came to me recently when I replayed Pokemon Puzzle League on the N64. I'd assumed that I was just getting worse at video games as I aged, but I noticed something. In my stats, I found that my 10-year-old self took 99 continues to beat the game on Very Hard, whereas my 32-year-old self took less than 20. Hmm. Maybe I'm not just getting worse.

On the flip side of the coin, I have trouble playing games like Smash Bros. now. They require pressing a wide variety of buttons with quick reflexes. Honestly, it's like my nerves can't even handle fighting games and other complicated, fast-paced experiences: I get twitchy quickly. Oh, and I can't button mash anymore, so screw Mario Party.

Yet, I've also developed a keen eye for spotting patterns in games, so I can solve puzzles and such much better than I could as a youngster.

Anyway, I think I'm starting to go down hill, but not entirely.

What about you?

It's all in how you practice. I use my feet on Donkey Konga drum controllers to maintain my edge. When I'm playing with a regular controller it's child's play

My reflexes are as good as ever, Im fuckin Spider-Man

but the competition online has gotten as try hard as ever so I usually dont try too hard on PvP stuff

I think it's like riding a bike. You just have to get back on and it all comes back.

MagicalPrincess posted...

I think it's like riding a bike. You just have to get back on and it all comes back.

Pretty much. Stuff like action and fighting games place a huge emphasis on muscle memory: If you're away from them for a while, it can be hard to come back because that memory has been lost, but if you can stick with it past that initial phase of feeling discouraged by how much worse you are than you used to be, you can generally recover it faster than you could develop it the first time around. By and large, it's not just your ability to react quickly in those games, it's your ability to react correctly, and that decision-making process gets much, much faster as you practice and reinforce the neural pathways involved.

There is going to be some inevitable deterioration in reflexes, but most games don't require anything close to the peak of what humans can achieve, and with practice you'll generally be able to maintain the level needed throughout most or all of your life. If you find you're reacting more slowly than you used to, keep playing and trying to react faster. You'll probably get there sooner than you might think.

FrozenBananas posted...

but the competition online has gotten as try hard as ever so I usually dont try too hard on PvP stuff

This is a major reason why I'm not as into Smash as I used to be. I used to play on a regular basis with friends, but as we've aged and moved away and hanging out every Friday afternoon has stopped being a thing, I've gone from playing Melee weekly to playing Ultimate for long enough to unlock everything and then just like once or twice a year when I can get together with people and that's what we feel like doing. Playing online means I have to put actual effort into getting better if I don't want to lose to some faceless stranger (which is generally a much less enjoyable experience than losing to a friend in my living room), which just isn't that appealing to me. The days of playing enough Smash to actually want to get good at it are past.

I'm 43 and my fingers are just a bit stiffer than they used to be. It's not something I notice for any reason other than peak video game reflexes, but in that case I just recently noticed that my 13-yr-old was able to defeat some bosses in Hollow Knight using reflex-based strategies that I just couldn't quite keep up with. That was disappointing, as I was (and still am) the king of button smashing in my video gaming friend group.

I agree with the comment that I'm hella better than him at pattern recognition/everything else in gaming, though.

I'm mostly the same. My reflexes were never great. Getting a little stiff jointed sometimes so a bit slower.

Better at games from when I was a kid, worse at current ones lol Like I finally beat The Adventure of Link and the 2nd Quest of Zelda 1, but Dark Souls is impossible for me

I am getting older and am slower than before, but I'm also better than ever

Both at the same time. I'm pretty 'with it' with picking up the basics of a game, but peak pretty early. Very competent casual gamer basically, rarely commit to 'gettin' gud'. I had to play a fair bit of Apex to be halfway decent, I never committed must time to a shooter before that and was always pretty bad compared to my friends. Also need to play AoE II consistently to ensure I'm decent. Always been good at 'puzzle' stuff.

i'm a lot of worse at games that require quick reflex, a bit worse at action/adventure (i find myself lost a lot). however i'm a lot better at games that require tactics (RPGs) and strategies (RTS) or puzzles.

I'm definitely worse at Street Fighter. I could do short frame combos and learn them much faster as a kid and I also had a grasp on the tiny timing of the frames. Now it's all feeling and guess work. My brain is skipping frames and cannot perceive time like it did when I was 15.

However at 15 I hated strategy games and thought I wasn't smart enough for them. I ended up playing some on PC when I was a bit older and it was a joke. I have a feeling society got dumber, but I also wasn't as dumb as I thought. Not sure why I thought that anyway, I was always top of my classes.

Edit: Oh yeah, my left thumb can't double and triple press the d-pad or thumbstick fast like I could as a kid. Like in street fighter, you can hop back and forth if you're good at it. I can't do that anymore. My right thumb is a bit better, but I'm left-handed and I had a cyst removed in my left forehand when I was 18.

I've tried practicing and I can't get it back. Pisses me off.

I'm over 25 now so statistically I can only get worse at games

adjl posted...

Playing online means I have to put actual effort into getting better if I don't want to lose to some faceless stranger (which is generally a much less enjoyable experience than losing to a friend in my living room), which just isn't that appealing to me. The days of playing enough Smash to actually want to get good at it are past.

I hadn't thought of it until now, but I think the Internet in general has influenced my perception of my gaming abilities too. Back in the day, I was usually one of the best players among my friends. Nowadays, I have connections to thousands of different players, so I have a whole lot more people to compare myself to. Also, I can watch videos of optimal speedruns and such that make my gameplay look pathetic in comparison.

Tails_64 posted...

Back in the day, I was usually one of the best players among my friends. Nowadays, I have connections to thousands of different players, so I have a whole lot more people to compare myself to. Also, I can watch videos of optimal speedruns and such that make my gameplay look pathetic in comparison.

I feel bad that kids can't be the 'big fish in a small pond' anymore. That was something truly great about the pre-internet days.

wpot posted...

I feel bad that kids can't be the 'big fish in a small pond' anymore. That was something truly great about the pre-internet days.

I can still destroy my brother and our friend at LAN Unreal Tournament whenever I want

I'm better now than I ever have been I think, but I was never very good.

I'm likely worse at online shooters than I used to be, but that's just due to being out of practice, my reflexes are mediocre as ever.

Much worse.
Although my skill at turn based is still pretty good.

i dont play many online games anymore but when i do, my dogshit internet connection lag spikes frequently

Why dont you fire up Street Fighter 2 HD remix and Ill show you.

I'm the same as TC; started playing Tetris Attack recently and I'm not near as quick as I used to be. I'm lucky to get a x4 combo now. But I'm sure some of that can be chalked up to not being in the groove yet.

Way worse, I cant even jump good

keyblader1985 posted...

I'm the same as TC; started playing Tetris Attack recently and I'm not near as quick as I used to be. I'm lucky to get a x4 combo now. But I'm sure some of that can be chalked up to not being in the groove yet.

Yeah that one always takes me a half hour to get back into it. Hard to believe i beat Bowser on the hidden ultra difficulty. I don't think I'll ever be that good again.

Worse but I was never especially good in the first place.
I've even lost a good 10wpm off of my typing speed. Still can sometimes hit above 100wpm tho.

I game 10 hours a day. Practice makes perfect.

adjl posted...

This is a major reason why I'm not as into Smash as I used to be. I used to play on a regular basis with friends, but as we've aged and moved away and hanging out every Friday afternoon has stopped being a thing, I've gone from playing Melee weekly to playing Ultimate for long enough to unlock everything and then just like once or twice a year when I can get together with people and that's what we feel like doing. Playing online means I have to put actual effort into getting better if I don't want to lose to some faceless stranger (which is generally a much less enjoyable experience than losing to a friend in my living room), which just isn't that appealing to me. The days of playing enough Smash to actually want to get good at it are past.

Are you me

You sound like you're me

There are only like 4 different personality types after age 30

Blightzkrieg posted...

There are only like 4 different personality types after age 30

intj, entj, intentj and entinj

I play for fun, not multiplayer competitive (sometimes multiplayer cooperative), so I don't really think about games this way. I play. enjoy. sometimes challenged.

As a kid I was pretty much able to brute force the games I beat because I would just play them over and over again until I memorized them. Nowadays I play a lot smarter and can recognize patterns quicker. Plus, most of my "boomer shooter" accomplishments came later in life. Never would have thought I could say "I beat all of the commercially released Doom games on Ultra Violence" when I was playing them 25+ years ago.

So yea, better, easily.

It's about the same, depending on which game I'm playing.

Worse, because I have chronic hand pain now. I'm worse at typing as well, it takes longer and I make more mistakes.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/3/7/AAFUswAADgOl.jpg

As someone who played Pokemon Puzzle League a lot when I was younger- I just didn't actually know how to play the damn game well. I tried to keep everything as low as possible and never set up for big offensive cascades.

My reaction time is definitely not as good anymore, but playing correctly is more important than reactions in most games.

Been playing Halo Infinite ranked online and I cant seem to progress past Platinum 4 ranking so I dunno. Not really

My skills have stayed the same. They have always been sorely lacking.