Gaming is a hobby that more and more of us are taking up. Here in LA, statistics show around 65% of people play them, at least occasionally.
For most people playing is just a bit of fun, but for a small group of people, games are a career. Professional esports players take part in competitions in the same way that sports stars do, while streamers broadcast their gaming sessions online to entertain others.
These two categories of gamers are akin to the professional football players who stand head and shoulders over any amateur enthusiast and anyone who is just finding their feet on the football field.
Some of the superhuman abilities come from natural talent but the rest is learned. But can anyone learn to be a better gamer or is it something that only these elites can do?
Practice Makes Perfect
There is an old adage that 10,000 of practice is enough to make you great at anything. There is much debate about the exact number and caveats that the quality of the practice is also a key factor.
Regardless, the basic premise is pretty solid. Practicing something can make you better at it, whether it be football, learning a language, or video games.
That’s why games often have modes that are designed for beginners to practice before they move up to the more advanced levels and modes. For example, those looking to play poker can sign up to PokerStars which has free games for beginners where they can practice without having to stake real money.
Call of Duty also has a similar model. In its online modes, players are matched with other beginners when they first start out with the pairings being made with more skilled opponents as the player progresses.
Strategy
You can almost always improve your performance if you have a plan. That’s true for games as much as it is for things like DIY, business, or a round of golf. That’s why learning about game strategies can be an incredibly effective way to build your playing ability.
In games like chess, you can spend a lifetime reading about the different strategies and still have more to learn. But the more of these you manage to cram into your head, the more you can deploy against your opponents and the better-equipped you are to head off any players who try to use them against you.
In racing simulators like Forza and Gran Turismo, the strategies you’ll need are very closely aligned with real-life motor racing with racing lines allowing you to carry more speed through corners and car setups helping to improve stability and balance at each track.
Of course, reading about a strategy is only part of the job. You also need to be able to process that information, understand it, and then incorporate it into your own playing.
Strategy exists in every game, even the most simple ones like Minesweeper. Therefore, you can almost always boost your abilities by learning about and then implementing new theoretical aspects of a game.
