#High Skill

[alchemicaldesignquery]

Competitive Play is a Mythos

Part of design is understanding a game's purpose. Who, what, where, why, when, how-

-and, most often, 'the fuck?'

Competitive modes tend to have a lot of those questions answered from the moment it is decided there's going to be one. Rules, laws, guidelines, are all set in place to make the mode as fair and just as possible so that player frustration is kept to a minimum.

That doesn't mean you won't get frustrated, mind you, just that the playing field is even enough that it should be easier to determine when a player is better than you.

(note the emphasis in that sentence)

Competitive play is based around level playing fields, encompassing rulesets, and a definitive goal for all players participating. Added/extra variables within the game have to be handled with care, or else the inevitable economics that rule competitive will warp any integrity or consistency you are aiming for:

Of course, I am referring to "Min-maxing".

Every little percentile, every tiny integer; split seconds, shaved seconds, movement efficiencies, 'techs', sightlines, high-ground, focus fire, call outs, short-hand comms, breakpoints-

-there's a list. Broad and wide and many. These are the variables used in a competitive setting, to establish both skill and allowance within the game, pushing beyond the standard (often simple) rules that govern the playing field and into a reservoir of external knowledge the likes of which could fill up a library.

The sort of reservoir that demands coaches of varying tiers, targeted workouts, military-grade/hyper-specialized reflex training, supplements and enhancements, textbooks of raw data, and the analysts to explain it in maximized efficacy.

Competitive play, the higher in the ranks and placements you go, draws increasingly from this reservoir of external knowledge. To the point that, at the highest levels, you might as well be a scholar taking classes only available in particular formats and under certain certifications.

All that to say: High Skill Play has little-to-nothing to do with playing the actual game.

Playing a game, any game really, can go back and forth on the field without this external reservoir of knowledge, but the moment that knowledge begins to get applied, the results are almost immediately noticeable.

A player who knows that High Ground is advantageous, will gain an edge and attempt to secure it more and more often. That edge is magnified, when said player understands why high ground is important.

The same goes for Focus Fire. When players can help coordinate their teammates to concentrate multiple streams of effort against a singular target, regardless of how the game is played, the answering effort can't compete just through sheer numerical comparison.

5 sources of damage focusing on 1 source of health, will always go in favour of the damage.

But learning about these concepts is part of that external reservoir of knowledge that makes up High Skill Play. One has to seek out that information (or, more rarely, stumble on it while playing the game) and, whereas it can often be the case that other players will pass that information on, only those capable of implementing it in their own gameplay will see those benefits.

And if a game, at it's baseline/foundation, does not have any education systems (UI, tutorials, pings, colour-coding, etc.) built into it's core, then much of the external reservoir of knowledge will either be impossible to discover or impossible to implement (probably both).

Which can, in turn, give the competitive side of that game a 'Glass Skill Ceiling'; you can watch High Skill Players achieving results with their gameplay, but attempting to implement it without the knowledge and frameworks those players access regularly (reflexively, even) will breed further frustration.

It might even convince a lot of players that would otherwise enjoy your game, to go looking for an easier one to play. Maybe not even easier, just one that has less of an External Reservoir of Knowledge.

[gigivas]

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[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

the fact that shakespeare was a playwright is sometimes so funny to me. just the concept of the "greatest writer of the English language" being a random 450-year-old entertainer, a 16th cent pop cultural sensation (thanks in large part to puns & dirty jokes & verbiage & a long-running appeal to commoners). and his work was made to be watched not read, but in the classroom teachers just hand us his scripts and say "that's literature"

just...imagine it's 2450 A.D. and English Lit students are regularly going into 100k debt writing postdoc theses on The Simpsons screenplays. the original animation hasn't even been preserved, it's literally just scripts and the occasional SDH subtitles.txt. they've been republished more times than the Bible

[ironinkpen]

there's something so poetic about kipperlilly copperkettle—who hated one of her classmates for daring to be better than her and having a dead dad, who refused to improve herself and instead chose to be bitter and entitled, who was so obsessed with being Special and Important like she felt she deserved that she willingly worked with a rage god, betrayed her party, and killed her friend—getting killed by fucking. Hold Person. her fancy optimal build IMMEDIATELY folding in the face of riz's cleverness and experience and applied knowledge. she spends years fixated solely on racking up EXP and getting the Best Abilities, and then when she dies, she's killed not in glorious combat but by a clever, practical application of a 2nd level spell that she NEVER would have ever thought of using because she has no creativity or adventurers' spirit, cast by the same classmate she always hated with a watch his dead dad gave him.

[sacz21]

We genuinely believe coding is an art, and the Technical Chamber is a platform for all coders to come along. At the Technical Chamber, you will find a variety of resources for all skill levels, including tutorials, articles, and resources for all types of coding languages.

[s0up1ta]

something about loving you like an alcohol addict

pspsps come get your billford

this was supposed to be longer but dear god that's a lot of work... so here's the storyboard for it:

maybe i'll finish it later,, for the tragic fiddauthor enjoyer in me

ok bye

[hinamie]

playing around w slightly different hair renders

[femmefatalevibe]

Femme Fatale Guide: Game-Changing TED Talks Everyone Should Watch

"How Five Simple Words Can Get You What You Want" by Janine Driver

"Master your Mindset, Overcome Self-Deception, Change your Life" by  Shadé Zahrai

"How to talk to the worst parts of yourself" by Karen Faith

"Think before you speak, hacking the secret of communication" by Catherine Molloy

"The Hidden Code For Transforming Dreams Into Reality" by Mary Morrissey

"Don't Believe Everything You Think" by Lauren Weinstein

"The public speaking lesson you never had" by DK

"Programming your mind for success" by Carrie Green

"How to stop screwing yourself over" by Mel Robbins

"Own Your Behaviours, Master Your Communication, Determine Your Success" by Louise Evans

"The psychology of seduction" by Raj Persaud

"Why we're unhappy -- the expectation gap" by Nat Ware

"Think Fast. Talk Smart" by Matt Abrahams 

"Increase your self-awareness with one simple fix' by Tasha Eurich 

"5 steps to designing the life you want" by Bill Burnett

"Staying stuck or moving forward" by Dr. Lani Nelson Zlupko

"To reach beyond your limits by training your mind" by Marisa Peer

"Emotional laws are the answer for better relationships" by Diana Wais

"Feelings: Handle them before they handle you" by Mandy Saligari

"Cultivating Unconditional Self-Worth" by Adia Gooden 

[emilys-axford]

objectively really funny if the adaine-aelwyn subplot is like we haveeee to go back and kill mum for the inheritance money

[vynnyal]

So let me get this straight:

Hollow knight is about the journey of a small creature possessing the corpse of a god's discarded child, and the character arc that unfolds as they realize they're more than the path they were set to take, eventually defeating the corruption instead of merely postponing inevitable destruction.

Rain world is about the journeys and experiences of many small creatures sent by a bunch of gossiping computers, and the efforts to help stop the destruction caused by a corrupted god that unfolds over hundreds of years, all to postpone his inevitable death.

Man, video games are fun!

[ominous-horse-noises]

anyway i want to reiterate that i hope the rat grinders are tpk'd, revived and uncorrupted solely bc i want them to have to spend senior year together. 'redeemed' doesnt necessarily mean friendly with the bad kids and honestly? its so much funnier if they continue being bitchy to each other but without the trying to end the world stuff. they've built plenty of positive relationships w/ former villains now it's time for the next stage: uneasy alliance buzzing with the tension of both sides trying to hold back the urge to clown on each other

introducing, fantasy high senior year: the group project

[piiinkfreak]

Just some ghouls at the beach!

.

.

.

[miyoriia]

@cyberpunkcatgirl ♡

[caffeinatedvigilantewriter]

Based on: https://www.tumblr.com/long-live-astronerd-ghost-king/759248423781285888/dpxdc-prompt-field-trip-some-people-would-call

@long-live-astronerd-ghost-king loved the prompt

Because the ghost attacks, all students of Casper High learned combat (with ecto knuckles given to them by the Fentons)

And they get really good at it. So much so that Phantom doesn’t even have to make appearances except in emergencies.

Then, someone thought it wood be a good idea to send them to Gotham on a trip to WE.

So Gotham finds out and they are betting on how long the country kids stay before leaving (highest is three days).

The news companies decided to send over an interviewer to interview the kids and the camera pans to show the kids on a rooftop practicing combat exercises and hand-to-hand fighting.

Casper High is not going to skip a couple days of combat training- especially in Gotham.

Needless to say, lots of people lost money that week.

Other shenanigans

- Joker dies. Fan favorite and completely justified

- Joker dies by Paulina and Star

- Dani just so happened to be in Gotham

- Dan is their chaperone

- Jason or Damian is their tour guide

- Danny getting high on fear gas

- Ivy and Sam bonding

- Riddler taking Tucker hostage

- Condiment King. Just Condiment King.

- Dash being Steph’s cousin

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I want you whipped into shape!

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[turtleblogatlast]

Leo being put into a situation where there is absolutely no fighting, just verbal manipulation and perception games, would be amazing to witness. We see a lot in the series how good he is at subterfuge and how he uses his perception to manipulate to great effect, so it’d be so cool to really see it put to the test even more.

Manipulation is one of the most effective tactical strategies of all time, so just imagine Leo putting this skillset of his to the full test. Imagine the boys slowly get up to busting bigger and more powerful criminals, including those with networks of crime under their belt, and a simple fight isn’t enough to take them down. For criminals like this, Leo’s skills in subterfuge would be deadly.