Forum Overview :: Gamerasutra
 
"Shmupper's Zen" by Entropy Stew 10/18/2013, 8:17am PDT
Mischief Maker wrote:

2) Shmupper's Zen. An occasional altered state of consciousness you enter when playing through the absolute chaos of a bullet hell shmup at maximum difficulty. There's just a shift and suddenly you're picking out patterns and gaps calmly and clearly in a situation that should be sensory overload. It's being in "the Zone." Can't think of a single non-shmup videogame that ever brought that out of me.


Ah, good old flow state. I know this happens in other games to other people; I'd love to hear what triggers it for everyone. For me:

Quake 2: This was probably the shooter I was best at, back when I had reflexes. The slow rocket launcher projectile speed deepened the flow state, since you were forced even more into constraining your opponents movement possibility space via prediction while simultaneously breaking out of their own attempts to constrict yours.

Guitar Hero: This one actually felt more like straight Buddhism than it did flow, as it resulted in dissolution of the self. It was more prevalent when I didn't have the song at all memorized, where it felt like my eyes and hands were translating what was on the screen into action without the intervention of my brain.

League of Legends: Continuous evaluation of your own position relative to the state of the world. Playing ADC really brings it out, since you're constantly in a state where you can apply damage, and your low hp and defense forces you to dance around the edge of a fight. I've become addicted to the ARAM game mode, the action-man's MOBA, because of the constant teamfights and dodging of projectiles.

Software Development: On a good day with little interruption

-/ES/-
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Ho-lee-shit! by Mischief Maker 10/17/2013, 10:00pm PDT NEW
    I still don't get why you didn't love Ikaruga by fabio 10/17/2013, 11:50pm PDT NEW
        I still don't get why you love Cho Ren Sha 68K and hate other shmups. by Mischief Maker 10/18/2013, 7:16am PDT NEW
            "Shmupper's Zen" by Entropy Stew 10/18/2013, 8:17am PDT NEW
                For no reason at all I'd like to go off on a tangent about something completely by Rafiki 10/18/2013, 10:29am PDT NEW
                    Star Trek computer by Entropy Stew 10/18/2013, 12:17pm PDT NEW
                        Maybe he means the computer Picard addresses too to some extent? NT by fucking newbie 10/19/2013, 7:59am PDT NEW
            One was fast and visceral, the others were slow fruity hitbox edging faggotry by fabio 10/19/2013, 10:20am PDT NEW
                Not every shmup is the final boss from Mushihimesama Futari on "God" difficulty. NT by Mischief Maker 10/20/2013, 10:06am PDT NEW
                    Name dropping from a catalog only you are familiar with. Point proven? by fabio 10/20/2013, 5:08pm PDT NEW
                        That's that "hardest boss ever" video you based your whole opinion off of. by Mischief Maker 10/20/2013, 11:16pm PDT NEW
                            Re: That's that "hardest boss ever" video you based your whole opinion by fabio 10/22/2013, 12:04am PDT NEW
                                Why is this such a crusade for you? by Mischief Stubble-Scalp 10/22/2013, 8:23am PDT NEW
                                    Mischief Maker's ideal game contained within. L@@K by Worm 10/22/2013, 2:11pm PDT NEW
                                        I MUST HAVE THAT GAME!!! by Mischief Maker 10/22/2013, 2:29pm PDT NEW
 
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