Strategic Gaming - Learning and Advancing

Okay, like...WHAT?? It's mine!

I know getting killed in a game can be somewhat painful depending on how far you've made it to the next check point, but the development of gaming expertise comes with some pretty specific criteria, namely knowing how to build your skill set.

With the game controller being the only input device utilized during game play (besides the inner workings of your brain), it is important to master all of the additional features packed into the already complex mechanism.

Once you've mastered the controls, the next important concept to wrap your brain around is strategy. If you're going to die (and you are), you must die in a manner which will produce the most efficient and effective ratio of learning to advancement. I'll explain.

Learning = how much knowledge and skill you develop while utilizing the controller through the duration of game scenarios

Advancement = the swiftness and accuracy with which you utilize the controller while advancing through game scenarios

I'm providing two examples below, and if you or anybody you know is in the tech field, you already know this. It's okay to die often if your method is to collect data in order to advance your knowledge.

Example #1

You've recently acquired a Longbow and 10 arrows and wish to try out your new weapon, so when a zombie appears in the distance, oh say about 70 yards away, you immediately mount an arrow, aim, and fire off that pointy stick. You miss and quickly try again. By the time the zombie is 10 feet in front of you, you've used up all but one arrow and BLAM! You finally sink one deep into its chest.

Now you'll spend your time advancing forward, searching for more arrows to replenish your stock. But you won't find any before you pass the next check point and another zombie latches onto your jugular and you die. When your life is restored, you still have no arrows. Learning=1, Advancement=1

Example #2

Same scenario, but when you spot the zombie 70 yards away, you mount an arrow, aim, and wait for the zombie to get within 10 feet before firing. You miss because you hadn't quite had enough time to learn the controls, it was your first shot! The zombie devours your jugular and you die.

When your life is restored, you have all your 10 arrows and you try it again, over and over until you succeed in killing it with one arrow before advancing through the game, passing through two more checkpoints and expertly killing another zombie or two along the way. Learning=1, Advancement=2

The moral here? Maybe it's not really a moral, more of a preference in game play for me. I'd rather learn first than to go in like a blind mouse in search of cheese. You'll get further in the long run, but that's just my opinion.



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