There is a game I have played a lot and by a lot I mean 5+ years. The game genre is a First Person Shooter (FPS) called Quake 3. This means you look at a gun you hold, view the screen and then shoot people. It’s in 3d. It looks like this.
This post is all about what I have learnt from the game of Quake that can be applied to real life.
Quake is more than a game. It has taught me some fundamentals that I see are very relevant to Life and success. And I’m not boasting here, I wish to pass on this info so that some day when that young teen ever wonders what he got out of his gaming time, he won’t be disappointed. (Some of it is what I have learnt from Warcraft 3 another game I have played for a long time).
Every thing you do now will be a part of your future.
The reason why Warcraft 3 is such an awesome game and so closely related to life is that every decision you make counts in the longer run. If you eat a pizza a day (small action) you will get fat (final result). Just as every aspect of you has to be focused on the task, the little things you do matter a lot. Taking armour in Quake 3 is important for a now aspect, since there’s a timer involved, you will lose armour, so this is the time you can face the maximum assault on you directly.
Training
Training is essential. One of the best posts I have read about being an expert is Kathy Sierra’s How to be an expert. An excerpt.
“For the superior performer the goal isn’t just repeating the same thing again and again but achieving higher levels of control over every aspect of their performance. That’s why they don’t find practice boring. Each practice session they are working on doing something better than they did the last time.”"
I practiced like crazy. I used to keep jumping over walls in Quake 3, doing Rocket jumps over a 100 times, doing a long jump over 1000 times till I got it right. I faltered so many times. That didn’t matter. The rush I got being the first person in the country to make those jumps were prize enough. Being the only person to do it for a long time was the bigger rush. If you want to get good at something, anything, you have to practice. You have to keep at it. And keep improving your reflexes.
Timing.
There is a right time, there is a wrong time, for everything. You cannot attack when you are low on resources or powerups. Resources and a good cash flow are extremely important because that’s what builds armies. In quake you need weapons, you have to build upon your attack in multiple angles and keep in mind that enemy distances. Isn’t this the same with life? Investments have to be made when you see good trends, you have to stack yourself with knowledge to apply over to other jobs. A lot of this is about equipping yourself with the skills necessary.
Weighing in your decisions.
Every weapon in Quake 3 has a function. Except the Big Fucking Gun (it really is called that), that’s retarded. You have to analyse the distance of your enemy, the weapon reload time, the damage of each weapon and what your enemy’s stacked with. And these are often split second decisions in a First person shooter, your reflexes are important
Adaptability.
This is one of the most important things in the game. There’s a reason I won a lot more than the people I played against. It was adaptability and reading the person well after playing him. A funny note, I almost lost EVERY first game in Warcraft 3 I played against someone because I had no idea how to read those people. I wisened up in the next round, but always lost. That taught me an important lesson, everyone’s unique and the sooner you find about the person the faster you gain an advantage.
Experience is always always an advantage.
Take this from me. If I have played 100 games and you are playing your first game, I was there where you started I have invariably learnt a lot during my time of the games. If Im smart and I have played so much then I have learnt FAR more than you know. Because when you are trying something new in the game, it almost always has been tried out before and an appropriate response was recorded. That’s why it’s important to read replays and books, because most of the things have been done and someone has recorded a response. You take it, filter it, adapt it into your routine.
It’s about being the Jack of all trades and master of some.
I did not have the best aim. I did not have the best map control. I did not play the most too (well…) What I did though was to be very good at over 2 or 3 things rather than being the best at one. It’s quite obvious, if I was the best railgun player (an aim gun which causes a lot of damage per hit) then it was easy to disable me, just take the railgun away. Surprisingly, not many people get this. A lot of people are so focused on their strengths and fail to realise the arena in. This doesnt mean if you are a ballet dancer you try jujitsu. I mean if you are in one arena, you have to work to form a smooth pattern in every aspect of that sport/arena. I won a lot because I could use all weapons effectively so caught in any situation I had more than one option to bail myself out.
I think that was a good overview. I would like to take up my insights into Warcraft 3 next time and the Art of War eventually. Let’s see how that goes.
Btw, if you own an old computer, here’s a good list of games that still might run. I recommend Warcraft 3, Diablo 2, Unreal Tournament and DuesEx.
