The question is pretty straight forward I think, but I'll explain.

In one of my favorite games (an FPS), I almost always start out a match losing.  Meaning I die 3 or 4 times in a row without getting a single kill.  I'm either too slow or I'm not looking where I should be or I just make stupid mistakes.   Enemy teams laugh at my skills (or lack thereof).

Then something changes.  Many times I don't even notice.  All of a sudden enemies just start dying.  2 kills in a row... 3 kills in a row... 12 kills in a row... 18?  I stop counting somewhere along the way apparently and pulling up the scoreboard is almost shocking because I always seem to have way more kills than I'd swear I'd just gotten.  It's kind of scary in a "Wait, is that really my score?" kind of way.  I may start out a match at 0-3 and end with 46-5.

I don't think I change my playing style or do anything differently at the start than I do at the end.  Quite a few of my friends say that it's just warming-up and that it's normal and that everyone does it.  Yet... everyone doesn't seem to do it.  Not like this anyway.

Does this happen to anyone else?  If so, how does it work for you?

I know this is kind of silly... >< ...but I figured I'd ask anyway. 

 

I am the zone!

That happens to me but its just because, thats the way I process things. I start to see habits that other players have and after a while I begin to take advantage of their weaknesses without knowing it, the next thing you know I'm in first place. Anyway I don't know if this has anything to do with what your talkin about but thats been my experience.

That's what I like to call "hyperfocusing", where the mind becomes so focused on a task that everything becomes trivially easy. I do that all the time, and not just with games. I've been known to read an entire novel in one sitting and not even realize it until I've turned the last page.

@tombi: (sigh) when will you ever learn,
That you cannot get the thing you yearn,
I AM THE ZONE
OHHHHH I JUST PWN




^i just made that up now....=-)

I know exactly what you mean. It happens to me in FPS games, but it also happens in extremely difficult and challenging regular games. For example, I'll be failing a song in Elite Beat Agents or Ouendan miserably, then, I'll just do it. I'll be in some strange focused state where I just nail everything. I do know exactly what you mean.

Yeah, I know the feeling. I remember playing Legend of Kage once where I just got ridiculously good and made it all the way to the level with invisible enemies. Naturally, I died there, but I never got even close to getting there before or after.

supermariogalaxy said: @tombi: (sigh) when will you ever learn, That you cannot get the thing you yearn, I AM THE ZONE OHHHHH I JUST PWN ^i just made that up now....=-)

 ok. your the zone 

On a more serious not, yes.........on LoZTP on that giant stone boss you have to use the spinner on....I died like 3-4 times than BAMMMM!!!! I died again...lol


(then I won)

tombi123 said: supermariogalaxy said: @tombi: (sigh) when will you ever learn, That you cannot get the thing you yearn, I AM THE ZONE OHHHHH I JUST PWN ^i just made that up now....=-)  ok. your the zone

I knew you'd see it my way...Now GO! bring me a snack! A-a soda? A-a-an apple? Fine do whatever you want...