I can recall the first time I made a real conscious effort to win at a video game..and funny enough it had nothing to do with a fighting game. To add insult to injury, it was the CPU I was losing to! None the less, I was determined and it just happened to go a long way when I started playing against human opponents. Losing is not an easy pill to swallow especially when you lose by such a large margin. It's during these times that define your attitude the most because you can either quit, take a break and try again, or just shake it off and keep playing.
The latter two options, are in my opinion, the best options because if you take the first you just never know what you will miss out on. I'm beginning to understand the need to lose...I know that sounds quite crazy but I promise I'm not headed to the half way house after this post..promise. "I want to get better" can often times take on a double meaning especially when you talk about fighting games.
"I want to stop losing." Sounds simple enough, right? I can say without a doubt that I do not enjoy losing. I would be lying if I said that my sodium levels have never reached a critical mass of pure unadulterated frustration especially when you just can't seem to land a hit on your opponent that does anything remotely damaging. It can be just as depressing especially after having spent time trying to improve but why would I get depressed on something that I enjoy. Well, there are just some moments when you forget what you love about the game and I've come to realize that I don't like staying away from something I enjoy to long.
If you've taken your bruises and dusted yourself off enough, you may one day have the fortune of coming across an opponent who hasn't quite gone through the gauntlet so to speak. It's from this experience you can see how you've improved. As you play you'll notice a few things.Their execution isn't quite up to snuff, they make a great deal of mistakes, and their movement in general is slow compared to those who have put you through the ringer.
Depending on how bad you pummel them, you may come to realize that despite the feeling of victory there is something missing, something that until this moment hadn't really been apparent to you because you've agonized over so many of your losses, that is right, you are no longer feeling challenged!! Winning doesn't hold the same value because when you were losing you had to fight for every win and understanding that has definitely changed my perspective quite a bit.
It now gives me a great deal to look forward to when I face a stronger opponent because winning is that much sweeter when I can earn a victory I had to struggle for. In the past, it would blow my mind when certain players would get angry for winning or would just leave after beating you convincingly!
I still don't quite agree with the attitude but it does make some kind of sense. A win isn't as satisfying if there isn't a bit of difficulty in between but I feel we need to allow people the right of progressing at their own pace. The game is about having fun if you're not having fun because you're not being challenged enough by those around you, maybe it's time to look for a new challenge.
I can find excitement now in facing a stronger opponent knowing that I've improved and can improve more if I continue to learn from losing to my opponent. The need to lose isn't as crazy as I once thought it to be because in a lot of ways it still encompasses the want to win..if that makes any sense. Just don't give up and you will hopefully come to this understanding.
