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Fun Club Learning effect in gaming: the temporary "I suck" low point.

Do you also experience this phenomenon?

  • Yes, I experience it every now and then

    Votes: 15 88.2%

  • No, my sublime skills break every barrier in no time

    Votes: 2 11.8%
  • Total voters
    17
Manggei

Manggei

Cappy
Pronouns
He/Him
Hi everyone!

Do you also sometimes experience this phenomenon, that the more you seem to understand a pattern, technique or mechanic, it does not lead towards success but rather down the drain first? You definitely are getting worse in a way you think you shouldn't.

As an example, I usually experience it with fighting games like Street Fighter and especially with bossfights in Soulslikes.

Recently, I had to cope with it in "Hollow Knight": I take on a hard boss fight for the first time and even though I do not know what is going on, the first one or two tries go surprisingly well instead of me getting destroyed - ok, I think, this should be a matter of minutes.
Then it happens.
I recognise the patterns and see the opportunities I have with my moveset and playstyle which should elevate me to an even better position - the exact opposite is the case. I begin to suck. Like really. I'm being beaten senseless, getting defeated sometimes in a matter of seconds even though my reflexes and knowledge should prevent that. I find myself in "I Suck Valley" and have sometimes a damn hard time to wander through it. Countless tries on a boss that first appeared to be no big deal. If I were a streamer, people would donate out of pity.

Yes, it's weird sometimes. I know, when training or practising - sports, learning an instrument, etc. - it is normal to hit a certain temporary plateau and even experience a temporary decline before supercompensation sets in and you are getting better.

Sure, the complexity of hand - eye coordination, paired with a sometimes quite high demand of keeping up the attention is not to be underestimated in playing certain video games. A tiring effect might set in sooner than one believes and getting stuck on own lesser effective patterns paired with impatience makes it hard to overcome some difficulty spikes even though you feel fresh enough and want to enjoy a gaming session.

Whatever diverse factors (age, training, innate speed of metabolism) lead to certain phenomenons, some are more prone to it than others. I'm always astounded when reading people's comments where they share "I beat that boss/most bosses on my first or only very few tries, no problem".

I sometimes just suck ;)
 
Well said! I've definitely experienced this phenomenon at times. Sometimes I'll find that there's one particular part I was having no issues with at first that I start to continually fail at.

Similarly, in 2D platformers often I found my first blind run at something goes decently enough and then my next few runs once I know the layout, go way worse. The usual term is beginner's luck but I think conceptually it's more like beginner's skill, where the first time I see the level I just working on pure instinct, and then you start to think more about each aspect and in a way the thinking trips me up. XD
 
I've experienced this phenomenon and it led to me trading in my Souls games for a game i can actually beat :)
 
Having played a lot of Fire Emblem recently, I have definitely felt this. I'm a lot better than I was when I first started the series, but I still get surprised every now and then by enemy actions and nearly lose units. I wouldn't say I'm bad at it, but knowing my tendency to get careless sometimes has kept me from attempting hard mode on any of these games. I could probably handle it in Three Houses, but that's about it.

The only straight up "I suck" moment came with Dark Souls Remastered. I could not beat the Capra Demon. I watched guides. I looked up multiple strategies. I could not get any of them to work. At some point I decided enough was enough and just quit. Haven't played the game since then.
 
Oh, absolutely.

The Phazon Mines in Metroid Prime are one
example. It took several attempts at the 'savepoint gauntlet', and I got so frustrated at one point that I had to give up. Then I realised it's just a pattern, and the more you push on, the easier it gets.

Fromsoft never really made me feel that way, curiously. Probably because you enter into it knowing you are going to fail, A LOT. That said, getting older is a bit if a bummer. My reflexes aren't what they used to be.
 
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Not so much. The closest is when I figure out a Souls boss, get over-confident, and start making silly mistakes like being overly aggressive.
 
If I fail too badly I need a week plus break from a game to calm down and get over my anxiety and depression spiral. Good thing I'm getting better at games., and also mostly play more casual friendly games
 
That's a pretty normal thing for learning anything. Playing with intentionality just requires more across the board from you, so if you're not exactly used to whatever you're doing that demand will blow you out. There's also just plain old overconfidence too. You can learn how to reduce the amount of time you have to spend in the suck zone by being more aware of it and playing around it from the start though. It eventually becomes second nature to approach stuff with it in mind like that.
 
I like to dabble in fighting games, so I have a baseline skill level that's close to competence, but every time I pick one up I hit the "oh lord my hands can't do what my brain says they should be doing" fairly quickly
 
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