Ever heard of the Ten Thousand Hour Rule? It’s a popular theory by a well known journalist, Malcolm Gladwell. The rule states that with ten thousand hours of “deliberate practice” learning something, you can become an expert at it. This applies heavily to areas that the rules never change, or change very little. In my experience playing many different video games, this rule applies heavily. This is mainly because video games are very much an environment where the rules never change. The game will always have the same rules, controls, and objectives. Most video games, especially the competitive ones, are designed for casual players to easily be able to jump in and have fun, but they still have a high skill gap. The players who play a lot tend to be better players overall, especially as time progresses and they put more hours into the game. This is for several reasons, most of which involve the player playing the game purposefully and obsessing with getting better at the game. This is very much affected by the player’s attitude toward the game, because if the player wants to play the game to get better instead of playing just for fun, he or she will try to learn the ins and outs of the game’s mechanics. Multiplayer games are a real driving force for my experience of learning this because in multiplayer games you will see immediate improvement in your skills within the game.
When you play a game a lot, it can help you know how to react to every situation you face. If you play the game long enough, then you will encounter scenarios that don’t occur in the average match. For instance, I’ve been playing a lot of Overwatch lately, and if you are playing as Reinhardt and use Fire Strike against Genji when he uses his Reflect ability then it reflects back at you. That is something you might not encounter in your average game, because there won’t be a Genji in every match. Also, you might not ever use the Fire Strike on Genji while he’s using his Reflect ability. These situations will be really targeted situations that only players that have either researched or encountered in-game will know how to navigate. The players that only play casually won’t know how to react to these really specific situations. Multiplayer games are really a huge matter of knowing how to react to each situation.
Muscle memory is a huge factor as to why the players who play more are at a distinct advantage. Being able to use all of the controls without having to think about what you’re doing is vital to being one of the best players in the world. The best players also know the exact moment to use their abilities or parts of the map to utilize in unique ways. Practicing by playing the game helps you improve some, but as most people may know, only perfect practice makes perfect. That’s really the point that Gladwell was trying to get across in my opinion.
I believe this is because of the mindset that people take when they decide to practice something. Take two baseball players, for instance, where one player just completes the practice doing what’s asked of him and another player trying to make sure every play he makes is absolutely perfect. A player in any game has to have the mindset and drive to push him or herself to the limit to perform at his or her best. A negative attitude can also negatively impact your growth as a player as well, though. I watched a documentary on one of the top League of Legends players this past year, Dardoch, from Team Liquid. He didn’t handle his team’s situation very well, because he already thought he was the best he could be. He constantly complained about other teammate’s play instead of getting better with his own play and communicating effectively. This is a bad mindset to have if you want to play and improve at the game that you love. You should always be critical and analytical about your performance and strive to get a little better each match.
