Coming Back After a Layoff- STRESS

[igotAhalo]

I'm not sure if any of you feel the same way, but after taking a layoff from playing Mortal Kombat or any fighting game for that matter, but mainly Mortal Kombat because that's the only fighting game I really play, I get stressed out about coming back and playing it. I know it sounds weird because I want to play it but everything surrounding the game stresses me out. For example, having to relearn the combos that I have forgot, trying to stay somewhat updated on the patch notes (whether or not my character got nerfed buffed move changes what characters are now more interesting because of said changes Etc), basically it almost feels like I've fell behind and if I want to be good at the game I have to make up for lost time. I guess I'm asking do any of you feel the same way and do you have any strategies to deal with this feeling? I don't want to not play the game but at the same time I also don't want to feel like I'm playing catch-up and doing back work. Maybe I just need to have a more Carefree attitude since I'm not a pro and I never plan to be a pro and I wouldn't consider myself a casual but I wouldn't consider myself a super hard core player either.

 

[Kiss the Missile]

Yeah just go about it in a more carefree way. There's no reason to learn all of the patch changes if you're just going to take another break and have to relearn everything all over again. Just learn your characters tools, grind out a few training mode sessions to get back into it and just have fun.

 

[NothingPersonal]

You did fall behind. Keep up.

 

[igotAhalo]

Yeah just go about it in a more carefree way. There's no reason to learn all of the patch changes if you're just going to take another break and have to relearn everything all over again. Just learn your characters tools, grind out a few training mode sessions to get back into it and just have fun.

Do you stress out about this?

You did fall behind. Keep up.

No shit, this doesnt help much lol. Easier said than done

 

[M.D.]

I'm in the exact same place as you and I understand perfectly.

I was going at it a couple of years ago with MK9 and MKX, hours of practice daily, matches, tournaments etc. I knew most matchups and had great muscle memory so I only needed playtime to keep it fresh. I went to all tournaments I could catch, dreamhack, local conventions, arcade places holding tournaments, launch tournaments n shit. I was actually really decent at the game and won my fair share of tournaments for these games.

But as life goes on I got hit hard with family, job, responsibilities and all that grownup crap so I literally have like max 30 mins to play per day, and I use those to just stare blank at the wall to just cool off my brain.

I've stopped going to tournaments and my offline group haven't stopped practicing and they've leveled up a lot. They don't fall for any gimmicks, they know all the matchups, so now I'm in a place where I can't win because of their lack of knowledge and I'm getting steamrolled.

So now I have to get huge matchup experience, play a lot of matches to get muscle memory back and learn all the characters and what I can do about them. It feels like tedious work and like I've missed the train, and I feel I could never catch up as they're leveling up as I'm catching up.

There's no catch here, it's just what it is. Playing this game properly requires time investment and I don't have any like I did back 2-3 years ago.

I wish I had a solution for you but the only logical solution I've found is that I need time that I don't have.

So I just learned to accept it and move on.

If you have the time to invest and you really want to, then that's all you need. Remember all the fun you had learning the game in the first place and finding out new stuff, new combos and all that. Go for a try and see how it feels.

 

[igotAhalo]

I'm in the exact same place as you and I understand perfectly.

I was going at it a couple of years ago with MK9 and MKX, hours of practice daily, matches, tournaments etc. I knew most matchups and had great muscle memory so I only needed playtime to keep it fresh. I went to all tournaments I could catch, dreamhack, local conventions, arcade places holding tournaments, launch tournaments n shit. I was actually really decent at the game and won my fair share of tournaments for these games.

But as life goes on I got hit hard with family, job, responsibilities and all that grownup crap so I literally have like max 30 mins to play per day, and I use those to just stare blank at the wall to just cool off my brain.

I've stopped going to tournaments and my offline group haven't stopped practicing and they've leveled up a lot. They don't fall for any gimmicks, they know all the matchups, so now I'm in a place where I can't win because of their lack of knowledge and I'm getting steamrolled.

So now I have to get huge matchup experience, play a lot of matches to get muscle memory back and learn all the characters and what I can do about them. It feels like tedious work and like I've missed the train, and I feel I could never catch up as they're leveling up as I'm catching up.

There's no catch here, it's just what it is. Playing this game properly requires time investment and I don't have any like I did back 2-3 years ago.

I wish I had a solution for you but the only logical solution I've found is that I need time that I don't have.

So I just learned to accept it and move on.

If you have the time to invest and you really want to, then that's all you need. Remember all the fun you had learning the game in the first place and finding out new stuff, new combos and all that. Go for a try and see how it feels.

Wow, thanks for the post. Even though I didn't go to tourneys like you did, this sums up what I feel perfectly. It ALMOST feels like I start from square one again when I come back. If square 1 is right when the game launched and my skills on that day, and i got to square 7 with practice and play, after the layoff i feel like I'm back on square 2 or 3. Maybe I just gotta except that I can only get so good with so little time. Fighting games are just another beast

 

[NothingPersonal]

Do you stress out about this?

No shit, this doesnt help much lol. Easier said than done

Don't worry about it. Just get in and the flow will take you.

 

[QueenOmega]

Honestly, just play and don't give a fuck. When you feel like learning and grinding, do it. Meanwhile, just play and try not to care about win or lose

 

[igotAhalo]

Honestly, just play and don't give a fuck. When you feel like learning and grinding, do it. Meanwhile, just play and try not to care about win or lose

It's hard when "just playing" for me is learning the combos, and wanting to be good at the game. Maybe I just need to do what I can with the time I have.

 

[QueenOmega]

It's hard when "just playing" for me is learning the combos, and wanting to be good at the game. Maybe I just need to do what I can with the time I have.

You see, that's the Issue with modern gaming. It sometimes feels more like work than like fun. Just do what you have fun with, be it being in the lab 200 hours or playing random matches. Remember this is a game. You ain't sonicfox, nor am I, so this is definitly not a job for us,.

 

[igotAhalo]

You see, that's the Issue with modern gaming. It sometimes feels more like work than like fun. Just do what you have fun with, be it being in the lab 200 hours or playing random matches. Remember this is a game. You ain't sonicfox, nor am I, so this is definitly not a job for us,.

It does lol. Maybe I just need to go with how I feel and not think about it further than that lmao

 

[HGTV Soapboxfan]

So I struggle a bit with something similar but more long term. I played mk9 a ton and was pretty decent at it and was playing with a lot of top players and stuff. Then I ended up taking a break while at school during mkx and a lot of inj2. Coming back on the tail end of inj2 and then this game I feel an immense amount of pressure to be a lot better at the games than is reasonable for the amount of time I have gotten to play it. It comes from both just wanting to be good and then this thing that I externalize where I think people will expect me to be good (even though I know nobody cares and anyone who remembers me as a good player is long gone from this community anyway lol).

My main suggestion would really be to just try to find consistent training partners who are primarily focused on getting better in that moment. Somebody that you don't feel like you have to prove yourself to or worry about impressing. I am really lucky that in mk9 my training partners were my best friends from elementary school that I already hung out with every day. There was competition between us of course but the primary goal was to help each other get better. And even to this day, even though none of them play as seriously, I still make the best progress as a player grinding with them. I can get hit in the face 45 times in a row trying to test options against them and I know they won't care.

 

[igotAhalo]

So I struggle a bit with something similar but more long term. I played mk9 a ton and was pretty decent at it and was playing with a lot of top players and stuff. Then I ended up taking a break while at school during mkx and a lot of inj2. Coming back on the tail end of inj2 and then this game I feel an immense amount of pressure to be a lot better at the games than is reasonable for the amount of time I have gotten to play it. It comes from both just wanting to be good and then this thing that I externalize where I think people will expect me to be good (even though I know nobody cares and anyone who remembers me as a good player is long gone from this community anyway lol).

My main suggestion would really be to just try to find consistent training partners who are primarily focused on getting better in that moment. Somebody that you don't feel like you have to prove yourself to or worry about impressing. I am really lucky that in mk9 my training partners were my best friends from elementary school that I already hung out with every day. There was competition between us of course but the primary goal was to help each other get better. And even to this day, even though none of them play as seriously, I still make the best progress as a player grinding with them. I can get hit in the face 45 times in a row trying to test options against them and I know they won't care.

This would definitely help as well. Online is brutal after a lay off so more consistent friends would help lol

 

[Vslayer]

Find a community or people who are willing to train with you or just play casual matches. I know people who could definitely help, I can send you a discord link if you're wanting to get back into it.

 

[igotAhalo]

Find a community or people who are willing to train with you or just play casual matches. I know people who could definitely help, I can send you a discord link if you're wanting to get back into it.

Sorry for the late reply, what's the link? I'd really appreciate it

 

[BRAZILIAN SHEEP]

You are feeling like this because a variety of reasons I think. I don't know how old are you, but let a 31 year old guy who likes fighting games since the 90s tell you what is happening with gaming nowadays, including fg.

* It is part of our culture and hijacked by capitalism the idea of "competition", and with internet and easy access to play, gaming embraced that.
I'm not saying that this is bad or wrong, I'm saying that everything has its ups and downs and I can assure you that the necessity to prove that your dick is bigger than everybody is causing a lot of problems for our society, including deseases.

* The internet changed everything. Back in time, we played a game for a period, and then there was nothing more to do. Nwe games were coming and the fun was widespread among different games, and the focus was to beat the game, the challenges there, and have fun.
Nowadays, competition took place in gaming and messed up with the experience.

* This is huge and ia related to WB marketing and how publicity manipulates you to get what they want from you.
WB is locking costumes behing competitive modes, towers and shit that the vast majority wouldn't give a glimpse of fuck if they did not oblige you to do it, so, in order to suck everything that they can beyond the price of the game and dlcs, now they are using our addictive instincts, our passion for the game and our flaws as humans....to suck our energy.
And why they would do that?
Simple: The more people are competing, the game is going to live longer, get more repercussion and be relevant.
They don't give a shit about you and their tactics, as long as they receive more and more money from society, they do it.
This is a complex problem related to the system and how the law can't hold companies responsible for their acts, and you can see a lot more related to this when you look at oil companies poluting rivers, the scandals envolving facebook and google....just a few examples.

I just recommend you to stay alert, and understand that probably you are not sonic fox, ninjakilla whatever. If you are supposed to win, you win. It is a talent too....and...don't take the game seriously enough to leave you without peace.
Remember: this is a game and should be treated alike. People giving soooo much importance to compete in a game is a sign of how our society is having some problems that need to be addressed.

Take care of yourself. Your health is your most important priority, and if this is giving you anxiety or if you are getting stressed out, remember that you are not alone and there is no reason whatsoever for you to feel likr that.
Stop playing the game if you need too, or, try what I'm trying to do: Play the game for fun and for your personal growth.

Be in peace and don't let the marketing of wb fuck up your life.

 

[BRAZILIAN SHEEP]

You see, that's the Issue with modern gaming. It sometimes feels more like work than like fun. Just do what you have fun with, be it being in the lab 200 hours or playing random matches. Remember this is a game. You ain't sonicfox, nor am I, so this is definitly not a job for us,.

Yes

 

[Jynks]

<snip>

There is a type of self deception caused by nostalgia that may be affecting you. This is not just about gaming but with many things in life.

Memories are long, but people change and change drastically. Particularly as they grow through being children into young adults and then into full adults around mid 30s. Many people have children over this time, get massive loans for houses, get married and usually are in full time employment.

This kind of human growth changes you, not your personality so much, but your priorities.

You may simply no longer "like" playing fighting games, but you remember liking them so you keep playing them. The time it takes to learn and get into them may be frustrating, or maybe the false sense of achievement the game gives you no longer excites you as you have real achievements and goals now. There is a ton of stuff that can make you cool on music, games, skateboarding... w/e.

It is very hard to admit to yourself that you have moved on from something, particularly if you were deeply invested in it.'

I have spent YEARS buying Japanese RPG games and never playing more than a few hours. It took me literally decades to realise that I simply do not like those style of games anymore, even though I played them to death as a child. The repetition, the length. Who has time for that shit? I have had similar realizations about other things, like Anime or the type of women I am attracted to, all sorts of thing.

Now I am not saying this is exactly what is happening 100%, but it could be something to think abotu.

Change is good, but it can be hard to let go of thing. If you are not enjoying them game there could be some deeper reasons at play here than the actual game itself.

You see, that's the Issue with modern gaming. It sometimes feels more like work than like fun.

This kind of statement is exactly what comes out when these sort of feeling are going on inside. "all music sucks now, but the music I had as a kid rocked!" these kind of things.

 

[asddgd]

I decided to quit right before the terminator stream. The games alright, but its just not fun for me. Theres too much going on, too many options. I hate grinding just to run into some kind of bs i havent seen before. Like its great that you can use a character and variation in ranked to get the win but if you think im gonna lab a variation ive seen one time six months after launch im not. Anyways, i say just quit. Im not stressed all the time after leaving. Half this community is toxic, especially online randos, and they just make this crap worse. Nothing will beat mk9, and mkx was still fun to play (grabs out of air). Maybe i’ll get back into it if something cool happens but for now its a hard pass

 

[QueenOmega]

This kind of statement is exactly what comes out when these sort of feeling are going on inside. "all music sucks now, but the music I had as a kid rocked!" these kind of things.

I didn't mean it that way. Its just that games are more than a hobby to people with the growing of e-sports and big sums of money in tournaments, patrongae, sponsoring, etc. This kinda applies a pressure on people who likes to compete. When there is money involved in your hobby, things can get ugly, that's why it is important having clear your priorities.

 

[NaCl man]

This always makes me laugh and puts it all into perspective.