I have several chess-related topics I want to mention, so I'll break them up into separate posts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina  Chess can be pretty unforgiving because if you make a mistake at the wrong time (which is very easy to do as a beginner), you could lose within the next couple moves. The most frustrating part for me as a beginner is making a dumb mistake because there was something I just didn't take enough time to notice. My brain doesn't immediately perceive a chessboard like an experienced player would. I have to think through every angle very consciously, and that takes a lot of time. |
I love the premise behind chess, but as with most competitive games, it has far too much "if you make a mistake early on, you're probably going to lose" for my liking. This concept is called "slippery slope" in games. The opposite of slippery slope is "perpetual comeback" where the game gives a losing player a fair or event decent chance at making a comeback when he's losing. Usually it makes for better games.
Chess also requires you to look too far ahead and have too much knowledge for my liking. I prefer more fast paced games where you have to make a decision almost every second (sometimes more then that) based on the present situation, what you know about your opponent, and what you know about yourself.
For me, games are not only fun or relaxing, but also educational. They act as an objective mirror for me to see myself in; a world of concepts and ideas to explore; an interface between my mind and that of my opponent; the means to the end of continuous self improvement - a way to continuously test your limits, measure your performance, gain insights about yourself, and smash through your internal barriers.
Games that allow you to maximise the time spent in those highly educational, "mind game" moments between your opponent are great, but I try to steer clear of games that use silly mechanics that create a barrier to those moments.
A game I really love because of how forgiving it is with mistakes and how it maximises highly educational, fun, "mind game" moments is Street Fighter (a 2D fighting game). I personally prefer Street Fighter 2 Super Turbo, but I play Street Fighter Alpha 2 via an online client (called
GGPO) that lets you play emulated fighting games online with very little latency.
To me, Street Fighter is
the competitive game. Starcraft, Chess, Go, and Magic: The Gathering (a card game) all come close, but Street Fighter has certain qualities (which I won't go into) that make it a superior competitive game, IMO.
Another game you might like, Steve, is an online card game that you'll be able to play for free. It's called
Kongai and was designed by (one of my favorite people), David Sirlin. The game is still in closed beta. Once I've played it, and if I think it's worthy of mention, I'll bring it up again with more info.
Street Fighter and Kongai, like Chess, are right up your alley, I think. All games aren't so much about what they appear to be with their graphics and are more about acting as an interface between the mind of your opponent, which is ultimately a larger interface for self improvement.
To share a nice quote about competitive gaming as it relates to enlightenment:
Quote:
If I’ve learned anything from my Zen training, it is that Zen is anything but “a relaxing lean back experience”. The posture of Zen is one of balance; leaning neither forward nor backward—but if you had to err one way or the other it would be forward. Effective Zen requires “continuous attention”. Though the practice of seated Zen meditation demands that the practitioner not move, other Zen activities such as calligraphy, tea ceremony, or martial arts most definitely require movement.
For me, the games that most express Zen are competitive games such as Street Fighter or Go. While at low levels of play these games can excite the overly reactive or analytical mind, competition at the highest level is often characterized by a state of no-mind; pre-reacting to situations based on intuition, seeing the space between two thoughts. As for the “deeply disturbing” nature of Flow, it is not a detriment to its Zen-ness; it is in-fact an opportunity for the player to ponder one of the most central aspects of life and in doing so an opportunity for enlightenment.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina I'm not sure if it's better to just play fast and loose and deal with the mistakes I make or really try to think deeply about each move. If I take the time to really consider each move, a single game could take over an hour. |
In my experience, while you can try really hard to consciously learn things from games, you'll probably be overwhelmed by the info. I did this when learning to play Street Fighter Alpha 2.
I find it better to just play lots of games, play to win, and eventually your start to habitualise common patterns. "Playing to learn" can, at times, be detrimental since you may think "
oh, I want to undo that move since it wasn't good", when if you left the move, you might have found an opportunity to learn explore extreme “corner cases” that often don't come about, but are very important to know of, especially if you get one coming up in an important match (ie. tournament play). Granted, you probably won't compete in tournaments, but as you know, optimising your decisions based on the high level (ie. the best players; the most logical extreme) will make your decisions hold up much better.
FYI, exploring extreme “corner cases” is the opposite of playing to win, and involves mostly for playing for love of the game. You may not win doing this, but because you love the game so much, you don't care (which is why it's important to play a game you like; it can be difficult to do that). Interestingly, sometimes "not playing to win" can end up being "playing to win" in disguise, because you have the opportunity to learn things not available to you if you exclusively play to win.