Can I get better?

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I just recently got into the world of video games, and I'm having some embarrassing problems. I'm finding games that are considered "very easy" to be a great challenge. Some games I can't even try at all because the controls are way to complicated for me to even attempt.This is really embarrassing, and I'd like t know if anyone here has the same issues, and does it get better? Can I learn to get better, or am I stuck with games like pacman forever?

It really depends on the games you decide to play and how determined you are at being good at them. If you're trying competitive games like Call of duty or League of Legends then it's simply a matter of the more you play, the better you can get but if you're playing stuff like Pokemon or Mirror's Edge then it really doesn't matter how bad you are so long as you're having fun. Remember, games are designed by companies to make money off of people wanting to have fun so it doesn't matter how bad you are, just have fun your own way with them ^.^ and remember, Confidence + Experience tops any secret techniques.

The question you should ask is:

Do i enjoy the game i am playing?

That's what matters the most, and there isn't a surefire way to get better at games just like that. If you enjoy a game then you will be persistent enough to finish it.

I adore difficult and brutal/unfair games like Castlevania III and Ninja Gaiden I & II because the amount of satisfaction I get is simply amazing, to beat a game that is so unfair and brutal with so many fails feels so amazing it feels like your at the top of the world which is something easy games couldn't achieve or satisfy me.

And as JamXmed said your supposed to enjoy games first, that's what matters, play what you want. And for the controls you just have to get used to it, after playing a while and having fun you almost forget you struggled in the first place. I don't know if your into classic games but i recommend Megaman 2, Megaman X and Metroid Zero Mission since they have a fair moderate challenge.

I find all modern games to be impenetrable.

Get a user generated content game so you can make your own stuff. You don't even have to be "good", just creative enough to make things the way you imagine. The Sims 3, Minecraft, and LittleBigPlanet are perfect for this. Or Halo, but that also takes skill to get better at.

I do enjoy the games I own, I'm just not good at them. I learn how to play them much slower than normal. Like right now I'm on Red Dead Redemption, and it's taking me forever to figure out the controls.

I remember when I was little, we got an NES, and I would always have to look down at the controller, because I would forget which button was B and which was A. Before that, we just had an Atari 2600, so there was only one button. I can't imagine learning to game on a system that has 10-12 (or more) buttons to learn.



I don't know if I'd call CV3 brutal or unfair, but the original Japanese version is a lot easier. Monster health is a lot more balanced, and Grant has unlimited throwing daggers.



I thought MZM was really easy, but I haven't played it in forever, so maybe I died a lot and just don't remember. Mostly, I remember the game holding your hand every step of the way, filling in the automap at every opportunity, and showing you on the map where all the secrets are hidden.

Next time I play through it, there's a ROM hack that removes the map B)

Last edited by SabbraCadabra on 13 Aug 2014, 5:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

in all fairness, if you take a long time to learn something, you may just have a larger capability to learn the games to a higher level. I know that I pick up games and play them as if i've been playing for years but the problem with that is that my mind will never be open to learning the games higher level mechanics so i'll always be stuck at an intermediate level, which sucks.

A lot of people complain that video games are too easy nowadays but this comes mainly from people who plays for ten years+. Of course it gets easy as time goes by and i imagine that if someone decide to "jump into gaming world" just like you are doing it will surely take some time to learn.
In my opinion start with platformers (usually 2D games where you basically just go left, right, up and down) is the best way to get used to games. The controls will almost always be pretty simple with just the movement buttons and a jump/action button, although as someone already said here you should play whatever makes you have fun.
You're playing Red Dead Redemption so i assume you have a PS3. What kind of games do you enjoy?

Nah, anyone can get better. Part of it though is to not think negatively. If you think you're gonna suck, then.... you're probably gonna suck. So dont.

But it also helps to find games that suit you. There can be a MASSIVE difference in terms of how hard something is, based on wether that type of game "works" for you. Me, Im into shmups, and some of those are the hardest games ever made (Mushihime-sama Futari, for example), and I'm good enough at them to handle even those to some degree. And I'm a freaking monster when it comes to fighting games. And overall, if it happens to be stupidly difficult, chances are I already have it and love it.

But drop me into something like a tactical FPS and.... hoboy. Watch out. I'll teach you a thing or two about shooting yourself in the foot, or accidentally exploding yourself, or driving over teammates, or.... yeah, I'm VERY good at all of those things. None of which is intentional, mind you. Basically, adding me to your team in that sort of game is like saying "Hey, yeah, come join us, we REALLY like losing! You'll be a great help at that!". And there's other genres I'd be even worse at (sports... at least with an FPS, I technically know how to play. Sports? No. Not even the basic rules of ANY of them). And there's a couple of others that I'm stupidly terrible at, simply because they just dont really suit me.

Hell, you mention Pac-man.... me, I love retro games, and I play alot of them, and there's plenty I'm good at..... and Pac-man is NOT one of them. Bloody horrid at it. Always have been, probably always will be. And that's WITH practice. Still horrid at it. Just because a game is "simple" doesnt mean it's "easy". Some very, very simple games from the same time period as Pac-Man are *REALLY* difficult. Look up Robotron 2084 or Sinistar. Both are arcade games from that era. Both have nice, simple controls and easy to understand rules and mechanics. And both, well.... MOST gamers, and I do mean the sort that have been gaming for a long time and play games really often, are going to find them damn near impossible.

So yeah.... a really massive difference in skill just based on that idea of games "suiting" you or not. So that, I think, is very worth keeping in mind. As is the idea that simple doesnt always mean easy, just like complicated doesnt always mean hard.


That all being said, which genres are you most interested in? What specific games are you starting with, and which others are you specifically thinking about trying? Sometimes issues like what you describe might have to do with the game itself, that maybe you just happened to pick one that really IS hard, or something like that.

As for the CONTROLLER.... dont think about it. Just dont. Take that at your own pace, even if that pace is slow, and I guarantee you it wont be that long until you hit the point where you never, ever have to actually THINK about the thing whatsoever. No different than something like typing, or driving, or all sorts of other things.


Anyway, if you can list some things you've tried, what you like and dont like, what's interesting and isnt, and what you might specifically be having trouble with, I'm sure we can all throw some ideas and advice your way.

I've had trouble with both 2 and 3D Super Mario brothers games,, the bosses in Sonic the Hedgehog, the controls in 3 different Assassin's Creed games, although Brotherhood is easier so far. The shooting controls in in Saint's Row 4 and Sleeping Dogs. the map being way to busy and small and the game not letting you know what do to do at all in Just Cause 2.Sniper Elite 2's control layout was so elaborate I couldn't figure out the simplest of things, same with Mirror's edge. Red Dead redemption controls are quite a challenge, but I'm learning.
I don't like most fIrst person shooters. Pure RPG's aren't my thing, same for racing and strategy games. Fighting games I find to be extremely hard, not good at all at memorizing button combinations, but I do like that genre. Pure Beat'em ups and most Shoot'em ups aren't for me. I like open world games and games with great replay value is a must. I love games with Parkour, and games that mix martial arts melee combat with third person shooting. I love exploration, detailed environments, and platforming. Oh, and i currently have only n Xbox 360.

I'm about to give up on red dead redemption, it's just to confusing for me.

Ops! Sorry, i don't know why the hell i was thinking that RDR was an exclusive and did that assumption xD
From i could understand you like action/adventure games with some shooting and fight elements in it?
If controllers are too confusing to you i can't think of anything else but platformers to play until you get used. Have you played Rayman Origins? It's a quite simple platformer with simple controls and is very fun!
I don't think you should give up on RDR, but maybe as Misery said, shooting games are just not your thing. I, for example, i'm soo bad at shooting games and extra bad at the fighting ones (although i like playing some of them). A few years ago i bought a guitar to play Guitar Hero and the first months was like hell on earth for me because of my bad coordination. But after some training i could finally learn and do it properly (and believe me, my coordination was REALLY bad at the beginning). What i mean is, perhaps it can take some time for you to get used but once you completely dominate the controls of one game you will notice that almost every other game of that genre follow the same basic things you've learned!

It's really the kind of game you should stay away from, anyway. Find a game with simpler controls and just learn the buttons, then try it again. Don't give up on it!

I agree with whoever mentioned platformers. Little Big Planet is a pretty good introduction to it, because people of varying skill levels can play it and enjoy it.

I remember when I first started playing guitar hero. Took me a month to reach expert.

if you tell us what you like and what you don't like people could probably make some recommendations of games for you that might not be as complicated for a beginner?