Zoning out whilst playing to improve performance

[Flazh]

The way I play Beatmania is a little weird, I always seem to do better if I don't concentrate on it. The less attention I pay to the game the better I do on it. So if I chew gum and just think about something random whilst just listening to the music I seem to get more accurate and get higher grades.

Sometimes I'll do this to the point where I'll completely daydream off from what I'm doing and before I know it I've finished the song without really remembering playing it. I used to do this with DDR too and songs just seemed to end in the blink of an eye.

That's not to say that I can do songs that are way above my level this way, but I do perform better nearly every time if I don't really concentrate on what I'm doing. I tend to use quite fast speed mods too, and I can comfortably play this way at about 600-620 bpm. I use reverb 3 and try to get the machine as loud as possible so I can 'feel' the music through the subs on the machine.

Also, I can do the things such as scales and offbeat notes much better, sometimes so much to the point where I can't actually replicate it when I'm trying to do it. I'm not sure if there is any medical reason that means that a different part of the brain is concentrating on it?

Does anyone else just tune out whilst playing or do people tend to hyper concentrate?

[cstarflare]

I do decent when I zone out, but if something hard comes up (the jackhammer in the beginning of Sakura Another for example) I'll end up doing really bad if I'm zoned out.

The big trill in V Another is another such section. If it's simple patterns zoning out can be fine, but if you hit something complex and you're not paying attention you're kind of fucked.

[Slackbot]

I've experienced something like this before. Sometimes it appears that my body is responding to the game without the intervention of my brain. I call that "using the Force." I can't deliberately "zone out," though - either it takes over or it doesn't.

[Arctures]

Often times I can't even tell if I'm listening to the music, because I'm pretty sure that I can play without volume and still get the same score. I find that I get hypnotized by the falling notes, so often times I just play on a mental autopilot.

[hyperhedgehog2k1]

I've zoned out while playing IIDX before, and whenever I do, I usually tend to do better than normal. I can't control it though, and it's fairly rare when it does happen. I'm not complaining though; it's how I first passed Quasar 7K.

[Altoid27]

Thank God I'm not the only one who "zones out" while playing this game. I sort of enter into a trance and come out of it once the song ends. It's kind of how I got really good at the game (does that even make sense?). I do better while listening, no doubt about it, but zoning out has actually helped me out in a few cases (passing Innocent Walls 7K while zoned out was surreal).

[Flazh]

Good, so its not just me being broken or something

[byron2dx]

Originally Posted by Arctures

I find that I get hypnotized by the falling notes, so often times I just play on a mental autopilot.

Same here. I get to the point where my eyes are wide open and I can't blink. I'm just focusing on some particular area of the screen in my happy place. And at the first moment I wonder how the heck I kept my combo through some BS note pattern, I'm done. Thank goodness I play alone, because I would become the laughing stock of the room

[DoctorFedora]

Man, I don't just do it for IIDX, I do it for Ikaruga too.

[DJ Nikun]

I first started zoning out playing DDR, but I've yet to aquire complete control over it while playing IIDX. It happens randomly for me, but when it happens, things that aren't possible otherwise become so.

[MagnetiX]

When it gets really late at night, for some reason, I zone out really bad, but my accuracy goes up, but my speed goes down, which ofcourse is normal since i'll be tired, but I zone out when playing certain songs.
I remember a few occasions, my friends and I would be playing a song, and it seems like I didn't even blink, and I got a full combo, and when the full combo splash comes in, I blurt out "What the hell? How'd I get a full combo?..."
Iono, pretty weird.

[Taco]

I almost always zone out while playing IIDX. I don't fall into a mental limbo, but I do use it to relax and if I have anything to reflect or think upon I do it while playing. It doesn't necissarily boost my score or anything, but it does help my thought processes.

[BeatdownIIDX]

i thought i was the only one that thought this lol my hands just seem to take over with out me thinking about what i need to do next

[Sigma X]

I zone out when playing all different kinds of games, but I think the amount that I zone out depends on how good I am at playing the game.

For something like IIDX, which I've just become consistent at passing songs on, I can zone out certain things and do really well. But, like others have said before me, I eventually "snap back into it" during some point of a huge combo and end up being thrown off. (usually happens to me during stuff like Giudecca, for example.)

For DDR, I've been playing that a lot longer and I'm more secure about the controller, it's gotten to the point where I actually do worse if I pay attention to the arrows. Actually, it's not very uncommon to see me playing DDR while on my cell phone, or talking to someone else about a completely different subject in the arcade.

Maybe it's one of those "mind over matter" things.

[Trip Machina]

I rarely zone out while playing IIDX, but I do remember zoning out once while one handing quasar [7K].