Getting Better 03/10/16

Another pastebin monday :^)

So ive been asked a question a few times last 2 weeks, and that question is how do you get good at DKR. im gonna take this question and turn it into, how do you get good at a speedrun?

Im going to point some stuff that i feel helped me and stuff that ive seen other top runners of games do. Hopefully, these things will help some of the more new runners.

Before going into this, i wanna say that as much as people consider me a "top runner" i dont really think its the case. I just think that ive been playing for quite a while (3+ years) and ive pickup some stuff that makes it easier for me to get better and like i said hopefully help you

Mindset:

I think this is probably the most important aspect of speedrunning. Any Top runner that runs popular games that has quite alot of competition or atleast some sort of top times that are prety close to being optimal have good mindsets. Not only having a good mindset during runs, but also having a mindset during practice that will make it more optimal.

Im sure depending on the game/person it might differs, but one of the key mindset to have while practicing is to practice to be faster, not to avoid time loss. That might aply more to DKR than others games, but in games like DKR where there is no known frame perfect faster mouvement, you can always improve and having the mindset to keep pushing even more will make you closer to that perfection. But the most common mistake that i see is that people try to avoid doing mistake while practicing. One Key thing to remember when to practice is that its fine to fail a bunch, because you wont get any better if you dont fail. Thats just how learning works. Unless you are a litteral god gamer, you are going to do mistake wich is totaly fine, but you have to learn from these mistake to improve. So if you never push yourself to get better, you wont learn from these and you are going to quikcly see yourself not improving anymore, or atleast not at a fast rate. Thats is why i think mindset plays such a big role in getting better.

Now for run mindset, it really depends, i myself have alot of trouble with this aspect, but i usually try to go as long as i can possibly get a pb. But for that i would say you have to figure out on your own whats makes you play the best. One thing i would say tho is that if you practice fast strat dont be afraid to go for it in runs. Yes you will fail sometimes but its all fine. Its part of getting better.

Pracice:

Another big part into getting better is practice. As much as it is boring, its the best way to improve fast. I find a good way to practice to cut the run in different segments, and then start from the first one, practice it to the extend where you feel comfortable, and then move on to the next one. As you get better, you can go back to single tricks that you still have problem with, or go back to learn some better strat. But a key thing in my opinion is to spend quite some time on each trick, and make sure you fully understand how it works. If you understand tricks, it is much more easier to be consistant at them than just trying to do them

Also, practicing basics, aka simple mouvement and mechanic that apply's to the whole run is probably the most important thing to practice. Believe me, basic mouvement and tech can make you go a long way.


Tools:

Depending on the game, you might wanna use some gameshark, or even emu to practice certain area over and over. Tho this is prety much on a game basis. Not all games need additional tools to practice better.


Vod Review:

vod review is something i personnaly do very rarely, but i know runners like Trihex do that often, they check what they did wrong, note it, and then practice everything they did wrong. Its a very efficient way to work on mistake you need to fix


Reach out:

Dont be afraid to talk to other runners. Ask question on how to do stuff, on how things works. I think most community will be glad to help you get better.


All of that being said, these are the thing i feel help alot, and probably will be throwing this pastebin around if people ask me this question again. These anwser are prety straight foward. There is no shortcut to get better. Its a matter of putting in hard work and having good work ethics and mindset, like everything in life!

Anyway have a good monday!