How I Play #1: Get Comfortable

Feature by Sean Kelley, published on Friday 15th January 2010

Gaming is a predominantly digital experience. We go out and buy as fancy a television as our incomes can muster, plug our console of choice into it and then are whisked away to our automated landscapes. However, no matter how immersive these worlds may be, or how shrewdly the HUD has been integrated, you the player continue to exist outside of the game world. Gaming is still a tactile interaction: controller to player, and player to surrounding.

I game on a relatively modest 26“ Toshiba LCD television with a maximum output of 1080i. Considering the width of my living room, it’s great for television shows and movies but is less then optimum for gaming from the couch. While you’re watching something on television your participation is strictly of a passive nature (sorry Jeopardy fans), but while you play, your involvement is active. You’re actively manipulating what is happening on screen and your orientation to that very screen plays a larger role in your gaming experience then you might realize. Finding that sweet spot is important; that place where you can truly see the game and react with it accordingly. It’s a key piece of the overall gaming experience.

Over the course of the last month and a half I’ve played a ton of Resistance 2 competitive multiplayer. First of all, first-person shooters as a genre require more attention than most games; they’re built on visual acuity, recognition and split-second reactions. All things you will most likely be lacking when you’re gaming outside of your comfort zone. My solution to the gaming distance was to pull a small lounge chair into the center of my living room every time I decided to sit down with R2. Although simply getting closer to the screen solves the distance issue, it’s really only half the solution; you still have to be comfortable.

Just like finding the appropriate distance from the screen is a balancing act; finding your right gaming posture is a delicate situation. Gaming is in most cases a hobby, something that is meant to be enjoyed and you should want to be comfortable while doing it. Getting comfortable will enhance your general amusement of the experience, even if it’s only in some small way. What makes it so delicate is that at a certain point your physical comfort may begin to impede your performance, thus affecting your overall enjoyment of the title. In my case with Resistance, I found myself in increasingly large death streaks as I began to slouch further into my chair. On the other hand when I made the effort to sit up straight and remain attentive I’d be able to eek out somewhat respectable 50/50 ratios, mixed in with the occasional and coveted 2:1 rounds.

Proper posture won’t solve everyone’s gaming ineptitude, but it may allow you the ability to see the game clearly and make the quick visual IDs necessary to play better. It’s increasingly important to my own gaming sessions that I begin in an attentive position so I can cross the barrier of getting into the game quicker. Every time you start to play no matter how often you might do so, there’s a moment when the game first begins that you have to readjust. Making sure you’re in a position that physically supports the adjustment phase will help expedite the transition.

With all that said, you may find yourself in an increasingly relaxed position as your gaming session wears on. Once you’ve tuned into the game and everything that goes along with it you won’t need to compensate as much by being in an overly attentive posture. After an hour or so into my Resistance marathons I’d be aware that I’d begun to lean back into the chair and even rest my head on the back, which is something I rarely tend to do seated normally outside of gaming. I even started to put one of my legs up, specifically my left ankle resting on my right knee. This arrangement turned out to be my sweet spot, and in subsequent Resistance games I’d start in this position. Seated in this posture I found myself not only playing better but becoming more relaxed and comfortable; both inside and out of game.

Certainly when I play other games or genres my level of attentiveness and posture might vary greatly but it was my quest for Resistance 2’s ‘Killing Machine’ trophy that finally got me thinking about screen orientation and seating. Sitting down day after day with the same game, same players and opponents allowed me to see the fluctuations in my performance and my general gaming mood. Finding your spot, or more specifically your routine, is an essential part of each and everyone’s gaming experience.

While I’ve found my sweet spot, it may not work for everyone else out there. I’m sure you all have your own preferred gaming stance and rituals, so let me know how you play in the comments and on the forum. Look out for ‘How I Play’ each and every month from now on, arriving on the 15th.