EPTWhere were we? Yes... that's right... wondering why I am fine with being a scrub.
Well, actually I'm not. Not fine with it, that is. I'm definitely terrible. It's a complex matter since I hate being bad at things and generally arrange my life so that I avoid doing anything for which I have no talent. By my internal logic, I should either get better at the game or stop playing altogether. Neither of these things is likely to happen.
On staying a scrub:
At the top level, I don't really believe there is a right and a wrong way to play. There is no prize for righteousness, only winning. Still, when you're a scrub, I believe that you should try to play in a way that helps you improve rather than get cheap wins at your current level. So, all you banshee/dt/void ray rushers and silver league six poolers out there, I'd like to make it crystal clear that I despise you and will continue to do so even after I've learned to hold these cheap tactics. I try to macro, spend my money, expand and sometimes, just once in a while, I do it reasonably well.
So, why don't I get better? There are two main reasons. The first will come as no surprise to those who suffered through Part 1: I don't work hard enough at it. I don't practise these skills enough. I don't play enough games and when I do play, I don't play the right sort of games. Most of the time, my games are after work and playing more than one or two is more concentration that I can be bothered expending unpaid. When I do play, I freeform: I have my general principles in mind, but I don't concentrate on specific areas of my game and try to improve them in the way Day[9] would want me to. Sorry Sean. (Seriously... is it slightly weird that not wanting to disappoint some dude I've never met who is nearly twenty years younger than me and lives half a world away is the best reason I can come up with to practise properly?) In the end, I guess it comes down to improvement not being important enough to justify the extra effort.
The second reason, or possibly excuse, comes back to the sort of person I am. I am the type who has never lost a game of Trivial Pursuit but can't remember what he's doing tomorrow. I am not a methodical thinker. An illustration: for someone with as much musical experience as I have, I'm a poor sight-reader; on the other hand, I can memorise music like nobody's business. The first is about discipline, practice and application, the latter is about understanding the narrative. I can go into a game with an avowed plan (lately 'Make some ^*&# drones, idiot', 'Watch the #&(*^#( minimap' or 'Spend your #&(#^)(# minerals' have been typical) but within a few minutes, I'm caught up in the drama of the game I'm playing and I've forgotten to get that evolution chamber, haven't scouted for ages and the possibility of upgrading to hive has escaped me altogether.
Now, you'll have noticed that these tendencies reinforce one-another and make improvement even slower. So why keep playing at all then? Sounds like an excuse for a Part 3. Gosh; a few more episodes and I might even tell you why I'm writing all this stuff...
Postlude:
Now, I've crapped on a fair bit and it would be unfair to send you away without a bit of treat. Music came up in passing, we'll go there.
Much as I enjoy the SC2 community, the standard of music played is awful. I might start streaming one day just so that there's a stream where the quality of music is higher than the standard of play. Just how much higher you can judge for yourself: follow the link and spend 4:30 making yourself a happier person. You can even read along...
