Why don't I feel good when I win?

#1

Every morning before work I have a couple hours to kill. Usually I play some game while I get ready for the day, and occasionally I’ll play Street Fighter 4.

The problem, I’m noticing, is that I can’t stop playing until I feel content after a match. This almost never happens when I win. I’ve even beat some 3k PP+ players (i’m like 800pp …) and afterwards I don’t feel happy about winning that match, like I’ve cheated somehow because I kept abusing the stupid things they were doing.

Conversely, when I lose to someone I feel was better than me (wasn’t abusing me with something I’ve never seen before) I’m often really satisfied and happy I got to play that match. Is this mostly just because I’m playing online with people who are playing to win?

I’ve just started (relatively) playing fighting games. I live in the midwest where there isn’t much of a scene, so online is really my only choice. I wanna be good. James Chen said on some stream that you can be good even if you play online, you just have to focus on playing well instead of winning.

Does any of this make sense? I have one RL friend who plays this game, and he only ever does the same things in a match. He knows one combo and he figures out how to win with that one combo. I’ve tried doing that and I just felt horrible when I won with it, like I’d broken some rule or won dirty.

I guess I’m just looking for advice on how to better enjoy this game.

#2

Online is 100% training,nothing to be taken serious and you should have no emotions involved at all it’s not the true expierence.
I would check the regional threads here for more offline players if you want to up your game.

#3

The entire point of fighting games is to take advantage of the mistakes people make and press them to your advantage. If you were playing chess and someone put their queen in a vulnerable position would you not take the piece because you feel bad about exploiting their mistake?

As far as combos go, you don’t really have that many options in SF4, so you will likely be using the same few combos over and over, but if you are thinking of fighting games in terms of combos you are missing the point. You can know 100 combos for your character and still lose if you can never hit the opponent.

#4

I feel the same way when I win in a game of umvc3. ;(

#5

I probably explained myself poorly. I don’t feel bad when I punish someone for doing something risky, or for using combos, I feel bad when … I guess… I don’t feel like I did anything to deserve a win? It’s almost like beating a CPU.

#6

you need to find someone who is on an equal or higher level than you
like a rival

#7

I guess a better question, what answer would leave you satisfied?

We aren’t you. We can’t tell you why you feel a certain way.

#8

Well obviously, but I was hoping someone might have felt something similar and had something to share about it. I’m not looking for a concrete answer, just some tips (as above people have given, finding locals to play at, finding a rival) for trying to derive greater contentment out of this game that I love.

#9

BECAUSE ITS MAHVEL BABY!!!..Oh wait I am in the SF part of SRK…my bad.

#10

I have more of an issue that I don’t gain anywhere near as much satisfaction out of beating someone as the amount of saltiness I get from losing, lol.

#11

Possible solutions to your existential crisis:

  • try another character
  • try a different fighting game
  • try a new activity altogether
  • shave your head and join a monastery because it’s the only way to truly save yourself from a life of misery and/or suicide
#12

ultimately keep in mind you are playing a VIDEO GAME. if you dont have fun when playing, then you have forgotten the point of video games anyway and should play something else.

#13

If I could dislike a post, I would dislike this one. Nothing personal.

It’s a video game, yes. But for a large portion of the posters here, it’s not just a hobby. We go to tournaments, we try to level up, we spend hours upon days upon weeks upon months upon years honing our craft. Yes, it’s about having fun. A lot of the time when I’m training I’m not having fun. That doesn’t mean that I should just stop training. I train because I know that I will have fun when I put the technology into effect in a match.

TL;DR: don’t stop playing because you’re not having fun right now. If you don’t EVER have fun, maybe you should consider it.

#14

i would do the same for your post…

do u make a living off of playing in those tourny’s? if u r a pro gamer and tourny’s are a source of your income, then i can understand you saying “it’s not just a hobby.”

…i play to win just like everyone else. i am serious when i play and practice. i am also serious when i play and practice my guitar (which is a hobby). for a large portion of the posters here, it IS just a hobby (whether they realize or not).

thats how i feel, just a better choice of words on your part.

#15

If that’s truly what you intended, then we agree.

I disagree with your statement that for a large portion of the posters here it is just a hobby. Yes, there is a demographic of people who do not play FG competitively or “seriously”, but that demographic’s stay here is probably short. I am on this site every day. The reason that I wish I could dislike that post is because it’s such a cop-out of an attitude to have. “Hey man, it’s just a game! If you’re not having fun, give up.” I would wager that you could ask ten random SRKers whether they consider their respective game of choice as simply that, a game, or something more, and at least 7 would claim something more. For most posters here,

is not how they feel. True, I am not in the minority who places at tournaments and gets dat fight money. You say that you play to win: win what? Do you aim to win random matches on Xbox Live? Do you aim to win local no-name tournaments? Do you aim to win EVO or SBO? If your goal isn’t the latter, then you’re right, it is just a hobby for you. But that doesn’t mean that it’s just a hobby for me, or for Floe, or for LuckyD, or for thousands of other players who have performed well and tasted success but never gotten quite to the promised land. I also happen to play electric/upright bass, drums and accordion. Those are hobbies. I spend maybe six hours a week practicing my hobbies. I do that in one day with Street Fighter. I’ve never spent hundreds of dollars to go to a musical event (though I have easily spent far more money in total on musical endeavors, but that is only because it has been strung out over the past ten years or so). I routinely drop that to go to tournaments. Almost every week I’m in my car driving to my local offline meetups after work, paying the venue fee.

Fighting games are not my hobby. They are my passion. If you don’t feel the same, no hate intended. However, don’t tell me that I’m JUST playing a VIDEO GAME. That may be what you’re doing, but it’s nowhere close to what I do every day with my free time, and I’m sure that there are plenty who feel the same way.

#16

Taunt More.

#17

I really doubt any Street Fighter player makes enough money to live off by simply playing in tourneys, unless they have a really profitable sponsorhip deal and win like every tourney, even then I doubt they’d make even the basic 30k a year. Fuudo has a job and he said he plays like 3 hours a day. Now I don’t know how a “hobby” is defined, but money and time don’t seem to factor into it.

#18

I would say the best way to avoid feeling bad when you lose (or win) is to just find the right opponents. Find someone who is comprable to your skill level and just grind it out with them. I know i dont get nearly as much satisfaction from a win when im playing someone who is obviously less experienced than me and i can just autopilot my way through with no problem than a close loss against someone good who i gave a run for their money. Close games where you feel like you really had to work at to win are usually the most satisfying, so just try and find those people who are at or right above your skill level and play with them.

#19

To the OP, try to gather with some friends and play offline. It will become a much more enjoyable experience than beating a guy with 3k BP.The reason you are getting frustrated even when you did win is because the guy you beat has spent a whole lot more time tackling up those combos to beat you. If you sat down for a whole week without going into matches and sat in training mode practicing three combos, you will become a much better player. I guarantee that you will feel the satisfaction. That is all.

#20

Being competitive in fighting games/“seriously” and having fighting games as a hobby are not mutually exclusive things.
People have passion in their hobbies. Just because you are more passionate about one hobby than the other doesn’t mean its not a hobby. Is playing fighting games your main occupation? No? Then its a hobby.