Match info
| Date | League | Winner | Loser | Score | Type | |||||
| 2005-08-09 | STA Copper | @ | Clan Red Eye | 50.36 +1.06 |
TiTz | The Intangible TFC Zealots | 1.16 -1.06 |
70-10 50-0 | Prodigal_r Prodigal_r |
|
Writeup:
@ over TiTz
Redeye some, Titz not so much<br><br>Prodigal is not a map designed with the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder crowd in mind. ADHDers are characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. They find it difficult to focus for extended periods of time, think before acting, and stay in one place very long--especially when nothing is happening. All of these traits can be triggered by a map like Prodigal. Its exit tubes are lengthy and adorned with strobe lights. Its yard is too spacious, its hills are too green, and its rooms are too open. So it's no wonder that between the time it takes to respawn and return to position, some people might forget their objectives. I am sure this explains what happened during tonight's match. <br><br>Imagine, if you will, that you are playing offense. You exit the spawn thinking, "Got to get the flag. Got to get the flag." You run through the side door looks at the packs and tell yourself, "Got to get the flag. Oh, look at the. !
No! Got to get the flag." You enter the yard, and the wave of green hits you like a breaker. "Got to get the... Ooh, look at the pretty bumble bee on that leaf in the meadow!" You try to fight through the potential distractors the best you can, and although you keep moving, you nevertheless slow down to see the sights. As you reach the other base, you run up the ramps and whatever resolve you had to get the flag has been transformed into, "Got to get it all." You collect all the packs, attack all the soldiers that come into view, and if you somehow get into the flag room, you attack all the engineers, and totally forget about getting to the flag. At least when you go down, you'll be well stocked and have put up a good fight. Maybe you'll be fortunate enough to drop a grenade or two to make a pretty explosion for your teammate to get caught up in. <br><br>Just as the ADHDers on offense get assailed by Prodigal's layout, it does the defense no favors either. With three exits, !
some of which have several bends, it's possible to become dis!
oriented before exiting the respawn. Attackers come in waves with plenty of downtime in between them so the defense must remain vigilant and not let down its guard, especially those in a flag room that rarely gets seen by the opposing team. It's quite possible for an ADHDer to wander off chasing butterflies or a bouncing spy pill if not given constant attention. At the very worst, ADHDers may teamkill just to stave off the boredom. <br><br>My belief is the Titters harbor more ADHDers than the Reds do and this explains the scores. Maybe it's just that the Reds self-medicate better, I can't say. Whatever the reason, the Reds seemed to stay focused on their goals more often than the Titters did. The Reds' soldiers were caught staring at walls less often and their demoman and heavy weapons guy spent a less time compromising their own teammates. In fact, the Reds' demoman played what can only be considered an error free game. Nobody rides bench like he does. I do understand the i!
mpulse to play catch with MIRVs; a MIRV explosion is something to behold with those little red balls hopping all over the floor. I'm not surprised some people like to share them among their friends.<br><br>This is not to say that ADHDers are not good at video games. On the contrary, ADHDers tend to be very good at video games because of their fast reaction times to rapid stimuli. But with a large, slow, detailed map like Prodigal, patience is truly a needed virtue. Either patience or a bucket of cookies as positive reinforcement. It also didn't help that the second round was played on a server that slowed the Reds down even more, but a 80ms average ping disparity can do that. This difference put the Titters' defense at a greater disadvantage because the Reds offense was forced to walk across the map, while the Titters kept flying across the field, but it was their call, and they probably didn't know they were setting themselves up for a shutout.<br><br>This is also not to sa!
y that the Reds do not have any ADHDers on the team. In fact,!
they may have one of the severest cases in the game. While he is definitely is quick to get frustrated and slow to show perseverance, he's trying to work on it. He even chose a name to remind himself to breathe deep and meditate when he needs to concentrate. The entire match was an exercise in him trying to keep it together without destroying the team, and for the most part he managed it. Yes, he did stop his offensive attack in the first round to watch the bees and stare at the grass in the yard, but that was a momentary lapse. He played point on defense during the second round so he could, "Rip **** up!" and so he would have a better chance of staying focused. It almost worked. He played solid defense, but in order to stave off boredom, he killed his own team's offense when given the opportunity. He was proud of his efforts on both fronts. "I tked some guys and capped three times!" he claimed after the match. "I so own!" It got so bad that the Reds' offense was thanking t!
he opposing offense for killing them with the flag so that the Reds' heavy wouldn't have the honors. The good news is ADHD is very treatable and often decreases in severity with age. This means that as he enters and exits adolescence, he may be able to increase his focus and mental concentration with out fatiguing as quickly. Once that happens, he'll be unstoppable. Once that happens, he plans on giving motivational speeches to teams in need.
