Anyone else get worse when being watched or playing with friends?

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Jajarra

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Feb 4, 2010
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My best friend and I actually have the opposite effect on each other. We'll both be having trouble with some game, but when we're together, it's suddenly the easiest thing in the world. I have used this to my advantage many times.
 

Just_A_Glitch

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Dec 10, 2009
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Yeah, a bit.

When my friends and I run out of things to do, I generally start playing UMvC3. They watch, and I can never seem to do combos that, alone, I could do in my sleep. It sucks.
 

Nouw

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Mar 18, 2009
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Playing competitive, not really no. Games where you require lots of concentration, yes. It becomes even worse when they talk.
 

ScarecrowAlone

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May 17, 2010
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Depends on the game. Someone watching me play MW3 is treated a spectacular fail fest. Another watching me play Arkham City is awed by my Batskillz.
 

demoman_chaos

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May 25, 2009
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Yes. When just piddling around I do well, but when I try to do the same thing I was doing just fine for show I end up buggering things up.

If I am facing off with them in combat, I tend to ease up on them to keep the fight close. Nobody enjoys a 1-sided match, even if I am the winner.
 

WorriedSandwich

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Nov 23, 2011
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I actually become much better. I usually play games like COD with my brain on 'off', but when somebody is watching me play (and isn't familiar with the game itself) I explain every action I make, and this makes me much more conscious and attentive.

For example, whereas I might normally run absentmindedly into a building, I now say: 'there might be someone in that building, so I'm throwing a grenade in there. The end result: I play better.
 

Tharwen

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May 7, 2009
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Zhukov said:
Not quite. I don't suddenly start playing worse.

However, if someone else is watching it has an odd effect on the way I view game stories. I tend to sort of start viewing them through the eyes of the other person, if that makes any sense. It usually leads to an unpleasant realization that, no matter how much I tell myself that games are a viable means of storytelling, most of them are still just valueless schlock.
Oh, I do this too. It turns out most dialogue in most games is laughably bad when you look at it closely.