While this concept could be used for any fighting game, I’m of the opinion that this question applies to 3s more then alot of other games out there:
My question is… when you’re playing 3s, or any fighting game for that matter, what are you actually watching and concentrating your vision on?
I’ve noticed I tend to spend alot of timing watching MYSELF, which is a terrible, terrible way to do it. Any time I try to focus on watching only the opponent, I lose track of my positioning to the opponent, among other things.
This is really concerning me because my throw teching is terrible - I just wanted to get some insight on those who seem to have a perfect view of everything on the playfield, being able to anticipate and react to anything you throw at them.
Don’t subscribe to 1 viewpoint, while it may be bad to ALWAYS look at your character only it certainly helps to center on your character for certain situations (cross ups so you know which way to block, etc.).
Personally I think the best advice is to try to look at everything all the time and you’ll instinctively find what to focus on (health bar, super/ex bar, hit boxes for footsies and hit confirms etc.), as obviously you cant focus on the whole screen (unless your good enough to judge your health from peripheral vision alone) but you shouldn’t label any screen information unimportant.
Really watching everything is the best way, you just have to learn how to manage your focus. I, for some reason, put most of my focus on the distance between me and my opponent. When he is at a certain range I know what attacks can be used, this kinda causes me to watch both me and my opponent.
I’m not anywhere near a top player, but I’d say it all depends on the situation. Like towards the beginning of the round I will stare at my opponent and play footsies, or build meter, and watch his reaction. It also depends on the character im using how I go about centering myself.
Like obviously some things to watch out for is when you have super, and all that good stuff. However, It’s also smart to periodically look at your meter to see if you can use an ex move in case a certain situation in which you’ll need it is required.
I also space myself in a way in which I know certain moves will most likely be coming out, because I like baiting. I pretty much always watch my opponent and take glances at my own character when im far from them. Once I’m close though I’d say its pretty easy to pay attention to yourself, and your opponent.
I always stare at my opponent on wakeup of course, cuz I want to try and predict what he’ll do.
If you’re sitting there admiring your character too much you might be missing out on important things your opponent is doing, which could serve to win you the game.
always concentrate on the focal point of the highest priority action.
for example, if you throw a fireball… dont stare at the fireball fly across the screen. instead, you should be staring at your opponent because that is where the next important action (his reaction to the fireball) will take place. that action will be your cue to react accordingly.
likewise, if you are doing a difficult link, stare at your character (or your opponent depending on what visual cues you use), because that is where your cue to act will occur.
if you are playing footsies, stare at the space between your characters, because that is where you will find your cue to counterpoke on reaction.
knowing where to focus on the screen when, requires game knowledge and experience. also dont stare too hard because its important to keep your focal point agile and ready to shift at a moments notice.
What am I looking at? Beep beep beep beep. Rom knows.
But really, just the space between characters. Influences what normals to throw out, what to counter poke with, narrows down certain things to be looking out for.
You shouldn’t have to focus on your character all that much. If you’ve played enough with the character, you should know the ranges of their pokes, dashes, priorities, etc. Your main focus should be your opponent’s character and the space between you and him/her.
Obviously, don’t be oblivious to super meter, health bars, time, etc.
I think it depends on character like remy versus yun or yang I like looking at the air spacing when at different distances and seeing when I can jump hp a dive.
