I've had flow described both by sports coaches and art professors as the intersection of instinct and expertise. When you feel what you need to do to succeed, and are confident you know how to do it.
And you may not even realise that's what's happening because your subconscious just takes over after hundreds of hours of training. I remember a video of Tiger Woods saying he doesn't even remember hitting an incredible shot only minutes after he did it.
@@hafluq2979 Yeah I'm a pretty decent archer, and any night I've shot near perfect scores, I have almost no memory of, you are just following your routine.
Zoner flow is something I crave, but it's super rare for me because most games do not give zoners the screen control to make it happen (or give every character good anti-zoning tools). A good zoner should be able to hit anywhere, but not everywhere. A good zoner should have to choose what part of the screen to lock down, but they should be able to lock down any part of it. That makes me feel in control and lets me get into the zone. I've only really felt it strongly with Zelda in Smash - she can mix up her zoning via the 7 different versions of Phantom Knight she can access based on input timing. That bait-and-punish zoning game makes her really satisfying for me! Though Zelda is a bit unique because she has both long-range zoning and close-range disjoints, but no midrange tools. So she struggles against midrange swordfighters (which there are a LOT of) and characters with enough air acceleration to weave in and out of close range (like Yoshi).
Best flow state is grappler flow. When you just feel their fear and make them hurt with the big boi grab, nothing can match it. When i stare down an opponent, watch them jump and hpb, the dopamine is unmatched. When it's offline with friends, I get to look them in the eyes and see the realization on their face that they fucked up and the bill has come due. Grapplers are pretty cool B)
great video! i love these long, analytical analyses on the tiny things in fighting games. i dont play the archetype, but i LOVE fighting them, because its like that feeling of clapping in the air then seeing the fly you were trying to kill in your hands. its such a rush to break through that where the euphoria legitimately overpowers the annoying aspects of fighting them
Thank you! Had to do my favourite archetype some justice haha As you said, it's almost like the reason we don't super super hate this archetype is because of how satisfying it is when you do finally kill them. I feel the same. That's why it kinda can suck when they have a liiiittle more health than you'd expect. You've got the Nanase avatar so I'm assuming you've played UNI, and yeah while Seth did have the lowest health, I remember hearing a lot of people say it wasn't low enough because it was like, only 500 less than Hyde's or something iirc. It can sometimes take away that "beating up the low health character" euphoria a little bit I think.
I first felt this while playing Potemkin. There's just this... Certain zone you get into where suddenly it feels like you've got a wide open window into your opponent's thoughts, and you're suddenly making hard reads one after another. It also tends to kick in when you've got someone in the corner and are locking them down with a barrage of pressure resets and frame traps that just always work in your favor. Maybe it's just luck? I mean, he's Potemkin - two to three good reads in a row and you've won the set. But, the fact that I was able to stay in it for multiple sets (bashing my way up towards Celestial) really made it stand out.
I can get into flow state fairly consistently but definitely struggle to keep it going. A thing me and Caruzon jokingly call Divine God Vision is where you confidently can say "you are already dead" and then beat your opponent. You already know that what you will do is going to work. If you've ever watched my streams I sometimes just go "ok I'm going to win now" before a game and then I do. That's flow state to me. When I get the hugest read in flow state and do stuff like VO yuzu's battou to deny her teleport so that she gets a misinput that I can punish for max damage and win from half health, that's divine god vision. Without flow state I might only have been able to read the teleport but being able to come up with a plan like that on the spot in under a second is for me a step beyond. Great vid, keep em coming!
"ok I'm going to win now" "divine God vision" LMAO, you and Caruzon crack me up. And yet, this is actually still the perfect way of describing being in flow cause that's exactly how I feel too lol
Yes! This vid is my thoughts in video format! I'm a Millia player and I've started playing MBAACC and am playing Vaki. I find myself drawn to these characters. Glass cannons appeal to me but nowhere as much as the movement options a pixie has. The feeling of control I have when I'm in the zone is magic, the feeling of being able to theoretically do anything is freeing, but the feeling I can die in one wrong move is exhilarating. It's all the things I love about fighting games wrapped up in a little package of player expression.
I love the flow state of a big-body. It's really more of a tranquil flow state where you patiently wait, observing every move your opponent makes and then throw out a series of big hits that have a sort of rhythm to them.
Great video! A synonym I personally use is to be “in the zone”. I experienced something similar while playing Monster Hunter and Smash Bros. When I predict an attack from the monster or when I space perfectly with Roy in smash, I start snowballing and it gives off a great sensation. Even short things like grabbing a person out of a burst or predicting wake up supers, it feels unexplainable instead you just know it’s bound to happen.
flow state really is an incredible feeling. especially in sports where you feel like you are perfectly in tune with and have perfect control over yout body
Reminds me of the analogy in the melee community to we refer as "20XX" where fox is played at his full potential an nobody could do anything about it cause he's just the best, maybe fox was a pixie character all along
Flow state is achieved a lot more frequently when something requires you to try your hardest, but you still feel like you are able to stand a chance. I haven't encountered flow state much in the past few years because I've been relaxing in VR and such, not playing any super hard games. However for the rest of my life, I always searched for the hardest games because I wanted to look like the cool guy doing cool stuff. Sooo, I ran into flow state frequently in many different genres. Shmups/bullet hells, rhythm games, fighting games, and fast/hard racing games trigger this the most for me (And fighting games are the only one I play often out of these). However, I've definitely felt it in many other genres. Shooters I usually don't feel it unless I'm trying to carry a team so there's actually a reason to try to make the most of every shot/movement (unless the shooter is stupidly fast and/or precise). Platformers can also give a sense of flow state, but it's usually only in short bursts for certain challenges, but funnily enough I feel like the old 2D Marios were really good at triggering that (new ones usually are too slow until you get that one secret final level where they ramp everything up in difficulty). Overall I feel insane speed = Fastest and easiest way to trigger flow state. Smash is what got me into fighting games, so when you mentioned the definition of a pixie character, Sheik popped in my head immediately. I'm not the best at combos, so maybe Sheik stops being a pixie character when you actually know their combos. Meta Knight feels like a pixie character to me since the only hard moves he has are all moves the opponent should never get hit by if the opponent is playing properly. So Meta Knight's going to have to cut you a million times to kill you, especially since his damage is on par with sheik, just his moves don't link into each other except for his up air/down air combos (which I struggle to do). Lower skilled players don't like it because they don't feel like they get to play the game, the more competitive minded friends love the intense speed and action when facing my Meta Knight. I feel that would change if I mastered the up air/down air combos since people would die so much earlier than normal. Wiiiith that said, you can get into flow-state with gameplay that does not look fast. It's not too uncommon for my brain to get into flow-state when playing chess since when you stop being a newbie doing 1 movers, you start thinking multiple moves ahead. You can imagine that when you are thinking of 5 moves ahead, there's a lot of moves your mind has to keep track of. Now do that for 15 moves ahead of time. There's always something to think about when you play chess (except for end game with few pieces, or when both players end up blocking each other out and don't want to take the first attack) Also, part of the reason why I got into competitive fighting games is because of zoners, and certain zoners can trigger flow state often for me. Thing is, your mind just has to be constantly thinking of all the different options at all times, adapting to everything. What angle do you want your projectile? How fast you want it? Should you throw it out immediately or delay it and delay it by how much? How does this help you in the future to throw out the projectile and how much does it hinder the opponent in the future? I have gotten into flow-state with grapplers with a similar line of thinking, except, instead of what I'm doing because grapplers are usually simple, I'm thinking about what the enemy is doing as they overwhelm me with their speed/pressure/projectiles/whatever BS they got since I am probably going to be much slower than they are. Grapplers have such an emphasis on commiting heavily and having to restrain themselves that it causes it's own unique pressure. This is probably why Elliana is one of my favorite fighters in any fighting game since she's a balance of all 3 of these things. Zoning with her projectiles, mine, and steam clouds. The big strong hits that I come to love from grapplers, but you have to manage a heat gauge to land it at the proper time so you can't just spam your attacks carelessly, and she is one of the few characters with an actual grab. Then she can actually do some combos, and while she maybe the slowest on the ground, she is among the fastest in the air, especially when you use heat to hover around. Also thanks for saying what a pixie archetype is. I was trying to find out what it meant, but was having a bit of a hard time. Someone mentioned that the gremlin in Multiversus might be like that. I'm curious how that will go because most characters in that game have decent start up and end lag to everything by comparison to other platform fighters. Feels like if you make a characters around being faster than others, they can just abuse it to the end of time. But eh, Arya was considered medium, or heck even low tier by some people before she got some buffs and she had that crazy speed and good frame data, sooo we'll see.
I’m glad you had rhythm games as the b-roll when describing flow state, because it is easily the genre that’s the easiest to enter flow state in. Since there’s a bunch of different difficulty levels it’s easy to find one that’s just challenging enough for you to need to put effort, but not hard enough that you’re hopeless. And I think the fact that it’s visual, audio, and physical stimuli taking up 3/5 of your senses it’s really easy to block out everything besides the rhythm game.
Depending on the character, I might really really enjoy playing against a pixie character. And that qualification is playing as a big boy bruiser or grappler who can smush a pixie into the dirt in 3 hits like the annoying little mosquito they are
zoner flow for me is the “all according to plan” feeling. I not only want to keep people out, I want them to feel like I can read their mind. I want to lock them down. I’ve had this with Elli in rivals, Launcher, and Rachel in BBTAG specifically.
Interesting cause when i feel that lockdown feeling it feels like the opposite of flow state, like I'm disrespecting the opponent by winning "without even trying" even if it was a well earned round. It's definitely a form of flow state, but it feels so different than when i play rushdown characters that i almost want to call it a different thing
I'll admit, being in a state of flow with someone close to your skill level in a fighting game does make me feel like a gaming GOD. I've had the most fun being one with the character I'm playing as while playing against my friends
3d fighters have one more element that pixie characters have, weight, they are usually super lightweights on top of having small health pools, allowing enemies to launch, juggle, and perform longer and more powerful combos towards you in just one single launcher or crumple
My flow state experience is like instead of me controlling my character ( only momentarily ) my character controls me and picks up the win or even do an combo that will never practiced before.
I play a ton of challenging games seeking flowstate. It's like a drug, you want the pressure, anxiety, and tension to spill away into that blissful nothing. It's the closest thing to how enlightenment is perceived as a concept by buddhism that most people (myself included) may ever feel. I wouldn't describe flowstate as pure instinct like athletes do, but rather like your senses extend in reach past your body. You fully understand your surroundings, and rather than time slowing, I'd describe it as "faster comprehension." Especially with bullet hells like touhou you can tell that things aren't slowing down in a flow state, but rather the mere instant bullets enter your view (or in some cases even before if It's patterned) you have already understood the trajectory and moved.
My favorite flow state character ever is Order Sol from +R. I love that character with my entire being, he's so unique and rewarding. Like when the flow state hits, you're getting perfect reads and staying plus on block for the entire round he feels like the best character in the game.
Chipp does shit loads of damage, hahaha. But nice video! Flow State definitely exists in fighting game archetypes outside of pixies but this analysis on why you feel it most with them is a lot of fun to hear about.
I feel this the most on heavy set play characters. Jack-o in strive milia rage, hell in some regards I'd consider ling xiaoyu a pixie if only because of the amount of tricks that have the same endgoal of the pixie character. "Fluster irritate make them screw up and then you get to screw them up". Zoners are capable of this but its usually always nullified because zoning in modern contexts is not popular, or maybe its a system mechanic that enables the opponent to get right up in their business.
It’s funny, I’ve experienced this with Jack-O in strive. I feel like she’s a very specific example but I main her and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of decisions she can be making at any one time, especially if you’re on the back foot. That being said, oh my GOD it feels incredible when everything just starts working, your minions are where they should be, your schmix is effective, your blockstrings break their defense; it feels good man 😂
I forgot that "pixie" was a term and it actually better describes a character I'm working on that fits this exact archetype. I've been trying to explain it to folks like "speedy glass cannon, but less on the cannon part" More like a "glass pistol" or "hit and run." And yeah, I keep second guessing my balancing on this character for the exact reason of "this feels like there is major potential to be really, frustratingly busted." I've been way too afraid to give him anything too good because of his speed and ability to stall so far.
Shoto flow state is great too. Something about controlling the pace of the game and defending against every option your opponent throws at you. Smoking them in neutral, always anti-airing them, guessing right on every throw tech for that FAT shimmy damage. It's honestly the best lol
I crave getting into a flow state. Its such a bizarre thing. I end up playing way better, but put way less effort into everything. I feel like I have a better understanding of what my opponent wants, I dont misinput, and can end up pulling off combos Ive never done or even thought of before. It just doesnt happen too often, and hardly ever will happen during the times I want it to. Flow state has also helped me improve at fighting games too. Im still very new to the FGC and the only other fighter esque game Ive played is smash and only picked that up around 2 years ago. But for both smash and strive, I struggled a lot with misinputting, sluggish movement, and hesitation when trying to convert and combo. Once I managed to reach a point where I could get into a flow state for the first time in each of those games (which only happened for smash a few months ago and strive a few days ago), it kind of just opened up my understanding of them a lot by letting me get a feel for what its like when I dont have to think too much about inputting, and can let me purely focus on being the character Im playing. It helped me learn to get into a proper rhythm, which also made looking out for reads and punishes easier. Being able to move more freely let me create more custom combos on the fly, and I understood the reasoning behind all the actions I was doing as well as understood more than ever what my opponent wanted to do at any given moment. Everything just started to click for me basically.
I always respected Chipp as a character. It fixes what makes Akuma imo, frankly very bland. Akuma has a strong offensive presence but he dies fast if careless but Akuma has significantly better neutral control than most characters being one of the only characters to have an air fireball and an invincible teleport AND “get off me” move on top of a dive kick and a command jump. Akuma doesn’t really work because he’s not really balanced out by this aspect. If he did normal damage and had normal hp he wouldn’t change at all. Chipp meanwhile triples down on the neutral aspect having almost literally every tool in the game, but he doesn’t particularly hit hard for that trade off. It’s why it’s so hard to hate Chipp or his players because you know it only takes one mistake for it to all be over. It feels good to lose to him because even low level players with mild familiarity know that Chipp needs to win 5-8 interactions at best in older games to win when people he fights only need to win 1-2. This is unlike Akuma where if he’s fighting Alex, it’s really a contest to see who can instantly win the round in 10 seconds despite Alex having the second highest Hp and stun while Akuma is tied for dead last on both accounts. Akuma can feel impossible to low level players and when you play him it’s not immediately indicative why they shouldn’t think that way when he’s just better than you with the trade off being he can’t get hit, even though he feels impossible to hit once anyway.
I wouldn't characterize Sonic as a Pixie character because he's more of a "hit and run" and then time you out character, he's also not a feather weather, just moderately light. I mean I guess you can call him a Pixie character. But not Sheik, see in Smash No one has Super High Mobility like an Anime Fighter, She has good "Air Acceleration" which is like having good "Walk Speed" ie. Like a low damage Chun Li. She's not dancing around with mobility, although she is hard to hit sometimes because of a small hurtbox Same reasoning for Twelve not being a Pixie character. I think to be one you NEED Extreme Mobility like Bang, Chipp, or the Cat Girl. They need to be ZOOMING or else no, there just another type of character. I would also say there's no true "rush down" character in Smash, because everything is really minus on Block, causing a bait and punish style.
Eh, honestly I agree with you haha. Had to sort of say the examples from the glossary and then immediately say that I'm not sure these examples from there even really fit lol
That last bits not accurate. That’s like saying Third strike doesn’t have zoners because parries shut down and exploit traditional zoning. That’s just not true, Remy and Chun Li are text book examples of one even though the core of the game provides a notable problem for this play style. Samsho is also a game where everything’s unsafe but characters like Darli Genjuro and series Main character Haohmaru can only really be described as rushdown characters. It really just means smash bros is more nuanced with how it handles rushdown because there’s an inherent level of commitment that makes it dangerous.
@@Neogears1312 I think Zoning is more straightforward than Rush Down, because you might full screen distance or half screen which makes it inherently safer. But yes There's no true projectile zoning in third strike, hence why Remy is low tier. Chun Li mostly top tier because here good footsie tools and fast available supers. In Samsho, there's Highs and Lows and Grab which gives more options for the offender even if moves are minus. Smash takes that away and doesn't give you another. There's no true rush down in either games. No matter how you see it. I'm only talking about Smash Games after Brawl, so Brawl, 4, and Ultimate
I'd say Sheik is closer to being a pixie than Sonic, in Smash 4 and Ultimate. Low damage, pays heavily for mistakes, light weight basically translates into low health (yes, it's not a one to one due to her good recovery), one of Smash 4's last patches nerfed her kill confirm combo and other aspects of the character and she was considered much worse by many after that.
It's a weird case for me, the main fighting game I play is strive and I really like fighting chipp because I like the active defense of looking for holes in his offense to punish, whereas millia is one of my most hated characters, if I make one mistake I don't get to play neutral anymore I just get stuck in the blender forever and it's a much more frustrating offence to defend that feels a lot more passive and like I just have to sit their and watch them have fun.
damn, im a pixie player ? that explains why i like valentine so much in skull girls xd and the friend i play with peacock , the "super classic" that is what we call when we play with those characters are quite intense, we started playing at roughly the sam time and co evolved an arms race to defeat his zoning tools and ranged attacks and my speed and combos
How did I forget about Valentine... Actually, to be fair, I found her to be a weird one. She seems to match the pixie 'aesthetic' and comes with the unique movement options, but in terms of raw speed - I considered Filia to be the superior character, so I actually ended up playing more Filia than Valentine!
chipp yosuke my favorites .characters gave me flow state : guy , rolento adon from SF zero 2 , scorpion ,milena, noob saibot from mk ,yoshimutsu - master raven - king from tekken , flash from injustice , evil ryu kage from sf 4 -5. RUclips Algorithm came to bless you I' m pretty sure this video started to blow up in couple months
This reminds me of why I like racing games (and racing in general to a larger degree). I find myself choosing very specific vehicles that are in a way similar to Chipp and the pixie character concept. The appeal of Initial D and its premier vehicle (The AE86) represent this idea very well. The main character wouldn't stand a chance driving such an old and slow vehicle, yet the conditions of the race almost always allows him to enter a flow state where his vehicle can perform to its maximum potential. Because of the incredibly small margin for victory, its unforgivable for him to even make a single mistake, requiring the flow state. Forza Motorsport 8 can't get here fast enough. However the Forza series too harshly classifies these pixie (lightweight, RWD, tight handling) cars when there are too few situations to take advantage of it, especially in Horizon.
Seems like Yamcha's playstyle in DBFZ. He has a ton of his buttons suited to moving him, with almost no range on his buttons, but in exchange he has a ton of moves suited to dashing in and out of the opponent's face. Since DBFZ has the same health-pool for every character, and similar potential damage, Yamcha sorta has the goal of being that plucky underdog character. And DBFZ does definitely have that (Krillin, Videl), but Yamcha does so with his high movement speed and with dashing in and out of your range. Krillin's more of a "plucky underdog with a bag of tricks" character and Videl is a rushdown character who stays in your face more. He has a Kamehameha, but it has a slow startup with high recovery. So it's bad compared to any other beam in the game when it comes to beam clashes or zoning, but it's great when it comes to use for pressure and catching backdashes. He has a divekick, and his 5H button is an invulnerable backdash followed by a big strike forward. Instead of having zoning tools on his S buttons, he uses his ki-blasts to throw a quick hitbox in front of him and dash backwards, which makes them an AMAZING tool for disengaging. His main tools are a rekka series where he dashes in your face, and this rekka gives you the option to continue the true-string, frame-trap the opponent, cross the opponent up while hitting them and safely end the string, and a command dash that you can use to either cross the opponent up and keep going, or move in/out of range of their attacks. His rekka also goes into his Kamehameha, anti-air, or into the universal grab, if you want. As a result, Yamcha does a lot of moving in and out of the opponent's ranges. But in spite of that universal health pool, he still FEELS weak because of his weak zoning, air game, range on his buttons, how his kamehameha isn't great for beam clashes, and being Yamcha from Dragon Ball Z. And that weak air game can make you feel like you're just a human against superpowered flying monkeymen. But Yamcha's kit is definitely built to facilitate the type of flow you get from pixie characters, where you're dashing in and out of your opponent's ranges and just barely on the verge of death.
I am a pretty bad Melee player, and I main Roy, an infamously terrible character, yet I find myself going into flow or near-flow pretty often with him. He’s a fast character in a fast game that can kill middleweights at 30% if you get a clean down tilt near a platform, and he just feels so good whenever I can get the ball rolling. I also play as a Workshop character in Rivals of Aether with my friends called Lynk (by Sai) and she is extremely overtuned (like kill you at any percent at any position off of a projectile) but I absolutely fall into flow with her. Such a fun character. Also yes I know that neither of these are pixie characters.
Great video! I hope you'll forgive me nitpicking your Smash examples a bit, though... Sonic at a casual level is a pixie character, but at a high level he's... well, it's hard to describe, it's like imagine Guile but instead of having Sonic Boom (ironic given the character comparison), Flash Kick is also Tatsu and also you can cancel it with a jump and also there's a version of it that's weaker but you can initiate in the air. Maybe there's a term for that kind of character, I'm not sure. He doesn't use big normals or fireballs to establish his zone but he also doesn't use his movement per se (though it is definitely something that he benefits from.) He has the fastest ground run speed, but that barely matters since Smash's movement system requires you to enter a slow animation if you want to turn around when running. His initial dash is good, but there are characters who arguably have better ones. And he doesn't have tools like Flip Kick or Minecart for burst movement with invincibility/armor. His burst movement options are telegraphed, just like a crouching Guile's Flash Kick is telegraphed. The way he ends up playing is less "keepaway by movement" and more "keepaway by getting distance, then charge and camp." He's also not as fragile as a pixie character, nor do his moves do little damage (I mean, some do, but his BnBs do 30+% in just a couple hits.) So I'm not sure he was a good example to lead with. Sheik however, is definitely a pixie character, and it's good you called her out. Between having one of the lowest crouch profiles in the game along with a crawl, very fast ground speed and good air speed, a burst movement option (Bouncing Fish) and an ambiguous movement option (Vanish), AND not only a wall jump but also a wall cling, her movement is fantastic. She also has the traditional fragility (being one of the lightest characters in the game, and also a fast-faller) and the low damage output (most of her moves do single digit %, but are quick and designed to combo. I would argue that in Smash, or at least in Ultimate specifically, ZSS is more of a pixie character than Sonic. She does have some harder hitting moves that she really deserves, but other than that, she fits the profile well. She has even better movement than Sheik, having access to all the same movement options, but also a tether grab that grabs the ledge, plus her Flip Kick gives her not only the burst movement but also the ambiguous movement in a single move. She also has the same drawback of being a lightweight fast-faller. The main difference is that ZSS's moves do, for the most part, double digit % damage, which is kind of high and is part of why she's a better character overall (though obviously, being fast and having decent damage on your moves is not the only thing that makes a Smash character come together... you also need kill confirms or moves that just kill off stray hits, and ZSS has more of the former than Sheik, and also has the latter whereas Sheik does not. Kind of makes her feel like a pixie that took steroids...)
I got into flow state recently playing potemkin. Felt like every input came as easily as moving an arm or flexing a finger. I was reading the opponent like an open book, with every move predicted like I was the one doing it for them. It was really surreal and only after realising I had double perfected an equally skilled opponent did I come out of it.
I have a very interesting way of experiencing this due to a few other things I have going on "up in the attic" so to speak. I have ADHD and, as a result, I sometimes experience a state called _hyperfocus._ This isn't _quite_ flow state, it's more that my attention/focus is locked onto some task or activity and just cannot divert for *anything,* neither actively nor passively. I'll just be absolutely absorbed in what I'm doing, but not necessarily in "flow" state; just either totally blind to whatever is going on around me, or if I _do_ become aware, my mind automatically suppresses the awarenesses and I won't actually _react_ until I register it much later. For example, if I'm watching a video and it manages to get me into hyperfocus mode, someone might walk into the room and say my name to get my attention and I won't immediately react. I'll *technically* have heard them, but it's almost like that information and the reaction is "queued up" and can't be processed and acted upon until the current long-process (watching and being deep in thought about the video) is finished. Then, after I'm done with the video, I'll suddenly realize that someone had said my name to get my attention and look around, but find that no one's there because who knows _how_ long ago that was; it could have been 10 minutes, 10 hours, it could have very well been 10 days if it were possible for me to last that long watching a video, and I'd just be incapable of distinguishing any difference in length of time. Another thing I contend with is what I sometimes call "autopilot brain" or "automated processes". Again, due to my ADHD, I find it *exceptionally* difficult to manage daily tasks, chores, and errands like dishes and cleaning. Like, imagine you slam your toe into the leg of the couch and it hurts like all hell. You obviously really feel miserable due to something like that, right? Now, take that miserable feeling, but minus the hurting from the stubbed toe, and just transfer it directly onto daily chores, errands, or work; you just feel awful and miserable out of _nowhere_ just at the _anticipation_ of needing to do, let's say, a sink full of dishes. It feels miserable the whole time, and some time after you finish, it will eventually trail off and go away. And, unlike a typical person, there's never any sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, or relief after you finish either; it's just soul-crushing anguish the whole time. *But,* I can at least dampen that feeling somewhat by setting up a video or music while I do it. And while I'm watching the video or listening to music, my body is sort of going on auto-pilot through the action of doing the dishes. Its as if I have a pre-programmed script in my brain for doing dishes; I run the script and then I'm like a passenger in my own body, watching my video while "auto-pilot" handles the work. But there's also a certain "latency" between me and my body; if I want to interrupt the program, the "stop" command has to be added to the command "queue" and there will be some lag time, maybe a second or two, maybe up to a minute or two, before my mind catches up to my body. A lot of times, when I'm playing games, my "gaming reflexes" are based on these programmed subroutines; I "hand off" control to my "body" and sit back more like a spotter, watching in 1st person as "someone else" seems to be calculating in real-time what the most practical call to make would be in the given situation, and then executing that action. It isn't always _perfect,_ there have been plenty of times the "program" seemed to get stuck in a sort of processing loop and freeze up, but 95% of the time, it works every time and using the auto-pilot gives far better results because the *only* other option seems to be "driving" my body like a manual and, with my ADHD, juggling clutch and gears and shifting all while trying to steer and navigate and watch traffic is just far too overwhelming for me. Now, that having been said, I can describe what _Flow State_ feels like for me. Flow State is the rare occasion where my mind functions like an Automatic Transmission; I don't have to juggle complicated, distracting shifting processes like a Manual, but I *also* am not stuck relying on an Auto-Pilot mode which leaves me feeling like I have no direct input over my own actions. It's like a perfect amalgamation of driving with Automatic, but also having the _assistance_ of an auto-copilot giving me all the data it would use to run like a HUD. I just automatically do what needs to be done because the autopilot is identifying hazards *for* me, measuring the route, monitoring my speed, handling all the data-management so I don't have to, but *still* leaving it up to me to consciously *act* on the provided info so there's none of that latency between mind and body that gives the "passenger effect". And, at the same time, I'll often get the hyperfocus state alongside this because, since that automated portion of my mind is handling the data management, I can be *absolutely laser focused* on what I'm doing to such a degree that I seem to react to things with deferred awareness. For example, back when I used to play MOBAs a lot, I could just sorta... _smell..._ when someone was going to throw a blind pull from outside my vision and sidestep it. And then I could look back on it after a moment and think, "Yeah, that's exactly where *I* would have thrown that pull if it had been me. So I just dodged what I imagined myself doing." And, conversely, I'd also throw out blind skill-shots at where I anticipated a low-health opponent would be standing and, more often than not, I'd get the kill (and also their rage), because, "that's where I'd probably be standing to TP home if I had low HP." But I didn't actually have to "think" that in the moment. It was almost like the processing order was reversed; reaction> conclusion> information, instead of the other way around. So, for me, Flow State is a little bit like peaking into the future by anticipating, "what would I do if I were them", but implementing the proper reaction before I have my answer, and then getting the answer before I've asked the question. And then just doing that repeatedly in sequence until I win.
I've experienced flow state while at work doing my day to day prep tasks just completely lost in the activity every movement feels precise and without wasted energy, i've also experienced it in busy rushes i feel like my brain processes things faster and my body moves on it's own to complete each task
I’ve had it only a few times as I don’t yet have much access to competition, but the times that I have accessed flow state were incredibly impressive. My Byleth during flow feels almost unbeatable; far better than my current main. My opponent can hardly get in my face, and even when they do, it’s almost like my hands and unconscious know exactly what to do to recover and counter correctly. Can’t wait to keep up the challenge ahead of me to reach my very best.
Funnily enough I've only experienced flow state in fighting games when I was AGAINST pixie characters, the amount of awareness, knowledge and quick reactions the characters demand to be able to counter properly is grand, I believe is even more true in my case because I play rushdown characters so trying to make space between the pixie and me to play slower is a non option
The main place I experience flow state is outside of fighting games. It happens to me frequently when time attacking platformers. The fact the objective is to beat your own time creates a challenge that perfectly matches your skill level, and those are the situations where flow state can occur most often.
0:25 there’s the Glass Cannon, and there’s Chipp, the Paper Shuriken I’m terrible at high speeds, so Turbo games and Sonic like characters are not my thing XD
i don't get much flow when i play fighting games, but when i play shmups.... oh boy and if you never felt one, there this obscure shmup for ps1 called zanac x zanac. which is a compilation of the original zanac games and a new game called zanac neo zanac neo ability to push people into flow is crazy, is actually not a particularly hard shmup nor a bullet hell if you are worried about that. but it does this thing where it has dynamic difficulty(the game gets harder the longer you stay alive) but the way it implements it is completely different from any game i know of. the stages for the game are a mix of fixed enemies plus random enemies. as difficulty goes up it tosses not only more random enemies but enemies that directly counter act the weapon you currently have. and however it does its crazy logic, it just makes people go into flow, i seen friends of mine who do not play shmups and were playing with me l go into it and go "wtf just happened?!?"
To enter flow, you need to have full understanding of the game and its systems. Getting surprised is the biggest way to break you out of flow, which is why you don't necessarily need to be "the best" to enter it, but it does make it way more likely when you are at that level - and nearly impossible when you are a newbie. The game I can most consistently enter flow is Sekiro. After that would probably be Hotline Miami 2. While I can enter flow in fighting games, it's way more consistent in a single player game where things are way less likely to surprise you.
I've only felt the flow twice once against a friend for $20 and once in a locals during a match where I made it back from defeat in the losers bracket ( still lost finals)
I seem to... gravitate towards Pixie characters in more traditional fighting games, though mainly because I enjoy characters of extremes. Extreme neutral, extremely low health. Extreme damage, extremely hard mechanic to play around. So I suppose it is no wonder I found myself playing Chipp and Pot in Strive. Flow state is so cool though. I'm sure I've experienced it at least once, but it is so... natural feeling. The only time I tend to notice is once it's over, and then the feeling of peace is just... hard to latch a memory onto. Do know it's a good feeling at least. So that's nice. For some decent Smash examples of the Pixie archetype, look no further than Melee/Project+ Fox and Project+ Lucas. While the Melee-esc platform fighters tend to feature movement as a core pillar of the gameplay, these two go above and beyond the call with some of highest ground speed in the game, incredible strong vertical movement flexibility (and, by extension platform movement), projectiles that DEMAND consideration, and buttons and a fall speed that let them basically rip control of an engagement out of an opponent's hands. On top of that, both characters then break the mold with some of the most stylish, often lethal, freeform combos seen within the game, with Lucas being one of the few poster children of Project+ in its entirety for how flashy he looks. The only trade off for all of this? They are both some of the lightest characters, and their fall speed? The very strength that gives them unlimited power? It makes them the most susceptible to being killed on contact, even in spite of all the nuanced mitigation options the games provide (and even Fox's frame 1 intangible reversal/universal combo tool). XD
As a noob I have no problem playing pixies casually, Chipp is my favorite in GG since I first played XX and it's just fun to go fast and jump all over the screen. Dying from a few hits is part of the thrill. Besides, he's such a mix machine that other noobs have problems dealing with it.
Watching neurotypicals try to describe a thing with such mysticism that just happens to me all the time is so funny. Bruh flow is just a specific kind of hyperfocus. Anyone who’s tumbled out of their room at 3am in a maddened and debased dash to the kitchen because they realized they’re suddenly starving and their body is all shakey cause they weren’t paying any attention to their physical needs cause they were too focused on their game or hobby or whatever has also experienced something similar to flow but we’re not romanticizing that one now are we?
If I’m being honest I find pixie characters really fun to fight against. I always play the characters that are slow as shit because it’s fun so I’m used to blocking half the game anyways. It’s fun to see if they make a mistake and punish by evaporating their entire healthbar
Im way too late But something tells me that pixies with nearly any tool (especially projectiles) in a non platformer 2D FG seems kind of unfair, not unbalanced or broken, but, its an archetype where it goes 'i can do anything (except grab) better than you' and that just doesnt sit right with me with Now if its a pixie that doesnt have a projectile or every tool under the sun, then theyre fine i think But uh, also ive never fought or analyzed to many pixies, so my knowledge bout em is limited Lastly, theyre the true opposite of grapplers, while zoners are the side of the archetypal coin to grapplers, andi think thats neat
i am curious-if flow state is that, what is the state that is the opposite of flow state.. but also the same? there is no ecstasy or joy, no sense of surrealness; you just.... lose all feeling seemingly, you feel virtually nothing you care about almost nothing, you think clearly and are extremely focused, paying attention to everything going on around you at the same time and being capable to analyze and react almost instantaneously, as if time is slowed down despite perceiving time normally, this often being accompanied with a sense of bloodlust/frenzy that at the same time kinda sits there at the back of your mind essentially, instead of flowing freely you become almost like a advanced combat machine
i am curious because this is a state i entered twice in my life under situations of overwhelming stress, both times being immobilized and unable to get free no matter what i tried and both time getting more and more angry even though it was painful, i was literally physically suffocating from my anger and in pain and i kept getting even angrier, and when i tried to get mad beyond the limit of my body i suddenly entered the state i mentioned above almost instantly as if i was never mad in the first place
This is very interesting, but brings up the question: are the zone/flow states always the best state you must have to be? I know it sounds unintuitive but hear me out. Have you ever felt like you're so focused on something that you don't think of the big picture that much? Have you ever written a whole text only to notice that a little mistake was made above that messed everything up? I'm a low to mid level player, yes I'm not that skilled, but I feel like I have gone through the flow like a dozen times (considering I've played videogames for 17 years by now and given the amount of time spent, that is not a big amount I'd say.) I feel like when I'm hyper focused I think quicker because I'm not actually thinking, it's almost like the solutions come more naturally and you can act without struggle, but is it always a good thing? Maybe you've heard about the three types of players by now, the body, the mind, and the heart. How those three interact in their own flow states? I feel like the possibility is that maybe... Being hyper focused is not the best case for everything, but this would generate an interesting conversation so I'd like to hear about other people experiences and what they think
Tbh I hyperfocus A LOT so in some games I can consistently preform really well but then I have like another state I have no emotions and I can't remember after very in depth details lol
For me flow state is experiencing everything in slow motion. Like I'm experiencing each thing frame by frame. I blink and everything is sped up to a blinding degree yet I'm executing everything perfectly, parrying and defending everything on the frame I need to. Sometimes I remember seeing into the many futures where I've lost and when I'm suddenly back into reality the moments where I failed I've actively changed to an option where I've won. With each new reality I altered to one where I've won or just relied on instinct. It was like I was Dr Manhatten. I don't think I'm some seer or psychic btw I believe it's flow state things amping my brain. I only achieve this like once a year in fighting games, monster hunter or more often when I'm working on projects.
Bruv the last part about pixie character not actually being good most of the time is like kinda false because almost every level of player can exploit speed in cool ways outside of the absolute begginers sure they definetely are compritivey better when played at a top level but there usually pretty good even when outside of the top level of play
Cool gameplay bro. Thanks for this! Great video. Ever heard of C Wilson Meloncelli Channel? He's been sharing some flow state hacks highlights. Come check him out!
6:20 what do you mean “smash is wired forget sonic” he is literally a textbook pixie character and literally is what you described in the sentences that come after. Don’t dismiss smash probably because it’s a “platform” fighting game, that’s just straight discriminatory Edit how are you going to dismiss smash and then give a smash character as your own example smh
I've had flow described both by sports coaches and art professors as the intersection of instinct and expertise. When you feel what you need to do to succeed, and are confident you know how to do it.
And you may not even realise that's what's happening because your subconscious just takes over after hundreds of hours of training.
I remember a video of Tiger Woods saying he doesn't even remember hitting an incredible shot only minutes after he did it.
Damn that maybe the most perfect way to describe it
@@hafluq2979 Yeah I'm a pretty decent archer, and any night I've shot near perfect scores, I have almost no memory of, you are just following your routine.
Zoner flow is something I crave, but it's super rare for me because most games do not give zoners the screen control to make it happen (or give every character good anti-zoning tools). A good zoner should be able to hit anywhere, but not everywhere. A good zoner should have to choose what part of the screen to lock down, but they should be able to lock down any part of it. That makes me feel in control and lets me get into the zone.
I've only really felt it strongly with Zelda in Smash - she can mix up her zoning via the 7 different versions of Phantom Knight she can access based on input timing. That bait-and-punish zoning game makes her really satisfying for me! Though Zelda is a bit unique because she has both long-range zoning and close-range disjoints, but no midrange tools. So she struggles against midrange swordfighters (which there are a LOT of) and characters with enough air acceleration to weave in and out of close range (like Yoshi).
Try Hilda in Under Night in-Birth. I believe you'll like her.
I started playing SFV for Oro and his zoning super fun, I think it's becuase the projectiles move quite slow
Play you can deep in Mk and Injustice, it is actually a little gross.
Zelda is so fun in ultimate
I play hc and feel something similar, except instead of reading position it's more management and timing, same with velvet from thems fightin herds
Best flow state is grappler flow. When you just feel their fear and make them hurt with the big boi grab, nothing can match it. When i stare down an opponent, watch them jump and hpb, the dopamine is unmatched. When it's offline with friends, I get to look them in the eyes and see the realization on their face that they fucked up and the bill has come due. Grapplers are pretty cool B)
Lmao, good shit! I've never played a grappler, they feel like a polar opposite of a pixie character, but I should try it just for this
grappler flow really is the best, you just get inside of your opponent's head and suddenly they're in your arms losing over a third of their health
outplaying your opponent with a grappler is the play
@@the_icel0rd247downloading your opponent is universal
great video! i love these long, analytical analyses on the tiny things in fighting games. i dont play the archetype, but i LOVE fighting them, because its like that feeling of clapping in the air then seeing the fly you were trying to kill in your hands. its such a rush to break through that where the euphoria legitimately overpowers the annoying aspects of fighting them
Thank you! Had to do my favourite archetype some justice haha
As you said, it's almost like the reason we don't super super hate this archetype is because of how satisfying it is when you do finally kill them. I feel the same. That's why it kinda can suck when they have a liiiittle more health than you'd expect.
You've got the Nanase avatar so I'm assuming you've played UNI, and yeah while Seth did have the lowest health, I remember hearing a lot of people say it wasn't low enough because it was like, only 500 less than Hyde's or something iirc. It can sometimes take away that "beating up the low health character" euphoria a little bit I think.
I first felt this while playing Potemkin. There's just this... Certain zone you get into where suddenly it feels like you've got a wide open window into your opponent's thoughts, and you're suddenly making hard reads one after another. It also tends to kick in when you've got someone in the corner and are locking them down with a barrage of pressure resets and frame traps that just always work in your favor.
Maybe it's just luck? I mean, he's Potemkin - two to three good reads in a row and you've won the set. But, the fact that I was able to stay in it for multiple sets (bashing my way up towards Celestial) really made it stand out.
This is why I am addicted to Tianhuo from Them's Fightin' Herds. That feeling of full control is unparalleled.
I can get into flow state fairly consistently but definitely struggle to keep it going. A thing me and Caruzon jokingly call Divine God Vision is where you confidently can say "you are already dead" and then beat your opponent. You already know that what you will do is going to work. If you've ever watched my streams I sometimes just go "ok I'm going to win now" before a game and then I do. That's flow state to me. When I get the hugest read in flow state and do stuff like VO yuzu's battou to deny her teleport so that she gets a misinput that I can punish for max damage and win from half health, that's divine god vision. Without flow state I might only have been able to read the teleport but being able to come up with a plan like that on the spot in under a second is for me a step beyond.
Great vid, keep em coming!
"ok I'm going to win now"
"divine God vision"
LMAO, you and Caruzon crack me up. And yet, this is actually still the perfect way of describing being in flow cause that's exactly how I feel too lol
Yes! This vid is my thoughts in video format! I'm a Millia player and I've started playing MBAACC and am playing Vaki. I find myself drawn to these characters. Glass cannons appeal to me but nowhere as much as the movement options a pixie has. The feeling of control I have when I'm in the zone is magic, the feeling of being able to theoretically do anything is freeing, but the feeling I can die in one wrong move is exhilarating. It's all the things I love about fighting games wrapped up in a little package of player expression.
I love the flow state of a big-body. It's really more of a tranquil flow state where you patiently wait, observing every move your opponent makes and then throw out a series of big hits that have a sort of rhythm to them.
Flow state with a counter character is surreal, you really only need to hit two counters in a row to start feeling like ultra instinct goku
Great video! A synonym I personally use is to be “in the zone”. I experienced something similar while playing Monster Hunter and Smash Bros. When I predict an attack from the monster or when I space perfectly with Roy in smash, I start snowballing and it gives off a great sensation. Even short things like grabbing a person out of a burst or predicting wake up supers, it feels unexplainable instead you just know it’s bound to happen.
flow state really is an incredible feeling. especially in sports where you feel like you are perfectly in tune with and have perfect control over yout body
low hp = higher stakes = more adrenaline = more dopamine = flow state aka getting high off a heated gamer moment
Reminds me of the analogy in the melee community to we refer as "20XX" where fox is played at his full potential an nobody could do anything about it cause he's just the best, maybe fox was a pixie character all along
Flow state is achieved a lot more frequently when something requires you to try your hardest, but you still feel like you are able to stand a chance.
I haven't encountered flow state much in the past few years because I've been relaxing in VR and such, not playing any super hard games. However for the rest of my life, I always searched for the hardest games because I wanted to look like the cool guy doing cool stuff. Sooo, I ran into flow state frequently in many different genres. Shmups/bullet hells, rhythm games, fighting games, and fast/hard racing games trigger this the most for me (And fighting games are the only one I play often out of these).
However, I've definitely felt it in many other genres. Shooters I usually don't feel it unless I'm trying to carry a team so there's actually a reason to try to make the most of every shot/movement (unless the shooter is stupidly fast and/or precise). Platformers can also give a sense of flow state, but it's usually only in short bursts for certain challenges, but funnily enough I feel like the old 2D Marios were really good at triggering that (new ones usually are too slow until you get that one secret final level where they ramp everything up in difficulty).
Overall I feel insane speed = Fastest and easiest way to trigger flow state. Smash is what got me into fighting games, so when you mentioned the definition of a pixie character, Sheik popped in my head immediately. I'm not the best at combos, so maybe Sheik stops being a pixie character when you actually know their combos. Meta Knight feels like a pixie character to me since the only hard moves he has are all moves the opponent should never get hit by if the opponent is playing properly. So Meta Knight's going to have to cut you a million times to kill you, especially since his damage is on par with sheik, just his moves don't link into each other except for his up air/down air combos (which I struggle to do). Lower skilled players don't like it because they don't feel like they get to play the game, the more competitive minded friends love the intense speed and action when facing my Meta Knight. I feel that would change if I mastered the up air/down air combos since people would die so much earlier than normal.
Wiiiith that said, you can get into flow-state with gameplay that does not look fast. It's not too uncommon for my brain to get into flow-state when playing chess since when you stop being a newbie doing 1 movers, you start thinking multiple moves ahead. You can imagine that when you are thinking of 5 moves ahead, there's a lot of moves your mind has to keep track of. Now do that for 15 moves ahead of time. There's always something to think about when you play chess (except for end game with few pieces, or when both players end up blocking each other out and don't want to take the first attack)
Also, part of the reason why I got into competitive fighting games is because of zoners, and certain zoners can trigger flow state often for me. Thing is, your mind just has to be constantly thinking of all the different options at all times, adapting to everything. What angle do you want your projectile? How fast you want it? Should you throw it out immediately or delay it and delay it by how much? How does this help you in the future to throw out the projectile and how much does it hinder the opponent in the future?
I have gotten into flow-state with grapplers with a similar line of thinking, except, instead of what I'm doing because grapplers are usually simple, I'm thinking about what the enemy is doing as they overwhelm me with their speed/pressure/projectiles/whatever BS they got since I am probably going to be much slower than they are. Grapplers have such an emphasis on commiting heavily and having to restrain themselves that it causes it's own unique pressure.
This is probably why Elliana is one of my favorite fighters in any fighting game since she's a balance of all 3 of these things. Zoning with her projectiles, mine, and steam clouds. The big strong hits that I come to love from grapplers, but you have to manage a heat gauge to land it at the proper time so you can't just spam your attacks carelessly, and she is one of the few characters with an actual grab. Then she can actually do some combos, and while she maybe the slowest on the ground, she is among the fastest in the air, especially when you use heat to hover around.
Also thanks for saying what a pixie archetype is. I was trying to find out what it meant, but was having a bit of a hard time. Someone mentioned that the gremlin in Multiversus might be like that. I'm curious how that will go because most characters in that game have decent start up and end lag to everything by comparison to other platform fighters. Feels like if you make a characters around being faster than others, they can just abuse it to the end of time. But eh, Arya was considered medium, or heck even low tier by some people before she got some buffs and she had that crazy speed and good frame data, sooo we'll see.
I’m glad you had rhythm games as the b-roll when describing flow state, because it is easily the genre that’s the easiest to enter flow state in. Since there’s a bunch of different difficulty levels it’s easy to find one that’s just challenging enough for you to need to put effort, but not hard enough that you’re hopeless. And I think the fact that it’s visual, audio, and physical stimuli taking up 3/5 of your senses it’s really easy to block out everything besides the rhythm game.
Im so glad I found a channel that knows abt GG and specially Chipp ❤
Getting into flow state just happens when I draw, if I can't enter the drawing usually doesn't turn out well
So flow state is when you are playing fighting games with friends and someone adjusts their seating position on the couch after eating a combo
Depending on the character, I might really really enjoy playing against a pixie character. And that qualification is playing as a big boy bruiser or grappler who can smush a pixie into the dirt in 3 hits like the annoying little mosquito they are
zoner flow for me is the “all according to plan” feeling. I not only want to keep people out, I want them to feel like I can read their mind. I want to lock them down. I’ve had this with Elli in rivals, Launcher, and Rachel in BBTAG specifically.
Interesting cause when i feel that lockdown feeling it feels like the opposite of flow state, like I'm disrespecting the opponent by winning "without even trying" even if it was a well earned round. It's definitely a form of flow state, but it feels so different than when i play rushdown characters that i almost want to call it a different thing
Thanks for the video! Much needed in the FGC. No wonder you like Patrick Miller's articles, for he's also a Chipp player!!
I'll admit, being in a state of flow with someone close to your skill level in a fighting game does make me feel like a gaming GOD. I've had the most fun being one with the character I'm playing as while playing against my friends
Regarding flow, Venom's chess fireballs feel similar to the Chipp/pixie flow for me. The sense of "if I just keep the setups going, I'll win" feeling
My favorite essay vod from u so far.
3d fighters have one more element that pixie characters have, weight, they are usually super lightweights on top of having small health pools, allowing enemies to launch, juggle, and perform longer and more powerful combos towards you in just one single launcher or crumple
My flow state experience is like instead of me controlling my character ( only momentarily ) my character controls me and picks up the win or even do an combo that will never practiced before.
I play a ton of challenging games seeking flowstate. It's like a drug, you want the pressure, anxiety, and tension to spill away into that blissful nothing. It's the closest thing to how enlightenment is perceived as a concept by buddhism that most people (myself included) may ever feel.
I wouldn't describe flowstate as pure instinct like athletes do, but rather like your senses extend in reach past your body. You fully understand your surroundings, and rather than time slowing, I'd describe it as "faster comprehension." Especially with bullet hells like touhou you can tell that things aren't slowing down in a flow state, but rather the mere instant bullets enter your view (or in some cases even before if It's patterned) you have already understood the trajectory and moved.
My favorite flow state character ever is Order Sol from +R. I love that character with my entire being, he's so unique and rewarding. Like when the flow state hits, you're getting perfect reads and staying plus on block for the entire round he feels like the best character in the game.
Chipp does shit loads of damage, hahaha.
But nice video! Flow State definitely exists in fighting game archetypes outside of pixies but this analysis on why you feel it most with them is a lot of fun to hear about.
Yesterday I found out your channel and today I have already seen all your videos, nice content 👍
Thank you very much!!!
I feel this the most on heavy set play characters. Jack-o in strive milia rage, hell in some regards I'd consider ling xiaoyu a pixie if only because of the amount of tricks that have the same endgoal of the pixie character. "Fluster irritate make them screw up and then you get to screw them up". Zoners are capable of this but its usually always nullified because zoning in modern contexts is not popular, or maybe its a system mechanic that enables the opponent to get right up in their business.
It’s funny, I’ve experienced this with Jack-O in strive. I feel like she’s a very specific example but I main her and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of decisions she can be making at any one time, especially if you’re on the back foot. That being said, oh my GOD it feels incredible when everything just starts working, your minions are where they should be, your schmix is effective, your blockstrings break their defense; it feels good man 😂
I forgot that "pixie" was a term and it actually better describes a character I'm working on that fits this exact archetype. I've been trying to explain it to folks like "speedy glass cannon, but less on the cannon part" More like a "glass pistol" or "hit and run." And yeah, I keep second guessing my balancing on this character for the exact reason of "this feels like there is major potential to be really, frustratingly busted." I've been way too afraid to give him anything too good because of his speed and ability to stall so far.
Thank you for content )
When my opponent is dandy enough I feel like a true Slayer.
Shoto flow state is great too. Something about controlling the pace of the game and defending against every option your opponent throws at you. Smoking them in neutral, always anti-airing them, guessing right on every throw tech for that FAT shimmy damage. It's honestly the best lol
I crave getting into a flow state. Its such a bizarre thing. I end up playing way better, but put way less effort into everything. I feel like I have a better understanding of what my opponent wants, I dont misinput, and can end up pulling off combos Ive never done or even thought of before. It just doesnt happen too often, and hardly ever will happen during the times I want it to.
Flow state has also helped me improve at fighting games too. Im still very new to the FGC and the only other fighter esque game Ive played is smash and only picked that up around 2 years ago. But for both smash and strive, I struggled a lot with misinputting, sluggish movement, and hesitation when trying to convert and combo. Once I managed to reach a point where I could get into a flow state for the first time in each of those games (which only happened for smash a few months ago and strive a few days ago), it kind of just opened up my understanding of them a lot by letting me get a feel for what its like when I dont have to think too much about inputting, and can let me purely focus on being the character Im playing. It helped me learn to get into a proper rhythm, which also made looking out for reads and punishes easier. Being able to move more freely let me create more custom combos on the fly, and I understood the reasoning behind all the actions I was doing as well as understood more than ever what my opponent wanted to do at any given moment. Everything just started to click for me basically.
I always respected Chipp as a character. It fixes what makes Akuma imo, frankly very bland. Akuma has a strong offensive presence but he dies fast if careless but Akuma has significantly better neutral control than most characters being one of the only characters to have an air fireball and an invincible teleport AND “get off me” move on top of a dive kick and a command jump. Akuma doesn’t really work because he’s not really balanced out by this aspect. If he did normal damage and had normal hp he wouldn’t change at all. Chipp meanwhile triples down on the neutral aspect having almost literally every tool in the game, but he doesn’t particularly hit hard for that trade off. It’s why it’s so hard to hate Chipp or his players because you know it only takes one mistake for it to all be over. It feels good to lose to him because even low level players with mild familiarity know that Chipp needs to win 5-8 interactions at best in older games to win when people he fights only need to win 1-2. This is unlike Akuma where if he’s fighting Alex, it’s really a contest to see who can instantly win the round in 10 seconds despite Alex having the second highest Hp and stun while Akuma is tied for dead last on both accounts. Akuma can feel impossible to low level players and when you play him it’s not immediately indicative why they shouldn’t think that way when he’s just better than you with the trade off being he can’t get hit, even though he feels impossible to hit once anyway.
I really enjoyed reading this perspective! Thank you for sharing it!
I ain't reading all that
pixies are great but i feel like the sweaty streamer meme when playing them
Hot Take:
ABA is a pixie character, just knock her down 3 times
I wouldn't characterize Sonic as a Pixie character because he's more of a "hit and run" and then time you out character, he's also not a feather weather, just moderately light. I mean I guess you can call him a Pixie character.
But not Sheik, see in Smash No one has Super High Mobility like an Anime Fighter,
She has good "Air Acceleration" which is like having good "Walk Speed" ie. Like a low damage Chun Li. She's not dancing around with mobility, although she is hard to hit sometimes because of a small hurtbox
Same reasoning for Twelve not being a Pixie character. I think to be one you NEED Extreme Mobility like Bang, Chipp, or the Cat Girl.
They need to be ZOOMING or else no, there just another type of character.
I would also say there's no true "rush down" character in Smash, because everything is really minus on Block, causing a bait and punish style.
Eh, honestly I agree with you haha. Had to sort of say the examples from the glossary and then immediately say that I'm not sure these examples from there even really fit lol
That last bits not accurate. That’s like saying Third strike doesn’t have zoners because parries shut down and exploit traditional zoning. That’s just not true, Remy and Chun Li are text book examples of one even though the core of the game provides a notable problem for this play style. Samsho is also a game where everything’s unsafe but characters like Darli Genjuro and series Main character Haohmaru can only really be described as rushdown characters. It really just means smash bros is more nuanced with how it handles rushdown because there’s an inherent level of commitment that makes it dangerous.
@@Neogears1312 I think Zoning is more straightforward than Rush Down, because you might full screen distance or half screen which makes it inherently safer. But yes There's no true projectile zoning in third strike, hence why Remy is low tier. Chun Li mostly top tier because here good footsie tools and fast available supers.
In Samsho, there's Highs and Lows and Grab which gives more options for the offender even if moves are minus.
Smash takes that away and doesn't give you another. There's no true rush down in either games. No matter how you see it.
I'm only talking about Smash Games after Brawl, so Brawl, 4, and Ultimate
I'd say Sheik is closer to being a pixie than Sonic, in Smash 4 and Ultimate. Low damage, pays heavily for mistakes, light weight basically translates into low health (yes, it's not a one to one due to her good recovery), one of Smash 4's last patches nerfed her kill confirm combo and other aspects of the character and she was considered much worse by many after that.
@@absoul112 but not that fast, she's not breaking the sound barrier like some of these characters, so to me she is disqualified
i turned on the bell and notifications because ur great
Magneto bby❤❤ I feel bad for people who never got to feel the freedom that Magneto gives.
Amazing video, leave me thinking i maybe got into flow state while playing league xD
It's a weird case for me, the main fighting game I play is strive and I really like fighting chipp because I like the active defense of looking for holes in his offense to punish, whereas millia is one of my most hated characters, if I make one mistake I don't get to play neutral anymore I just get stuck in the blender forever and it's a much more frustrating offence to defend that feels a lot more passive and like I just have to sit their and watch them have fun.
great vid. Sonic being listed as a pixie characters is hilarious imo tho
damn, im a pixie player ? that explains why i like valentine so much in skull girls xd
and the friend i play with peacock , the "super classic" that is what we call when we play with those characters are quite intense, we started playing at roughly the sam time and co evolved an arms race to defeat his zoning tools and ranged attacks and my speed and combos
How did I forget about Valentine...
Actually, to be fair, I found her to be a weird one. She seems to match the pixie 'aesthetic' and comes with the unique movement options, but in terms of raw speed - I considered Filia to be the superior character, so I actually ended up playing more Filia than Valentine!
chipp yosuke my favorites .characters gave me flow state : guy , rolento adon from SF zero 2 , scorpion ,milena, noob saibot from mk ,yoshimutsu - master raven - king from tekken , flash from injustice , evil ryu kage from sf 4 -5. RUclips Algorithm came to bless you I' m pretty sure this video started to blow up in couple months
how was cammy not mentioned? she is the original pixie imo.
I thought about her, but eh, while I can see it in shades, I'm unsure if she fits what I'm describing
I picked up an action roguelike game recently called Scourgebringer, and it is so much, Pixie Flow State: The Game of The Movie. Huge recommend.
I’m just now realizing I don’t really have an archetype preference but I always end up playing characters with crazy high dmg on average.
Yes hello it is me
Thank you Flow, for your service.
This reminds me of why I like racing games (and racing in general to a larger degree). I find myself choosing very specific vehicles that are in a way similar to Chipp and the pixie character concept. The appeal of Initial D and its premier vehicle (The AE86) represent this idea very well. The main character wouldn't stand a chance driving such an old and slow vehicle, yet the conditions of the race almost always allows him to enter a flow state where his vehicle can perform to its maximum potential. Because of the incredibly small margin for victory, its unforgivable for him to even make a single mistake, requiring the flow state.
Forza Motorsport 8 can't get here fast enough. However the Forza series too harshly classifies these pixie (lightweight, RWD, tight handling) cars when there are too few situations to take advantage of it, especially in Horizon.
Seems like Yamcha's playstyle in DBFZ. He has a ton of his buttons suited to moving him, with almost no range on his buttons, but in exchange he has a ton of moves suited to dashing in and out of the opponent's face. Since DBFZ has the same health-pool for every character, and similar potential damage, Yamcha sorta has the goal of being that plucky underdog character. And DBFZ does definitely have that (Krillin, Videl), but Yamcha does so with his high movement speed and with dashing in and out of your range. Krillin's more of a "plucky underdog with a bag of tricks" character and Videl is a rushdown character who stays in your face more.
He has a Kamehameha, but it has a slow startup with high recovery. So it's bad compared to any other beam in the game when it comes to beam clashes or zoning, but it's great when it comes to use for pressure and catching backdashes.
He has a divekick, and his 5H button is an invulnerable backdash followed by a big strike forward. Instead of having zoning tools on his S buttons, he uses his ki-blasts to throw a quick hitbox in front of him and dash backwards, which makes them an AMAZING tool for disengaging.
His main tools are a rekka series where he dashes in your face, and this rekka gives you the option to continue the true-string, frame-trap the opponent, cross the opponent up while hitting them and safely end the string, and a command dash that you can use to either cross the opponent up and keep going, or move in/out of range of their attacks. His rekka also goes into his Kamehameha, anti-air, or into the universal grab, if you want.
As a result, Yamcha does a lot of moving in and out of the opponent's ranges.
But in spite of that universal health pool, he still FEELS weak because of his weak zoning, air game, range on his buttons, how his kamehameha isn't great for beam clashes, and being Yamcha from Dragon Ball Z. And that weak air game can make you feel like you're just a human against superpowered flying monkeymen.
But Yamcha's kit is definitely built to facilitate the type of flow you get from pixie characters, where you're dashing in and out of your opponent's ranges and just barely on the verge of death.
Yo the commentators were wilding in that first clip🤣🤣
Holy shit I've never heard of pixie characters and it's EXACTLY my shit.
this guy seems geniune and honest and cute
get his ass
I am a pretty bad Melee player, and I main Roy, an infamously terrible character, yet I find myself going into flow or near-flow pretty often with him. He’s a fast character in a fast game that can kill middleweights at 30% if you get a clean down tilt near a platform, and he just feels so good whenever I can get the ball rolling.
I also play as a Workshop character in Rivals of Aether with my friends called Lynk (by Sai) and she is extremely overtuned (like kill you at any percent at any position off of a projectile) but I absolutely fall into flow with her. Such a fun character.
Also yes I know that neither of these are pixie characters.
Great video! I hope you'll forgive me nitpicking your Smash examples a bit, though...
Sonic at a casual level is a pixie character, but at a high level he's... well, it's hard to describe, it's like imagine Guile but instead of having Sonic Boom (ironic given the character comparison), Flash Kick is also Tatsu and also you can cancel it with a jump and also there's a version of it that's weaker but you can initiate in the air. Maybe there's a term for that kind of character, I'm not sure. He doesn't use big normals or fireballs to establish his zone but he also doesn't use his movement per se (though it is definitely something that he benefits from.) He has the fastest ground run speed, but that barely matters since Smash's movement system requires you to enter a slow animation if you want to turn around when running. His initial dash is good, but there are characters who arguably have better ones. And he doesn't have tools like Flip Kick or Minecart for burst movement with invincibility/armor. His burst movement options are telegraphed, just like a crouching Guile's Flash Kick is telegraphed. The way he ends up playing is less "keepaway by movement" and more "keepaway by getting distance, then charge and camp." He's also not as fragile as a pixie character, nor do his moves do little damage (I mean, some do, but his BnBs do 30+% in just a couple hits.) So I'm not sure he was a good example to lead with.
Sheik however, is definitely a pixie character, and it's good you called her out. Between having one of the lowest crouch profiles in the game along with a crawl, very fast ground speed and good air speed, a burst movement option (Bouncing Fish) and an ambiguous movement option (Vanish), AND not only a wall jump but also a wall cling, her movement is fantastic. She also has the traditional fragility (being one of the lightest characters in the game, and also a fast-faller) and the low damage output (most of her moves do single digit %, but are quick and designed to combo.
I would argue that in Smash, or at least in Ultimate specifically, ZSS is more of a pixie character than Sonic. She does have some harder hitting moves that she really deserves, but other than that, she fits the profile well. She has even better movement than Sheik, having access to all the same movement options, but also a tether grab that grabs the ledge, plus her Flip Kick gives her not only the burst movement but also the ambiguous movement in a single move. She also has the same drawback of being a lightweight fast-faller. The main difference is that ZSS's moves do, for the most part, double digit % damage, which is kind of high and is part of why she's a better character overall (though obviously, being fast and having decent damage on your moves is not the only thing that makes a Smash character come together... you also need kill confirms or moves that just kill off stray hits, and ZSS has more of the former than Sheik, and also has the latter whereas Sheik does not. Kind of makes her feel like a pixie that took steroids...)
I got into flow state recently playing potemkin. Felt like every input came as easily as moving an arm or flexing a finger. I was reading the opponent like an open book, with every move predicted like I was the one doing it for them. It was really surreal and only after realising I had double perfected an equally skilled opponent did I come out of it.
Superb Video.
I have a very interesting way of experiencing this due to a few other things I have going on "up in the attic" so to speak. I have ADHD and, as a result, I sometimes experience a state called _hyperfocus._ This isn't _quite_ flow state, it's more that my attention/focus is locked onto some task or activity and just cannot divert for *anything,* neither actively nor passively. I'll just be absolutely absorbed in what I'm doing, but not necessarily in "flow" state; just either totally blind to whatever is going on around me, or if I _do_ become aware, my mind automatically suppresses the awarenesses and I won't actually _react_ until I register it much later. For example, if I'm watching a video and it manages to get me into hyperfocus mode, someone might walk into the room and say my name to get my attention and I won't immediately react. I'll *technically* have heard them, but it's almost like that information and the reaction is "queued up" and can't be processed and acted upon until the current long-process (watching and being deep in thought about the video) is finished. Then, after I'm done with the video, I'll suddenly realize that someone had said my name to get my attention and look around, but find that no one's there because who knows _how_ long ago that was; it could have been 10 minutes, 10 hours, it could have very well been 10 days if it were possible for me to last that long watching a video, and I'd just be incapable of distinguishing any difference in length of time.
Another thing I contend with is what I sometimes call "autopilot brain" or "automated processes". Again, due to my ADHD, I find it *exceptionally* difficult to manage daily tasks, chores, and errands like dishes and cleaning. Like, imagine you slam your toe into the leg of the couch and it hurts like all hell. You obviously really feel miserable due to something like that, right? Now, take that miserable feeling, but minus the hurting from the stubbed toe, and just transfer it directly onto daily chores, errands, or work; you just feel awful and miserable out of _nowhere_ just at the _anticipation_ of needing to do, let's say, a sink full of dishes. It feels miserable the whole time, and some time after you finish, it will eventually trail off and go away. And, unlike a typical person, there's never any sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, or relief after you finish either; it's just soul-crushing anguish the whole time. *But,* I can at least dampen that feeling somewhat by setting up a video or music while I do it. And while I'm watching the video or listening to music, my body is sort of going on auto-pilot through the action of doing the dishes. Its as if I have a pre-programmed script in my brain for doing dishes; I run the script and then I'm like a passenger in my own body, watching my video while "auto-pilot" handles the work. But there's also a certain "latency" between me and my body; if I want to interrupt the program, the "stop" command has to be added to the command "queue" and there will be some lag time, maybe a second or two, maybe up to a minute or two, before my mind catches up to my body. A lot of times, when I'm playing games, my "gaming reflexes" are based on these programmed subroutines; I "hand off" control to my "body" and sit back more like a spotter, watching in 1st person as "someone else" seems to be calculating in real-time what the most practical call to make would be in the given situation, and then executing that action. It isn't always _perfect,_ there have been plenty of times the "program" seemed to get stuck in a sort of processing loop and freeze up, but 95% of the time, it works every time and using the auto-pilot gives far better results because the *only* other option seems to be "driving" my body like a manual and, with my ADHD, juggling clutch and gears and shifting all while trying to steer and navigate and watch traffic is just far too overwhelming for me.
Now, that having been said, I can describe what _Flow State_ feels like for me. Flow State is the rare occasion where my mind functions like an Automatic Transmission; I don't have to juggle complicated, distracting shifting processes like a Manual, but I *also* am not stuck relying on an Auto-Pilot mode which leaves me feeling like I have no direct input over my own actions. It's like a perfect amalgamation of driving with Automatic, but also having the _assistance_ of an auto-copilot giving me all the data it would use to run like a HUD. I just automatically do what needs to be done because the autopilot is identifying hazards *for* me, measuring the route, monitoring my speed, handling all the data-management so I don't have to, but *still* leaving it up to me to consciously *act* on the provided info so there's none of that latency between mind and body that gives the "passenger effect". And, at the same time, I'll often get the hyperfocus state alongside this because, since that automated portion of my mind is handling the data management, I can be *absolutely laser focused* on what I'm doing to such a degree that I seem to react to things with deferred awareness. For example, back when I used to play MOBAs a lot, I could just sorta... _smell..._ when someone was going to throw a blind pull from outside my vision and sidestep it. And then I could look back on it after a moment and think, "Yeah, that's exactly where *I* would have thrown that pull if it had been me. So I just dodged what I imagined myself doing." And, conversely, I'd also throw out blind skill-shots at where I anticipated a low-health opponent would be standing and, more often than not, I'd get the kill (and also their rage), because, "that's where I'd probably be standing to TP home if I had low HP." But I didn't actually have to "think" that in the moment. It was almost like the processing order was reversed; reaction> conclusion> information, instead of the other way around. So, for me, Flow State is a little bit like peaking into the future by anticipating, "what would I do if I were them", but implementing the proper reaction before I have my answer, and then getting the answer before I've asked the question. And then just doing that repeatedly in sequence until I win.
I've experienced flow state while at work doing my day to day prep tasks just completely lost in the activity every movement feels precise and without wasted energy, i've also experienced it in busy rushes i feel like my brain processes things faster and my body moves on it's own to complete each task
I’ve had it only a few times as I don’t yet have much access to competition, but the times that I have accessed flow state were incredibly impressive. My Byleth during flow feels almost unbeatable; far better than my current main. My opponent can hardly get in my face, and even when they do, it’s almost like my hands and unconscious know exactly what to do to recover and counter correctly.
Can’t wait to keep up the challenge ahead of me to reach my very best.
Asuka flow state is when you ascend
Funnily enough I've only experienced flow state in fighting games when I was AGAINST pixie characters, the amount of awareness, knowledge and quick reactions the characters demand to be able to counter properly is grand, I believe is even more true in my case because I play rushdown characters so trying to make space between the pixie and me to play slower is a non option
The main place I experience flow state is outside of fighting games. It happens to me frequently when time attacking platformers. The fact the objective is to beat your own time creates a challenge that perfectly matches your skill level, and those are the situations where flow state can occur most often.
Everytime I’m down all my lives as ken in smash flow hits and I rob my opponent
0:25 there’s the Glass Cannon, and there’s Chipp, the Paper Shuriken
I’m terrible at high speeds, so Turbo games and Sonic like characters are not my thing
XD
i don't get much flow when i play fighting games, but when i play shmups.... oh boy
and if you never felt one, there this obscure shmup for ps1 called zanac x zanac. which is a compilation of the original zanac games and a new game called zanac neo
zanac neo ability to push people into flow is crazy, is actually not a particularly hard shmup nor a bullet hell if you are worried about that.
but it does this thing where it has dynamic difficulty(the game gets harder the longer you stay alive) but the way it implements it is completely different from any game i know of. the stages for the game are a mix of fixed enemies plus random enemies. as difficulty goes up it tosses not only more random enemies but enemies that directly counter act the weapon you currently have.
and however it does its crazy logic, it just makes people go into flow, i seen friends of mine who do not play shmups and were playing with me l go into it and go "wtf just happened?!?"
To enter flow, you need to have full understanding of the game and its systems. Getting surprised is the biggest way to break you out of flow, which is why you don't necessarily need to be "the best" to enter it, but it does make it way more likely when you are at that level - and nearly impossible when you are a newbie.
The game I can most consistently enter flow is Sekiro. After that would probably be Hotline Miami 2. While I can enter flow in fighting games, it's way more consistent in a single player game where things are way less likely to surprise you.
I've only felt the flow twice once against a friend for $20 and once in a locals during a match where I made it back from defeat in the losers bracket ( still lost finals)
I seem to... gravitate towards Pixie characters in more traditional fighting games, though mainly because I enjoy characters of extremes. Extreme neutral, extremely low health. Extreme damage, extremely hard mechanic to play around. So I suppose it is no wonder I found myself playing Chipp and Pot in Strive.
Flow state is so cool though. I'm sure I've experienced it at least once, but it is so... natural feeling. The only time I tend to notice is once it's over, and then the feeling of peace is just... hard to latch a memory onto. Do know it's a good feeling at least. So that's nice.
For some decent Smash examples of the Pixie archetype, look no further than Melee/Project+ Fox and Project+ Lucas. While the Melee-esc platform fighters tend to feature movement as a core pillar of the gameplay, these two go above and beyond the call with some of highest ground speed in the game, incredible strong vertical movement flexibility (and, by extension platform movement), projectiles that DEMAND consideration, and buttons and a fall speed that let them basically rip control of an engagement out of an opponent's hands. On top of that, both characters then break the mold with some of the most stylish, often lethal, freeform combos seen within the game, with Lucas being one of the few poster children of Project+ in its entirety for how flashy he looks. The only trade off for all of this? They are both some of the lightest characters, and their fall speed? The very strength that gives them unlimited power? It makes them the most susceptible to being killed on contact, even in spite of all the nuanced mitigation options the games provide (and even Fox's frame 1 intangible reversal/universal combo tool). XD
As a noob I have no problem playing pixies casually, Chipp is my favorite in GG since I first played XX and it's just fun to go fast and jump all over the screen. Dying from a few hits is part of the thrill.
Besides, he's such a mix machine that other noobs have problems dealing with it.
Watching neurotypicals try to describe a thing with such mysticism that just happens to me all the time is so funny.
Bruh flow is just a specific kind of hyperfocus.
Anyone who’s tumbled out of their room at 3am in a maddened and debased dash to the kitchen because they realized they’re suddenly starving and their body is all shakey cause they weren’t paying any attention to their physical needs cause they were too focused on their game or hobby or whatever has also experienced something similar to flow but we’re not romanticizing that one now are we?
Bro ok ok so explain why you have less than 1k subs sir we need to see to that
If I’m being honest I find pixie characters really fun to fight against. I always play the characters that are slow as shit because it’s fun so I’m used to blocking half the game anyways. It’s fun to see if they make a mistake and punish by evaporating their entire healthbar
Pixel bar classic
14:21 Me High Cheek Sent Me High
XD
Thanks, EFAP
Pixies are awesome: speedspeedspeed
The character isn't the problem, the player is the problem.
Im way too late
But something tells me that pixies with nearly any tool (especially projectiles) in a non platformer 2D FG seems kind of unfair, not unbalanced or broken, but, its an archetype where it goes 'i can do anything (except grab) better than you' and that just doesnt sit right with me with
Now if its a pixie that doesnt have a projectile or every tool under the sun, then theyre fine i think
But uh, also ive never fought or analyzed to many pixies, so my knowledge bout em is limited
Lastly, theyre the true opposite of grapplers, while zoners are the side of the archetypal coin to grapplers, andi think thats neat
Great vide9
Twelve is really only a pixie because every other playstyle is so much worse for them.
i am curious-if flow state is that, what is the state that is the opposite of flow state.. but also the same? there is no ecstasy or joy, no sense of surrealness; you just.... lose all feeling seemingly, you feel virtually nothing you care about almost nothing, you think clearly and are extremely focused, paying attention to everything going on around you at the same time and being capable to analyze and react almost instantaneously, as if time is slowed down despite perceiving time normally, this often being accompanied with a sense of bloodlust/frenzy that at the same time kinda sits there at the back of your mind
essentially, instead of flowing freely you become almost like a advanced combat machine
i am curious because this is a state i entered twice in my life under situations of overwhelming stress, both times being immobilized and unable to get free no matter what i tried and both time getting more and more angry even though it was painful, i was literally physically suffocating from my anger and in pain and i kept getting even angrier, and when i tried to get mad beyond the limit of my body i suddenly entered the state i mentioned above almost instantly as if i was never mad in the first place
So you're saying when you're playing really well, Chipp Zanuff?
This is very interesting, but brings up the question: are the zone/flow states always the best state you must have to be? I know it sounds unintuitive but hear me out.
Have you ever felt like you're so focused on something that you don't think of the big picture that much? Have you ever written a whole text only to notice that a little mistake was made above that messed everything up?
I'm a low to mid level player, yes I'm not that skilled, but I feel like I have gone through the flow like a dozen times (considering I've played videogames for 17 years by now and given the amount of time spent, that is not a big amount I'd say.) I feel like when I'm hyper focused I think quicker because I'm not actually thinking, it's almost like the solutions come more naturally and you can act without struggle, but is it always a good thing? Maybe you've heard about the three types of players by now, the body, the mind, and the heart. How those three interact in their own flow states? I feel like the possibility is that maybe... Being hyper focused is not the best case for everything, but this would generate an interesting conversation so I'd like to hear about other people experiences and what they think
might just be me, but pxie characters sound like hit and run characters (could be totally wrong here so feel free to correct me)
Tbh I hyperfocus A LOT so in some games I can consistently preform really well but then I have like another state I have no emotions and I can't remember after very in depth details lol
Why are pixie characters my favorite? ADHD.
For me flow state is experiencing everything in slow motion. Like I'm experiencing each thing frame by frame. I blink and everything is sped up to a blinding degree yet I'm executing everything perfectly, parrying and defending everything on the frame I need to.
Sometimes I remember seeing into the many futures where I've lost and when I'm suddenly back into reality the moments where I failed I've actively changed to an option where I've won. With each new reality I altered to one where I've won or just relied on instinct.
It was like I was Dr Manhatten. I don't think I'm some seer or psychic btw I believe it's flow state things amping my brain. I only achieve this like once a year in fighting games, monster hunter or more often when I'm working on projects.
Why no skug
Sheik is a better example for Smash than Sonic.
Bruv the last part about pixie character not actually being good most of the time is like kinda false because almost every level of player can exploit speed in cool ways outside of the absolute begginers sure they definetely are compritivey better when played at a top level but there usually pretty good even when outside of the top level of play
Vakihas damage isnt low. Also you forgot to mention bridget
I did say "Vakiha does far more damage than you'd expect." This also isn't a comprehensive list of every 'pixie' character.
So what your saying is playing pixie characters let’s you be bedman
Yeet
Cool gameplay bro. Thanks for this! Great video. Ever heard of C Wilson Meloncelli Channel? He's been sharing some flow state hacks highlights. Come check him out!
6:20 what do you mean “smash is wired forget sonic” he is literally a textbook pixie character and literally is what you described in the sentences that come after. Don’t dismiss smash probably because it’s a “platform” fighting game, that’s just straight discriminatory
Edit how are you going to dismiss smash and then give a smash character as your own example smh