How Rhythm Game Players Read Notes (for non-rhythm game players) [READ DESC]

update - i dont really like this video anymore as im pretty sure the explanation is flawed anyway
not really a good video to base your learning of reading on, i'd suggest you also try to find other means of learning about this stuff
wanted an excuse to finally put this microphone to good use
also a really common question with an answer that weirdly enough doesn't get that much coverage
also this is cringy on purpose i promise please believe me
discord - / discord

[@alfredcommentary]

the phenomenon everyone is referring to here is the same thing - it's pattern recognition and "chunking" - we do this with phone numbers. a lot of sports reflexes, such as the ball example, are small learned patterns - they're not actually pure reaction time, and NFL athletes have some of the slower reaction times athletes if I recall - sprinters and hockey goalies had the fastest, rivaling top CS:GO players. this slow buildup of pattern recognition happens when you read more, as in books/text. your brain recognizes the patterns of larger structures of information over time. you can observe this if you give the SAT to college students before and after college - a lot of students will score higher because they can physically read faster, which is why the GRE/etc uses more difficult material. what I've found is really interesting though is that my ability to read certain charts for certain games has sometimes been contingent on the ability of my hands to do the chart at all - so e.g. I once did hand exercises for popn music for a month, *DIDN'T PLAY THE GAME AT ALL*, then was suddenly able to read harder stuff. so there's probably some neuronal component here too - where your brain is doing a combination of chunking + pattern recognition + some kind of bodily connection to the chart, like how people will press brake at dangerous moments when in a passenger seat of a car even if they are not driving.

[@TheDevilchilly]

this is also how speed chess and even tetris pros play if I'm correct they just recognize "patterns" and chunk info from a shit ton of experience and focused practice, in chess they might see piece formations or pawn formations and plan accordingly, tetris they decide where to place minos based on the formations of the minos they were given before that.

[@user-ph9pm6fc7g]

What you're describing can be pretty easily explained by muscle memory, and just visually linking certain patterns to movements of your fingers. I personally stare directly at the 3rd column in 4k VSRG's, and determine what key needs to be pressed based on how far away it is from where I'm staring. I only realised I did this when I started trying to play 7k and had absolutely no muscle memory, nor any visual link between what I saw on the screen and what finger needs to be pressed.

[@TheDevilchilly]

@@user-ph9pm6fc7g very much my point.

[@abdullahalmasri612]

I saw a neat example of this recently, 2023:01:22 is easier to read than 20230122 usually even tho it has three more characters

[@bloxztr2601]

I think chunking is more common in DDR cuz specific pattern recognition makes tech way easier. I never get overwhelmed anymore because of 4k but I still need to read in chunks to play any DDR chart above lv16

[@pentacontakaihenagon1782]

honestly, you kinda just play the game and then after a while you're suddenly able to read the notes

[@e_mich]

yea

[@revlerie]

@@e_mich its truly magic 💀

[@Woopsie195]

Brain goes autopilot mode for me 💀

[@pentacontakaihenagon1782]

@@Woopsie195 relatable

[@727wyfsi]

@@Woopsie195 i think thats for everyone

[@bender9740]

Basically: for those of us have been playing rhythm games for years, pattern recognition gets you pretty far, but it’s the euphoric state where you’re “in the zone” that really gets your flow going. Where nothing else matters, it’s just you and the music, and your body/hands are doing the rest.

[@nidgithm]

for me when i get in the zone i kinda get too in the zone sometimes and then get lost in unrelated thoughts and then i start messing up more lmao

[@N-WordEnjoyer]

@@nidgithm same but I don't really play rhythm games, I feel like this just applies to every game that demands the player's intensive focus, lol.

[@ZedDevStuff]

It feels like my hands are alive. Tried to DT a song in osu!mania, i wasn't even registering the notes but i somehow hit most of them. Now i actually can understand that map and DT it Full combo

[@ingnitedtoast4312]

@@nidgithm i kinda just zone out and let my brain make my fingers go down when the colors reach the grey circle

[@Ray.6406]

@@nidgithm For me, thinking about unrelated stupid stuff is what makes me go in "the zone" since my body is automatically hitting everything. The moment I realize I'm thinking about stupid unrelated stuff and try to go back to "focus" on the game is when I get confused and see every note individually, the key is to "turn off" your mind so your brain does everything as good as your body can.

[@maboesanman]

It’s kinda like asking someone “how do you make sense of all those pixels” when they look at a png. Like you’re not thinking about each pixel. Your brain is just amazing at aggregating information once it’s been trained

[@xsuperneroxb4046]

oo i like this analogy, i hope u don't mind if i use it :p

[@boi7506]

This explanation works similar to other different rhythm games such as Cytus, Phigros, VOEZ. We don’t randomly process all the notes as once but our brains are trained to aggregate information such as where the bar line is, which note or tile it is, where to tap on the screen when it’s in two different directions at the same time ( All of these examples are phigros related bc I play phigros )

[@pisci_a]

ngl i think its more interesting if someone could see a pixel with their naked eye.

[@frost6646]

@@pisci_a i mean u can if u get close enough to the screen

[@pisci_a]

@@frost6646 well yeah if u manage to get that close

[@iaminconstantpain4330]

I love when you get so into the zone and you're so focussed on the song it almost feels as if your hands are moving on their own, like you just see the notes and your hands instantly react on their own.

[@slime_mask]

same

[@Human-san]

Ah, I can only ever get that for short stretches of time, like 15-20 seconds max.

[@VPshandlewasstolen]

sometimes i look at my hands and be like "bro wtf are u doing lmfao"

[@chocobro3198]

THIS. And then when I become aware and wonder how I am even doing this, is when I actually trip up. LOL

[@funky_9377]

One time i had that and i fc’ed 2 hard parts and i just yelled holy shit, Then i choked and got sad

[@darkviking7135]

I am not that good at rhythm games, but the things I figured out on my own are. -Don’t look at the part you hit the notes, look above (or wherever they come from) it -pattern recognition -And you know, rhythm, when you know the song and you hear the 123 you hit the 123 pattern

[@kanyetheofficial]

but sometimes when there's too many notes and I forget what do I have to click i have to look down on where I click to see then go up and it's too late because new notes come and that's how I lose

[@CrypticJade]

Just stare at the middle of the screen and don't put your face too close. You'll read notes better and be able to touch the notes accurately. That's what I did anyway.

[@dinosharttt]

@@kanyetheofficialthat’s because your making your eyes follow the notes

[@kanyetheofficial]

@@dinosharttt yea basically i just said that

[@OttoDoesOCs]

#2 is not true ALL the time, if a song is too easy focus on your hitbox and try to aim for it getting the lowest ms 30.00ms is good but I prefer being close to 0.00ms

[@Wildcard727]

for me it's down to muscle memory, u see a general sort of notes and u just know how to hit them on instinct. maybe that's just my long hours of playtime but for difficult maps which i normally play (mid 4digit player) then it sorta becomes instict and u feel the patterns as ur fingers react edit: how the fuck did this blow up, i mean what this is just for me lol. i just see notes and hit them XD

[@mouseman3373]

Neuron Activation Monkey Sees Note Monkey Hits Note

[@TPA22.]

i didnt really know how to describe how i read the notes but the whole "instinct" part of your comment is actually a really smart way to think about it!

[@TPA22.]

@@mouseman3373 yes, the neuron activation is strong, monke see < \/ /\ > monke do < \/ /\ >

[@Amir-ui2xx]

omg hi aj

[@interforth]

Yes

[@master_shifu69]

Pov: you've played a rythym game for years but still watch this video.

[@christophobia6415]

Phigros and Arcaea player here. The "read one area only" rule definitely still works as in 4k mania-style games, however in games such as Phigros and Dynamix where there are sometimes multiple directions of note travel to be aware of, I found that it is still beneficial to read the notes at an area that is somewhere above the judgement line. Sometimes, the notes travelling at different angles intersect, and it is good to read around that area, but not directly there because good luck seeing anything. At other times the notes travel in completely different directions and I've had to kind of average the distance between the two and read in between.

[@LoraLoibu]

Other phigros player here, the main difficulty in that game *is* actually _reading the chart._ Chart shenanigans only really outmatched by whatever the fuck notITG has going on

[@e_mich]

@@LoraLoibu notitg is really good and its actually one of the first vsrgs that i started out with lol

[@LoraLoibu]

@@e_mich I wasn't saying it was bad, the charts are amazing on both the creator and the player's part

[@Zkr7]

@@LoraLoibu yes but most of chart don't even need to read but its like you know how to do it instantly, its just your finger sometimes cant catch the speed

[@Dollar_Tree_Dog]

Phigros player here. I just look at my note streak the entire time and let my body enter a sort of trance

[@olex3061]

sometimes, if you’re really into it, you’ll literally zone out while playing and it’ll feel like your hands are moving by themselves. it’s the weirdest feeling ever, and so trippy. almost like a out of body experience but only with your hands. (btw if you stop zoning out you usually stop playing as well)

[@sonic176yt7]

Short answer: you press the note when it hits the judgement line

[@lynchie2073]

something else i notice beginners fumble with is where they focus their attention. most start focusing where you have to hit the notes, and this works when songs are slow or simple. but when you have to move quicker, its a death sentence. you have to factor in the reality that your hands move slower than your brain and compensate for it. rhythm games train you into being a step ahead of yourself so you can keep up, focusing on notes at a spot that gives your hands enough time to react

[@ngochainguyen6544]

the point goes from focus on the notes to "play more"

[@bloodmoonlps]

personally I just stare at the space where I'm supposed too hit the notes and let my reflexes take the wheel. head empty, click, click.

[@KirbosPlanet]

I started off "good" at rhythm games-- turns out i went against logic and did the right thing accidentally

[@probyes]

another thing is, that with time you don't really "think" what you gonna do when the notes appear, as with time playing you get muscular memory and so by just having something different than a black playfield on the screen your fingers press the keys. Thats how dense patterns are done, instinct and muscular memory

[@ZXZZ66_]

Yeah, thats the closest one from how we rythm gamer see. We dont really think what to press, we saw "oh, a note" then the our finger moves by itself.

[@Wmann]

As someone who is unhealthily addicted to Phigros, I’ve come to get used to overcoming and adapting to all sorts of things, like playing upside down, on the middle, sideways or playing with notes coming in all directions… That kind of helped me get used to many other rhythm games because they felt easier to get used to. I’ve been playing Chunithm that came out recently in my country, and I’m having a blast just playing master charts after getting used to the expert charts :0… and I started playing 3 days ago. Yeah okay that does’t have anything to do with the video, but if I wanna say something about “sight reading”… Your brain just does the work for you after time. “Getting used to it” is a lot better than expected.

[@Purple.monkeyfr]

The thing with me is, I was doing the strategy by looking at one part of the thing ever since I started playing rhythm games without even knowing it

[@ooxlan9475]

Additional explanation (for the non-rhythm enjoyers of course) to the might possibly asked question "*Where the heck did rhythm gamers get those inhuman amount of Stamina?*" Well, to make it short since I ain't like to speak in riddles: *Commonly, players instinctively choose to train their stamina by playing a lot (yet it's a journey obligated to go through by which it takes months to years of playing all the while slowly enhancing your stamina along, you can't really get it on a single day 'cept for disappointment) Another but less well-known method is to train it manually. Train your fingers through finger push-up for instance.

[@mikiru_0914]

brooo no one is going to do fingertip pushups to play rhythms games but hardcore veterans

[@ooxlan9475]

@@mikiru_0914 I know, that's exactly why it's not popular, nevertheless you can still find videos talking about it as I have seen some.

[@Human-san]

Alternative method: Simply Play an Instrument and passively gain finger strength. (disclaimer: some instruments are better than others for this purpose)

[@OttoDoesOCs]

You break your fingers and get the burn and no we ain't talking about your regular muscle burn we talking about a fucking vein and your fingers burn your fingers get numb but you have to keep playing because you know that you want to get better and have fun or even beat the other person so yes you feel the burn that's also where insane KPS kicks in if you figure out you haven't felt "finger burn" in a while it means you need to train your reaction time better because your fingers are keeping up easily a good way to do this is decrease your hitbox size and if you do that your brain makes it think "Oh that was easier than I thought I need to keep this hitbox position in memory" and that's how rhythm gamers feel like they are bots to put it you just don't have finger burn as they do and the insane amount of reaction time they do, I have been playing Funky Friday and FNF for 4 years at least. And maybe a little bit of Osu! Mania 4K here and there

[@OttoDoesOCs]

And yes your veins feel the burn it hurts but you are too focused on hitting the notes that you could care less

[@TheShinyZoroark_]

I have to agree that works, i have been playing rythm games for a while now and everytime i encounter a hard map i just unfocus my vision (yes, it looks all blurry) but somehow, my brain is able to better handle the notes. I guess the reason is because, since you are not focusing, your brain is receiving fewer unnecessary details, processing faster and incrementing your reaction time

[@Akisukaa]

Reading those notes is one thing, but training your muscle memory to execute those patterns is a whole different story

[@dewaputrahamdani2286]

Its like reading 200wpm vs typing 200wpm, different realm

[@TheDutchManMain]

To me, it is more like reacting to what you see. Just like how you just dodge a ball that is coming right at your face. You don't think about it. After you play a lot of 4k, your eyes start to recognise some parterns, and your fingers just react to it. I would say it is as simple as that, and it is actually. But to actually do it is another topic on its own

[@revlerie]

this guy got it too

[@Avriel_Mimiga]

yeah, i play a lot of 4k songs in FNF Roblox games but the moment i switch to 6k my brain becomes pudding

[@revlerie]

@@Avriel_Mimiga its because your fingers havent really synced to the keys. like when you play 4k, i feel that my fingers and the keys are practically fused

[@bioy2646]

@@revlerie fr then i plqy 6 keys then i feel like i need 2 more fingers to play

[@revlerie]

@@bioy2646 for some reason no matter how hard i think of it as just two more fingers my entire stuff breaks up

[@m.a.2192]

I gave up on rhythm games because as much as I tried looking at one spot, my eyes tend to slowly shift to another spot of the screen. So I had to struggle with both the song and my eyes every time I played.

[@FemboyNella]

I just kinda start blurring my vision and the mess just makes more sense (longer maps like galaxy collapse/freedom dive are much easier because your eyes dont hurt and dont get messy)

[@connorself]

For any musicians out there who didn’t understand any of the analogies. It’s similar to reading music, the first few times you’re reading each individual note, but once you learn the flow of how music should sound and look. You see the overall pattern of a melody and then can infer what the rest of the notes on “how it should sound” as well as fill in the bass because you understand the pattern.

[@probyes]

this showed up again on my tl so i'm just gonna say my discovery (which i guess most of you know), reading is not just the capability to SEE the pattern, but how your fingers and eyes coordinate within it, lets suppose you're playing a dense jumpstream chart, you can see the notes perfectly, but still struggle to hit it, even having the speed, if your fingers simply can't coordinate to hit it, that means you ain't really reading it (idk if i explained myself)

[@gavrielrabo7271]

For someone who has been playing osu mania for quite some time, it really doesn’t take to much time to think about what notes to press for me personally. Most of the time when I see a note or a pattern, it’s usually just memorization but in a way where reading notes become second nature.

[@WiiDSCube]

I've always referred to this as a flow state since it requires me to "not try so hard" its the same thing with playing instruments. There's a steep learning curve but eventually you're recognizing the patterns and using the muscle memory to the point its like your hands are playing without you. But the more I focus on the individual notes or chords the more likely I am to break my flow and have to forcefully continue playimg with actual heavy brain computation which is always where I end up making mistakes in both instruments and rhythm games. Our brains are much more powerful than our consciousness but we need our consciousness to do most things except when you get in a flow state and its beautiful

[@frostbite6431]

I've never even thought about that. I just kinda sit down, zone out, and hit the notes by reflex

[@ItzKryptek64]

I just look at one area (for the most part) when playing rhythm games. I play a lot of guitar hero and geometry dash which are completely different styles of the rhythm genre but focusing on one part of the screen really helps, I will usually look towards the top of my screen or far right (geometry dash) and then I click when it feels right. It’s hard to explain how this all works for me but it just syncs up and works perfectly. For faster sections I loom further ahead and for slower sections I look more toward the middle of the screen

[@Kooliette]

Just unfocus your eyes. Boom.

[@mr.kaseyoswaldo46]

I'ma just answer this from the start from my own experience, how I read notes are to look at about 7/10 of the way up of the screen, fast speeds, I recognise what notes come to me and I play them with my memory and abit of vision but I don't look down as I'll loose my focus on what's coming up, keep your eye on the future notes and just play the current ones with what you had seen, it will naturally come to you.

[@kansas0606]

Me as a person who plays rhythm games, not understanding a single word spoken in this video: ah, I see

[@Endlock_]

just go outside and try looking at the passing by cars that are going fast and just focus on looking at one part of the car and your good

[@idoblenderstuffs]

idk i just play beat saber where its just kinda "hit stuff" it doesnt take much brain power to realise that a cube is flying towards you at 200 mph, at least compared to normal rythm games

[@MysticMocha]

It feels magical to have the ability to read notes as you kinda just grow with it the more you play. I've probably gotten myself halfway on the gworth part as I can already read notes well. It's just that my stamina doesn't catch up with it. I've now just resorted to charting (mapping) as it's easier to of course, playtest your own map (even at high difficulties). I still play, but not as much as before.

[@e_mich]

mapping is indeed really fun and i really think more ppl should do it

[@MysticMocha]

@@e_mich I agree. Mapping is fun... if you know the basics of what you're doing, the context of making the map, and if you want others to play it or if it's for your personal use to practice some patterns and such. Experimenting is the best excuse I can think of for making maps. It's also fun that way, and I do it half the time.

[@coolntkipen2248]

this comment right here is literally me

[@sukuramaizu]

usually it only took me 3 months to master hard songs

[@der-lii7051]

Hey I found another Arcaea player

[@verlatenn]

how to read notes: play the game and it'll just click

[@e_mich]

real

[@Dravenick]

KZbin recommended this to me, so i went ahead and ignored part of the video title, and viewed the video in hopes that it could explain the difficult parts and even how to deal with ungood charts.

[@razzon226]

I kind of call it the “beat saber effect”, where once you get used to it enough, you see the note and you do the input. As a beat saber player, I see the color and the direction, and process it very quickly through practice. The ability to kind of subconsciously analyze the notes and move your sabers to match it is what makes the Expert and Expert Plus levels possible.

[@AstralizedMahou]

As someone who used to look at every note individually i gotta say, its way easier to just stare at one spot 😂 i noticed i did WAYY better at getting perfect in project sekai (since i usually look at one spot) compared to fnf (while looking at each note individually)

[@ocienic_corn]

It's like eagle's eye. You just position your eyes at one place but you can make yourself see the 4 lanes without moving your eyes.

[@mukuro8033]

You dont read notes, YOU FEEL IT. Sun Tzu probably.

[@tropixi5336]

i dont usually look at the buttons, i look a little higher so i can see whats coming

[@randomness.stupidness]

a rhythm game is sorta like playing an instrument with sheet music, but simpler.

[@clevahh_plays3176]

So. In all actuality...... Using an example. A portion of your brain is dedicated to remembering each animal. Another little segment gets added into that when u start learning something like pokemon. The same concept is applied to pattern recognition. When u first start playing rhythm games your brain will only be able to read one more at a time. As you progress your brain will be able to recognize 2 or more until you get to the point after many years and hours to where your brain recognizes entire pages of patterns. That's why most piano tupe rhythm games like stepmania, or guitar hero. Most of us will pretty much have our eyes fixed to the section of the screen where it pops up like perfects or greats. We don't need to see what's passed that. We only need to see what's coming. I've been playing stepmania type games for roughly 20 years. But a lot of the pattern recognition flows into most other rhythm even if it's something like A.D.O.F.A.I or muse dash. I say to everyone trying to learn them. Always at least watch the songs that are way harder than what u can do because even if u can't physically "play" them but you can "read" it. You already have half the battle done. Speed, accuracy, muscle memory come with time. You'll be able to read what's happening before you can actually play it.

[@totallynotrifty]

i do this but; when the screen gets filled with more notes, my brain instantly goes to spamming bc i cant hit every note on time like some people do. idk how to get past where i am and how to NOT rely on spamming

[@mapspeta]

My eyes and brain: Huh, so its very simple My finger: Wtf man, can you just play mario kart!

[@user-zn7em4kz4d]

Alright fellas... Do at which spot of the grid do YOU look? :) My personal weapon of choice is looking just a little bit above the arrows :)

[@zen_ith]

WHY IS THERE A JTOH REFERENCE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE VIDEO IT JUMPED ME

[@sweetaplle]

Most rhythm games: We read notes by looking at an area of the screen, instead of the notes Rhythm Doctor: We read notes by not looking

[@lilac659]

Good old patterns, periphery, and an overwhelming addiction to 'button click go brrr.'

[@koenko2]

should also be noted that a lot (though not all) of rhythm game players tend to practice a sort of half-zoned-out state of mind where the constant information is a lot easier to take in. if you're pouring 200% of your focus into a map, it's going to overwhelm you either way, so at least in my experience its better to try a more subconscious approach.

[@SuperSmashDolls]

In IIDX there's also horizontal and vertical reading. Most new players will read vertically by accident, which can cause you to screw up timing. Horizontal reading is the process of forcing yourself to read chords rather than separate notes that happen to be hit at the same time. This is essential to practice at higher note densities because otherwise you won't be able to tell the difference between two notes that are close together and two notes that are pressed at the same time.

[@aayamvantas8470]

the problem for me is it just feels like i've hit my limit for improvement, i haven't gotten any better for over a year, hell it feels like i've been getting worse, i am part of group 3 .-.

[@archiratee160]

i see the note it self as group patterns and then play the pattern of what you see

[@danx8214]

Chunking a few notes together is fine but i don't get how anyone can look at like several of them stacked on one another and think "oh yeah I can see them in layers" damn they've got really good eyes

[@kurokaishirintsuga4101]

osu!std player here So we can see a lot of stacked notes because of pattern and basically our brain turn into autopilot Simply, we train our reading speed a lot by playing harder maps that have faster approach circle

[@DB-wb1tz]

unfocus ur eyes a tiiiny bit. you will see a broader area in less detail. it's kinda like when you are trying to look someone in the eyes and just look somewhere in the middle.

[@R8Spike]

Taiko player here-I can't do long streams(yet) but I read the triplets as one note and if there is a note that overlaps the triplet I read that.

[@Mh_012]

Ex-BanGDream player here, increasing the scroll speed / decreasing objects spawn time actually helps to read notes, as they will be fewer elements on your screen

[@Enderman-en3dv]

I've eventually just gotten a feel for the right note to stop spamming, like releasing a slider. What I always struggle with is holding my rhythm on super long repetitive patterns, even if it's alternating left/right it sort of just shuts my brain off.

[@user-ef1ob4sb4o]

For those who aim for AP (All Perfect), they actually not just see the notes and press it, instead, they record the gaming screen, and analyse the pattern of some part of the music, then practise on the recorded screen again and again

[@OttoDoesOCs]

Not me and I am a perfectionist

[@marstaylor2305]

For me it helps to zone out and just take everything in while looking at the one spot on the screen

[@gameroni51]

Actually when I play rhythm games, I do focus on one point of the screen, just like the middle, I would try to read and recognise the pattern as fast as I could and if I kinda missed a pattern I would look down quickly to recognise it again, but sometimes I would rely on muscle memory since some patterns are seen or used a bunch of times in rhythm game charts. It would actually make it faster for me to move on to the next note pattern and focus back on one point of the screen again. I don't know about you guys but thats how I play, we could be doing the same

[@LoraLoibu]

That is what they explained. Mostly look at *one specific area* of the screen

[@gameroni51]

@@LoraLoibu looks to the corner**

[@Kripahhhhh1402]

And then you're so good at the games, sometimes you're looking at the conner to see how is your acc going xd.

[@gameroni51]

@@Kripahhhhh1402 fr bro, i never even memorized the map

[@Zkr7]

@@LoraLoibu but in real that way only work for easy chart, in hard char, loon one area just reduce accuracy

[@RinkawaErion]

Practice. NO ONE starts to read/play notes that fast. Everyone of us started slow and slowly made our way into faster and faster notes. As you play longer and longer you will remembers the note's patterns and those notes just becomes your "guide" in the timing of the press rather than what and where to press (if you know what I mean)

[@TouchWater-hc2qi]

For me I just rely on the patterns and I just memorize it. Pattern changes make me struggle.

[@crazydoc3770]

what i do is see the screen looking up and down fast in a small seccion really fast, which lets me see and recognize paterns, but yeah i usually use the "look at a single spot" techinique when i get lost and want to comeback from where i was

[@sIavetotheworld]

Sometimes focusing on the notes makes it harder atleast for me so i just let my brain go wild

[@owuawo4744]

"play more" is just that

[@unrealwaifu1152]

There's also the matter of stamina. My hands became so weak after a long time of not playing even though I was confident I could "read" those notes

[@x1n00bie]

i've always looked at the very top to see the notes as soon as they're on screen and then used my peripheral to tap the button needed when it gets to the bottom

[@shadowmania8894]

and sometimes its just not even reading anymore because ur brain shuts off and goes into a flowstate where ur hands just see instead of your eyes

[@thesunisadeadlylaser8055]

I remember just giving up on those types of Rhythm games and just returning to Rhythm Heaven once again.

[@LelPop]

For me I just kinda naturally learned to look at one spot on the screen

[@zerareota1560]

I feel like a lot of it is memorization, like muscle memory. It’s sorta like piano and how there’s a level of just getting so into it your not even thinking, but then if you’re caught off guard you literally can’t hop back in and just have to restart

[@floofyyy]

keywords: muscle memory

[@tgd727]

I remember the notes in patterns so my fingers just move themselves after seeing a certain set of notes

[@fe2rr]

Its more memory than actually reading when you play hard maps

[@silasnebulous4533]

You read in patterns. You see 1-2 1 and your hand just does it.

[@NeoKev366]

What worked for me was looking to the middle of the screen (combo counter for me) and the notes that came from above the counter get registered and when they went past the point of the combo counter my brain already knows and presses right after.

[@akira_ariga]

In addition to just staring at the combo number instead of actually looking at the notes, after a while I just kind of know the style of the game and where the notes might land even if it’s a new song

[@PJFLIX_Productions]

as a rhythm game player myself (that game being FNF of course) After a while you don't even pay attention to the notes, and you just hit them without thinking. I work on an fnf mod myself, and when I'm charting. I sometimes put funny opponent animations. And usually you're pressing notes. So it helps to be able to hit the notes without even thinking. That way I can make sure the animation plays and works properly!

[@isleofdre108]

when i do that i get lower scores and my eyes hurt

[@bacon_with_brussels_sprout]

Osu mania players try to give tips other than "Just play more" challenge (impossible)

[@e_mich]

u can try cheating too i guess

[@bacon_with_brussels_sprout]

@@e_mich Im struggling on 2.5 stars even though I already do the "zone out and look at one spot of the screen" technique. Am I majoring in the arts of skilled tissues

[@iijel0e]

as a project diva player, the best way i can describe how i do it is a combination of memorizing the pattern and knowing the song itself when i say "memorizing the pattern" im not talking about being able to read off every note in specific off the top of my head,,, im talking about knowing the chart enough to quickly switch over to another button when needed. like ill know the song has a difficult part of alternating between (playstation button faces) △ and 〇, and i know that i should press △ first to start the chain of notes if you want to become a rhythm player, it'll definitely help to have heard the song a few times beforehand, and if you can memorize patterns like i can (all hail the 'tism) you'll be good to go and don't be too upset if you can't play harder difficulties right away! it took me several months to be able to play songs on hard mode, and several years to be able to play songs on extreme, but i got there eventually! the easier modes are meant to help you develop the skill needed to play the harder modes, so no one's gonna pick on you for not being "good enough"!

[@HeavyMetalMouse]

Another thing that 'clicks' into place at a certain point, in addition to the 'one part of the screen' narrowing of vision, is to recognize that you aren't just seeing individual notes run by, but patterns of notes. You will often see the same 2 or 3 note clusters happen very often, so it becomes more efficient to read them as a single 'event' to play starts to make more sense. In a four-note Guitar Hero setup, even just treating the 12 different two-note clusters as units can save attention; trills are then just repeated two-note clusters, and runs feel less chaotic when you're taking them two half-beats at a time. The weirdest thing about a lot of rhythm games is how, after being away from one for a while and coming back, it still ends up feeling really hard to go back down to beginner (because the slowness trips up whatever muscle memory you still have), but you're not quite back up to speed for Expert, so you're just sort of plinking and plonking your way through the middle difficulties until you hit your stride again. :P

[@what_are_you_doing_with_this.]

You can also look at patterns the note makes

[@hutoutpizzad]

I play Project Sekai but the best I can describe how I play is my brain going like "Note here, press. Long note here, hold" it's like just muscle memory and reflexes.

[@OffContentObi]

It’s sort of reflex, you’ll automatically connect the note with the song and (possibly) predict where the next notes at I just play some random song and kind of predict most of the notes

[@qez1974]

same as the piano tiles just looking at the score number and syncing the fingers beat at the beat of the music makes it easier to 3 crown

[@ErikratKhandnalie]

So, this aspect is why I tend to prefer rhythm games that focus more on a developed rhythmic sense over sheer ability to handle fast inputs. I never much cared for guitar hero and the like, because they don't really seem like they're there to treat your sense of rhythm so much as they are there to test your ability to follow complex patterns along to a rhythm, which is a pretty big distinction. My favorite rhythm game lately has been Muse Dash. It's a bit more "simple" as far as the inputs go, but I find that it requires a lot more rhythmic ability than other rhythm games I've played.

[@hyukleberry5567]

I started deemo.... I thought my rhythmic ability was good, but turns out my lack of coordination overrides it

[@EllaKarhu]

I'm not a fan of super fast inputs either, but I really enjoy complexity. It allows for more expressive and interesting charts. It's why I moved from 4k to 6k, and why I love Arcaea. For me these games have never been about testing any ability. They're a different way of enjoying music, sort of like dancing with your hands. I do push myself to improve, not for the sake of being good, but because it allows me to play more complex charts. With a well designed chart, even a song I wouldn't really care for on it's own can become an incredible experience.

[@oo8962]

I played muse dash too and it's mostly just memorizing things but the level with cars and hats (idk the song name) does require me to recognize the rhythm to beat it

[@ErikratKhandnalie]

@@oo8962 I've found kind of the opposite. Muse Dash is fun to me because I can anticipate what the rhythms are going to be and play along with them as they come up. Muse Dash is really fun to go into tracks blindd and see how you do, at least it was for me

[@Human-san]

​@@hyukleberry5567 mood

[@nightzn_]

I like to look to at my ceiling while playing, works every timr

[@KUNA-so2kn]

i honestly don't do any of those or i do but a combination, but the best thing that has worked for me in rhythm games it's blurrying my vision willingly that way i just follow the color patterns instead of seeing actual notes

[@ItzGFromMD]

This is actually really similar advice to what top players in smash and other fighting games tell newer players which is to keep your eyes on your opponent's character instead of your own. It's neat to see the concept translates to other games in different ways.

[@RowensGotGamesYT]

my eyes just naturally can move very fast but when im really in the zone my eyes dont move at all

[@AmmarFarisA]

Also one simple alternative way: Open third eyes by exchanging soul to the demonlord

[@Bunny_Mochi]

I have played rhythm games for js a year now and I think that's a pretty good amount bc in js a year, I got pretty good. I'm still figuring out how to read overwhelming amount of notes but I'll get there some day if I practice. Also smth's wrong with my brain everytime I play rhythm gamed, my eyes js scans all of them too fast and I'll start spacing out in the middle of the game... Gotta figure out how to take my focus back instead of js spacing out.

[@samuelmeidy8908]

the poitn about focusing at one point is really what i felt most of the time, i let my eye lock onto the score part, and let my fingers move on it's own after that. This really is the thing that i awlasy do (for someone who is shit at the game) and yet it still works. So, yes, just focus on one part of the arrow going down, and let your fingers go freely.

[@pyerix]

i call it "global vision" or something like that, when you have a high scroll speed and high notes you just can't follow them all

[@micah3807]

It's another example of being 'in the zone' aka. having muscle memory hand-eye coordination take over and not doing conscious decision making about it. I think one of the most obvious comparisons is playing the piano or typing on a keyboard; you know what to do and can do it very fast as long as you have enough practice & aren't thinking about where every individual finger is

[@Tuntor689]

Your brain does everything for you the more you get good

[@watchmycontent]

as a phigros player i can confirm we look and analyze every individual pixel instead of grouping

[@psroran]

Usually my hands just move by themselves

[@freebobuk]

I'm a rhythm gamer myself, despite seeing the chart, I still spam.

[@DB-wb1tz]

i do the "focus on one area" thing but also unfocus my eyes a bit so i can absorb a broader area, although less precisely. it's not a concentrated effort though, more like an unconscious habit.

[@playtime8945]

1:05 i have another category! its called "spam your keyboard and pray that it works"