Is it possible to aim for flow-state? A theory on what it even is.

[@TuneEditsfx]

The most consistent way to get into flowstates in CSGO is to completely drop my ego and not forcing my "own game", instead reacting to the current flow of the game. Just observe what's happening really closely and try to sync up everything, microadjusting everything to a harmonious state. Microadjusting movement, pace, aim etc. intuitively, without thinking at all. It's similar to tuning an instrument, once it sounds right, everything starts flowing. I really think consciously modelling is the thing that keeps us from getting to flowstates. Subconscious intuition has a way bigger bandwith than conscious modelling. If you've ever experienced a proper flowstate, you've probably noticed that everything works automatically and naturally, barely needing any thought, you can talk, make jokes etc., while still playing perfectly. Obviously you need to have good musclememory beforehand. Anxiety will kick you out of flowstates, so avoid that, also try to keep your heartrate low to avoid tensing up. Flowstates are mentally different from just being on point, your brain pretty much puts the game on "high priority" and allocates more processing power to it. There should be a video about that somewhere, I'll link it, once i find it. TLDR; Observation, intuition and mircoadjusting your gameplay is the easiest way to do it.

[@WatchClock99]

yo just saw that you are from austria and 18, same as me so I feel like I can relate a little. when I was 15 to 16 I wanted to go pro in cs but wasnt really going to work out, also rip austrian pro cs

[@TuneEditsfx]

@@WatchClock99 oh i'm over 20 now but ye

[@guilhermedealmeidaalves7007]

I have ADHD so sometimes when I get into flowstate I get the hyperfocus state of ADHD which works like a booster for flowstate. However, I dont talk that much when It happens.

[@JHAG94]

As a psychology student this subject really speaks to me. I've given my view on the subject and some of my experiences below. It's become a much more lengthy comment than intended I've been playing CS since 2007 and I can definitely find myself in the examples that you've given. When I'm in a situation, let's say a 1v3 as a t. Images of where the cts are flash in my head. For example, when I hear a flash somewhere, I see an image of a ct pushing that position (which hell do a few seconds later). I interpret these flashes as a visualization of information about the enemies' tendencies and what others would do in that situation. Resulting in your 'stealing the future' phenomenon. The more information (and experience to build upon that) I have, the more accurate the flashes are and the more sure I am of where people are. When you have a model in your brain of where enemies are, you feel more confident and are quicker to react to such situations. You're ready to react. You'll even hit better shots. An easy example of being able to react faster when you know people will show shortly is: Picture playing d2 as a t. You have an awp, just spawned and are watching mid doors. The gap is pretty small and normally most people won't be able to react in time to hit players that cross, while they're still crossing the gap (the wallbang is much easier. Im talking about the gap shot). When you know a ct is most likely to cross in the next second, you suddenly have a significantly higher chance of hitting the player, instantly killing him. If you'd have that gap on any other map, and you don't know if a ct is going to cross in the next second, three seconds or not at all. The chances of you hitting the shot are extremely slim. When playing CS, I subconsciously analyze what's happening around me constantly. The information gathered is then placed in a model, which tells me what is most likely to happen. I think this counts for all players, albeit in different levels. Some form more or 'better' models than others. I think people are informed by this model by feelings. They'll feel that players are going to do X. I'm sure not everyone is aware of where does feelings stem from. You talked about the difference between peeking a corner to check if someone is there and going on information that someone is there. In my experience I've noticed that if you 'know' that someone is around the corner, your reaction time increases significantly. Your brain is fully focused on the duel that is about to occur. If you're just checking, you have to react to what you see, which makes your total reaction time slower. More information leads to more focus. When people are more focused, I think they'll be more likely to feel like they're in a flow. The interesting part about incorrect information is that it'll make players more unfocused. In your example of 'all rushing b', take the long guy as an example. Even though the player probably knows that the information he received is incorrect, he'll still be less focused on and less ready to react to situations that defy the information he received. For example, even if the long player checks all corners when pushing long, it's likely that he'll either be slower to react to threats or even check corners very fast and move his crosshair away from the angle again, even though there's a terrorist there. His brain didn't expect the enemy to be there, but he still checked as he at some level knows the information could be false. Still, he isn't able to react the same as without the incorrect information. Models that are formed vs players you've played against a lot, can eventually be almost as powerful as a wallhack. Models can cause a visualization of information of what an enemy is going to do. This visualization is an image of what that player will do in a few seconds. I used to play the map scoutzknivez only for two years. A map that had a certain set of rules and a community with teams that competed against each other daily (2v2 or 3v3). I'm good at analyzing tendencies of players myself (really enjoy it, which probably helps) and noticed from a very young age that I often knew what players would do, based on the things I noticed. People like to follow patterns subconsciously and these patterns are definitely readable. In 9/10 situations the same player (you've played against a lot) will respond the same (as long as there aren't too many variables at play). If you feel like you know what players are going to do, you'll become significantly better and harder to play against. Even if you've only faced a player for three rounds (if you've seen/heard what he does in all three) will give you a lot of information about how that player likes to play. What annoys me at pro play, is that when a pro is flanking the enemy (for example a ramp/mirage as a ct, bomb planted A), pros even show themselves if the round is already over and the flank hasn't been spotted. I personally think this is a very bad idea. In games that I've played, once I notice that a player wanted to flank. I know that i'll check it in the future and I'm more sure that it'll happen again. Perhaps it doesn't matter, as pros face each other often and already know these tendencies. But I still think it'll freshen up the knowledge of the possibility of that flank by that player. Imo pros should hardly ever do this (a situation where I'd allow it is if you have an inferior weapon and you want to pick a better one up). I think that if teams learn to communicate properly and try to work on their models, they'll all reach a higher level. This counts for players personally and for the team as a whole. After playing a game, it also helps to reply scenarios in your head of things that went wrong and right. It'll definitely help further model building and will improve its accuracy. Watching your own and your enemies' demos should work wonders for this. I felt like I had a lot of things to say and it became quite the lengthy comment. I still feel like I wasn't able to translate what I really wanted to say to words, though. I'm not basing what I said on any theory I've so far learned at my psychology studies. Just my two cents based on my experience. I don't know if everyone processes information in the same way (for example the visualization of information). But I do think people all 'feel' the cumulative result of the information they've received and act upon it accordingly.

[@lewisio7]

wow I clicked on a video by anders and DDK was talking to me! Incredible Dan!

[@RoomOnFireStudios]

One day Dan and I will go on his podcast together and it'll get really interesting

[@drawn__9999]

Great job dude! It's always interesting to hear about sports psychology! Keep it up, there are a lot of interesting themes revolving around mental states!

[@RoomOnFireStudios]

I mean its a super interesting topic and I wish I had more expertise to explore it! but maybe it can begin a conversation and someone who does have that level of expertise can come help us out!

[@zironicdk]

This was very enjoyable, cheers Anders

[@alexlivingston826]

I really like thinking about this topic in my athletic interests. Specifically tumbling and other acrobatic things. It's very interesting because most people think about predicting opposing team movements and don't really focus on the self-control that it enables. When I'm having a really good day in tumbling it is like a flow-state. The "everything I do just works" feeling kicks in and if my flip is too low, my body instantly reacts and pulls faster because it knows I'm lower to the ground. I didn't think about it at all, but it didn't feel like reflexes. A computer analogy that makes sense to me is, when the flow-state is enabled, it's like the function is being carried out purely in "hardware". So there is no processing to be done, where when you are thinking about each movement and reacting to sensory input, it's like you are waiting for the processor to calculate what to do.

[@RoomOnFireStudios]

That isn't an area that I know very well but it makes sense to me what you're saying! I really do feel its a 'concept' that can be replicated really far and wide, hard to study though

[@LLawlietJeNemLenEtRin]

This makes a looooooot of sense to me. I haven't got the most experience in csgo, I've been playing for about 2.5 years really trying to win games and so on, never played in a actual team nor anything, but this still makes lots of sense. Communication has always been one of my issues and I haven't found a way about it yet, and this video helped me realize how much it means to teammates and so on, even though they don't do it consciously. About that "flow" thing, I would guess it happens more and more as you're developing as a player, since you have a better idea of the tendencies for everything are. In the clutch retake scenario, you can visualize what the opponents are "thinking" somehow, and you get the hang of it more and more. Things like where the bomb has been planted and so on will basically just tell you "ok the bomb's here so they should be in these spots according to what I've seen before". I really appreciated the video, I'll try to find some ideas on how this whole thing works myself, that's probably going to help me improve my overall skill in some way. Thanks Anders :)

[@RoomOnFireStudios]

Fantastic Gizmo! I'm really happy if this had value to you and I'm curious if you will end up with a feeling that it has helped you improve in this area at some point in the future! Thanks for support

[@333MultiKill333]

I totally agree. Had it multiple times, but the most vivid one was on a retake server where I just predicted all three CT players' position and peeked them perfectly. Right before that event I said to myself "Ive played this situation before and I know whats gonna happen" Or sometimes in DM I hit 15ish usp one taps and I cant remember how did I do it, it just happens naturally

[@ThatSteemBloke]

I think the divide between mechanical and cerebral flow state is also interesting. Sometimes the game's mechanics feel very natural and comfortable, as if the mouse were an extension of your arm and you're hitting all your shots. Other times you have a heightened awareness and the gambles you're making are paying off more often than not. They do feed into one another but they are not mutually inclusive. In badminton for example, sometimes the racket feels like an extension of my arm, all my shots are landing where I want them to, yet I'm having a hard time predicting my opponent, their movement, their shot placing etc. I only make this distinction because it can change from player to player; an in game leader benefits much more from achieving cerebral flow state than a star player, who is much better off achieving mechanical flow state. The flow state wikipedia page corroborates with a lot of stuff you outlined in your video if you haven't read it already. The ways in which one can elicit flow state is also interesting because it is seemingly random, yet some individuals can enter it almost at will. Ayrton Senna for example was famed for his ability to reach flow almost every time he got in the car. Dunno if you're much of an F1 buff but you might enjoy this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGrUi6htnZqsqZI

[@CYellowan]

This is very true to what i do when i get into "flow state", but i cannot thell the difference anymore because i have played too much. I've played horrible and smashed globald, played great and struggled with lems. Iy's probably a team potency/skill nuance thing going on on the side.

[@johnhansen04]

I really like watching or rather listening to your videos whilst watching some Half Life speedrun. And I loved that topic, exactly the stuff I think about when I can't sleep.

[@RoomOnFireStudios]

Awesome, thanks so much for the kind words! I try to calm my brain as much as I can when going to bed lol, its not easy!

[@richardovaIIe]

my completely uneducated opinion based on nothing is that maybe our brain doesn't create just one model, but actually a few possible models, or one model comprised of a bunch of possible scenarios, with each scenario having a possibility, in percentage, attributed to it. let me pick a classic situation to exemplify: you see a flashbang coming out of a corner in front of you. at a lower level your model could look like this: 80% someone will peak after the bang 15% no one will peak at all 04% someone will peak right now 01% i wonder what mom is making for dinner so you turn your back to the flash and then turn again prefiring the angle getting a headshot because you are so smart and were able to read the enemy's intentions and predict his actions wow... except, you just got shot in the back because he peaked together with the flash. and that's why i think FPSs and multiplayer games in general are so frustrating and stressful. you think you know what's gonna happen but you don't. (we all know that at a lower level the model is actually like this: 100% i hate this game, why do i keep doing this to myself) now at the top level your model may look more like this: 30% he'll peak right now, before the bang 15% he'll peak together with it 15% he'll peak after it 15% none will peak at all 06% the flash is just a smoke 01% the flash is actually his glock 10% it's a support flash and another guy will peak from another angle 02% i'll just close my eyes and spray because 2 guys will peak together 01% i wonder how anders will comment my epic play the percentages may turn out to be more diluted at this level, but that's exactly why i think the difference in the surprise factor between low and high level games is so big. in the low level there are literally times when you get jumpscared when you get killed, because that scenario wasn't in your model at all. but in the top level you see the players acting so nonchalantly in chaotic situations, like being shot from different angles and flashes popping everywhere, because almost every possibility is accounted for in their model. that's why i think some plays like that one from simple when he throws his awp over the wall at dust2 and kills nitro with his pistol are not just gimmick, but actually effective. nitro's model problably went blank at that time and his brain lagged, even the useless commentator went like "oh simple whats happening?" to sum it up, i think what you described may be just the way or brains work in general while playing multiplayer games, and the flow-state happens when it can consistently single out a few or just one scenario and ramp up the possibilities number. and i think it has to happen subconsciously, because if you try to do it consciously you end up overthinking the situation and focusing on the wrong or not so relevant info. maybe subconsciously our brain is capable of taking into account more information, like all the experience you have in that game and what happened in that round so far, etc. - you are not useless - 05% i can't even math

[@RoomOnFireStudios]

Im going to re-read this a few times and save it for later!

[@edwing6235]

Maybe its not just about the model though. Quite often players will talk about there aim being a lot better and they are just hitting shot after shot. Your theory may well be right but i think theres definitely more to it

[@Ballatw]

Yes. Yes you can - Fnatic in 2007-2009 was a perfect example of a team in "flow-state"

[@johastro]

CSGO and the fabric of the universe - explained! :D

[@rubbyducky8374]

seems interesting. keen to watch;)

[@rubbyducky8374]

oh and 1st

[@rubbyducky8374]

just watched, I think what you've discussed is something that is kind of vaguely brought up once you progress through the ranks, at least this kind of mental map, is how I thought about it. It's something that I suppose comes with experience and time naturally as your brain tries to process things. I do think however it's important somebody is sparking a conversation on this though and it's quite interesting. quite keen for the next video you make on this topic (which im sure you'll make)

[@RoomOnFireStudios]

@@rubbyducky8374 Yeah its just a process that is influenced by soo many factors which makes it a really interesting topic to dive into!

[@Rawbinzhood]

I know you were using the 10 second visualization period somewhat arbitrarily to get the point across, but I'd definitely argue that its closer to 2-5 seconds with individual differences being taken into account. Kind of reminds me of the concepts of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad for the function of our memory, and how people vary on performance in things like the digit span task and n-back task. Obviously these apply to the past tense, whereas you're discussing visualization of the near future, but I'd bet there is some correlation between those who perform well on short term memory tasks and their capacity to visualize the imminent future in a scenario such as a round of counter strike. Maybe there is also a correlation between this and players achieving a flow state with those who are in, lets say, the 90th percentile of short term memory. Interesting to think about.

[@RoomOnFireStudios]

Yeah i agree its definitely shorter than 10 seconds! I havnt heard of the concepts you've mentioned which is amazing, because that gives me something to research!

[@Rawbinzhood]

@@RoomOnFireStudios Pretty straight forward but very integral functions of our memory. I would think the visuospatial sketchpad concept plays a more important role in counter-strike, as it represents our ability to visually recall where objects are in space for a short duration. I recall the example one of my professors gave for this was after leaving a room (lets say your kitchen), you have a general mental image of where things are despite not physically being able to see them anymore. For counter strike, this would translate to memorizing angles to preaim, for instance. Or, to complicate things a little further, when a player jiggles for information, spots an enemy player, and adjusts their aim through the wall based on their mental representation of where they saw the player half a second prior such that when they repeek their crosshair will be already be locked on. Happy researching!

[@Rawbinzhood]

Also, you mentioned wanting to learn more about the flow state and how people can achieve it more frequently. There is something called self determination theory which definitely plays a role in this. If you simply google "self determination theory and flow", some good information/research papers will pop up!

[@nst5780]

flow-state = not being in your mind ?

[@ShakeITyEA]

its not just possible, it is desireable and what many pros do.

[@hzxci1158]

i'd love that paper to read

[@RoomOnFireStudios]

We'll end up with something I reckon!

[@timbrazeal4]

the literally 1 person that disliked this video lol

[@yRegge]

commentating before watching LUL

[@yRegge]

www.quantamagazine.org/to-make-sense-of-the-present-brains-may-predict-the-future-20180710/ I dont know if links work in YT, if not message me and I'll send you the link to an article that talks about how brains predict the future and what happens if that model turns out to be inaccurate. It seems that the reaction time until something - being off - is registered is about 400ms in day-to-day situations. That number probably goes down if the error of the prediction is smaller, hence why faster reflexes are observed among CS players.

[@yRegge]

@RoomOnFire if you ever do a whole Series or Podcast on this topic, link me to it please. I find this topic fascinating and would like to here your opinion on it.

[@RoomOnFireStudios]

​@@yReggeOhh this is very interesting! I will check it out and its definitely a topic I'd love to investigate more!