The Garden of the Blind

In playing a first-person-shooter video game recently, I have discovered three principles that can help you survive in them. You can’t always apply all three, or even necessarily any of the three, but to maximize your chances of survival, you should try to follow them as well as possible. I believe that priority should be placed on them in order, so that the first is used at the expense of the second or third where you can’t meet them all.

1 – Standoff: Place as much distance between you and your enemy as possible. In almost every shooting game that I’ve played, I have been more accurate than my opponents. This is often because the physics of the game give accuracy bonuses to stationary players or because I choose weapons that are more accurate, even at the expense of having a slower fire rate. Also, the greater the standoff distance, the more time you have to make decisions. You can choose whether to fire, track a moving target better, and get more shots off before the enemy can close the distance and finish you.

Note: This rule is by far the most practical in real-life. Your chances of surviving in a real-world gunfight are much improved by being as far away from the other shooter as possible. This is especially true if it gives you time to take more careful aim before returning fire.

2 – Isolation: You should position yourself where it is impossible, or at least difficult or unlikely, for an enemy to come at you from behind. This will often mean placing yourself into a corner or into a room with only one entrance. Few things will ruin your day faster than having someone blast you while you were busy looking the other way.

3 – Focus: Try to find a position where you can hit any incoming target without moving your crosshairs. It is a lot easier to hit a target if it walks into your sights than if you have to take special aim at it.