A few months ago I bought a PS3 so I could have a blu-ray player, and shortly thereafter I got Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Iâve played video games off and on over the years, typically on the PC, but I had never played online against other players before. While I enjoy the first person shooter game format, Iâve never been a hard-core gamer, and never considered myself to be very good. I've never had much time for it; I'm not exactly a kid anymore (33, married w/ 2 kids). I enjoyed playing through the single-player campaign, but what really hooked me was the online multi-player.
During the first game online I played I got absolutely destroyed⦠I had no idea what I was doing. I didnât know the maps, I didnât know the weapons, but most importantly I had no skills or experience to prepare me for the experience. I didnât know how to operate outside of the pre-orchestrated structure of the campaign mode, how to find enemies and kill them before they found you first. However, by jumping in the ring and getting slaughtered over and over again, I started noticing what my competitors were doing to me, and with experience I began to formulate strategies and tactics for different maps and situations. After a few months and a lot of hours, I now very consistently take 2nd or 3rd place in free-for-all death matches (I still havenât actually won a match, looking forward to that day).
Recently it occurred to me how similar trading is to online FPS games; I find the similarities to be remarkable (Iâm strictly talking non-team based death matches here, obviously team based games such as capture the flag are different):
1A. In trading, you only make money by taking it away from someone else
1B. In online FPSâs, you only get kills by someone else dying
2A. In trading, your goal is to maximize your profits while minimizing your losses
2B. In online FPSâs, your goal is to maximize your kills while minimizing your deaths
3A. In trading, if you play to not lose (defensive), you may minimize losses, but you will also minimize your gains (Iâm guessing some out there will disagree on this one, but everyone should agree that you have to place trades to make money)
3B. In online FPSâs, the guys who typically win are the most aggressive players, constantly moving and entering combat areas with skill and precision. The snipers and campers who hang out in one area for a long time donât see enough combat to get a high number of kills
4A. In trading, the big money is made by those who are able to let their winners run
4B. In online FPSâs (MW2 specifically), getting kill-streak rewards is almost a pre-requisite to placing in the top 3. Anyone can rush into a firefight, get a kill or two and then die, but it takes great skill to get 7 or 8 kills in a row without dying so you can call in air support or drop in a sentry gun.
5A. In trading, the only way to learn how to trade is by trading, taking risks and learning from your mistakes. While there may be books and forums to read, each trader must develop his own methodology born out of his own experiences.
5B. In online FPSâs, the only way to get good is by playing, by studying how others play, and figuring out how to combat their techniques. There are no books or guides that will give you an edge against a human opponent, you have to learn through experience and trial and error.
6A. In trading, if a particular strategy or edge becomes well known, the trading community will find ways to exploit and eliminate that edge.
6B. In online FPSâs, thereâs almost always a way to counter someone elseâs technique, once you figure out what it is. With MW2 in particular, the maps are well designed with few choke points, and no real good places to hide. There are few (if any) decent places on the map where you arenât exposed to someone coming up from behind you, and once someone figures out that youâre camping in a certain area, they will rush you and flush you out.
7A. In trading, you make money by exploiting the patterns created by others, which are a result of collective psychology
7B. In online FPSâs, you get kills by anticipating what your opponents will likely do, and a lot of techniques (and tricks) are grounded in the psychology. Most players have tendencies that you can exploit once you learn them (like the desire to camp out in the bunker on the Wasteland map or the house on the Estate map).
8A. In trading, you can make money using a lot of different styles. There are scalpers, swing traders, investors, price action traders, indicators, trend, counter-trend, range, etc. No matter what the strategy there is someone out there making money with it (except SCT of course). However, many would argue that the easiest way to be successful is by trading with the trend most of the time.
8B. In online FPSâs, there are lots of different styles of play, all facilitated by the large weapon selection with attachments and perks, and all can be successful if it fits your temperament and you learn the techniques. You have snipers, ninjas, heavy artillery (light machine gunners), et cetera, but I think many would agree that the most commonly successful way to play is by using a balanced assault approach.
There are probably a lot of other ways in which trading and online FPSâs are similar, these are just a few. In summary I think they are both addictive, particularly if you like challenge, risk, and competition.
The obvious difference is trading results in a change in your net worth, winning an online FPS game might only increase your sense of self-worth (unless you are a professional gamer, of which there are probably very few).
Anyone have similar thoughts or experiences? Anyone else out there addicted to MW2? I use the same handle in MW2 online as I do on ET⦠maybe youâll see me out there sometime. Just not during my trading hours.
During the first game online I played I got absolutely destroyed⦠I had no idea what I was doing. I didnât know the maps, I didnât know the weapons, but most importantly I had no skills or experience to prepare me for the experience. I didnât know how to operate outside of the pre-orchestrated structure of the campaign mode, how to find enemies and kill them before they found you first. However, by jumping in the ring and getting slaughtered over and over again, I started noticing what my competitors were doing to me, and with experience I began to formulate strategies and tactics for different maps and situations. After a few months and a lot of hours, I now very consistently take 2nd or 3rd place in free-for-all death matches (I still havenât actually won a match, looking forward to that day).
Recently it occurred to me how similar trading is to online FPS games; I find the similarities to be remarkable (Iâm strictly talking non-team based death matches here, obviously team based games such as capture the flag are different):
1A. In trading, you only make money by taking it away from someone else
1B. In online FPSâs, you only get kills by someone else dying
2A. In trading, your goal is to maximize your profits while minimizing your losses
2B. In online FPSâs, your goal is to maximize your kills while minimizing your deaths
3A. In trading, if you play to not lose (defensive), you may minimize losses, but you will also minimize your gains (Iâm guessing some out there will disagree on this one, but everyone should agree that you have to place trades to make money)
3B. In online FPSâs, the guys who typically win are the most aggressive players, constantly moving and entering combat areas with skill and precision. The snipers and campers who hang out in one area for a long time donât see enough combat to get a high number of kills
4A. In trading, the big money is made by those who are able to let their winners run
4B. In online FPSâs (MW2 specifically), getting kill-streak rewards is almost a pre-requisite to placing in the top 3. Anyone can rush into a firefight, get a kill or two and then die, but it takes great skill to get 7 or 8 kills in a row without dying so you can call in air support or drop in a sentry gun.
5A. In trading, the only way to learn how to trade is by trading, taking risks and learning from your mistakes. While there may be books and forums to read, each trader must develop his own methodology born out of his own experiences.
5B. In online FPSâs, the only way to get good is by playing, by studying how others play, and figuring out how to combat their techniques. There are no books or guides that will give you an edge against a human opponent, you have to learn through experience and trial and error.
6A. In trading, if a particular strategy or edge becomes well known, the trading community will find ways to exploit and eliminate that edge.
6B. In online FPSâs, thereâs almost always a way to counter someone elseâs technique, once you figure out what it is. With MW2 in particular, the maps are well designed with few choke points, and no real good places to hide. There are few (if any) decent places on the map where you arenât exposed to someone coming up from behind you, and once someone figures out that youâre camping in a certain area, they will rush you and flush you out.
7A. In trading, you make money by exploiting the patterns created by others, which are a result of collective psychology
7B. In online FPSâs, you get kills by anticipating what your opponents will likely do, and a lot of techniques (and tricks) are grounded in the psychology. Most players have tendencies that you can exploit once you learn them (like the desire to camp out in the bunker on the Wasteland map or the house on the Estate map).
8A. In trading, you can make money using a lot of different styles. There are scalpers, swing traders, investors, price action traders, indicators, trend, counter-trend, range, etc. No matter what the strategy there is someone out there making money with it (except SCT of course). However, many would argue that the easiest way to be successful is by trading with the trend most of the time.
8B. In online FPSâs, there are lots of different styles of play, all facilitated by the large weapon selection with attachments and perks, and all can be successful if it fits your temperament and you learn the techniques. You have snipers, ninjas, heavy artillery (light machine gunners), et cetera, but I think many would agree that the most commonly successful way to play is by using a balanced assault approach.
There are probably a lot of other ways in which trading and online FPSâs are similar, these are just a few. In summary I think they are both addictive, particularly if you like challenge, risk, and competition.
The obvious difference is trading results in a change in your net worth, winning an online FPS game might only increase your sense of self-worth (unless you are a professional gamer, of which there are probably very few).
Anyone have similar thoughts or experiences? Anyone else out there addicted to MW2? I use the same handle in MW2 online as I do on ET⦠maybe youâll see me out there sometime. Just not during my trading hours.
