When do you do better in multiplayer games?

Okay so.... last night I popped Black Ops in and decided to put on my headphones and instead of listening to the game audio leave them plugged into my PC and listen to my Spotify playlists while I played. I found that I ended up doing pretty well and often placing in the top 3 on a pretty regular basis.

Before work I ended up playing and played with the game audio and the game had my full attention and I ended up doing worse and getting slightly frustrated.

Am I alone in this? If I don't care about winning it seems I end up winning more than when I'm focused and trying to win.

I suck at multiplayer games, all the time, no matter what :(

Yeah my best Battlefield 2 days were when i zoned out with metal music on. I was like a killing & teamworking machine on the battlefield

But that doesn't work with Bad Company 2 because the game is so much fucking meh. Hopefully BF3 will have the Battlefield vibe again

Otherwise.. well I haven't been playing any other multiplayer ever since i began playing Battlefield. The massive scale battles and deep teamwork rendered other arena shooters just boring.

I do better when my internet isn't causing me to lag

I do better when I'm focusing on the game and not other stuff.

I can't be convinced that someone could play better while listening to outside music and playing a game, unless the sound in the game has absolutely no effect on the gameplay. In the case of Black Ops, hearing the game is important, just as it is with pretty much any online multiplayer game you can think of.

Eyes dead-set on the screen, bloodshot, sweating all over, veins bulging all over the place, hard on, and a full line of coke up my nose.

I usually only play fighting games online so I feel I HAVE to listen to the game audio, as sometimes, the other fighters will make noises before a move hits or comes out. If I listened to outside music, my game would go down the crapper.

For Starcraft, I'm terrible when not listening to the game audio, but for something like Trackmania or other such games I like to listen to my own stuff.

I do better when I just zone out regardless of music or not. 
 
I've found that I do really terrible when I'm being ordered around by more experienced players.

Indestructible by Disturbed played continuously.

I do better when listening to music and the sound of the games. so I turn the music in the game off and just play my own music. Also it is a must to turn off/mute everyone else so I can't hear some idiot yelling or crying or talking about his day.

i do best when i dont care if im doing good or not.
if i really wanna do good, then i tend to do poorly. if i check the score alot ill do bad.
 
times where im just playing for the fun of it at the end of the match ill have a super high K/D ratio, if i look at the score at all during the game, or care while playing to get a good score ill do horribly and often end up going negative.
 
though i always do bad in TF2, i suck at that game even though its fun.

For me its the type of game that I'm playing. I do better in team focused games like FPS and co-op games than one on one games like RTS and fighting games. As for playing conditions I just play with the game audio. I think listening to something else would distract me.

When I'm not playing

Depends on the game, but the in game sound is there for a reason. For example, I have tried listening to music while playing tf2 and it just doesn't work. I need the audio ques of spys uncloaking, a heavys gun charging up, or just a ton of little noises that let me know other plays are near by and how I should react given my situation. If it's an MMO than I just turn down the music and set the sound effects to just loud enough that I can hear them over the music/podcast.

when i'm not tired.

When I'm having the most fun, I usually rock everyone else like a fucking hurricane. 
 
I have not made a post without the F word yet today. Woohoo! 
 
Anyway, I usually play pretty decently, but I play my absolute best when I'm competing with or against my friends, or at least acquaintances. I just get an adrenaline rush and really get into the game. 
 
If I'm not playing with friends, I put on some music with the volume at halfway to make sure I can still hear the game, and then play some. At those times, I usually do OK and place on top every now and then, but sometimes I find myself on the bottom rung several games in a row as well. 
 
So it all depends on mood, luck, the game, and who's around me.

Indestructible by Disturbed played continuously.

When I'm relaxed and a have good team to play with also I have to be feeling it and not be bored by the game.BF2 and BFBC2 I would  play good or even great but by half a year  the game starts to feel like oh this again sooo boring then its time to quit the game all together. BF2 is probably my favorite MP game of all time but I can never get back into it and BFBC2 had even a much shorter life span since BF2 was a million times better.

usually when my team doesn't suck and my gun shoots where I point it I do well.

i do my best when i don't actually care. i can jump on and just do whatever and somehow win, and then i'll want to win more, and the more i want to win, the more i lose.

I always have more fun and do better when I'm not paying attention to the game.

It depends in multiplayer if I'm just playing and don't care how good I do I turn on a podcast. If I am really into the game I have the volume on, I can't play a multiplayer game well if I'm distracted by other stuff.

Eyes dead-set on the screen, bloodshot, sweating all over, veins bulging all over the place, hard on, and a full line of coke up my nose.

not tired or fatigued, slightly caffeinated, kind of "loose" feeling - not tense or tightened up.  kinda the same state as playing an instrument or something else that requires a combo of quick thinking and quick, precise movements.  game sound is helpful.  I usually just farm snipers in battlefield games tho so not a lot of skill or technique involved.

I think I just have some days better than others. One day I can get on and completely suck, the next day I can go on streaks and have a pretty good KDR.

I do better when distracted by a podcast or music, because it tends to relax me more often. When I focus too much on the game, I tend to only care about winning which frustrates me more often than not. So, I just try to have a good time now, and when I win it ends up making the time spent even better.

I do best when I'm not sleepy and I don't have my music on, it distracts me otherwise.

I have to be standing up.

Whenever I'm in the mood.

We have good days and bad days.

I am pretty good at Black Ops, but when I have my Platstation Ete on and start talking I suck.

When I stop taking it seriously. Really, as soon as I can shrug mistakes and failures off, I do a lot better overall.

always custom soundtracks when racing

@CandiBunni: I'm the exact opposite. I do the best when I am hanging out with friends and not focusing on the games. At that point I relax and do whatever some naturally and act instinctively.

After playing all night while intoxicated on my secret formula. After sobering up, I find I'm much better than I was before swilling the 'XP potion'. It usually only works once for each game though.

I analogize it to jogging in thigh-high water for a while, then stepping onto dry land to race.

When playing shooters, I play better while listening to other stuff. when playing SC or other RTS I need to have game sounds on (music playing soft in background is ok) otherwise I make dumb mistakes.

I do best after a few beers in me. 

Eyes dead-set on the screen, bloodshot, sweating all over, veins bulging all over the place, hard on, and a full line of coke up my nose.

 Just anytime I'm relaxed and not really too invested in the game. So maybe multiplayer with a bunch of friends or while listening to music that I like.  
Whatever makes me relaxed that day.

I do my best when I don't care about playing well .

I do well at multiplayer games when said games first launch, then it's all downhill

ok I've been playing video games almost 3 decades now and online for 2 of them so I consider myself fairly experienced and skilled. L4d2 VS is the most brutal, skilled based multiplayer of any online game out there, period. Between 0-300 hours I was always the lowest score, still learning the maps (yes it takes a good 300 hours to learn those maps inside and out), purchase better equipment (upgraded to a mechanical keyboard and 5000dpi mouse), and become familiar with how the weapons handle. Between 300-500 hours I considered myself an average player with the off good or bad game. By 600 hours I was starting to be able to carry pug teams on my own, and my patience for bad players (not using voice or listen to their own music instead of playing) went into the negatives. By 800 hours now I consider myself fairly skilled, and get tons of requests for matches nightly. Still.... there are those with 1200+ hours, who are untouchable. You do not know the meaning of instant 1 shot kills the split millisecond you spawn until you've played some l4d2 Vs with real players. I doubt I'll ever reach that level of skill due to my age, but I respect them for being the best.

So the moral of the story is, keep playing and you'll get better, but don't ever expect to just "acquire" skill by derping your way through games with music on. You can only get away with sucking that bad on consoles.

@beckley205 said:

Indestructible by Disturbed played continuously.

you're kidding right? Not the Disturbed part, the repeat part

@HairyMike87 said:

@Demoskinos: I think if you try too hard, you slip up because you focus on one thing and not taking your time to do things well. I usually listen to music when I play multiplayer games and try to not get worked up over doing bad. I find that if I take a game seriously, I get mad and do worse.

Yeah pretty much exactly that. Once I get frustrated its just a downward spiral from there.