- 483
- London
Sorry for the silence, I’m busy with the uni but I’ve been writing this in my spare time.
Precisely because the Uni is that I’m writing here again, we are studying Tuckman’s model:
forming, storming, norming and performing.
Even though this model was designed to explain the formation of a team for business purposes, I found many similarities with the personal development of an online racer, hear me out before you start laughing.
Racing online is not like racing in real life (physical conditions are completely different, psychological conditions too), racing online is more like playing golf. Most of the time you compete against yourself: your inputs, your throttle control, your lack of vision, your late reactions, your trail-breaking. And you are in a team, a team of ONE. Thereby, I’m guessing here that one actually happens to pass throughout all these stages.
Forming: first, when you start racing, you are forming this team of one with yourself. This is when you start your relationship with the game and that racer part of you. It stops being just a game and the idea of competing calls your attention, this is a very early stage. ‘In this stage, the group becomes oriented to the task, creates ground rules [I’m not playing that one I’m playing this one], and tests the boundaries for interpersonal and task behaviours.’
Storming: this is the stage when many people just drop the game and end playing something like Need for Speed. There is a struggle, an internal conflict. The player has passed the forming stage and is facing a conflict, because one only becomes victorious in online racing if taken seriously, otherwise would lead to a lot of frustration. So, the conflict is to actually take it seriously.
This phase is characterized by lack of consistency, there are random good performances mixed mostly with poor racing. There is rage quitting, a lot of contact, a lot of penalties, fluctuations in DR (most of the time in D) and, more important, abrupt changes in SR. Tuckman (1965, 386) stated that ‘members become hostile toward one another or toward a trainer [racers become hostile and refuse to face improvement or change] as a means of expressing their individuality and resisting the formation of a structure’.
This is a stage of negation of what an online racer truly is. And to illustrate this more, let me share an anecdote that happened recently in a civilized pub conversation. Someone commented that racing online and expending hours in front of a PC/PS4 is for nerds. And I told everyone the story of my mechanic: he is a guy who used to race with Robert Kubica when they were teenagers. He remortgaged his house TWICE to support his racing career (he’s still trying). He’s got two ex wifes, children from each one, too many girlfriends to fit in an A4 and zero friends. But…. He also got an astonishing knowledge about cars, transmissions, airflow, cooling, brakes, differentials, suspensions… you name it.
My point with this story was this: this guy ruined his life, his marriages, his economy, and his friendship with anyone close just for racing in real life (this is his own conclusion). He expended hundreds of thousands and never won a thing… but he is a cool guy.
I expended £50 in an overheating PS4 and 110 in a G29 (1 month ago) and got fastest lap and second place in the last manufacturer’s championship race; I’m also #1 in my regions with Nissan…. But I am a nerd…
In what kind of crazy 🤬 up world I’m a nerd and the other guy is cool.
Why is this related? The conflict is between being an online racer or not being it (unless you are 12 years old, in which case GTSport is a matter of crashing the yellow car with the red car, or driving like a maniac… just like daddy when driving in the BMW).
Being an online racer is a state of mind that people resist at the beginning, hence the conflict.
Blogs, forums like this and youtube channels like @Tigdney , Z28Gaming, Kie and many others, helped me to assimilate that being an online racer is not being a nerd but is actually ‘a thing’(have you seen the Nurburgring videos? or Lewis Hamilton’s talking with Kaz about his lap? Or gamers taking the podium of real racing events like Jan and many others?).
Online racing ‘is a thing’ now. Own it.
Back to the subject, this is a very complex stage and a lot of people just drop the game or stay trapped eternally at this stage (eternally D), until they accept the whole idea of online racing as a ‘serious thing’. And then, only then, you can move to the next stage.
Norming: once accepted that one is actually an online racer and wants to become competitive, the only way is to start imposing norms.
In my case, I have several rules that I have developed over the last month (not a lot of experience, I know).
1. Accept that this is an FIA approved sim-arcade racer, and you are part of it.
2. DR is like money, don’t gamble with it.
3. Never go online if cold. I never go straight to daily race (I rarely do daily race actually), I first do an endurance or professional race in campaign, to warm up and make money.
4. Buy cars, racing cars. Find that car that makes you competitive and stick to it. Make your own BOP test Tidgney style.
5. No assists except for default ABS
6. I never race when I’m tired, only if I’m fresh.
7. Don’t drink alcohol and drive, not joking.
8. Don’t drive after a heavy lunch or dinner.
9. Sleep well before a race, save energy.
10. Run around your block or go upstairs and downstairs several times to rise your heart beat (burpees also help a lot). Your rhythm depends on your metabolism, if you sit for 2 hours in front of the PS what do you think is going to happen? Gr 4 cars are very easy to drive, one can easily relax with them; when what actually these cars need is a bit of aggression because they can handle it. So, fire up!
11. Drink plenty of water and eat something light before the race.
12. Maintain a good temperature in the room.
13. Keep the room dark, you don’t need outside reflections or distractions.
14. Be careful with your feet, they are your tools. A few days ago I got a serious scratch in my right foot playing with the cat, and then I went to race and I suffered this stupid silly pain for 1 hour, I couldn’t complete a serious lap because of this. Conclusion, take care of your feet (and your hands).
These are just little examples (I have more, many more) I’m sure everyone has some tips to share (please share)
When you set norms for yourself, soon you start seeing the benefits.
Performing: I’m not in this stage yet, it would be silly to write anything here, I’m racing since June and I’m at the norming stage for three weeks only. This section is for you, racers B, A, +A and S. How did you arrive to this stage? What norms did you apply? What discipline do you impose to yourself?
PS:As usual, thanks for reading my acadGaming boring posts. Please share.
PPS: If you find yourself in any of these stages, I hope this help you to understand that you are not a nerd. Not everyone is so 'cool' to risk house, marriage, family and friends to support pointless real life racing.
YOU are an online racer, YOU are the cool guy here.
Precisely because the Uni is that I’m writing here again, we are studying Tuckman’s model:
forming, storming, norming and performing.
Even though this model was designed to explain the formation of a team for business purposes, I found many similarities with the personal development of an online racer, hear me out before you start laughing.
Racing online is not like racing in real life (physical conditions are completely different, psychological conditions too), racing online is more like playing golf. Most of the time you compete against yourself: your inputs, your throttle control, your lack of vision, your late reactions, your trail-breaking. And you are in a team, a team of ONE. Thereby, I’m guessing here that one actually happens to pass throughout all these stages.
Forming: first, when you start racing, you are forming this team of one with yourself. This is when you start your relationship with the game and that racer part of you. It stops being just a game and the idea of competing calls your attention, this is a very early stage. ‘In this stage, the group becomes oriented to the task, creates ground rules [I’m not playing that one I’m playing this one], and tests the boundaries for interpersonal and task behaviours.’
Storming: this is the stage when many people just drop the game and end playing something like Need for Speed. There is a struggle, an internal conflict. The player has passed the forming stage and is facing a conflict, because one only becomes victorious in online racing if taken seriously, otherwise would lead to a lot of frustration. So, the conflict is to actually take it seriously.
This phase is characterized by lack of consistency, there are random good performances mixed mostly with poor racing. There is rage quitting, a lot of contact, a lot of penalties, fluctuations in DR (most of the time in D) and, more important, abrupt changes in SR. Tuckman (1965, 386) stated that ‘members become hostile toward one another or toward a trainer [racers become hostile and refuse to face improvement or change] as a means of expressing their individuality and resisting the formation of a structure’.
This is a stage of negation of what an online racer truly is. And to illustrate this more, let me share an anecdote that happened recently in a civilized pub conversation. Someone commented that racing online and expending hours in front of a PC/PS4 is for nerds. And I told everyone the story of my mechanic: he is a guy who used to race with Robert Kubica when they were teenagers. He remortgaged his house TWICE to support his racing career (he’s still trying). He’s got two ex wifes, children from each one, too many girlfriends to fit in an A4 and zero friends. But…. He also got an astonishing knowledge about cars, transmissions, airflow, cooling, brakes, differentials, suspensions… you name it.
My point with this story was this: this guy ruined his life, his marriages, his economy, and his friendship with anyone close just for racing in real life (this is his own conclusion). He expended hundreds of thousands and never won a thing… but he is a cool guy.
I expended £50 in an overheating PS4 and 110 in a G29 (1 month ago) and got fastest lap and second place in the last manufacturer’s championship race; I’m also #1 in my regions with Nissan…. But I am a nerd…
In what kind of crazy 🤬 up world I’m a nerd and the other guy is cool.
Why is this related? The conflict is between being an online racer or not being it (unless you are 12 years old, in which case GTSport is a matter of crashing the yellow car with the red car, or driving like a maniac… just like daddy when driving in the BMW).
Being an online racer is a state of mind that people resist at the beginning, hence the conflict.
Blogs, forums like this and youtube channels like @Tigdney , Z28Gaming, Kie and many others, helped me to assimilate that being an online racer is not being a nerd but is actually ‘a thing’(have you seen the Nurburgring videos? or Lewis Hamilton’s talking with Kaz about his lap? Or gamers taking the podium of real racing events like Jan and many others?).
Online racing ‘is a thing’ now. Own it.
Back to the subject, this is a very complex stage and a lot of people just drop the game or stay trapped eternally at this stage (eternally D), until they accept the whole idea of online racing as a ‘serious thing’. And then, only then, you can move to the next stage.
Norming: once accepted that one is actually an online racer and wants to become competitive, the only way is to start imposing norms.
In my case, I have several rules that I have developed over the last month (not a lot of experience, I know).
1. Accept that this is an FIA approved sim-arcade racer, and you are part of it.
2. DR is like money, don’t gamble with it.
3. Never go online if cold. I never go straight to daily race (I rarely do daily race actually), I first do an endurance or professional race in campaign, to warm up and make money.
4. Buy cars, racing cars. Find that car that makes you competitive and stick to it. Make your own BOP test Tidgney style.
5. No assists except for default ABS
6. I never race when I’m tired, only if I’m fresh.
7. Don’t drink alcohol and drive, not joking.
8. Don’t drive after a heavy lunch or dinner.
9. Sleep well before a race, save energy.
10. Run around your block or go upstairs and downstairs several times to rise your heart beat (burpees also help a lot). Your rhythm depends on your metabolism, if you sit for 2 hours in front of the PS what do you think is going to happen? Gr 4 cars are very easy to drive, one can easily relax with them; when what actually these cars need is a bit of aggression because they can handle it. So, fire up!
11. Drink plenty of water and eat something light before the race.
12. Maintain a good temperature in the room.
13. Keep the room dark, you don’t need outside reflections or distractions.
14. Be careful with your feet, they are your tools. A few days ago I got a serious scratch in my right foot playing with the cat, and then I went to race and I suffered this stupid silly pain for 1 hour, I couldn’t complete a serious lap because of this. Conclusion, take care of your feet (and your hands).
These are just little examples (I have more, many more) I’m sure everyone has some tips to share (please share)
When you set norms for yourself, soon you start seeing the benefits.
Performing: I’m not in this stage yet, it would be silly to write anything here, I’m racing since June and I’m at the norming stage for three weeks only. This section is for you, racers B, A, +A and S. How did you arrive to this stage? What norms did you apply? What discipline do you impose to yourself?
PS:As usual, thanks for reading my acadGaming boring posts. Please share.
PPS: If you find yourself in any of these stages, I hope this help you to understand that you are not a nerd. Not everyone is so 'cool' to risk house, marriage, family and friends to support pointless real life racing.
YOU are an online racer, YOU are the cool guy here.
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Keep these studies coming, I love to read them.
You are probably in your 70% perhaps? 
I think I have a normal fitness. I did badminton, softball, and volleyball back then, but I don't play as much now. Maybe I should get back to it 
