  'Avergeness' No, I'm not talking about average looking, or average intellect. Rather, a state of mind. Today I am feeling 'average'. There are no apprehensions, no real desires, no pressure placed on myself by myself to do something.
I just am. I wouldn't say that I am at peace, or anything even remotely profound like that. Just merely content. Not abundantly joyous, but neither am I downright depressed and angsty (which is the usual.). Can't say I mind it. Interesting read on urlLink The Zone over at BBC. Like dislekcia says on the Prophecy forums, it's a case of 'pop culture telling us something we already know'. Be that as it may, it's interesting nonetheless. I'm sure every gamer has experienced a moment when suddenly everything goes right.
I call it going into 'The Groove'. On very rare occasions I can go into 'The Groove' in Counterstrike. I used to be able to go into 'The Groove' almost at will in Quake2 - oddly enough though it never seemed to happen for me in Quake3. Perhaps Quake3's pace was just wrong - whatever the case, there were often times in Quake2 where I would pull off MA rail shots and rocket hits, circle strafe with the best of them and generally be a badass mofo. Some may argue that it was merely the caliber of players I played against back then, but I tend to think otherwise. I could instantly 'feel' it, it was immediately recognizable - suddenly the world seems to go crystal clear and your reactions and accuracy just go through the roof. Quake2 used to do it to me all the time, Quake3 never really has. Most often, when I went into the groove it was because I was winning.
It was not The Groove that caused me to win - nay, it was winning that caused The Groove. It's hard to explain, but I think it's something to do with the confidence granted by repeat wins combining with the sudden loss of all thoughts of trying to outsmart or outmaneaver your opponent(s). Suddenly it becomes completely natural - as if it's something you do all day every day. A helluva feeling. I miss it. I blame overly complex games today. There are too many thoughts going through your brain with you trying to remember which button changes to which weapon and what hotkey is used to build a Town Hall. I was good at Quake2 because all I needed to play was the mouse , the scroll wheel to change weapons, and the WASD keys for movement. But Quake3 became about being able to switch between Rail and Rocket quickly, which weapon to use in which situation, where the spawnable items were and when they'd spawn etc etc.
It became an information overload and I was suddenly THINKING instead of GAMING - depriving the natural killer instinct of space to breath. What I'd like to see in future and what I think is vitally important for any future multiplayer games, is a return to simplicity of control and play, a return to an emphasis on base skill rather than strategy. Once this happens, we may see games where we go into The Zone more frequently, and personally I think that makes for much more engaging multiplay, whether playing or spectating. 
