In late July, I started writing down things in a little notebook that I had with me at all times. I would write ideas, things I had to do that day, or use it to outline a new project. I had never done it before so I didn’t realize how useful it would be, but then I started using it to level up my 3rd Strike game while I was in Japan for SBO 2008.

I would write down new situations that I saw and situations where I didn’t know which move would win in a given situation. It helped me a lot to realize just how many new situations I was seeing and that I needed to do a better job of remembering them so I could either use them myself or know what to do if I was in that situation. I thought it might be useful to share some of the things I try to keep track of.

How many seconds a player can go without doing a risky move

This usually applies to turtling. I try and count the number of seconds a player can go without either hitting a button or advancing toward me if we’re in a turtling situation where we’re just sitting there. If you know approximately how long the other player can last, you can be more prepared to counter attack. Most players can’t go more than five seconds, some can go over ten, but either way, it would be useful to know for each player if you play a defensive style.

Writing down how you lost

If you had a page for each player or character you played against, you could keep track of the reasons why you lost every match. Maybe you were jumping in at the wrong time, couldn’t beat a certain poke, got baited by a certain move, etc. Keeping track of these things will help you improve if you look at it right before you play your next match with that player or character.

Writing down the outcome of situations

Oftentimes during a session, you’ll see dozens of situations in the game or when you’re watching other people play that you haven’t seen before. Usually these outcomes are unpredictable if you haven’t seen them before, so writing these down would be good to know.

I use the Notes app on my iPod Touch to keep track now. I have a page for Balrog vs. each character and will probably end up having one for each player I play that gives me trouble so I can keep track of their tendencies. You might think that you can remember all of these things in your head, but my brain just doesn’t work like that. Try it out for a few sessions anyway to see if it doesn’t help level up your game in some way.