Maybe prefixing it with PROTIP in the forums would have been too much

I have an anecdote, I spent most of my life playing video games and wondering about how to make them. It has been only recently that I focused the energy spent on them in another, larger online game with more repercussions called programming contests.

One of the games that I loved and I still get to play (although something more of a fork, called Skulltag) was doom. One of the best advice I have ever seen is related to this game:



Oh yes, it is a sarcastic advice, but it is still useful and anyone that has battled a cyberdemon and won will tell you, it is correct. How can it be useful? You are wondering. It is obvious!. Well, is it? Do you know what happens with DooM, it was not until DooM 2 that three monsters starting to require some true tricks and strategies to get defeated. Most of the monsters were just the same thing. Shoot, shoot and shoot. However, the cyberdemon was a very hard variation, because it took plenty of shoots to die and it could kill you with just one of his rockets. So, many a player would think that there is a interesting strategy or trick to defeat this cyberdemon and that's what he is missing.

However, it is not the case. Just dodge the rockets, fight back and dodge again. Stop looking for silly tricks. This was good advice because it restores your focus away from the fantasy of hidden tricks and puts your focus back on dodging harder. Because while you were looking for experts to ask for the imaginary trick, other people have been just practicing their skill to dodge rockets and patience to hit the cyberdemon until it dies.

So, seriously. PROTIP: To become red in topcoder, reach 2200 rating points or more.