Like teaching a novice how to play tennis or how to hit a baseball, the question of where a player should focus their attention is one that typically is only brought up by a coach. In past years, the epigram “keep your eye on the ball” has been accepted as common wisdom. Aiming is no different.

There are generally two schools of thought when it comes to aiming: Those who say to focus on the crosshair, and those who say to focus on the target. In reality, the optimal point of focus depends on the situation at hand. It’s important to distinguish between the types of targets we might want to aim at. Targets can be large or small, in motion or stationary. We may be moving as well. These factors will impact the process by which we acquire and, if necessary, track our targets.

Esports, unfortunately, is not a terribly well-researched field. However, traditional sports have been extensively studied for years. There are parallels to be found between all the variables we find in video games and more traditional sports.