Upon reading Xiant’s recent piece on unconventional ways to improve your gameplay, I spotted something which just didn’t seem right. It struck to the very core of my being, trapped in my brain like a piece of bamboo under my fingernail, lasting for days like an unnecessarily drawn out simile. “Why?” I asked myself, “Why was Photoshop suggested for improving aim when Osu! is clearly better”. I’m not saying that Xiant was wrong, Photoshop can be used to help improve your aim but it’s just not the way to go. There are a few things to keep in mind here, such as:

Line tracking is as fun as… um, it isn’t

I have no idea what your Photoshop experience is but it’s hard to describe just how not-fun it is to be tracking lines accurately. Sure, it’ll probably pay off but if you’re making a vector of something then you’re kissing your spare time goodbye. I remember making a vector of a picture once (and only once) which took me an entire day to do. Was the result good? It was okay. Did I have fun? No. Did it improve my aim? I couldn’t tell because I slipped into a coma. A boredom coma. Discovering I was catheterised was more fun.

Osu! is actually a game

This is by far the main advantage Osu! has over Photoshop. Osu! is a free to play rhythm game where you click, slide and spin balls to downloaded music to get a high score. There are individual beatmaps (playable songs) and beatmap packs available from their website so once you have t he game and some music downloaded, you’re good to go. Not surprisingly, like all rhythm games, it sounds easier than it is with some beatmaps pushing the boundary into near Touhou territory. I mean, look at this:

You see that shit? I really wouldn’t like to play an FPS or MOBA against someone with that kind of mouse control. Don’t even get me started on some of the shit done by the someone who was world #1.

Ok then, just one video:

Did you seriously just see that shit? This is straying into rumour territory but that player reportedly had to take a break from the game due to eye problems caused by not blinking, along with further problems caused by being an alien robot probably sent to kill us all.

Osu! is about more than tracking

You can probably see how a rhythm game like Osu! can help with tracking and aim but it also helps with timing, peripheral vision, awareness and, if you’re mad enough to flick a switch so the circles go invisible, memory. It’s not surprising that a number of MOBA players have jumped into Osu! to help improve their skills when you consider the amount of intense training you can do in the couple of minutes it can take for a team mate to grab a drink before a game or waiting in the matchmaking queue. There is, however, one thing that Osu! can’t do.

Osu! is terrible at editing images

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get Osu! to edit images. Despite trying all of the different mods, reskins and a number of beatmap packs, it just wasn’t going to work. There’s simply no contest here: Xiant and his precious fucking Photoshop win this category hands down.

Time lost to Osu! for ‘research’ in this article: 3 hours