Namely because every FPS I’ve played is designed for you to continually change positions, running, dodging and switching your cover as you fire. Why is that a problem you ask? Because quite simply my target acquisition time is comparable to a tortoise’s. If I come to dead stop, pick out a target, aim, correct my aim four times until I finally stop overshooting and can level the crosshairs on my target and fire, I’ve lost 80% of my hitpoints. That is, if I haven’t already lost them as THEY run and dodge. On average, to hit a stationary target takes me a full 3 seconds or more. And because it’s so hard for me to acquire a target, once I do so I’m extremely reluctant to let it go; I have to tendency to sit there and try to win a slugging match, which only works against a weak enemy or if I have a one-shot guaranteed-kill weapon. In a melee against multiple mobile targets? Forget it.
So what do I do when the problem is basically that I’m a klutz who can’t sucessfully snap-shoot to save my virtual life?
Practice. Mess with the settings. Sometimes people find that if they invert the controls or do other things, it becomes easier for them. Play on easy mode. All viable options.
Some games have a pretty huge auto-aim feature. As long as you can get the cursor to the half of the screen with the enemy on it, you can shoot and hit something.
Easier difficulty levels. There is no shame in auto-target. Also never play online. I am convinced that the government is using FPSs to develop the newest missile shoot-down systems. There is no other explanation for how people can be so good at shooting a pirouetting, bunny hopping region 2" wide that moves like a fly in a pachinko machine full of chameleons.
Are we talking Online FPS (like Team Fortress 2) or Single-Player?
If it’s online, then I’m afraid there’s really nothing you can do and it’s probably time to find another genre. If it’s Single-Player, then you can turn the difficulty down, adjust the DPI on your mouse (if it has that ability), turn-on Auto-Aim, use cheats to turn God Mode on or increase your health, or (if possible) learn where the enemies spawn/appear from and start aiming there as you enter the area.
One of the biggest faults with FPS’ shooting mechanism is the irregular and unpredictable nature of your enemies’ approach. They’ll twitch left for two seconds, then continue running straight at you. This makes it hard to “logically” predict how to lead them. (And I find playing FPS games with thumbsticks to be basically a wrestling match of “aim-correct-recorrect-overshoot-recorrect” because it doesn’t feel like it has a relationship with how your character handles his gun. It feels like shooting a gun while only being to rotate your hips.)
You might actually be surprised if you went online, because people follow predictable patterns. That is, they think in curves or straight lines, not zig-zags. (And then you’ll run into the player who you’ll inevitably feel is in desperate need of a Turing Test.)
If you’re playing on an Xbox 360, you might consider the Mass Effect games - they’re excellent, and they have an interesting feature: You can bring up a radial “spellcasting” menu, which both pauses the game and allows you to aim. It isn’t perfect - you can’t stay zoomed in - but it lets you make combat a lot more slow-paced and deliberative if you like. At the very least, you don’t need to constantly hunt for enemies in real-time as they dodge around the level - you can pause once they jump, pan to re-acquire, then start the clock and take your shot.
There’s also Fallout 3, which has VATS- designed for people like the OP, whereby you get to pause the action and pick where you want a limited number of shots to go.
If you’re talking about single player games, you might be able to improve your technique. I’m not sure if you’re doing this or not from your OP, but you should be finding cover and crouching behind it. Peak out once to locate an enemy then hide straight away without firing and making minimal changes (none if possible) to your aim, then peak out again and shoot the enemy. Repeat as necessary for each enemy. Change cover positions as required to locate further enemies or to avoid your position from becoming compromised. The key is to take aim at where the enemy is, or where they will be, and then to be able to move in and out of cover without changing your aim, eg, use the crouch button or peak button if available.
Try some of the Tom Clancy games such as Ghost Recon and Rainbow 6 that have a cover system that essentially allow you to aim while you are taking cover so that when you peak out to shoot your aim is already on target.
EDIT: You may also be able to improve against AI enemies by S L O W I N G down. If I try to make a snappy aim-shoot I normally cock it up because my body isn’t as good as my brain thinks it is. A deliberate aim and shoot that is right the first time will be quicker than trying to be quick and having to keep adjusting.
BTW, I also suck at FPS games. I need to use the above techniques to get through the single player games, in multiplayer I get slaughtered by people with much better coordination and practice time than I have.
I improved my technique vastly over the years. I used to be like you, or worse, I’d fire bullets everywhere and never get anywhere. You need to practice. Forget the rifles, forget the machine guns. Pick up something like an SMG or an assault rifle maybe. Short, controlled bursts, always moving. Targeting is not too bad as long as you keep the rifle focused. And yes, skip the online playing. My SO plays online in some games and he is damn good and lots and lots of people are as good…I don’t even bother to try.
PC shooters might be more your thing? Handling a mouse and keyboard is easier and more accurate. Of course that tends to mean that the online is more difficult So is the single player (console FPS difficulty levels are sometimes dumbed down to cater to controllers - this isn’t em talking, that’s straight from several developer’s mouths), but you cna always turn down the difficulty in single-player.
There are some free shooters you can try like http://www.quakelive.com/#home Quake Live. See if mouse and keyboard might be more your thing.
Oh, by the way, I think the keyboard and mouse combo is WAY harder. I can’t keep track of what keys are what, and i end up just using the barest minimum of buttons. Plus, I have a TracBall, so that kind of shoots me in the foot, too.
So is the single player (console FPS difficulty levels are sometimes dumbed down to cater to controllers - this isn’t em talking, that’s straight from several developer’s mouths), but you cna always turn down the difficulty in single-player.