Note: This article was first published 28th October 2012 but the contents are still valid and thus we’ve moved it to the new site.

With Guild Wars 2 being released in only hours we wanted to share some of the tips and tricks we use to prepare for the release of a new game. Incarnica and I don’t celebrate any of the expected stuff like Easter, Christmas or even birthdays. We don’t have any family other than each other, and we don’t delve into the personal lives of friends and choose not to share in their celebrations. Instead, we find other things to celebrate. The release of Guild Wars 2 is one of those times; as such we aren’t sparing any expense in celebrating this special occasion with the same enthusiasm and preparation we might use for an event like Christmas. We’re even planning on getting gifts for ourselves, although those items will be in game gifts purchased through the cash shop :). So, how does one prepare for a game release? Basically, it’s all about the game. It’s all about maximizing our time for enjoyment of the game and for minimizing the amount of disruption to that time that daily life can cause. We’ve both taken the time to plan our lives so that all our attention can be put to the game first, and real life stuff second. Neither Incarnica nor I are big into health and fitness, but we do like to look after ourselves and to ensure that the time spent in the game is quality time that allows us to stay well and healthy, thus better able to enjoy the game. Therefore, we strive to ensure that we maintain ourselves with good food and lifestyle habits that promote wellness, rather than indulge in the junk food binge many other gamers use to sustain themselves though a game release. We hope this little guide outlining the steps we took might help other gamers prepare themselves for a similar event.

Time

The first thing to plan is time. In this case we mean planning to make sure all of your available time is available for the game. The first step, as soon as a release date is announced, is to apply for time off work. The sooner you get in, the sooner your time is approved. Plan for at least a week, more if possible, because you’ll need time after initial release to recover and put yourself back into that Wage Slave Cycle before you can return to work.

The next step is to arrange time away from friends and family. Make your intentions well known and be sure that they are well aware that you will be out of contact for a period of time. By planning ahead you can avoid the discomfort of having to entertain a friend who decides to visit during this most holy of times. Your friend likely won’t understand why your red rimmed eyes constantly dart towards the computer while she’s trying to tell you about something important to her. Instead she’ll think you’re just being insensitive, or, by the way your mouse finger constantly taps on the desk, that you might have a drug problem she needs to be concerned about. Address these issues up front and make sure anyone who needs to, knows, that for a period of time, you are off the grid.

Do any household chores like washing, cleaning or similar, even down to washing your hair, ahead of the time so you’re able to put on clean clothes once a day and just generally live well without things devolving into a sty. Do the shopping, make sure you have enough of the usual stuff, milk, tea, coffee, and a variety of edibles that are quick and easy to use as snacks without depending on junk food to get you through. Organise this stuff ahead of time so you’re not worn out on the very day you need to be feeling your best!

Assess and prepare for all possible forms of disruption. Leave a suitable message on your phone message bank, and turn the phone ringer off. Setup an auto reply on your email, remove the battery from the doorbell, close the gates and turn off the outside world. Do (within reason) whatever it takes to ensure that this time is sacred time that is yours and yours alone. If someone wants your time or attention, then you’ve already told them where you’ll be, they can log in and talk to you there. Truly life altering urgent issues have a way of getting through to you even under these circumstances, so don’t fool yourself that you’re indispensable to anyone but yourself. If you really must have contact with a particular person for some reason, organise a predetermined time with a set length of time to talk each day and stick to it.

Food

This is a key issue where many people go terribly wrong. Junk food is high in bad stuff and low in nutrients. Use of junk foods will cause your body to enter into state of being constantly uncomfortable, with increasingly severe ‘crashes’ that leave you feeling ill and miserable. You are far better off planning easy to prepare nourishing food which can be just as easy to prepare as unhealthy snack foods.

Have at least one hot meal a day. We began organising our foodstuffs weeks before the date. We decided which of our favourite meals we wanted to be eating during the gaming period and then made double serves of them. We’d eat a serve for dinner and put the rest into aluminium fast food containers to freeze. Come game time all we need to do it take the food straight from the freezer to the mini oven and turn it on. When it pings we have hot, ready to eat food that is all healthily made, and, are our personal favourites. To ensure we don’t mess anything up I have also written the cook time and temperatures on the packaging. The name of the contents and the date it was made is also written on each meal container because that’s just good practice.

For snacks we have gone for tapas like snack foods such as cheeses, antipasto, deli meats and similar stuff. We also have pre-packaged salads as well as a choice of salad items from the garden, for a more substantial lunch or as an easy side dish to go with a main meal. If your area has online shopping you can even have more fresh meals arranged for delivery during the gaming period. This way you can regularly snack on things that nourish the body, without leading to sugar crashes.

Avoid artificial drinks and alcohol. Both reduce performance and extract vital minerals and vitamins. Energy drinks are especially bad as the high level of caffeine only helps you borrow from the future, eventually you have to pay the debt and crash for an extended period of time. They are also high in sugar so they are only suitable for very short boosts and only lead to the inevitable crash in the long run. A much better option is to have good old water and plenty of it. It’s easy to dehydrate while gaming, as you tend to ignore your body’s natural urges. Green tea is ideal as it is rich in antioxidants and helps satisfy thirst as well. Any sort of tea and coffee is fine but make sure you use moderation, otherwise you suffer the same ill effects of energy drinks.

Consider a vitamin supplement as well. This will help make up for any shortfall in your altered eating habits and will keep more body more naturally alert and healthy. We also use disposable plates and utensils. While it may not be considered the best option for the environment, it saves on water use, dishwashing liquid, and, time away from the game, it also means doing the dishes is as simple as taking out the trash.

Exercise

You do need to move around, seriously. At least once per hour is good. You are not going to take a full 10 minutes every hour to exercise like you should, but you must get up and move around a little. One trick I use is to make sure the coffee machine is not near the computer. This means in order to have a cup of tea or coffee I have to get up and work for it. So while water is in a large bottle ready at hand at all times, for other things I must get up and actually move to get. This goes for snacks too. Maybe have a bowl of nuts on hand to nibble on, but the need for something more substantial should be motivation enough to get off your bum and walk to the fridge, thus giving you at least a moment of movement.

It is a very good idea to plan breaks in the day to spend at least 10 minutes out in the sunlight. Ideally you should start each day with some stretching. At least twice a day do about 10 minutes of stretching and light exercise to ensure all your muscles are being oxygenated. While it might seem like an inconvenient habit, it will prevent you from seizing up and forcing your body into a situation where you have to have longer time outs further down the track. We want your body just as happy to game after a few days as it was on day one. That means regular short breaks so your body doesn’t have to ‘check out’ on you and force a longer, less beneficial break.

Sleep

I am a big believer in Polyphasic Sleep. This is a method of sleep where you break your normal once per day 8 hour sleep pattern into many little cat naps. I have heard that Leonardo da Vinci used this method, sleeping 10 minutes in every ninety, but I never knew the guy personally so I cannot say if it’s true or not. Anyway, the system does work. It’s very simple, when you get tired to take a short nap. That’s it. By fighting through tiredness or trying to chemically treat tiredness, you are only forcing your body into a longer period of shut down. This is exactly what we are doing with the current unnatural monophasic sleep pattern of 8 hours, which modern society has forced us to adapt to. Not only that, but forcing yourself to continue to play through fatigue leads to poorer play and a sharp decrease in the enjoyment of the experience. Eventually the brain stops even trying to remember what you’re doing, it just starts turning off the lights and shutting down on you whether you want it to or not.

By adopting a polyphasic sleep pattern you will be sleeping more often but for far less time. I have never gotten it down to the theoretical minimum of 2 hours total sleep per 24 hours but I can regularly maintain 4 hours sleep per day, broken usually into one to two 90 minute sessions and multiple 10-20 minute sleep sessions. What is really great about this method is that during the active time, my mind begins to get very sharp because it learns to trust in giving you all its resources, because it doesn’t need to hold back, as you will allow it sleep when it needs it. My mind becomes much sharper than its normal daily state allowed by monophasic sleep. I play better and absorb more information.

The key thing to this sleep pattern is to sleep when your body tells you it needs it. If you withhold sleep, the body will demand extra. Initially you will struggle to wake out of the short bursts of sleep, so you will have to fight staying asleep for longer, but once you get into the habit, you learn to properly read your physical demands and your body will adjust. I find that by day two I can lay down and sleep for 10-20 minutes then wake perfectly alert and ready to go.

I’m sure that some people will find this method of sleep impossible. To those people I still suggest you sleep when you’re tired. If you don’t, you will become increasingly unable to properly enjoy your gaming experience to the point that playing becomes a wasted ordeal. A well-rested mind will draw far more enjoyment from the game then a sleep deprived one.

Summary

That’s about it. We started organising for this event before the release date was announced for Guild Wars 2. Over months we have added non-perishable quality foods to our pantry and begun making easy to reheat favourites. For the big day I’ve even arranged special treats like fresh seafood to be delivered to the door to make the event as festive as possible with the finest of healthy produce. Before writing this article I sent out a last email to my contact list telling them they had about 12 hours more to talk to me before I go off the grid. My few friends respect my eccentricities and I trust them to adhere to my demands without getting pissy about it. So here’s the quick check-list for you:

• Organise your life to ensure uninterrupted time to play
• Organise quality easy to prepare food for snacks and meals, avoiding junk foods and drinks that cause body crashes
• Make sure you exercise regularly to keep your body active, otherwise your body will force you to stop playing
• Keep your mind well rested so you enjoy the gaming experience to the fullest
• Strive for quality over quantity in all things.

Don’t expect any more articles from us for at least a week now. I’m putting our readers on notice, we’ll be in Guild Wars 2 for at least a week and we will not be spending time on other projects until we are sated on GW2. If you want to contact us, we’ll see you in game XD. Keep your mind well rested so you enjoy the gaming experience to the fullest