Game Theory - Marathon Streams Might KILL Your Favorite Streamer! (Elden Ring)

Episode Date: August 21, 2024

Join Game Theory Host Tom as he gives 5 tips for Kai Cenat and Ludwig to help make their next marathon streams faster! Credits: Writers: Tom Robinson and Mike Keenan (The Pokémon Biologist) Editors: Dan "Cybert" Seibert, Tyler Mascola, Alex "Sedge" Sedgwick, Warak and Shannon (Bomb0i) Sound Designer: Yosi Berman

At some point you gotta just sit back and think like, is it me? I think it's me. It might be you. I hate to break it to you, Kai, but your friend is right. Though it's not for the reasons you might think. Hello internet. Welcome to Game Theory, the show that knows that gaming is a marathon, not a sprint. And that is more true than ever because Marathon Streams are one of the biggest metas in streaming right now.

You know the ones I'm talking about, the I'm not ending stream until I do X. Like Tim the Tapman's not ending stream until I derank in Rainbow Six, or TBNR Frague, or TBNRFrags, streaming. until I hit Unreal Rankin' Fortnite. Whether it's the sheer novelty of these continuous streams or the desire to be there and spam, I was here in chat when it all ends. Something about these kinds of streams captures our attention. And the newest game to be the subject of these marathon streams is, of course, the long-anticipated DLC for Eldon Ring, Shadow of the Earth Tree.

And it is hard. So hard, in fact, that from software have actually come out with a patch to make it a tiny bit easier. And this is from the company that is known for making hard games. I guess you could call this DLC the Dark Souls of Soulslike Games. It's like the Aura Bora seeing its own tail. And so, when streamer Kai Sinette announced that he was going to be doing a marathon of the new DLC, people were hyped. And the marathon ended up being quite a ride. He laughed, he cried, he raged.

In fact, things got so rough for Kai that he had to bring in an actual licensed therapist to help calm him down. Which got me thinking, was there something? he could have done differently. Sure, watching Kai bash his head against a wall was no doubt entertaining and what he did was certainly a massive achievement, but I can't help but feel like there were some efficiencies he let go to waste. The only other person who attempted to marathon this DLC, at least at the time of writing, was Ludwig. But he did it in 40 hours less. What was he doing differently that allowed him to lessen his time in the self-imposed prison? You might think it's all to do with in-game strategy or their builds or their previous experience.

But that's not very theorist. Instead, I'm talking about something much less subjective. Science. Gaming is more than just getting good after all. Your environment, your sleep, your diet. They can all affect things like your mood, concentration and reaction times, all things that are essential for a game like this. So, was there science Kai could have used in order to save himself hours of heartache? Well, just like any good Eldon Ring player, I too am willing to sink tens of hours into mindlessly grinding away a task. So grab your enchanted great swords and data. charts because I've got the strats to help Kai, other streamers, and even you fully optimize whatever gaming marathon lies ahead.

So, first things first, exactly what data am I collecting and how am I doing it? Well, I ended up watching all the nearly 100 hours Kai streamed and made notes of anything he was doing outside of the game, things like when he ate, when he took breaks, what his mental state was, all in order to see whether there was any science that could have been applied to lead to a faster time. I also watched all of Ludwig's 57 hours of stream to see if he somehow subconsciously did follow the science and whether that could have been the reason for his faster time. However, it became very clear that this was going to be a really tough comparison. Eldon Ring is an open world game.

There is a ton of optional places to explore. So despite putting in the hours, I needed to limit the scope slightly in order to get a fair comparison. So I decided to focus on a very specific part of the run. the DLC's final boss, Redan. Radan is the primary reason this DLC is so tough. Most people who played the DLC spend half of their time on this guy alone. And Kai and Ludwig were no exception. Plus, both Kai and Ludwig reached Radan at around the same point in their run,

roughly 31 hours in, so it meant they were going in on a basically even playing field. So, with that out of the way, let's dive into the data. When I initially saw these streams announce, the thing I was worried most about was the amount of sleep they'd actually be getting. I personally love my sleep, but when you've dedicated yourself to streaming until you beat a particular game, I could imagine streamers foregoing adequate sleep time in order to make further progress. Now, I don't think I need to tell you all that sleep is very important for your brain. Virtually all research shows that your brain will stop working at its full potential if you go without sleep. Sleep deprivation, even just a tiny amount, can lead to slower reaction

time, smaller attention spans, reduced ability to adapt and impaired judgment. all things that are critical for accomplishing difficult tasks. Oh, that's why my GT Live Live performance was so poor. I was just jet lagged and nothing to do with my lack of art skills. So, how much sleep were these guys getting? Ludwig only slept once in his 26-hour run against Radan, and it was for roughly seven hours. Hard to say for sure because his stream cut out, but providing he did go to bed when he said he did and didn't spend too much time dilly-dallying before getting back on stream, he would

have been in good shape. Doctors recommend 7 to 9 hours of sleep in order to avoid the effects of sleep deprivation. So Ludwig is just skirting on that line. Kai, however, didn't follow that advice. He definitely laid in bed for 8 hours each time he slept, which he did three times across the Radan section of his street. But if you actually watched Kai sleep, which is creepier now that I'm saying it out loud, but it's for science, I promise.

Ah, my job is so weird. But if you did, and you subtract the time that he spent shifting around to get comfortable or playing on his phone, then you'd realize he only slept for just shy of six and a half hours on the first night and only five and a half hours on the next two. He is getting way less sleep than is required to fight off sleep deprivation, which is likely what led to some of his worst reaction times. Sleep is also when your brain converts short-term memories you've acquired throughout the day and turns them into long-term memories.

Without that rest, all that muscle memory you've been picking up by playing the game over and over and over again, it's just not going to make its way into long-term memory and so by the time you wake up, your muscles aren't going to remember how to. do it properly. So, if you want to optimize your streaming marathon with better reaction times, attention spans, and building muscle memory, rule number one is get the full seven to nine hours of sleep. However, it's not like Kai was just grinding during every waking moment. He did slow down and take some regular breaks. In fact, from the moment he started his attempts against Radan, I counted that Kai took about 43 breaks over his 44 waking hours, roughly one break per hour.

These breaks then averaged out at about 18 minutes in length and ranged from checking his phone to eating to watching other streamers. According to research, Kai absolutely nailed the frequency and length of breaks to maximize productivity. One study found that the most productive workers would, on average, work continuously for around 52 minutes before taking a 17 minute break, which is shockingly close to what Kai averaged. This is important because other researchers shown that those who take breaks ultimately end up being more focused, less than. stress and make better decisions. In contrast, Ludwig only took 15 breaks over his 27 waking hours, with the average length being just 7 minutes per break, which is way below what is recommended to be productive. So why did it take Kai so much longer? Because it's not all about the length or frequency of breaks, it's about the quality. Not all breaks are made equal. What you do during

those breaks can often make just as much of a difference, if not more, than how often you take them. For example, getting up and moving is significantly better for your brain's function. And this isn't just true for those who spend their days in cubicles. We also have data on the effects of breaks on gamers specifically. New York Tech Center for Esports Medicine, a center I cannot believe exists. What a world we live in. They looked at the effect that a walking break can have on a gamer's performance. They took 21 gamers and had them play a video game continuously for about two hours.

At the one hour mark, the gamers were asked to either take no break, later, down for six minutes or walk around for six minutes. Those who took the walking break showed both significantly better reaction and planning times than even those who had the rest break. One of the participants summed up the benefits perfectly. Quote, the walking break definitely has the best impact on gaming performance. It helps you to clear your mind while doing something physical. Even if you're walking slowly, it helps you calm down and forget the high pressure from the gaming environment. Your brain isn't going overboard anymore. And Ludwig actually did do this. Not every time, but he did get up and walk around occasionally, which likely added to his success. If

Kai had done the same, then he might have just been able to walk free from his streams faster than he would have expected. Instead, he did something that research has shown to be the worst kind of break, browsing social media. During several of his breaks, Kai would whip out his phone to check Twitter or TikTok. He even slipped in a couple of phone looks between his attempts against Radan. Taking breaks to look at your phone only serves to mess with your brain and, make you less productive. A study in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions found that participants who took a break to check their phone took 19% longer to complete their assigned tasks and finished 22% less work than

those who didn't check their phone. On top of that, those who checked their phones did significantly worse than even those who took a break on their computer, which was the approach Ludwig took, watching other streamers on his computer. All in all, when it comes to breaks, even though Kai took breaks more frequently and for longer, that advantage was completely washed away by how he spent his break time. Therefore, if you were completing some sort of long-term task, make sure you are taking breaks every hour and also use this time to get up,

move those legs, and please leave the box of distractions as far away from you as possible. Stepping away from breaks, while it is important to fuel your brain with decent rest, it's also important to fuel it with literal fuel. 73% of your brain is made up of water. So, staying fully hydrated is super important. into keeping your wits about you. And I know it sounds cliche. Everyone and their grandmother tells you to drink more water, but there's actually a very good reason for that. Drinking more water has been shown to improve your cognitive function, reaction times and your mood, something that

Kai clearly needed improved. Why you heal it? Why you heal it? Why you heal it? Meanwhile, not drinking water has been shown to inhibit your memory, your alertness, and your focus. And these effects aren't just limited to severe dehydration either. Being just two percent, Dement dehydrated can impair your performance in a whole range of mental tasks. Now, to be clear, both streamers could have used a little bit more fluid in their diet. However, Ludwig was the only one drinking outside of meals. Specifically, he was drinking from this glass bottle with a yellow label.

Doing a bit of online digging, I found that this was a bottle of Topo Chico Mineral Water, so kudos there, you did do something right, Ludwig. Meanwhile, the only drink I saw Kai reaching for was Bang Energy Drink, which, yes, has water in it, but it also contains other ingredients like caffeine, which is great for improving your reaction, time, and cognitive performance in the short term, but it can also make you jittery. So while playing a game that requires absolute precision

and perfect timing like Eldon Ring, that may not be the greatest side effect to put up with. And that's not the only downside. Caffeine is also what is known as a diuretic. Basically, it means you pee more. Therefore, you are eliminating the water from your body much quicker, losing all of the benefit the water in that drink provides. So while in the short term, a caffeinated beverage might help push you through the last couple of hours of a shift,

in the end, it will make you jittery and will ultimately lead you to losing water faster. Instead, you can get nearly all the cognitive benefits with none of the downsides just by drinking classic H2O when you're thirsty. Now, I spent a lot of time going into the nitty-gritty of the different approaches Kai and Ludwig have taken throughout their streams. But if you watched any of the streams for yourselves, you'll probably know there was one difference that was a little easier to spot. A break? I don't need one. No! I'm not doing this one, bro.

I'm done. I'm done. Yeah, Kai got a little heated, shall we say. Now, anger and frustration are obviously normal emotions, especially when you're dying to the same boss again and again and again. But while you may be losing the game, losing your call doesn't do your brain any favors. Anger, especially stress-related anger,

activates the emotional parts of your brain like the amygdala and triggers that fight or flight response, in turn, limits our ability to think. And in the case of Kai, if the source of your anger is the thing that you must overcome in order to free yourself, that ends up creating a pretty vicious cycle. He plays, gets angry, it limits his brain's ability to think clearly, which leads to him playing worse, meaning he loses again, and the next thing you know, you're talking to a therapist with a PlayStation controller in your hand. But you might be thinking, Kai is letting out his anger.

Isn't that better than keeping it bottled up? Well, as it turns out, the more you vent your anger, the anger, the anger, the anger you actually become? Brad Bushman, a senior researcher and professor from Ohio State University, said that venting anger might sound like a good idea, but there's not a shred of scientific evidence to support catharsis theory, i.e. the idea of getting it off your chest. He goes on to say it's really a battle because angry people want to vent, but our research shows that any good feeling we get from venting actually reinforces aggression. Basically, by letting out your aggression, you get that sense of catharsis and positive release in the moments, but that teaches your brain to get angry again

in order to receive that same positive feeling. On the flip side, bottling up your anger and never addressing it can be just as bad. Holding onto anger leads to a buildup of the stress hormone cortisol. This stress hormone can lead to problems with attention, decreased mental processing, or muddled thinking. Once again, all the things we're trying to avoid. So that leaves the question. What is the healthy way to overcome inevitable anger? The answer is doing exactly. what Ludwig did. Calming down. Sophie Sharvek, a postdoctoral fellow at the Virginia Commonwealth University, noticed the rise of

things like rage rooms, places where people are encouraged to vent their frustrations for a nominal fee. So, she decided to do a meta-analysis of over 150 studies on over 10,000 participants to find the best ways to cope with anger. A theorist after my own heart. Look at all those numbers. But what she found is that the best thing you can do is to carry out activities that lower your arousal levels, not give in to them. Activities like running, using a punching bag and

cycling were much less effective at controlling anger than activities meant to decrease arousal, like deep breathing and meditation. So the fact that Kai is so quick to let out his frustration is wiring his brain to remain on high alert and he's never getting a chance to truly rest. That in turn leads to decreased cognitive function prolonging his run, which makes him angrier. This is why Kai's therapist repeatedly tried to get him to calm down and breathe to little success. I hate this game! But when Ludwig felt like he was getting heated, he took a five-minute break where he walked away from the computer, getting his brain out of high alert and allowing him to re-center

and focus. So if you end up being faced with a challenge, be it Eldon Ring or work or just something that gets your blood boiling. Instead of letting it all out, use techniques that can help calm you down, like deep breathing, walking or listening to Lofi, like the one you're hearing right now. This is actually from our new project, Lofi. I've been listening to it while I've been writing this episode,

and despite watching all of the rage in front of me, I cannot tell you how much calmer I feel. You can listen to it right now for free over on Spotify. Maybe I should send this playlist to Kai for his next stream, because throughout this one, Kai made several choices in the way he treated his brain that almost guaranteed that he'd never be able to beat this DLC. You can even see it when you plot Kai's attempts on a graph.

That's right. I went back and watched the stream again and counted the amount of times he died, pausing each time he did die to measure what percentage of Radan's HP he got through. And if you take a look, you'll see he didn't improve much at all over the course of his run at Radan. In fact, if you look at just the first full day of attempts at the big guy, Kai somehow got worse as the day went on. But spoiler alert, despite all his disadvantages, he does eventually conquer his demons and slay Radan. The question is, what changed?

Well, if you pay close attention to the graph, you'll notice that around attempt 360, something shifts. Suddenly, there is a pretty big spike in Kai's performance, a spike that he was able to sustain and then build upon leading to him eventually defeating Radan. So, I went back to my notes to see what was happening, and I noticed Kai did something that I wasn't expecting. He listened. After 79 hours of streaming, 48 of which were on this boss alone, he slowly started listening to the advice his chat. was offering. Wait, does story make you get like, if you consecutively keep hitting a n-h-h-hick, you get higher damage?

Oh. You're waiting for 4,000! With their help, he developed a build and strategy that allowed him to consistently get through the first phase of the fight with very little effort. When that worked, Kai suddenly was on the upward swing. Just 20 attempts later, he got through half of Radan's health for the first time. 20 attempts after that, Kai gets a personal best getting through two-thirds of his health. This isn't just down to chat having six strats either.

asking for help required Kai to put his trust in someone other than himself. And science has proven that when we do that, something interesting happens. When our trust is paid off, our brains release a chemical called oxytocin, otherwise known as the love hormone. Now, I'm not saying that Kai was suddenly in love with his chat, though I suppose you could argue that. But oxytocin has other very important uses. Specifically, it plays a role in the process of neurogenesis, the creation of new neurons and

Neuro pathways, allowing him to find new techniques and remember them. Why? Because oxytocin has also been shown to help protect our hippocampus from stress. The hippocampus is where long-term memories live in our brains. And so by accepting help from chat and from a licensed therapist, then having it pay off, he was able to regain some of what he'd been losing from his lack of sleep. The stress of his failed runs weren't being stored in long-term memory. And instead, he was just able to take what he'd learnt and apply it, creating new neuropathways in his brain, allowing him to get better and better until eventually, after 99 hours of struggle and over 1,000 deaths, he finally did it. He didn't sleep enough, he didn't take the right kind of breaks, he didn't drink his water,

and he couldn't keep his call, but he did know when to put his pride aside and accept help when the chips were down. Who knows? He might still be fighting Radan today if he hadn't looked to others for help. Shout out Kai. And a lot of people fucking made fun of him for being do-h-h-and, to be fair, he was when he started. He got so good. And I guess that's my final piece of advice to Kai or Ludwig or to anyone who decides to lock themselves in a room until they have to beat whatever task it is they choose.

If you want to optimize your marathon, the best thing you can do is realize that while you may be stuck in a room, there are plenty of people around you who aren't. And they are there to help you. Because let's be honest, none of us can truly do anything alone. But there you have it, theorists, my five-step guide to optimizing marathon streaming or work tasks or homework or anything that requires you to stay locked in a room for multiple days. Make sure you get your 7 to 9 hours of actual sleep, not just time in bed. Take regular breaks and when you do, don't spend it on your phone or social media. Remember to drink plenty of water with no additives, especially caffeine.

When things get tough, keep your cool and find ways to manage your stress. Get up, go for a walk around the room. And finally, if things do seem impossible, don't be ashamed to ask for help. And Kai, if you're watching, a huge congratulations on your victory. You not only made something entertaining, but inspiring. You inspired Ludwig. If he can do it, I can maybe do it. And I did it! Thank you, Kai!

You inspired me to make this episode, and in return, I hope that I've inspired you. So, the next time you decide to Marathon Stream, which might actually be right now, if you haven't been Bloodbourne yet, regardless, you'll be fully equipped to tackle any challenge that comes your way. Just next time, maybe stay off your phone and please, for the love of millennia, drink some water, but hey, that's just a theory, a game theory. Thanks for watching.