EPTOne thing I noticed back in Season 1, was that I played significantly better when I established some basic conditions before starting the serious ladder business. The topic of this post is to share my way of “getting in the zone” with you.
Clothing
I play better with socks and shoes on. True story.
Don’t ask me why. I didn’t compare win/loss-ratios, but at least I feel better. Surprisingly, as a person who feels more comfortable with lower temperatures, I prefer putting on a sweater when laddering. I noticed that my arms and hands get quite cold when playing long matches and I assume that this lowers my hand-speed. Also, adding two Adidas wristbands (pichttp://goo.gl/6P4Vm) feels very comfy when playing longer games.
Headphones
I play better with my AKG Studio Headphones than with the speakers on. The room I usually play in is also the TV-room for my girlfriend. Sometimes the noise can be quite distracting so I started using my noise-canceling in-ears (pichttp://goo.gl/Ztwrl) and feel really good about it, as there are no more Grey’s Anatomy dialogues in the background anymore.
Music
I switch between smooth electronic music when playing macro-style and a Motörhead/Metallica/etc.-mix when playing aggressively.
This is an experience from driving my car: Autobahn: Rammstein. Slow traffic: Norah Jones. I just adopted this principle for StarCraft, as I know that music affects my mood and behavior.
Drinks
I love to drink Red Bull right before laddering. Mainly because I’m strongly addicted to caffeine. It helps me to focus on the game and sweeps away fatigue at least temporarily.
After that initial caffeine injection, I usually stick to water or juice. When I feel like getting tired again, I add more caffeine to my veins with Coke Zero.
Conclusion
All stated above won’t make me a Grandmasters League player. It probably doesn’t even effect my win/loss-ratio at all.
But the point is, that I feel much more comfortable when I have all these things put in the right way. No more freezing in front of my PC, no more Dr. House or CSI dialogues, no more thirst.
I just enjoy playing StarCraft a little more...
Dear blog readers and fellow StarCraft enthusiasts: How do you get “in the zone”?
