Strict rules will be in play when Mt. Hope High School senior and Bristol resident Collin Cabral attempts to break the 44-hour record for non-stop virtual reality (VR) gaming in April.

“I can die multiple times,” Cabral said, referring (of course) to his character in the game. To maintain real-life health, Guinness rules call for a 10-minute break every hour to rest and remove his head set, eat, or take a bathroom break. Not that he’s actually concerned with his health — the nature of VR gaming means a player is constantly moving their body. “It really keeps the blood flowing,” said Collin.

Neither is he worried about staying up for almost two full days. “I’ve done it before,” he admits.

His mother, Danielle Cabral, admits that she’s “less than thrilled” by Collin’s proposed sleep deprivation. “It freaks me out, slightly,” she laughed. But she gets it. “I was a teenager once.”

Collin has “always” been interested in VR gaming, and has been doing it regularly since 2015. He works at Best Buy in Seekonk when he’s not in school, and has logged about 4,000 hours total playing VR games.

The game that Collin plans to use to set his record is called Halflife Alyx. He doesn’t know much about it, as it has not yet been released and developers are keeping details under wraps. From the preliminary trailer, he knows that the father of the main character in the story is kidnapped. “It’s a big story, and it can be different every time,” he said.

He’ll be trying to break the record using a Valve Index, the best, latest model that was released by its manufacturer (Valve) last summer. They sold out and went on backorder not long after, but Collin was able to get on the waiting list as soon as it opened.

Just this week, Collin learned that Guinness will allow him to set this record at his home, provided he has independent witnesses attending the attempt, timing his breaks, and making sure he follows the rules. In addition to monitors, the record-breaking space must be open to the public for the duration of his attempt. “People are welcome to come and watch,” he said. “We have a decent sized mud room, which will hold at least 10 people.”

He’s also looking for monitors, who will work in shifts of no more than four hours. Monitors must be over 18 years old, and Collin will need at least 11 to get through the attempt, currently planned for April 14 to 16, the middle of April vacation.

If anyone is interested in helping to monitor Collin’s attempt, contact him at 210/219-3992 or email ccabral574@icloud.com.