Benefits Of Gaming

   Strike not having a good, week, I've been having a bad month. Things just aren't going right. I say that not to garner sympathy, but to clarify that I am in a BAD FUCKING MOOD. I've been in bitch-mode for weeks now, just so we can set the tone here a little. I've had to cancel plans, I've had to downsize my grocery bill, and I've had to pay a bill or two late, and I HATE paying bills late. I can't stress that enough. This month constitutes the first month I've paid a bill late in over three years, and yes, I remember that, I can say that for sure, because the last time I paid a bill late was December 2012. I remember that shit. I have anxiety attacks when I pay shit late. It's like, two days late, and I think they are gonna shut my cable off and turn off my electricity and own my friggin' soul, over the overdue doctor's office copay. Yeah, something's wrong with me; my sister calls it paranoia. Whatever.
   So I get on facebook, because maybe taking to some of my friends will help me feel better. But whenever you are feeling badly, getting on facebook is a bad idea. After two seconds, I'm having a heart attack because someone's been shot, someone's committed hate crimes, someone's hurt children, someone's hurt animals, and there's been a twenty car pile up or some God-awful shit, and everyone has posted the videos, and for some reason, all those damn videos start playing as soon as you get on facebook. It's like, shit, you thought you were feeling bad before; look at this bullshit stupid assholes get up to. Don't you feel better now?
    No. No, I don't feel better after looking at all that evil shit. Makes me wonder sometimes if those end-of-the-world wack-os are on to something, because damn, all this bad stuff. And I already feel bad, so it's like an endless spiral of badness that I can't seem to break out of.
   But I feel better now. Why? Not a damn thing has changed. But I just spent two hours killing darkspawn and red templars, so somehow, I just feel better. And now I can deal with shit just a little bit better, because I took the time to do something fun, that I enjoy. So that's my sage advice for the day. Maybe it's not worth a crap, but maybe it is. If you are just feeling like everything is overwhelming you, go kill darkspawn. And take Blackwall with you, because he approves of that shit.
   Sometimes we just need to take a step back and take a time out. And yeah, I know that the real world is still there, and yeah, I'll deal with it, but sometimes we all need a break. That's what today's post is about. Just take a friggin' break - before you snap. Maybe it's common sense, but just earlier today, I was fretting myself in circles over issues that I've already done all I can to fix, and all that's needed is a little time and patience. It's had to have common sense when you've got yourself that worked up, and who doesn't ever get worked up over financial issues every now and again? Fix what you can, and go find something fun to do. Break time - and right now, that means I have an Inquisition to build. Bye folks. 

Parenting And Gaming

   I remember the first game that I really fell in love with.  I was a teenager, and I had just discovered that some games had stories every bit as good as what I could find in a book. I have written several 'love letters' about books on this blog, so if you've been reading... you know. If not, suffice it to say that I am the book fanatic of all book fanatics. But I had never really looked for the same kind of writing in a game. I sat down to play for kicks, but never really got hooked. My sister was the person who really was the gamer at this point. My little sister was the one who saved all of her birthday money up for a Sega Saturn, which I kinda ignored, and then a Playstation. And then she brought home something called an RPG. I was like, "What's that?" Little did I know I was fixing to fall into the RPG suck zone. I would never make it back out again; I'm still there.
   Bet you can guess the game that got me there. Bet you can. Well, maybe you can't, but most of you can. Final Fantasy VII. That is an awesome story. I cried my heart out when Aeris died, although Tifa was my favorite. I was captivated. And then I got m grubby little gamer paws on Final Fantasy VIII, which got a lot of guff for the 'draw' system. That system never bothered me, and honestly, I thought that Final Fantasy VIII was such a romantic story, I was hooked. I have been a Final Fantasy fan ever since, although I haven't liked one as well as those two games, and I've never even played the all online versions of Final Fantasy, because I don't like to game online. I have to be social all day long at work; when I come home and manage to get time to play, I like to be antisocial as all hell. Don't talk to me, I don't want to talk to you, I just want to do what I am doing. Maybe one day I will jump into online gaming, but I am really not into it right now.
   Of course, mine and my sister's gaming got my mom gaming, especially when she realized the story-telling that goes into some of them. She is the person I get my bookwyrm tendencies from, after all. And with a whole family of gamers, my daughter becoming a gamer as well just makes sense.
   You can get a lot of flak from people when they find out that your kid is a gamer. "Games are so violent." True, some of them are, but violence is also in movies, television, books, and unfortunately, every day life. This is not to condone violence, or violent behavior, but what exactly am I supposed to do with that statement? Maybe I could lock my daughter in a bubble, but I have no interest in doing so. I think that would be a sad life. So what I do instead of putting her in a bubble, is I pay attention to what she is doing, how she is acting, and how she responds the things that she sees and hears.
   You should always be aware of what your kid is doing. I have said that I do not ban books (for the most part. 50 Shades Of Grey = banned. I will ban the hell out of my daughter from reading that book until she is an adult.) But just because I don't ban books, this does not stand to reason that I do not know what she is reading. I ALWAYS know what she is reading. Usually, I have read the book myself. If I have not, which is happening a little more often now because she has been into reading books based on true stories and books based on historical events, I familiarize myself with the book itself. I look at the book, and read the blurb, and flip through it, and most importantly, I ask her about the book. I don't know about your kids, but all I need to do is ask my daughter, "So what is this about?" and she talks my ear off. She will follow me around the house, even to the point of talking to me through the bathroom door, telling me what that book is about.
   Games are easier. All you have to do is sit there and watch; you can see everything. There are a few games that I am not comfortable with my daughter playing yet. Dragon Age, for one; I am not comfortable with my daughter being able to manipulate her character into doing the deed with one of the other characters. There are other games banned as well, but my daughter is fine with that. So far, following Mom's rules has not been an issue for her. Honestly, she tends to prefer the G-rated games anyway. We play a lot of Harvest Moon and Rune Factory, but yes, she does have a fascination with Skyrim. What can I say? She gets it honest.
   The point of all this, I guess, is that I have my daughter under control. If you have strict issues that disallow gaming for your kid, then I respect that.  I would never force my parenting methods onto another mother, because different kids have different needs. But I am raising a 3rd generation gamer, here in my home, and I just don't see a problem with that.
   

Survival Horror Games

   Resident Evil was the first. The one that started my fascination with survival horror games; I love being terrified to open a door on a video game because something freaky as hell is going to pop out. This started my love of horror games even though I really suck at them. I really do; and don't play 2 player with me because I WILL shoot you in the back, and it will be on accident, but your character will still be dead, and a few seconds later, mine will be dead as well. I do better in single player modes, where I can't accidentally shoot my ally. And this is a good thing, because my family won't play that shit with me even if I wanted them too.
   Which is funny, because that first Resident Evil? That was my sister's game. She bought that shit and brought it home when we were wet-nosed little tykes getting on our mother's last damn nerve. And now? She won't play that shit. She is scared. Bock-bock-bock chicken. But she loves to watch me play, she just stresses too much if she is in control, and she won't move and her character will literally just stand there because she is too worried about what is behind the door. The creepy music starts playing and you know something is fixing to happen, and she is covering her eyes with her hands and telling me to tell her when it's over. She won't play them, but she comes over to my apartment to watch me play, which is nice for me because I'm bock-bock-bock chicken too, but I can be braver if I have someone with me.

This game is scary.

   But the big thing is, if you play these games, you might have realized that they are not scary anymore. Resident Evil is basically a shooter now, with hordes of zombies sure, but the fear factor is gone and in it's place is the need to kill as many mutated T-virus infectees as possible, and that's not really scary. Not to me. And I think I am right because my daughter, she can watch the new Resident Evil games, and while you might be thinking, "You let her watch that crap?" the answer is "Yes." Because my daughter has a unique ability not shared by many -- if she doesn't like seeing something, she leaves the room. If it freaks her out, she walks away and goes to her room to watch Animal Planet or Disney or play Mario on her Wii. She's a smart girl. Which means that Resident Evil: the new games don't scare her because she doesn't leave. But let me start playing Fatal Frame: she is gone. Uh-uh, no way, she isn't watching that if you paid her. That's how I really know that survival horror games just aren't horrifying anymore.
    So this is my gripe. I love the old games, and I was thrilled when Fatal Frame was available for download off of the Playstation Network, but where are the new scary games? How are we going to raise a new generation of survival horror-gamers if all we have is weak-ass, non-scary shooters pretending to be horror? I know that this is just my own opinion, but I still think it's a valid complaint. I know that I have heard this same gripe out of other people's mouths, so I know that I am not alone. Bring back survival horror!!!

The Awesome Box

   I've been packing in hopes that my application to move into an apartment will be approved. Packing for me is a way of positive thinking. And really, the only reason they could disapprove my application is credit. Mine is bad, but that is a song that probably every single parent could sing. It's hard when you only have one income; this is a two income world. And my credit isn't too bad; it's all hospital bills and student loans. The student loans are even all in good standing, but they make my debt-to-credit ratio high. I am a worry-wart, so as a way of keeping positive, I am packing. And I am packing things that I use practically every day -- the power of positive action.
   One of the things that  I am packing is my gaming equipment. I am a gamer; I don't know if you would call me hard core -- I take bathroom breaks and eat and sleep and go to work. I don't ignore my family over a game either. I'll never understand why some people do that. Games do not trump human contact. And I am never going to be the smuck who died because they gamed for 72 hours straight with no breaks. I mean, since giving birth I need to pee every two hours, and I need to eat. I am NOT going without food. But I do usually game daily, even if only for 30 minutes. And I've packed all of my gaming stuff. What am I going to do with myself until I move??!!
   As we have been packing, my daughter and I have been painstakingly labeling each and every box. We don't want to get into our new apartment and not know what is packed in each box. There are things that we are going to need right away, and there are things that can wait a little. Gaming stuff cannot wait. In reference to this, and in acknowledgement of the value of the items in the box, I have labeled my gaming boxes Awesome Boxes. Well, my daughter thought they needed to be labeled better than that. I don't see why, I think Awesome Box explains it all. If you have a box labeled kitchen supplies, and a box labeled awesome box, which one are you going to open first? If you answer kitchen supplies, my next question is-- How often do you lie and has this been a problem for very long? Of course you are going to open the awesome box, and what could be in an awesome box that was better than games, consoles, and equipment?

One of our labeled Awesome Boxes. 

   But my daughter took my sharpie from me and painstakingly made a list of what was in each awesome box. I have talked about our differences before, and this is one of them; my daughter is a little more orderly than I am; I tend to be chaotic. I suppose that this labeling is better, in the long run. Now I know what box has my PSP, and what box has the Wii. But they were all going to be opened on the first night of our arrival, regardless. The awesome boxes rule!