Fun Stuff...[Part 2]

As promised, here's the second-half of my previous post!

• World of Warcraft

My character is 'Aertimys'...the little graph shows how much
damage everyone did during a raid boss fight...check me out
at the top of the chart!

Of course, my 'go to' game is still World of Warcraft! Although I don't spend a whole bunch of time gaming anymore [not like my college days haha], WoW still gets more time than any other game. 

Currently, there isn't a ton of new content available...but there's always lots to do with this game. Right now, my biggest focus is on raising my main character's item level [getting better gear] so that I can be quasi-capable of keeping up with my guildies. [A guild is a group of people that play together in the game...I guess a lot like a club? Or a group of friends? Anyway...being in a guild makes certain aspects of the game much easier...but because I'm not a die-hard, consistent player, I'm perpetually behind my guildmates in the game. /sigh]

I really do like WoW, and I like that it's a game that me and the husband play together...but I have a hard time justifying spending a whole lot of time playing at once. To make progress, it takes spending chunks of a couple hours at a time [typically], and there just aren't many days where I have that kind of time! Especially when the kiddo isn't staying with my parents.../shrug

I suppose that's my main gripe about WoW right now. I'm sure I'll keep playing, and I'm sure I'll always be behind....but that's fine, it's just how it goes for now! ^_^ 

• Star Wars Battlefront 2

The kiddo and I got the husband this game for his birthday, about a month ago, and he's played it pretty consistently since then! 

I haven't played it myself, so I admit I don't know many specifics about this one. But I do know that's a very fast-paced FPS game [which is why I haven't played it!]. It has an online, multiplayer mode and a single-player campaign mode, and to me, looks very similar to Overwatch, but with Star Wars characters.

I've heard the husband mention unlocking 'heroes' by earning points. So, if you've been wanting an opportunity to play as your favorite Empire or Rebellion characters and like blowing things up, this game might be for you! 

• PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

This is another game that the husband has been playing a lot of lately. 

PUBG is an interesting mash-up of FPS and survival games...as the player, you get thrown into a gaming map with up to 99 other players [so, groups of 100!]...you drop out of a plane with no weapons or armor and are left to survive, Hunger Games style. You can pick up all sorts of different weapons [there are guns, knives, and vehicles...but my favorite so far, was when the husband killed another player with a frying pan!] and items as you explore the map, but make sure you stay alert! As you're rummaging around, another player could easily sneak up on you and kill you!

This is another game that I haven't played myself. I really like the idea of it, but pretty much all FPS games stress me out too much to play! But, if you can keep level-headed about this game and not take it super seriously, it's probably tons of fun!

• 5-Minute Dungeon

Now, this one isn't a video game, but it's a lot of fun!

5-Minute Dungeon is a board/card game that Santa brought us this year, and we've played it a handful of times. I love it! I was wanting to find a game that the husband and I could play with the kiddo that didn't involve staring at a screen...I was looking for something that could be played in a relatively short amount of time [everyone knows how long a game of Monopoly can run!] and with a bit of a nerdy element to it....and this game fits all of the criteria!

The game uses cards, rather than dice, and plays through around 5 different 'dungeons.' There's a boss card [the final boss of the level] and several 'door cards' that the group must make it through in order to be victorious. Each player picks a character from the 10 pre-made choices, and each player gets a deck of cards that matches their character's abilities. Each player deck has cards with different symbols on it, similar to energy/mana cards in other card-based games. Players match these symbols with those on the 'door cards' and boss cards to defeat the monsters, and beat the game.

If you're looking for a fun activity for the family, we recommend checking this one out! 

Well, there it is!! That's the run-down of the nerdy happenings in our house right now...well, the gaming parts, anyway ^_^

What games are you guys into right now? Do you have any recommendations for family-friendly, fun activities? 

Fun Stuff [Part 1]...

If you follow me on pretty much any social media platform [Instagram, Google+, Twitter, etc...] you've probably noticed that 'gamer' is my tagline pretty much universally....however, aside from the random screenshots that get posted on my Instagram account, I don't actually talk about video games all that much! So, I thought it might be a good time to write a post about which games are currently my favorites, what my husband and kiddo are currently playing, and maybe a game or two I'd like to try out soon...

• Doki Doki Literature Club

This game is my latest obsession! It's currently available on Steam and it's free!! Seriously, if you haven't played it yet, there's no reason not too! [Well, almost no reason...there are some warnings that the game presents before you actually start playing...and those should absolutely be taken seriously. No joke.]

I don't want to give anything about this game away...but it was definitely surprising! It plays mostly as a super kawaii visual novel...with a twist! It's one of those games, that despite me having finished it, I felt as if it left me hanging [omg]...

It was so well executed, that I find myself searching on YouTube for videos about the game, delving into hidden secrets and meanings...and there's a ton! After you've played, watch this video by The Game Theorists video [linked here]...it's crazy!

Plus! The soundtrack for this game is the most adorable that I've ever heard!! It's happy, bouncy, and will get stuck in your head for ages!

**Tip: leave the game files open and visible while you play the game...if you don't, you'll miss out!

• Getting Over It

This is another game that seems to be super popular right now...search for it on YouTube and you'll see that there's no shortage of videos of gamers losing their minds while playing this game.

The premise of this game is simple....strange, but simple. You control a man while he attempts to climb a mountain made of various, random items. The catch? The man is stuck up to his waist in cauldron that's filled with water. You move the character by swinging around a rather large hammer/pick...and that's pretty much it!

This is most definitely a rage game. It's designed for you to fail and make you blindingly angry in the process! It's super entertaining to watch though! 

At the request of my brother, my husband downloaded this game to give it a try...he was a pretty good sport about it, up until a moment when he lost 45 minutes of progress in less than 5 seconds...

But, if you're a glutton for punishment and you've got about $8 to spend...check this out and download it from Steam. [And make a video of your gameplay so we can see how well you do! We promise not to laugh...too much ^_^]

• Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator

For some reason, the kiddo and his buddies are super into the FNAF [Five Nights at Freddy's] games...or at least the idea of them! 

This is the latest and last installment in the spooky series...and the first one that I've let the kiddo play himself. It's part 'sim' game [you set up and run your own pizzeria] and part 'jump scare'/survival...pretty on track with the other FNAF games.

There's a way to play the game and essentially make it jump scare-proof...but, really, where's the fun in that?

But if you're considering letting your small kids play this one, you might wanna stick close by the computer...because the animatronics can still give them quite a scare.

Right now, the game is downloadable from Steam for free!

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - Zombie Mode

An older game, but it's one that's seen a lot of playtime in our home lately. 

My husband has been playing this one with the kiddo...he says he's trying to introduce him to different 'big boy' types of games...but I think it's probably more that he's tired of playing Mario games and listening to DanTDM! [DanTDM is the kiddo's favorite YouTube personality...he's really good for kid-friendly video game videos....I generally don't feel like there's any problems letting the kiddo watch his channel...but, goodness, it can get old to listen to!]

Despite what you'd probably expect, the zombie mode of this game isn't terribly violent! Well, I mean, you are shooting zombies....but there's not a whole lot of blood/gore, and the zombies can't shoot back! So, really, it's more of a 'see how long you can survive' play experience. 

I don't personally care for FPS [first-person shooter] games all that much, but I've tried my hand at a round or two...it's fairly fun! However, I will say that I like watching the two boys play together...I always love seeing the two of them interact and bond with each other ^_^

**yawn**

Surprisingly, this post is turning out to be quite long! I've still got a couple of games that I'd like to write about, but I think I'm going to save those for a 'part 2' post. I'll work on that in the next few days...check for it soon!

 

LFR, FTW!

So, umm, I wanted to write a new post about some WoW stuff that came out over the weekend at BlizzCon....but I feel the need to address something a bit more serious and personal, first.

This past week, my family experienced a tragedy. Specifics will be left unsaid because, frankly, it still hurts like hell, and it will for a long time. However, I will say this... life is fragile and short. If it can be helped, don't let a day pass without letting your loved ones know that you love them. Stop procrastinating. Because...well...just because.

Ok, now, indulge me in my avoidant coping behaviors as I write about some gaming stuff!

At BlizzCon, they announced the new expansion pack for WoW and gave us the cinematic trailer for it....and it was amazing!! Now, aside from a couple of random blood elves I've definitely been 'for the Alliance' all the way...but, c'mon...you can't see the trailer and not fangirl over Sylvanas in banshee form, not at least a little bit! If you haven't seen it yet, check it out!

It looks like Blizzard is shifting the focus of gameplay back to the faction vs. faction rather than both sides fighting the Legion.../shrug meh, okay. Sure, I suppose it will be a decent change of storyline...I'm hoping that means that they'll wrap up everything in the Legion expansion first, though. I'm currently crawling my way through Argus, confused, but curious to see where the story goes. [Not really a huge fan of Argus, tbh. Haven't played much of it since that patch came out.]

Another big announcement pertained to the development of Blizzard-operated Vanilla servers! Now, I'm one of those who played 'back in the day'...my first toons were during the original, vanilla days...the fabled days of hardship where quest tracking was an add on, you didn't get mounts until level 40, talent trees were complicated, and leveling a toon to max cap was truly an accomplishment! I can easily see where people are enchanted by the idea of revisiting the good ole days of WoW...before all of the expansion packs and simplifying of game play...but there's one particular feature that I've noticed that players are split on and quite unabashedly vocal about...

LFR/LFG [stands for 'looking for raid' or 'looking for group'] is a tool that came out in one of the expansions that allows players that are looking for groups to run dungeons/raids to be quickly grouped together...thus, allowing you to get to the gameplay fairly quickly! Now, before the implementation of this tool, it could be quite a chore to get a group together. Typically, you would have to travel to one of the major cities [larger city, larger population, more potential players to join your group]. Now, this would take you away from whatever questing  or solo grinding you were working on...meaning, while you're waiting to find a group, you can't earn xp and you can't work on leveling. [Definitely a drawback, in my opinion]

Now, unless you had a guild that was 'good' about running dungeons and such...most players were left to 'spam chat channels' to try and find players for the group. This consisted of 'LFM DM' or 'LF Tank, SM'...essentially,  you'd be left to constantly type your 'advertisemnent' into the chat channels, over and over again, until you ended up getting enough people to notice and join your group. I found that venture to be painfully time consuming! It wasn't uncommon for it to take anywhere from 30-45 minutes, sometimes over an hour, for a group to come together. And! After you finally managed to get a group assembled, there was no guarantee that all of the group members would stick around to make sure the dungeon was completed! Quite often, members would bail and that left you to start the whole cycle all over again. 

My fiancé posted a video about this on YouTube, yesterday, and the amount of crap that he’s gotten is a bit mind boggling. Anti-LFR players are vocal almost to the point of being rabid about their ‘if you use LFR, you’re a cissy noob that needs to stop playing’ mindset. It’s annoying. 

I mean, I’ll concede to point that it can’t be ‘100% vanilla’ if LFR is involved...that’s true! But is a tool that streamlined the gaming process and gave you more time to *gasp* play the game, the actual, literal ‘worst thing that ever happened’ to WoW?!? 

/shrug. Maybe it is. Maybe it is and I just don’t get it...but I seriously doubt it. I mean, did they not play during Warlords? Garrisons. Hello?? I, personally love the LFR tool! I’m not terribly social, and that carries over to gaming...so if I was ever in a guild, it was probably because I had real world friends in it, and I’m there for the guild perks. Because of that, I didn’t do dungeons or raids. I just didn’t! I didn’t want to waste the time I could use grinding experience standing around looking for a group. Plus! As someone with social anxiety, I didn’t want to risk ‘messing up’ and causing my group to fail [I actually still struggle with this, but not to the same extent] LFR kind of takes that social anxiety edge away, in regards to finding a group. I still get crap, sometimes, because I play a hunter and most other classes kind of hate us...but now, the game puts me in a premade group of players who all want to run the same dungeon, and I don’t have to worry about being ‘picked’ to play!

Also! As a working adult, parent, and family oriented person, I just don’t have hours and hours to waste sitting at my computer! Most nights, I don’t even log into WoW...but when I do, it’s usually during that magical little pocket of time after dinner and household tasks are done and before bedtime...I’m sure at least some of you know what I’m talking about! So, no! I literally do not have 45 minutes or an hour to wait for a group to form! One person commented that only ‘old people’ are so pressed for time...well, maybe! But most of us that played during vanilla (I was in college back then!) now have families, jobs, and many obligations that we simply didn’t have back then! Is that our ‘fault’? No, I don’t think so...rather, I think it’s pretty cool that despite the years passing and our lives evolving, we still find ourselves able and wanting to remain in the gaming community! WoW is often a huge part of who we feel that we are, and I truly appreciate being able to experience most aspects of the game, even though I can no longer spend countless hours playing. (Which wasn’t a smart thing to do, even back then...trust me!) 

Anyway. When it comes down to it, if someone wants to utilize a brilliant, convenient tool to play content in the most efficient way available, shut your mouths about it and let them use it. If not, stand around and yell at other players to join your cause...either way, aren’t we all just trying to play and enjoy the same game? There’s no need to be assholes about it ^_^ 

Weekend...

I decided to write a separate post on some of the other, non-wedding things going on...

The fiancé and I had some actual free time this weekend!! Surprising, isn’t it?

My wonderful parents kept the kiddo for a couple of nights, giving us some much needed time off (and a quiet apartment for the first time in weeks!)...it was sorely needed and very, very appreciated. ^_^

My fiancé had to work some on Saturday, so I took advantage of the time and took his wedding band to have it engraved...I think I picked out the perfect inscription, and I’m so excited for him to see it! I’m planning on keeping it a surprise for the wedding day, but I may cave and let him see it beforehand...

Pumpkin Spice frappe...would NOT recommend...

I also had time to meet up with on of my best friends for coffee ^_^ she’s awesome! We’ve been friends for about 15 years now...she’s been there for me through all sorts of ups and downs, and I could not be any more thankful! It was good to catch up with her, and she gave me some helpful tips and suggestions for our wedding. (She got married a few years ago, so she knows what stress I’m going through) All in all, it was a fantastic coffee date...two hours passed by before I’d even realized it! Good times ^_^

I’ve also had some time to play some video games, which is always a plus, in my opinion...

I’ve been playing some Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Undertale with the kiddo...and it’s been awesome!! Not gaming nearly as much as I used to, which is probably a good thing...but it does feel good to be able to do something that’s me. Plus, it’s something the kiddo and I do together, which makes it all that much better!

So, yeah ^_^ this weekend was full of friendship and fun, I’ll definitely call it a win!