Time

It's officially October! Gaming Like There's No Tomorrow has officially started! My pre-October warm-up gaming was not as fruitful as I wanted it to be this summer. It's funny how life distractions get in the way of this sort of thing huh? A lot of people tell me that they don't have time for video games now that they're adults, but they would love to indulge in that sort of thing more often. I personally think that a lot of people are afraid to admit they play a lot of games because they don't want to feel like a loser who is doing something unproductive. There are a lot of things that are beneficial to ones health from playing games, but we'll cover that topic another day.

Today, we're going to talk about time, and I figure that's an appropriate topic seeing as how I'm half-way through the classic RPG "Chrono Trigger". "Chrono Trigger" is all about time, as the characters travel from one year to another, so that they can save the future from being completely destroyed by the release of Lavos (I believe this is his name but don't quote me on that, they haven't mentioned his name in a while).

But we're not going to talk about time travel. Rather, we're going to talk about making time for games! Play is an incredible part of a person's life. In some way, every one does a form of play. There are several definitions for the word play, but they all in some way, shape, or form, all lead back to this one common thing: Doing something for your own enjoyment. For some, it's a sport, others a crafty hobby, and others music or games. Play is a way to relax and enjoy life so that the stress from work, home, etc. don't eat you away.

The problem is, the older we get and the more responsibilities we get, the less and less we play. "I'm too old to play," is one excuse (we'll cover this another day). "Playing is a waste of my time," is another (we'll cover this one too!). And the other most popular one is, "I don't have time!" If anything, this is the number one excuse for why people do not play enough games (of any kind).

As we get older, we make less and less time for our hobbies, and our sanity slowly starts to slip away. I'm definitely not an expert, and obviously this is all opinion and observation, but I can use the experience I have, and observations I've made to give a tip or two!

First of all, it is okay to play. Playing is far from being a waste of time. There are a lot of benefits to playing. It improves rest, calms the mind, often works the body in a way (not always the case in video games, but playing in general), and provides an escape from the every day responsibilities. People need that, even if it is only for an hour. People who work too much often get sick because their bodies don't get the chance to recover. It's always go, go, GO! They also aren't as happy with their lives because there is nothing in it to enjoy. Once you can admit that it's okay to play and that it is an important part of your time, then you can move on to the next step.

Make time to play! The thing that is nice about video games, is that you often have an epic adventure to go on whether it's fighting off evil aliens, rescuing the princess, or winning the Super Bowl, and because of the advancements in technology you can go on these adventures and, wait for it - pause, save, and come back to it later! No more sitting in front of the screen for 8 hours, trying to kill King Koopa (going old school here with the names!) in the last level, hoping and praying that your system doesn't crap out or your parents get fed up with you and make you get off! What's especially nice is that sometimes there's even AUTO-SAVE! Which is a life saver (or a burden if you screwed up), or a QUICK-SAVE feature. Save points on RPG's are becoming more and more frequent and a lot of games are adapting to the style of allowing the gamer to save whenever they want! This means that you no longer have to devote hours and hours of time to game play. You can play as little as 5 minutes to several hours!

Games are even more portable than ever! A lot of great games are coming out on portable systems that are convenient for travel, break time at work, or just taking into bed in the middle of the night!

Work it into your schedule. If you want to play, take a time during the day or even the week to say: you know what? I'm tired of working all the time. I'm going to play for an hour and just relax, regroup, and then try things again. Playing is such a good stress reliever. It's that chance to forget about all the worries!

Oh, you don't understand Jilly, I have children and a house hold to run! So do I! There are ways to make these games interactive. Find a game that you can play with your kids, or if they're too little to play with you, something that will engross them with you. RPG's for instance involve a lot of reading. Take this time to read to your child and tell the story to them! Dialogue with them while you play. Or, wait until nap time or while they're at school or have gone off to bed. Gaming is a great way to spend time bonding with your spouse (even if they're not good at it). This can be applied to play in general. You can play as a family. In fact, I highly encourage playing as a family.

There are so many other things that could be offered for tips, but we'll leave it at that until next time!

CURRENT GAME: Chrono Trigger.
PROGRESS: 10 hours, 45 minutes.
LEVEL: 20-23.
CHAPTER: The Fiendlord's Keep.

It's almost October!

It's almost October and I'm getting ready to gear up for my ultimate of gaming sessions! I'm in the middle of playing Chrono Trigger on the DS casually. Soon I will be hardcore playing on all of my gaming systems and I'm hoping to make a small dent, as well as some wonderful insights on the gaming world.

I'm still looking for requests if there are any out there! If you're going to be gaming with me, why not share some of your own insights too!

Four days, and then it all begins!

Welcome!

So this is the girl who's gaming like there's no tomorrow. Basically I'm going to play a lot of video games and write about them. What am I going to write? A lot of things. Like what I think of the games, how long it's taking me to play them, if I like it, if I give up on it, ranting and raving, deep profound things, and everything in between.

After all, who says video games can't be educational or artistic or worthwhile? They are.

THE BIG LIST OF GAMES (to be added and taken away from as needed):

Chrono Trigger
Crimson Gem Saga
Final Fantasy(s) 4-6
Infamous
Radiata Stories
Wild Arms 2-5

Obviously, I'll be getting new games periodically. I may even revist some old classics too! I'll even take requests/suggestions/challenges.

I own a PS3, Nintendo DS, PSP, XBOX 360, and a Wii. Hit me up.