Tag Archives: video games

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The Journal of the Plague Fortnight, Days 4-5: Keeping Busy

I missed a day, so this entry will detail my first weekend in quarantine/lockdown.

Saturday I returned to BioLife, where I was able to donate. They’ve told me that plasma is desperately needed now, especially since the number of donors has dropped with people staying home. Just because there’s a pandemic going on doesn’t mean other medical issues have ceased. Also, they told me that there is some preliminary research that says plasma from people who’ve recovered from coronavirus may help those who are suffering from it. That may not hold up after more research, but it’s a good sign.

After returning to the Fortress of Solitude, I set up my podcast equipment to interview Eric Elliott, the mastermind behind the fan comic Batman Meets Godzilla, which is based on an unmade film back in the 1960s that would’ve featured the Adam West Batman battling the Big G himself. No joke. That interview should drop April 15. We had a fun time nerding out about comics and superheroes.

After lunch and more UltraSeven with Jarod, I got back to grading papers. I was determined to get them all done that day, if for no other reason than to do right by my students since we aren’t meeting in the classroom anymore. Sadly, I let myself get distracted (again) and got started a bit later than I wanted to. I spent the entire afternoon slaving over their papers, but even at 10-15 minutes a paper, I didn’t feel like I was burning through them fast enough, especially since I got a few late submissions the day before. It got to the point where I just couldn’t force myself to get going and took a break for thirty minutes to watch some YouTube videos. That left me rejuvenated. I wanted to have dinner with Jarod, but his eating schedule is so wacky, we ended up not doing it. That break lasted longer than I wanted it to. I plowed through what was left of the papers and had them done by late evening.

I punctuated my day watching a cheesy 1994 action film starring Roddy Piper and Sonny Chiba called Immortal Kombat on YouTube while giving live commentary with friends on Facebook messenger. The movie was kinda boring in the middle and had too many subplots, but the beginning and end were fun.

The next morning I “attended” church at home through their livestream. I was working a bit during it, though. I recently became the webmaster for their website, so I was updating the site while the livestream was going on. While I’m glad they’re doing this, it isn’t the same as actually being there. I miss the community.

Lunch and a double helping of UltraSeven followed. Then I spent some time writing a script for an upcoming podcast episode. But during that writing session, some friends asked me to play some video games with them online, and given that chatting with them while playing has become another avenue for me to connect with the outside world in all this madness, I took the offer. All I have to say is if you’re playing The King of Fighters XIV and meet a player named “Bumba Chunga,” you better bring you’re A-game. I finished that, but then another friend invited me to play after dinner, so I did.

Here’s the stream video my friend Sergio took of that session. It starts in the middle of my match. Sadly, you can’t hear my side of the chat.

By then it was close to 9pm. I still had to finish that script and do some reading for school, so I spent the next few hours doing exactly that. It wasn’t the most productive time, but hey, I needed a Sabbath.

What’d you do during your first weekend in quarantine/lockdown? Comment below!

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The Journal of the Plague Fortnight, Day 2: Schoolwork, Schoolwork, and More…Gaming?!

I don’t know if it was a mistake or not, but I slept in today. Then again, I was up later than I expected last night. During my late breakfast, I decided to start a new anime since I recently finished Code Geass. So, I did what I should’ve done a long time ago: I started RoboTech, a classic of anime. Let me tell you, in just one episode, I found myself reveling in the ‘80s anime goodness.

This was my first week back to university after the extended spring break, and today was the first post-coronapocalypse deadline for my students’ paper drafts. From about 11am until 6pm, most of my time was spent grading papers. I had “online office hours” from 11am-1pm, which included a videoconference Skype call with one of my students. That was different. I took a lunch break at 1pm and watched UltraSeven with Jarod.

Unfortunately, I battled distractions throughout the rest of the afternoon. Friends kept messaging me. Amusing things kept happening on Twitter. I kept wondering if it would’ve been easier if I was on campus, but I’m not sure. What was happening probably wouldn’t have happened if not for the current crisis, I’m sure.

One of the downsides of being a writer is the constant “what ifs…?”

Regardless, I managed to get through all of my first class’ papers. Tomorrow I do my second class’ papers.

On a whim, I decided to try streaming Street Fighter V on my YouTube channel as practice for when I do it on my podcast’s channel tomorrow (Friday) at 7pm EST. I was joined by several friends, including Sergio (who played against me), Josh (who commented), and Mike (who was on chat for ten minutes).

Here are the videos (with apologies for my mic issues at first):

I think I might try to make this a more common occurrence.

After that, I got to work on the trailer for Kaiju Quarantine, a big watch party being organized by me and several of my fellow podcasters. (More on that later).

All the while, I never left the Fortress of Solitude. I guess that makes me a good citizen.

I will admit this lockdown has made me try new things, and I’m finding that I like them.

What’d you do today to pass the time in lockdown? What new things, if any, have you tried?

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FOMO: The Fear of Missing Out

An illustration of FOMO. (Image taken from here). .

I’m a self-admitted “story junkie” who has a lot of hobbies. Those include reading books, playing video games, and watching TV and movies, among others. Do you notice what all of these have in common? Yep, stories. (I gotta get my fix, man!)

Unfortunately, because of this and the other things that keep me busy (job, school, writing, etc.), it’s difficult to keep up with these “story hobbies.” I tend to go through phases where I do one hobby more than the others. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of books and not playing many video games. The thing is, I can’t keep up with everything. While many of my fellow gamers are playing all the latest titles, I’m playing games that are at least two or three years old. Meanwhile, I’ve fallen behind by at least a month on the current TV shows I’m watching. While I often go to the cinema once a week (especially during the summer and holiday seasons), I don’t always see a movie its opening weekend. Then I feel like I’m falling behind and won’t get all the in-jokes people make or be able to talk with them. But like I said, this is a lot of things all competing for my time and attention. I don’t have enough years left in my life to read every book or watch every movie that everyone is supposed to consume.

The anxiety I’m speaking of—which can also apply to attending events and social activities—is called the “fear of missing out” (or FOMO). In large part it involves knowing and having all the latest things. People start worrying about being left out or left behind. Why do you think film studios push as hard as they do for people to go see a movie opening weekend? They play on this idea, which in turn makes them the biggest chunk of their money. Gone are the days when a film would make consistent money for weeks at a time (remember Titanic’s months of dominance?). Now everyone is all but required to see a film as soon as possible to avoid spoilers, but more importantly, to feel included.

The truth is, one can’t keep up with everything. Choices must be made and priorities kept. This means one might have to wait until a movie hits home media before seeing it. It might mean watching a (rare) rerun of a TV show seeing it online later (even if it means waiting months for an entire season to drop on Netflix). And that’s assuming that what one is afraid of missing is some form of media. It might also mean missing a social gathering when he has to focus on something else, like writing a book. In other words, it’s okay to be a little behind, to a miss a few things so one can prioritize what’s important to him. It’s a lesson I’ve had to learn the hard way, and honestly, I’m okay with it. I don’t have to be on the forefront of everything I’m interested in. I can go through phases where I’m more up on some things than others. I’d rather have the joy of going at my own pace with everything than the stress of trying to keep up with everything and everyone, even if I’m mocked for it (people who do that are jerks, anyway). Buck the trends, I say!

What about you? Do you struggle with FOMO? How do you deal with it? Discuss it in the comments!

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All the Podcasts I’ve Appeared On

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I’m keeping today’s blog simple and helpful, especially for those who want a quick reference for all the places I’ve appeared online. Or, at the very least, the podcasts I’ve been on. So, here’s an index of the shows and episodes I’ve appeared in. I discuss everything from storytelling to video games to Godzilla (no surprise, right? 😛 ).

Admittedly, there are few not listed here. I recorded a podcast with Zachery Oliver for “Theology Gaming” that was lost when he had computer problems. The same thing happened with “The Bestselling Fiction Podcast” hosted by Dan Dynneson last summer. I’ve subsequently recorded two more episodes with him that he has yet to post. I also appeared on GigaGeek Magazine’s podcast to talked about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but I don’t have a link for that yet since it was broadcast live.

Regardless, happy listening!

Derailed Trains of Thought
A show on storytelling and creativity hosted by my friends Nick Hayden and Tim Deal

–Episode 3: From Boredom to Book – They interview me when I published by first book, Pandora’s Box.
–Sidetrack 2: Peeking Inside the Box – I’m not in this, but an excerpt of my novel is read by Nick’s wife, Natasha.
–Episode 17: Magic, Muggles, and Morals – I read an excerpt from Destroyer.
–Episode 20: Everything But the Kitchen Sink – I’m one of multiple guests who returns briefly for the show’s first anniversary. I announce I’m writing new books.
–Sidetrack 6: Children of the Wells Round Table – I and my collaborators talk about working on our ongoing post-apocalyptic contemporary fantasy series Children of the Wells.
–Episode 50: Guest Starring…Everybody! – In this anniversary episode, I’m one of several returning guests who “audition” in multiple segments to be a third co-host.
–Episode 61: Shut Up and Buy My Book – I return to DToT to discuss how writers can promote their books. In this day and age, writers must also do their own PR.

Strangers and Aliens
A show about faith, fantasy, and science fiction co-hosted by my buddy Ben Avery, who’s a comic writer

–Episode 127: GODZILLA (Summer Movie Series) – I review the new Godzilla film with host Ben Avery.

Theology Gaming University
A show about Christianity and video games

–Podcast #58 – Video Games Inspiring Other Media – Theology Gaming – My friend Eric Anderson and I discuss video game adaptations to other media with host Zachery Oliver.
–Podcast #62 – I discuss why gamers replay video games they’ve already played with host Zachery Oliver and TGU regular Bryan Hall.
–TG Sessions #9 – Cheapness (I.e., You’re Not Special) – Zachery Oliver and I discuss what makes certain things “cheap” in both single-player and multiplayer video games.
–TG Sessions #10 – Batman’s Fifty Shades of White Privilege – Remember when this video made me a troll magnet? I also incurred the wrath of trolls about an essay I wrote for TGU. Zachery Oliver and I discuss all of this.
–Podcast #72 – One in a Mijinion – I join Zachery Oliver and Roberto Iraheta 20 minutes in, and in our ramblings we set out to solve a very important mystery: What the heck is an Infinity Mijinion? (In case you don’t know, that’s a Mega Man boss).

The Weekly Hijack
A “spin-off” podcast from “Derailed Trains of Thought” that discusses TV shows

-Episode 27: Doctor Who – The Magician’s Apprentice – I discuss the season nine premiere of Doctor Who with Nick Hayden, Tim Deal, and several others. (Scroll through the episode listing to find it).

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Media Gluttons

My usual New Year’s resolution to downsize and my recent frustrations with time management collided last week, and by their powers combined, turned my mind to a related topic. In this case, the consumption—or rather, overconsumption—of media.

Most of these speculative fiction books I haven't read yet. Don't judge me! (I'll let you guess which ones I have read). :P
Most of these speculative fiction books I haven’t read yet. Don’t judge me! (I’ll let you guess which ones I have read). 😛
A big reason I need to downsize is I have a bad habit of buying books on impulse, especially when they’re on sale. As it stands, I have several shelves full of books I haven’t read but intend to. I want read them so I can eliminate them from my collection since I doubt I’ll want to keep them all. Unfortunately, I’m a self-described “story junkie,” so I enjoy multiple forms of media, including video games, TV, and movies. The problem is I can’t keep up with all of it. For example, I’ve lamented several times that there are so many superhero shows on TV, I can’t watch all of them.

I hear friends talking about the video games they’ve played this year, and many of them I haven’t even touched. People rave about TV shows I’ve never even seen. On Goodreads, people make yearly goals for how many books they want to read, some going as high as 100 books (that blows my mind!). Meanwhile, I’m surrounded by screens bombarding me with images and ads about the latest movies and countless other things, many of which I want to experience, but I’m already buried. It’s to the point where I’m finding creative ways to allow myself to be able to listen to audiobooks of some of the books on my shelf despite my car’s sound system being problematic (I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get it fixed).

Should I even bother mentioning that I also enjoy listening to music and podcasts?

It’s no wonder many people nowadays seem to be hyperactive: their brains are constantly being stimulated. I’m reminded of the Grinch from Dr. Seuss’ classic book: “All the noise, noise, noise!” The human mind can only take so much. There comes a point where it gets overloaded. I can’t spend my entire day consuming media just to get some notches on my belt. Nobody can. It’s unhealthy. Even if I try to say I’m “socializing” by, say, watching a movie with family and/or friends, it’s not the same as focused attention on those people. It requires meaningful interaction and conversations to foster intimacy. I’m not saying it’s impossible to create that while consuming media (I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some great chats with friends while playing video games), but too often media is a distraction. And that’s just one way it can be a hindrance.

Another is that people consume it mindlessly without taking into consideration what they’re consuming. We all know people who just lounge on their recliner and flip through TV stations while complaining there’s “nothing on,” yet they don’t turn the TV off and do something else. I’ve never understood that.

What’s my point in all of this? It’s good, perhaps even necessary, to unplug. Shut off the noise and enjoy people. Take some time for yourself. Your brain needs opportunities to slow down. Yeah, maybe you won’t binge watch season two of Daredevil on Netflix as fast as others, but you may be a more well-rounded person because of it.

What are some ways you overconsume media? Have you cut back? What are some ways you could cut back?