Reality vs Adventure

Been playing AC Black Flag to try and finish it up and also Layers of Fear 2. Black Flag obviously is about pirates and LF2 in some parts has a pirate theme to it. So playing these two games alternatively is making me lose my mind!!! LOL Anyone else play a couple games alternatively and somehow work together in meaning or theme by coincidence??? Kind of funny when that happens.

You never heard that game? I've been wanting to play it for a while. Supposed to be really good. I read the review too and still inspires me to play the game. It's part of the Quantic Dream Collection which is supposed to be three really great games made by Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain, Detroit Become Human, and Beyond Two Souls). Of course you can get the game separate for the ps3, or 3 game bundle for the ps4.

Better title would be When The Giants Get Dumb

I love mountains and where I am in Texas, the closest mountain is about a 10 hour drive which I endured once. The beach is 2 hours away. Bunch of lakes and rivers around though. It is nice out in the country but the weather sucks and the people suck. I also lived out west in Vegas and I love the desert and canyon country. I wish there was a high speed rail to get out west. I like the drier weather. Love the rain too, but in Texas it just stays humid and spot showers here and there. It just doesn't rain the way rain is supposed to be. So i have a split heart; one for the country and another for the west. But one heart for the homeland. My countrymen want to destroy my homeland. So sad my neighbor is also my enemy. But I won't take for granted the beauty of this land they contaminate.

I never even heard of the term catharsis before. This is a really good topic. I'm not sure what role games play for me. I have so many deep seeded problems that I can't really pin point one where I get an 'emotional release' through gaming. I started gaming in my last few months of drinking alcohol. But while drinking I couldn't play because my concentration and memory were shot to hell. So I wouldn't remember what happened n the game the next day. In a way, gaming has kept my mind focused on better things. On more beautiful things. On more interesting things. I always told myself that boredom is what made me drink. Gaming has taken that boredom away for the most part. And I have found better feelings in games that I haven't felt in years. I guess I'm an awakened zombie. That's my 'emotional release.' But it's more to it than that, I know there is. As time goes on, maybe I'll uncover more emotional burdens I kept bottled over the years. But it is amazing to be alive again and to explore all the beautiful environments brings me more pleasure without even grasping why. But there is a reason there for playing the games I play. And I can probably go on and on but I'll stop for now and think more on this for a while.

Ghost of Tsushima and Layers of Fear series Do not pass these

I have to say Assassin's Creed games starting with Origins where you can actually soar over the land in a bird's eye view and being able to climb pretty much everything with great character movement from walking to climbing. And taking open worlds to another level through exploration, along with the 360 photo capture ability, and taming wild animals. Even the theme among the series is pretty good. It almost makes me think that maybe some of it is a possibility where you can use DNA to track memories of ancient ancestors and visualize it in VR. In the games, they even flirted with the idea of making video games using that technology. And here I am playing the games, getting lost in history and the environments as if I was there. Maybe I still am there. Wait a minute, someone pinch me. Uh oh. I better get out of the animus before the bleeding effect takes over.

https://www.ecowatch.com/gray-wolf-idaho-bill-2652810758.html The bill has been passed by house and senate in that state, and now goes to the republican governor to decide the fate of wolves in that state. They say it's to protect livestock. This is outrageous and if you don't think this is completely crazy then something is wrong with you. Have they not learned their lesson with what happened at Yellowstone National Park? They almost wiped out wolves there and it completely changed the ecosystem. They had to reintroduce the wolf population. My heart is broken for the wolves. Shame on them.

I don't give a shit if someone blinks, flutters, or has protruding unblinking crazy eyes. Just keep them eyes off me is what I say.

That's called fluttering. 😆

And if a comet comes crashing down the size of a pea right into your backyard and you enter a different realm with no internet???

Probably not good with OCD; you'll be counting your blinks!!!

You really should get a ps4 if you don't have one already. Some very soothing games are AC Odyssey, Valhalla, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Witcher 3. Those are my go to for a beautiful world that calms me. Those games will probably last me forever.

I agree with above posts on Witcher 3 and Horizon Zero Dawn. I think HZD beats Witcher 3 though. But last night I had a great gaming session in Witcher 3 with the combat. There are a lot of games with great combat. God of War especially. And I've had an amazing time with the Assassin's Creed games. The thing with AC though is having the option to be stealthy or all out mayhem. Even mixing up the play style is fun. Nothing like hammering in a skull, slicing a limb off, hop over a wall, hide in bushes, stick a blade right through the back of a neck and watch the head loll back and let gravity drop the standing body like a doll. Then poison tip the arrows and send a rain of love. I like military games with lots of explosives and an action scene as you run through a battlefield and bombs going off everywhere, bullets wizzing by, smoke and dirt splashing in face; stumble and fall. Get back up and knocked to the ground again with fire all around and planes zipping overhead battling in the sky and dropping bombs; chopper crash almost hits you, then a trooper explodes right in front of you with blood and bones sticking into your wrinkled and grimy gear. A head tumbles nearby and you think you are almost safe and you run out of ammo. You throw your gun and pick up another to shoot off a few rounds and run out of ammo again. You fall to a knee as troops charge at you. Then it is hand to hand and knife to flesh, trying to dig deep enough to penetrate clothing. All you can see now is white eyes in all the smoke. You stab away, and no matter how exhausted, you stab and stab and stab. You pick up a rifle and start bashing. Then it's a wrestling match and you gouge out the eyes while you wrestle on the ground. You can't breathe anymore cause the smoke. You get up and run some more. Run some more. Then you find yourself all alone and wonder who won. But you don't care as you are in a panic mode and nothing makes sense anymore. You rock on you bottom holding your knees and just hope that the bombs don't land on you. You can't see anything anymore. you can't hear anything anymore. It's every man for himself. What happened? What once was war, is now raw, raw, raw survival. Even the enemy sees you and doesn't even care as they are trying to survive too. You almost want to help each other now. Humanity takes over in this dark moment. But it was just a moment. Cause you sat too long and took a bullet to the back of the head and executed by a missing arm and jawless man.

Both. In a way it connects me to the real world from the games that I play, which tend to be beautiful open worlds with human marvels. I mean, even though buildings, or ruins, homes, villages, technology etc. may not be real, but it reminds me of things man has created throughout history in real life. And how people survived without modern technology. How they battled. And scenery that may not be real in the game, but real life comparisons do exist. And I am fascinated by different cultures, which the games I play usually have interesting villages and crafts, and even things like marble quarries and mining, fishing, some guy doing pottery or playing an instrument. I can put myself there. Visually it may not be real, but similar things do exist in the world. And I have a wild imagination and gaming fills that appetite. I like to think about some of the games before falling asleep. It relaxes me as I fantasize about...fantasy. I say both because it also gives me escapism. I was never big into magic stuff until some of the books I read. And now I can appreciate things like magic and it's just fun to think about. And gaming goes further than books because you can actually see it, real or not. And I love horror. Games bring an extra dimension to it that movies can't. And that fear is real!!! Movies don't get me jumpy like a game can.

Yeah, it is a long shot topic in crazy times. But the cops would police their own county lines no matter who was in it and community banks would serve those in that zip code. I guess that is re-segregating. The Asian communities have done that pretty well as we have successful Chinatowns in most major cities. But then again, they don't have their own police. But they do have most of the time Asian cops representing them. In Houston at least is a good example of that. I wish it was the same in black communities.

Laws need to be passed where cops can't kneel on a person's neck. There were what, 4 cops present? All with tasers if needed. You are also one with a dangerous precedent falling in step to the use of unnecessary force. You have chosen the other side of the extreme. The only ones who thrive in chaos are the oppressors. The better way is obviously police reform. And if they can't do that, then maybe blacks can create their own police force in their own communities. Maybe they should have their own banks too so that they can get a loan for a house. Support their own businesses etc. And maybe Americans as a whole can do that. It will definitely threaten corporate America.

I stand for democracy. That makes me anti republican. There is no debate about that. It's all in the bills they are trying to pass and proof of a recent failed coup attempt. If they succeeded we would be in a dictatorship right now. American politics is in a humanitarian crisis. Fuck cancel culture idiocracy. That is a term used to divide us and give oppressors reason to justify their culture war or race war. I don't want socialism. I don't want communism. I don't want fascism. I don't want marxism. I don't want capitalism. There needs to be a little balance between capitalism where corporations have too much power and socialism where there is too much government dependence. The healthcare complex needs to be broken up and people need better access and affordability. Capitalism needs a bit of reformation. BAN LOBBYING. That's a great start. Corporations have no business giving money to politicians. If it is considered illegal for a politician to sell a product, then it should be illegal to take money as that would be a conflict of interest. Here, let me give you 20 million dollars if you can pass that tax break for my company. The Fuck You bill will prevent that. There is no one right way to govern financially. We need a system where corporations can’t fatten politician’s pockets; where the rich pay fair share in taxes; where there are programs to help the poor and middle class. When I say help, I am not referring to money. I am referring to changing the built environment. Sure, that costs money, but so do the roads you drive on. That built environment segregates minorities in gerrymandering lines, and keeps people in poor neighborhoods. Liquor stores and fast food are all over the place, while rural neighborhoods have dry counties. You could call that supply and demand, but really it is a push to addiction in vulnerable communities. Police need to be more diverse across the country and better trained. Why do you think republicans are so much against a black person getting a house? Cause it is an invasion to their built environment where the black vote may actually be as strong as their own in a white suburban neighborhood. BAN GERRYMANDERING; which is the distribution of county lines that give white right wingers more representation to their vote. Sure, the left gerrymanders too, but for their higher population density, they aren't nearly represented as much as a red state rural farm country. Reform the electoral college. That is not a democracy. It is designed to give minority rule, not the majority. Our elections shouldn’t be focused on just 13 states or however many in dominantly red states. Democracy is where the majority rules. That’s why republicans are attacking voting across the board. They have no policy unless you call dictatorship a policy. I am a male and stand with feminists. I hate the toxic male environment which needs to be broken up through diversity. Maybe there should be incentives for companies, positions of authority etc. to hire females as well as minorities. Women should have the right to abortion. I don't know why there is so much controversy over that. They would rather jail a woman over abortion? If the child is born, they could either live in a broken home or live in a foster system where predators have ruined countless lives. Think about that. What causes the least amount of suffering? Abortion, or for the child to grow in who knows what kind of world? And to be pro life without giving a damn about environmental issues and animals that are threatened through industry because they are against regulations??? Another Fuck You traitors.

I love Halloween stuff. One year I got all decorated inside with a bale of hay to sit on. Next thing I leave it there and gets all scattered. I slept on the hay here and there and it was just fun. Smelled fresh like outdoor sunshine.

Right on. There are a lot of situations where characters are heroic, but many times they are doing a quest where they were hired on. I think that heroism has no expectations for rewards. Not for fame, money, gear, or any kind of pride. And intentionally not even getting noticed for the deeds done is even more heroic. And we can assume those deeds were morally right ones. I think a hero has a clear mind and isn't driven by hate and vengeance. Because that would be only a self fulfilled act, not heroism. Heroism is completely selfless. And that is an easy line to cross. I think we all at times has assumed one committed a heroic act, even if it was driven by selfish motivations. That is heroism spoken of lightly. And in a way they still can be considered a hero if it was morally right. The character can go on a killing spree of vengeance and take down an evil enterprise saving a million lives in the process. They are a hero for it. But the true definition for me is completely selfless, which would mean that same character would do the exact same thing, but with the motivation to save people and not vengeance. A knight running to glory and kill a dragon for their legacy is not heroic. It could have saved many lives in the process, but the intention was selfish. God knows a person's motivations. And even many religious people fail in their motivation of doing good deeds. They fear God as their motivation more than doing a good deed as a genuine act. So morality and heroism seem inseparable.

A new theatre system maybe. Or big tv. Make it more intimate with lights out, tea; candle light. Smoke ganja. Try a different play setting. Rearrange your play room. Play in a different room. Play in the attic or basement. Play in winter where it's really cold, and cuddle up. Play it on Halloween if it's a scary game and get in the holiday mood. With decorations!!! Scary pumpkin head and witches and goblins and scarecrow. Decorate for whatever occasion Get flowers and hearts if it's a love story. Glass of wine. Get a fogger so they it looks foggy in your room.

I hate puzzles in games. The only time I enjoyed it was in RE7; the birthday cake room. That kind of puzzle where they make it scary, or just something interesting is an exception. It wasn’t some dumb pointless distraction. Da Vinci Code on ps2 had an interesting puzzle design as you investigate murder mysteries and other interesting things related to that setting. But a puzzle game like that I won’t play twice. Hellblade was interesting and I would of loved it without the tremendous puzzles. They just got carried away with it without really a point. But yes, puzzles with violence and scares are awesome. Oh yeah also the DLC in RE7-escape that bedroom is perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bring me more of that main dish; don’t bother me with a side of hard dry bread. That scene should have been in the main story. Jerks always want to leave out the sweets to make money later.

This is scary what is going on. Republicans still claim the election was stolen and are recounting by hand the votes in Arizona by a group called Cyber Ninjas. First of all, who is Cyber Ninjas? The owner of the group backs QANON conspiracies and actively claimed the election was stolen. Friday the recount started and only one witness was allowed to observe who is a reporter. She questioned why people counting ballots had blue ink pens which blue/black ink is not allowed due to tampering risk because machines can read that color ink. So the only witness is now kicked out, and now there are zero witnesses to observe this recount. Democrats tried to halt the count in order to get witnesses and a judge told them the only way for them to halt the recount is to pay $1 million dollars. What??? This all smells like fish. The road to Civil War. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/04/23/maricopa-county-judge-orders-pause-arizona-senate-election-audit/7356009002/

To break up a nuclear family is a wrong way to say it, just like defund the police was. The right way to explain that is police reform, and to reform a capitalistic society where only a married couple can afford to live. At this point black Americans don't really have a choice. This country is diseased with racism and this IS THE BREAKING POINT. Bills are being passed by republicans to oppress their votes, to restrict the right to protest and legalize murdering them with vehicles, and blatant non stop hate. Even if the co-founders are marxist, the majority simply want justice in a system that repeatedly oppresses them.

I hope that's not the case. Nothing like something as important as this to get undermined by their own along with the rest who will just feed off of it and continue justifying their hate. We have legal systems for a reason so if a law was broken, then they need to be punished. But that sounds like it becomes even more frustrating for those who are protesting for their livelihood. It's a shame, but we have the intelligible ability to know that the greater picture is more important.