Videogame Etiquette

So, I'm one of those gamers that generally prefers to play games on my own. I don't mind games with co-op modes, but over-all, I prefer single player games. I also prefer to figure puzzles and such out on my own. I'm a reasonably intelligent guy, and most of the time, if I come at things from enough angles I can figure it out on my own.

One thing I HATE, is when someone natters on about what I'm doing. Whether it's "Hey, what's that over there?" or "Have you tried X Y Z?" if I'm in a bit of a challenge, or just general commentary. I don't like it. It makes what may already be a challenging bit, mindnumblingly difficult.

So, when I was playing Batman Arkham City, and literally stumbled into the Penguin's lair, with Tiny his pet shark, I got a little frustrated. It's one of those things that I can do, if I have peace and quiet and plenty of chances to try it from different angles.

However, what I had instead was Pherret (and Ringo to a much lesser degree) doing the above. "What's that? Try this! Do that over there! What happens if-"

So when I died for the fifth time in a row without snapping off, which took all my self control, and RAGE!QUIT, I was a little upset when Pherret IMMEDIATELY turned to me and asked "Do you mind if I play it for a bit?"

"A little bit actually, cause I'm pretty worked up over it right now" is what I actually said. What I wanted to do was scream "REALLY?! Cause I could have played this and gotten through this section much easier if you would kindly shut the hell up!"

I don't think I'm completely off-base thinking it's rude to ask to play a game someone just rage!quit from. It's nothing to do with ownership of the game, or what else is on TV. It's just that I wouldn't necessarily have been driven to rage!quit if he could have kept his damn mouth shut in the first place.

It is something I have struggled with myself, the keeping quiet when someone else is playing a game. But I believe that the polite thing to do is keep it to myself unless someone else actually asks for my thoughts or opinions on the game.

I had a conversation along these lines with Ringo earlier today and he seems to get it. I wish I could have this conversation with Pherret, but I'm certain he would take it personally.

Dollies! Osaka's Lagoon arrived this morning. :)

So, about 20 minutes before I was about to head out to the bus stop this morning, there was a knock on the door. This was maybe, MAYBE five minutes after Christy went "Oh snot, Lagoon is out for delivery, I hope they deliver it before the parent teacher conference".

Osaka and I were delighted by the polkadot packing tape. Please excuse the blurriness of my photos, my hands were shaking in excitement.


The outfit in the little decorative box. Every detail was just so cute. :]


A better shot of the skirt and Osaka smiling down at the box.


I don't know if Batchix made the cushion/sleeping bag or not, but it's totally cute. Oh and that's Sadie with the laser eyes. She's a pug/boston terrier mix.


When Osaka pulled Lagoon (as of yet un-named) free, she noticed that the left eye had shaken loose in transit which is funny, because there's this ongoing theme of left eye injuries in Osaka's life. Lagoon seems rather less amused about this.


A better shot of her, free of the bubblewrap, and torso joint in place.


And finally, one of her, eyes fixed, with Osaka's Mod MNF Ruth, Xiahou Dun.

First Order from Kondoll

So I ordered this outfit August 12th from Kondoll. It said in stock, so I was under the impression the items were pre-made. I received an e-mail on August 22nd, asking what specific doll type the outfit was for, because apparently Kondoll custom tailors for each doll type. Which is fine, because the site did say it to allow between 20 and 30 days for shipping.

Then I didn't hear anything for a bit, but didn't notice because I was distracted with looking for work and such. So, one day I happened to check my bulk mail for something unrelated and saw a message from Kondoll dated September 23rd, with a shipping number, also apologizing for the long wait. I don't know why it got filtered to spam, but I moved it to inbox and sat on it. I discovered this only a day or two after it actually got sent.

Tracking never did updated. I kept trying but I got nothing but errors on the chinese tracking site, and the USA didn't confirm that it ever entered the country. Finally it turned up Thursday evening October 13th. That is, two full months after I placed the order initially.

Upon opening the package I discovered it to be made of exquisite quality. I paid $41 US dollars, airmail shipping included. They could have charged about 65-70 for the outfit alone. Some of there stuff is for that much. Only real problem was that this wasn't the exact item I ordered. It was the nearly identical one, and it was handmade, fits perfectly, and the one I debated ordering instead so I'm really not upset. It's just worth noting, that after waiting two months, while the outfit is made beautifully, and everything I'd hoped for, it's not exactly what I ordered.

That said, Noland is happy. This is his first proper outfit. I do plan to order from Kondoll again, taking into account the length of time I should expect, and springing for EMS next time if it is offered. Cause I don't like knowing I could have had it in hand after shortly after a month.

30 gaming questions answered (some with pictures)

I yoinked this from my sister Faythe(Nekokoi). Some of our answers are the same or similar.

1: Very first video game.
Dragon Warrior(Quest)

2: Your favorite character.
Link.

3: A game that is underrated.
Fable (3)

4: Your guilty pleasure game.
Pretty much any Pokemon game.

5: Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).
I wanna be a pokemon trainer/breeder. :B

6: Most annoying character.
Navi from Ocarina of Time.

7: Favorite game couple.
Link/Sheik

8: Best soundtrack.
Katamari Damacy

9: Saddest game scene.
The scene, in Dragon Quest 4, when your childhood best friend takes your form, to save your life, and is slaughtered by monsters. It moves me to tears every time.

10: Best gameplay.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time

11: Gaming system of choice.
Xbox 360, but I also play my Nintendo DS quite a bit.

12: A game everyone should play.
Guitar Hero

13: A game you’ve played more than five times.
Any Pokemon game.

14: Current (or most recent) gaming wallpaper.

(Pokemon)

15: Post a screenshot from the game you’re playing right now.

(Fable 2)

16: Game with the best cut scenes.
I've always liked the cut scenes in Final Fantasy.

17: Favorite antagonist.
Ganon

18: Favorite protagonist.
Link

19: Picture of a game setting you wish you lived in.

(Pokemon)

20: Favorite genre.
RPG/Adventure.

21: Game with the best story.
Dragon Quest 4

22: A game sequel which disappointed you.
Pokemon White/Black. Too story heavy. I prefer the Red/Blue/Yellow style that played all the way through each game with the last in that style being Pokemon Soul Silver.

23: Game you think had the best graphics or art style.
Oh man, Zelda Twilight Princess KILLED me with the beautiful world and characters. Killed me dead. The story isn't my favorite but the graphics make up for it, for me.

24: Favorite classic game.
Pokemon Yellow. I go back and play it alot.

25: A game you plan on playing.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time for 3DS. I already own it. I just don't have my 3DS yet.

26: Best voice acting.
Not a factor for me.

27: Most epic scene ever.
Final Fantasy X when Sin shows up for the first time. That blew my mind.

28: Favorite game developer.
Enix! They developed Dragon Warrior (Quest)

29: A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.
Fable 3. Everyone talks smack about Fable but I really liked 3, and now I've bought 2 and am enjoying it, so far.

30: Your favorite game of all time.
Dragon Quest 4.

Discussions with Ringo

I was delighted today, when Osaka relayed a conversation she had with Ringo today. They were having a very pleasant time of running errands, moods in good order and all that.

And she asked Ringo, "What do you know about Rory?"

Ringo replied "Awesome gamer with mad skills who likes cute things"

Osaka clarified "Well what about Robyn becoming Rory?"

And he said "What about it?"

She asked, "Is that just Rory being Rory?"

and he said "Yes!"

"Is it because no matter what, he's still the same on the inside?"

and again he responded "Yes!" and gave her a look like she was a bit crazy. Like it's no big deal.

Which is awesome. We've been open about the change, but not stressing it. It's just something that we are dealing with, the way we don't make a big deal over my asthma, or Osaka's depression, or Pherret's PTSD. It's just one of the things that our family deals with, and there's no reason it has to be a huge stressful deal, because there are other things that ARE worth that kind of attention. Like, Pherret's deathly allergic reactions to shellfish, or Ringo's performance at school, or anything else that is obviously more important.

It's made things easier for everyone to roll with one change at a go.

It's also worth noting that I am getting sir'ed more consistently in public, especially now with the more obvious facial hair, despite the chest. To the point that I got the stink eye from some pre-teen girls when I went to wash my hands in the women's restroom at Cracker Barrel this morning. They were asking loudly "This IS the girls room right?" and staring pointedly at me. I felt really awkward but I was just trying to wash my hands before I ate. @_@ I get a bit nervous going into the mensroom yet. I will be relieved when I have had and healed from my chest surgery, and it will make more sense for everyone to see me in the mensroom.

What spurred the conversation mentioned above, was that Ringo had started to use a male pronoun to refer to me, then stopped and corrected himself. And Osaka told him it was okay to use male pronouns for me, that it was correct. Which was funny because at breakfast he'd been drawing evil mustaches on all the boys on his menu, and informed us "Girls don't grow mustaches.. Well except for Rory but she doesn't count." He's been kind of flip-flopping on pronoun usage for a week or so. I think, because Osaka has been consistently using male pronouns for months, and Pherret is flip-flopping them. He WAS using male pronouns soley when we we're out of the house, but he outted me three times in a week awhile back and I chewed him a new one, so he stopped using them at all.