Video Games CAN be a Money Trap

The first time I was ever introduced to video games was when my family got an Sega Dreamcast. We absolutely loved it. I got super addicted to it very fast. But I was young and didn't have much money back then. Over the years, our family got new game systems starting with N64, then PS2, X-Box, and so on till now. And over those years, I got games either through my birthday or through Christmas. No money spent for video games was awesome!

It wasn't till I hit the age of 16 where I got a job when I realized that video gaming can be a pretty fast money trap. I started spending as soon as I got my paycheck on the new games either for my iPod or the current game system that we had. It felt great to have that game as soon as you bought it and take it home, but it sucked knowing that you don't have much money left because of that big purchase. The consequences weren't too severe when I did this when I was young seeing that I didn't have to pay any bills or rent or much anything.

Through my Church mission, one of the things you learn is how to manage your money seeing that you get so much or your own money that you payed for your mission per month. It was really nice to get that idea and it help us in more months than not to manage our spending. But when I got home after, I had access to all of my money again and I hadn't really played any games during those 2 years while I was gone. "I had to catch up to gaming!" I kept telling myself and I just kept spending and spending money on games. Sometimes even peer pressure from friends who told me that I "NEEDED" to get this game or new system even worked. Again, that feeling of getting that game at first felt great! But after a time, I started to question why I even bought those games. I hardly played them. I just got them because either I was told I needed to or just jumped too fast to the purchase.

Now you notice that in the title it says "can" in all caps. Some people are very excellent of not falling into this trap and can manage their money very well and still buy games when they feel like it is right. But for others, we can jump on these purchases too fast and before we know it, our money is gone. Sure, there can be some deals that will be there, but we also have to be careful to not jump on too many of those as well or we lose track.

I still like playing video games today. But now, I research about the game to see whether or not if it is a game I would play quite a bit. Not just a game that seems very short and I can get it done in a day. But also I need to be careful that a game doesn't occupy all of my time. I want a game where it's something worth the money I spent on it, not just a $60 drop on something I will hardly even touch.

In today's gaming world, we see many times where you can buy a game, but if you want more you can buy these packs called DLC (Downloadable Content). You pay extra money for these and most of them are hit or miss.

This can also be applied to many other things, but I found this certain experience the one that I have to deal with every day. I sometimes got to GameStop or the electronic section in a store and it take a lot of will power to not purchase anything there. It is exceedingly difficult to see something that is the hit of video games and saying to yourself, "I don't need it". If you ever go into video gaming, just be very careful with your money.

I just needed to get this off my chest. I have seen many people who use all the money they earn and it is gone the next day and they have to work to get it all back to do the same thing again. Video gaming can be so much fun and even better with your friends. But it isn't worth the sacrifice of hundreds of dollars that you spend on games you don't need.

It is DEFINITELY the Most Wonderful Time of The Year

I am one of those people who freaks out about Christmas, but not really till around of after Thanksgiving time. I am a big fan of holidays, but I don't really show it that much, except Christmas! I absolutely love Christmas. Just the spirit of it is so heartwarming and being with those that you do love is amazing! Being gone for two years for my Church mission, I missed two Christmases with my family, but had the opportunity to share it with other families. I am very grateful for these families for welcoming us in during this busy time and making the best Christmas they could give us.

But this year, I am now back from my mission and I will be able to spend it with all of my family. It has been a long 2 years of not being with my family. But this holiday season, I am so grateful for the chance to be with them.

It is also a time where we are reminded of the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ and why he was born. Although I wish that this was the circumstance was like this no matter what, I still do like the process of remembering the Savior's birth. Remembering the beginning of his life on this earth and what he was sent down here to do brings comfort to me.

I do have a weakness though when it comes to this time of the season. I give way too much! Is that a problem? Well, to others, no because they are receiving the gifts and really appreciate it. For me, although it does bring me great joy in giving others gifts that I believe would make them really happy, I tend to spend too much money during this time. And especially at this time where I am in college and need to save my own money that I will need to be careful during this time. I am sure when I get a stable job and save enough money I may go back to my habit of giving gifts like crazy, but for now, I need to think smart during these times.

I love Christmas! I just love it so much! The feeling, the sights, the sounds, the music, the everything is amazing and I hope that you may find your peaceful Christmas as well. Merry Christmas to everyone during this time of year!

(Picture is from the show "K-On")

Review of Gaokoa.Love.100 Days (Visual Novel)

I started to get into the visual novel genre of video games (if you count visual novels video games) when I came back from my two year church service mission. The first one getting me into this interest was "If My Heart Had Wings". This game was beautiful and it just got me into the story at a early start. The art is beautiful, the characters are very memorable, and there are moments that stick out to me. This game was pretty dang long too and there were multiple endings. Just 5 endings, most of them good.

However, that is for another story on my complete thoughts on that game. For now, I am going to be talking about the second visual novel game I played and I am currently playing as well. This game is called "Gaokao.Love.100 Days". What caught my interest in this game is from the hugely overwhelmingly positive reviews I read on steam or just the internet in general. It claims to have 52 endings. 52 ENDINGS!!! That is way more than 5! But is this just a normal visual novel where I just read and click every once in forever to change my path? Although that is sometimes the case for this one, there are more added features that make this game super intense!!

Here is the basic story: You are a high school student in China who is about to take this test called the Gaokao in three months. I really don't know how to say it, but the point is it is a very important test. However, at the very beginning of the game it shows you asking a extremely lovable character named Muxin to be your girlfriend. She is amazed by this and agrees to do so. Later on you get introduced to other characters with different quirks. They add to your story as you are to prepare for the Gaokao and/or build your relationship with Muxin.

Sounds like a good start out to a game? I thought so. Then they introduce another part of the game other than just choosing a certain choice in this game. The study times! Here is what it looks like:

The numbers on the left are your subjects and your scores. If you want to get good scores, you review a certain subject and it will increase. While you need to pay attention to your health and stress because if your health starts to get close to zero or stress gets too high, your performance may be effected and it can trigger some nasty effects in your story that you wish you can undo. This is where the fun and also the killer stress kicks in. The choice is up to you. Do you want to ignore, though sometimes improve your scores and increase your relationship with Muxin, your new girlfriend, or do you want to focus on just studying. It can be hard to choose at times, because trust me, your choices early on have HUGE impact. But I won't spoil much of the story.

I remember my first play through. I thought I was on the right track trying to balance out my relationship with Muxin and my scores. Then my first mock test, I got a terrible result. Then one thing led to another and I kept making hard decisions that I continuously kept regretting.  I got really frustrated and, I'll admit, took a break from the game because I couldn't take it. But later on, I kept going and my first ending wasn't....terrible, but wasn't good at all. I can say I have played through this multiple times and have grown more attached to this game. It may take over my #1 favorite visual novel, "If My Heart Had Wings".

Are there any faults in this game? Well, being a game that comes from China and being translated from Chinese, there are a couple weird translations. It isn't enough to ruin the game, but they can be a bit noticeable. You may have noticed up in the picture, there is an items button. When you go through this game for the first time, you don't have much items at all that really help you. You can find other items to help you as you go more throughout the game. But you may get a little frustrated seeing that your scores are not improving as much as you want. Especially when you see others play the game and they do tremendously well and you can't seem to do so. Other than those, I don't really find much fault in the game.

Although I consider this game to be more clean than other visual novels I have explored or played, there are quite a bit of swears. But unlike other visual novel games, this one does not have a big emphasis on sex with each other. This is a pretty clean high school relationship game. If you want to start easing your way into visual novels, then cleanliness wise, I would point you to this game.

I really like this game and there are still a couple times where I sneak in a play here and there. The replay ability is there especially if you don't like your ending. I will say that the ones where you do get in a relationship with Muxin or others is really satisfying. If you are interested, it is on Steam for $9.99.

P.S.: I forgot to talk about the music in this game. I love it! It really captures the atmosphere of what you are in. There are some serious songs, but when there is a goofy moment, the song does not disappoint. I do have quite a bit of the songs on my phone and I do listen to them. The theme is really relaxing as well. Although I don't know the lyrics seeing that they are sung in a different language, it doesn't take away the relaxation at the ending of the game where you can rest from all your decisions. Go have a listen if you want!

(From left to right: Xiaohan, Muxin)