When things get really bad….run away

It’s important to realise when you’ve lost the game. I’m falling through parts of my life that are simply not working or where I have absolutely no control. One thing for sure it that I’m no good at managing my own personal crisis.

Managing others, no problem.

When there’s that much poison in your blood, the only thing left to do — is shoot yourself. 

(SAW 2004)

For me, running away sometimes means diving into my favourite second life.  Some people drink, some people smoke, I play games.

Most females I know pretty much see video games as something for children or men with nothing better to do.

In reality, it’s a place I run to escape my realities, it stops me from going “postal’  and wiping out everything and everyone near me.

Life escape routes – gaming or watching

Type PS4 time Life traits
Occasional gaming Less than 1 hour a day Away from home base
Casual gaming up to 3 hours a day At the end of the work day
Serious gaming More than 3 hours a day During times of high anxiety or crisis
Pro gaming More than 6 hours a day During times of intense isolation

The brutal honesty of gaming is essentially a middle finger to your physical life as well as serving as a single solution to feeling bad about yourself.

Some of the emotional drivers

Escapism – a place to safely vent or get rid of destructive emotions
Fantasy – a place to feel successful or good about yourself
Love – a place to feel appreciated and needed

According to a recent survey, only 11% of IT Security Professionals are women, goodness knows what the statistics are like for female gamers. download full report

Gore and Guts

Horizon Zero Dawn is an absolutely beautiful game and so far I’m enjoying it hands down. But something is missing.

Beautiful game but I miss gore and guts

It’s an ERSB rating Teen that means no blood and guts.

Now I’m on the hunt for something to fill the gap.

A survival horror may be too much right now….I need something where I’m the aggressor. Actually, just something high octane will be good enough.

Here’s what to look for before letting your kid play a game.

Teen rating:

Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Themes, Violence.

Big People rating:

Content suitable only for adults ages 18 and up.

May include prolonged scenes of intense violence, graphic sexual content and gambling with real currency with a focus on depictions of blood and the realistic mutilation of body parts.

Give me a freaking break….

Today was a full on Blitz taking up all my emotional space.  I’m feeling overwhelmed and empty with the urge to give up or run away.

Supporting others is draining but I’m fairly good at it.  Zero medication today.

It’s a Monday so maybe they were just saving it up for me.

On a different topic, ever notice how some people put all their data on a single SmartPhone that is not fully backed up?

It’s like the Filofax era……lose the device and you are screwed.

Or even more likely, the device fails or is breached.

Why keep 5000 emails on your device?

People just haven’t got the time or the interest in taking care of basic personal system administration tasks like email clean up or password management.

Did you take a picture of me?

Nowadays, you can’t walk two minutes without someone or something taking your picture.

Daddy’s Girl

Instead of snappy away, I prefer to savor the moments in my mind.

Games are a different matter though and I simply had to share the Eye Candy of Horizon.

With only 10 minutes gameplay, Horizon Zero Dawn™ is clearly a top grade experience worthy of all the hype. I’m not really prepared for this game but the Father daughter intro walks you through the control system seamlessly.

Next 14 days will be rough so this is just the distraction I need to cope with “real” life.

Yes, I think I’m better than you

Sometimes it’s great just to say it out load.

Elite gaming gives you “all access” permission to shout out that I’m better than you and prove it.

Elite gaming can be taught

The problem is that you can’t be great at everything.

Experts are often critically vulnerable in areas outside their specialism. Ask a Sniper to run the Medic role and he’ll die multiple times before getting the hang of it.

On Monday I’ll start my Horizon Zero Dawn™ experience after seeing Logan on Saturday with old mates. With a reported story mode of 30 hours, I expect to rinse out Horizon for at least 6 months.

I’m running through major decision points in my story, risks are high and outcomes are uncertain.