JohnnyBGamer

From Across the Net – “Christian Men and Their Video Games”

A few years ago, Tim Challies wrote a piece titled “Christian Men and Their Video Games”. I love what he says here:

Skip the bad ones. We cannot deny that some games are unsuitable to anyone, much less a Christian. Today more than ever there is an abundance of games that revel in gore and bloodletting, that feature sexual violence, that are full of porn or profanity. Those of us who remember the scandal of Leisure Suit Larry or Phantasmagoria a generation ago will know that such games are practically quaint by today’s standards. We need to be okay with skipping the bad ones and we ought to do so out of conviction and conscience. Thankfully, we’ve got access to a thorough rating system and a massive collection of review sites that can steer us away from the ugly ones. Look past the bad ones and we will find many that are harmless, fun, beautiful, and at times even brilliant. – Read more here

I was a part of a Christian gaming group for years. One of the biggest hurdles we never overcame, as a group, was related to Christian liberty and gaming. A lot of the guys felt that as long as you were focusing on the positive aspects of a game (essentially Philippians 4:8), you were okay to play. This created an almost anything goes atmosphere. Biblical discernment fell by the wayside as liberty was promoted as the only truth. I grew concerned for the younger believers in the group. Iron is meant to sharpen iron, not dull it.

As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another. – Proverbs 27:17

Things to Avoid – The Good Cop

Netflix has resurrected Tony Danza from the actor’s graveyard. That place where actors go, botox the crud out of their faces, and then act like they are young and relevant again. Netflix has gone even further with The Good Cop and has teleported singer Josh Groban from some Christmas special somewhere.

Josh Groban: “Where am I?”

The Good Cop Writers: “Your in a cop show playing an unlikable goody two-shoes. Think you can handle that?”

Josh Groban: “Definitely.”

Two actors dumped into a White Collar-like formula, what could go wrong? Pretty much everything.

I’m convinced that The Good Cop is built for senior citizens. Let’s do the math:

Slow Pacing + Department Store Piano Music + Tony Danza = Old People Show

Guess I need to be careful here though. Tony Danza shot to fame on Who’s the Boss, which debuted in 1984. Which means the “senior citizens” I’m talking about would then be my parents–hi, mom and dad!–. I take it all back. This is just a bad show meant for bad people who want to watch bad television.

Netflix can be a haven of the awesome (Voltron) and a haven of the most epic fails brought to the small screen. The Good Cop is a disaster and a thing to avoid.

Missing the Firetwuck

Sitting in the clinic last week, a little boy climbed all over the seats beside me. He’d stop climbing, ask his mom a question and then go back to exerting energy. At one point, an ambulance and a fire truck pulled up to the clinic with their sirens on. One of the patients being seen wasn’t doing well, I gathered. As the lights from the emergency vehicles reflected in the hallway of the clinic, the little boy’s mom asked him, “Do you see the firetruck?”

“Firetwuck! I want to go see! I want to go see!”

I could feel the mom’s pain. You could tell that she wanted to go take her son over to see the firetruck and ambulance. But she didn’t want to miss their name being called to be seen by the doctor.

“Your sick, baby, we have to stay here.”

“Firetwuck.”

9 years into parenting someone who was once a little boy, I miss the made up words. I miss the those earlier stages. Stages where I thought he was so much older than he was. The hardest thing about having an only child is knowing that this is it. There is no going back and doing things different. I don’t often live in the past, I try and regret nothing, but I miss having a little kid. I miss hearing the word hella-ca-ca (helicopter).

Yet life marches on, and I enjoy the moments we have.

Dads, enjoy your kids.

From Across the Net – “Should You Quit Your Job and Stream Video Games All Day?”

I haven’t told my wife yet, but I’m going to become a full-time streamer. Build a studio out in our shop out back. I’ll be living the backyard dream, helping children practice passive gaming–man, I’m old–. Jonathan Clauson, who I had as a guest on my podcast, brings balance to this piece titled “Should You Quit Your Job and Stream Video Games All Day?”

“My generation is in that odd in between space where we are as comfortable with VHS tapes and vinyl as we are with smartphones and the latest in digital gear. However I look at my son in his early teens who is in that 100% digital space and most of his interactions with friends are on places like Discord, Instagram, and Snapchat and it is clear to me that there is value in these digital communities.” – Read more here via Love Thy Nerd

Dragon Quests and Man Colds

Sunday morning, I announced to my Sunday school class that I felt a man cold coming on. I asked for everyone to sign up to bring meals for me. Tabitha wasn’t in the room at the time (she was checking kids in), so I also made them promise not to say anything to her. Sadly, no one took me up on my dire request for sustenance.

By Sunday evening, I was running a fever. Ended up taking Monday off as a sick day. I slept a chunk of the day.

Yesterday, I visited a clinic. Found out that I have both a sore throat (which I didn’t know) and a sinus infection. So now I’m on antibiotics and out of it at work. Seriously, I just went to CVS to pick up a birthday card for a co-worker. When I got back to work, I wondered how I ever drove to CVS (felt that out of it).

Sat down last night and had a chance to play some more of Dragon Quest XI. I wasn’t so sure about my decision to pick up the game last weekend. The GameStop employee wouldn’t stop gushing over the new Spider-Man game. Even going as far as to say it made him cry at least 3 times, and he doesn’t normally cry. I told him I was going to Redbox Spider-Man and instead introduce my son to a non-Final Fantasy JRPG.

There is a cadence to Dragon Quest XI. A rhythm to the overall pacing and storyline. I wasn’t sure, at first, if I liked how slow the game felt. But the more time I have put into Dragon Quest XI (sitting at about 3 1/2 hours so far), the more I’ve come to appreciate what the game is.

Be a man…. We must be swift as the coursing river.

Last night, I was making my way through a wooded area when I came across a dog. The dog woofed at me and then I kept going until I came to a bridge that was destroyed. Needing to find a way forward, I backtracked to where the dog was and noticed that he wanted me to follow him. So I followed the dog up a path. It was then that I found some sort of shimmering ball that I touched. Suddenly, I saw a memory of a woodcutter upset that the bridge he had built had been destroyed. Turns out a monster had destroyed the bridge and had then turned the woodcutter into a dog. Things are not always as they seem, right? I then pursued the monster, battled him, and returned the woodcutter back to his human form. He then rebuilt the bridge, and I was on my way.

Dragon Quest XI, so far, has told stories that are not original but that are executed in clever ways. The woodcutter/dog story caught me by surprise. It was a small quest story that showed a lot of thought, especially for what is supposed to be an 80 hour game.

At 3 and 1/2 hours, I have picked up one party member so far (Erick). I’m looking forward to the adventure that is it come and to enjoying the journey along the way.