Chapter 4 | Gaming

VIDEO GAME. What is it? According to Wikipedia, a video game is an electronic game that comprises human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor. So, what you play online or offline (if the app is downloaded) is basically what you call a video game. I think games on your smartphones and tablets are considered as video games as well. Some video games require devices such as PSP, PS Vita, Nintendo DS/3DS, Xbox, Wii and many more.

©  Google Images

I want to share to you different video games that I’ve played. Some may think that playing video games has a huge and several negative effects. Yes, it is true. But!! Behind all that negative effect always has positive effect. Who would create such technology with only bad effects, right? 

Here is currently my favorite video game; 

osu! 

osu! home

song aka beatmaps

actual game play

result and rank

osu! is a freeware rhythm game originally for Microsoft Windows. The game has also been ported to OS X, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. Its game-play is similar to DJMax for the osu!standard (which users usually use) and O2Jam for the osu!mania. In this game, the game levels are called beatmaps. In each beatmap, a song will play and different rhythmic hit elements (hit circles, sliders and spinners) will appear on the play area. Players must use a pointing device to manipulate these elements in time with the playing song's rhythm in order to earn points. The use of a graphics tablet in combination with a keyboard is common in osu!, although some players, mostly beginners, do use a mouse as default. As for me, I used the mouse alone when I started playing 2 years ago. Months passed and it got difficult to control using the mouse alone then I researched how to get good at playing and it seems that you can use the mouse and keyboard combined. But I am currently using a graphic tablet or what I call a pen tablet and keyboard for my movements to be accurate as possible. 

This is usually my computer setup when I play osu!
I apologize for the quality of the picture.

Here’s a sample video of the actual game play. (I’m the one who’s playing here.) The game can be downloaded here and the best part of it is it’s free!! If you have an account already let me know and add me here:  Let’s play sometime, ok?

This is currently my highest achievement!!! I've ranked 4th out of 1, 243 players (of that certain beatmap level) worldwide. Yes, worldwide!! Although it's a normal level, but I have 3 game mods that increases the score multiplier. (Hard Rock, Hidden & Double Time). But I guess my rank will decrease after a few weeks since the beatmap is new, better players will eventually rank higher than me. 

As for the effect of playing osu! for me is… there's a lot!  

• I was able to make friends with other players through the in-game chat. Most of the ones I meet are Filipinos but I was able to meet someone that is from the US. This has a SNS feel to it. Being able to communicate with other people who mainly shares the same interests and does the same thing at the same time is a huge effect in my social life. My best friend, Bryan (he’s in my previous entry), plays this game as well. This game actually made us much closer than we were because we used to play a multiplayer (3-4 times a week) having me and him alternately act as the host or whatever you call whoever controls the game settings. And oh! I even get to encourage somebody to play the game and they gave me a positive feedback saying it’s awesome and that they enjoyed it very much. 

• It eventually helped me to be updated to new songs through the beatmaps created and uploaded in the official osu! website. 

• It improved my listening skill… I guess? And some skills I need in order to play better like accuracy, consistency, getting higher combos and many more. 

• At some point, it happened to have helpe me develop even a bit of my Japanese vocabulary due to the songs and as well as some of the interface voices when you have a certain skin/theme for the game. 

• And it does help me relax sometimes and I play this as my pass time.

Another one is...

Cytus

cytus home

result and rank

Cytus is a music rhythm video game developed by Rayark Inc. and it currently features 180 songs and two game modes for each song. It is available on iOS and Android and later developed into a PlayStation Mobile port called Cytus Lambda which has different and fewer songs in the free version on Android. If you use Android, you’ll need 829MB+ free space in device, CPU greater than 1GHz, RAM with 512MB and 140MB free space in RAM. (This is according to the wikia page of Cytus.) So, basically you’ll need a huge memory because it has an additional file automatically installed when you try to download it. 

What I like about this game is it has stories for every chapter. Currently there are 13 chapters playable. Chapter 1-10 and 3 extra chapters; Symphony, Knight and Million, players call it Chapter S, Chapter K and Chapter M respectively. I won’t be explaining how it is played here but look here for the game mechanics if you want to play and I'll be showing you a video of me playing the game.

This game affects me just the same with what I have listed above for osu! except for the "making friends" part since this is an offline game. Although I do get to meet other people who plays the same game, but rarely. I get the chance to share to them my opinion about the game and it's story as well as discuss what are our favorite chapters, songs and difficulties.

And the last one I'd like to share is what we call..

Otome Games

top: Brothers Conflict -Brilliant Blue-, Brothers Conflict -Passion Pink-, Glass Heart Princess, Snow Bound Land
bottom: Amnesia, Amnesia Later, Diabolik Lovers, Clock Zero ~Shuuen no Ichibyou~

Lastly is an Otome Game which literally translates to "girl game" or "maiden game". An otome game is a story based video game (could be in Windows, iOS and Android and other gaming devices such as PSP, PS Vita, and DS) that is directed towards the female market. Generally one of the goals, besides the main plot goal, is to develop a romantic relationship between the female player character and one of several male (what we call a reverse harem) or occasionally female characters. These games are generally established in Japan, and is mostly made up of visual novels and simulation games (particularly dating sims). Some of these game that are in the picture above are adapted into an animated production or what we call "anime," like Brothers Conflict, Amnesia and Diabolik Lovers which all of them have a superb art! And I think it's natural for an otome game adaptation anime to have a very beautiful art because it is of course based on the visuals of the game itself. 

Here's a list of the otome games I currently have:

Some of these games are supernatural in genre just like (P)lanets, X-note and its sequel Area X; these 2 have the best art among all of these! Frozen Essence and Fantasia: The Realm of Thanos, its sequels Fantasia: Requiem of the Abyss and Fantasia: Momento of Grand Finale fall to the fantasy genre. I don't like their art that much but I like the stories. And I find Hatoful Boyfriend (Hurtful Boyfriend) a bit weird because the characters. Although they are indeed handsome and well drawn but they appear as a bird; each of them representing a certain breed of bird. For example, Iwamine Shuu appears to be a partridge which I really find weird is so many levels. Re-alistair is normal but has an interesting plot.

Anywaaay, it just feels like I'm just having a game review now. So let me get back to what I really want to tell you.

Being able to play these otome games affected my creativity in means of literary and it was able to widen my imagination. Generally, these games have limited animation which gives the player or user the chance to imagine their own standing with a certain character they are aiming for. These games' story is all new to me and I found it very enjoyable to play because I never knew what would happen, I would expect and think of a scenario of what might actually happened and here my imagination grows. I really appreciate those people behind these games. I know it take a lot of time, as in a loooot of time in planning and developing these games. They have to think of a main ending and have to make good and bad endings for each of the guy characters in the game. They also need to illustration main points and good happenings such a the guy hugging the heroine or even the kiss scene. And I forgot to mention that it has also affected my vocabulary. There were words that I did not know the meaning so I have to look it up in the dictionary. 

I can say that new media really has a wide coverage and never ending effects it gives to the society we live in today and the people in it. It somehow also changes how people view things in life and how they act as a human person. And once again, I'd like to thank New Media for its another job well done! 

Chapter 3 | The Roleplayer World

I have so much to tell you about the Roleplay World and how New Media is a part of it. Sooo.. I’ll think more topics to discuss. I randomly say that I have nothing to tell or I don’t know how to start but ended up telling the whole story after that; I don’t know what’s wrong with me.

I’ll tell first how I accidentally got myself into the roleplay world or what we like to call “RPW” for short. Back in 2011, I was a die-hard fan of a Korean boy group called U-Kiss. 

© Google Images 

I would watch them every day with the help of YouTube and still fangirl all over how they sing and dance so well, I even watched a Korean variety show entitled “U-Kiss Vampire.” My ultimate bias in U-KISS is named Lee Kiseop, he is the sub-vocalist and main dancer in group, and he could also play the piano which made me fall for him. 

© Google Images 

So, around June or July of 2011, I made a fake Facebook account and named it after Kiseop so I could update my relationship status as “in a relationship” with that account. Thinking back the reasons how it all began, I just laugh it off and tell how stupid and “jeje” I was back then. 

After 2 or 3 weeks of having that account, I find myself being added my other familiar Korean accounts which seemed to be the same as I did.  There were many of them; I got curious. And curiosity got me into RPW. I did not know what the term “roleplayer” back then. I did not know how I should act or should do while I was there as well. I was joined in a particular group where there were many roleplayers just like me. I met different kinds of people and learned how to roleplay and do fan service (though I did this much because it’s too troublesome).

Okay, I’ll skip some events and ruin the sequence since I don’t really remember much what happened after that. So, I happened to meet a Filipino roleplayer and got him/her(I forgot) to add me in a group full of Filipino roleplayers as well. I feel like I was out of place at first, but in the end it was not so scary after all. There may be roleplayers who are snob but there are some who’ll really notice you and talk to you. 

After 4 years in the RPW, I made tons of friends and I actually met two of them this year. I’ve also roleplayed a lot of Korean idols, ulzzangs (Korean famous pretty girls/boys) and other models. I’ve also started roleplying Japanese artists/singers and anime characters. Roleplaying served as my pass time and my temporary escape haven from reality. I somehow felt at ease when I get to talk to some of my friends there and there actually care for me.  Here’s an outdated list of the roleplayers I met and/or became friends with. I made a list so I could not forget any of them, but in the end I still forget some of them. 

(right: Me and my best friend Bryan during the mini 

live; taken from my instagram | left: LiSA in the middle 

along with the staff beside here and all the fans who 

went; taken from Bryan's instagram)

One of the two roleplayers I met became me best friend and he's a guy. We know a lot about each other and we have similar interests in some topics. Here was the time I got to meet him. I was in a mini live and fan meet of a famous Japanese singer names LiSA which is totally my idol!! 

New media had a lot of role in achieving what I have now in social media. New media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and etc made me connect to a different world that I was completely unaware of. And I am thanking it again for its job well done! 

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter!

Chapter 2 | Friendship

(A/N: This week's entry is a bit emotional and a bit life changing for me.) 

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a friend is a person who you like and enjoy being with and a person who helps or supports someone or something. But that is basically what a friend means. I have my own definition of a friend and it is somewhat deeper than your ordinary meaning.  For me, a friend is whom you can trust with almost everything. A friend is always there even when you don’t really need them. When you shut yourself from the world, he/she will be there to take you away and make you feel better.

I am here to tell you how I was about to lose my friends.  It was an unpredictable happening that occurred in my life that actually changed who I am right now.  I never realized what I have done, I was insensitive, and I never knew my actions had a huge impact on others feelings and I was dumbfounded on what to do. I was one of the reasons why my friends were not able to take their midterm grade in PE. I was helpless; I did not know what to do. I always tend to overthink about the negative situations that may happen. I was thinking that if I had ruined his future, it would have been my fault. It was my first time that something like this occurred in my life that's why I was clueless on how to solve it. 

I’ve had a serious conversation with two of my friends (J & K) the day after all of that happened. We talked about various of things before I had to open that certain topic. I told them that it was hard putting up a brave front; that I do not want anyone to hate me and that I was suffering from anxiety. I even told them that I was thinking of wanting to die if my friend was not able to take his exam.

I told them while crying, “Sobra akong nag-ooverthink na what if yun nga, kasalanan ko nga. Di ako nakatulog kagabi. Naisip ko na magpapakamatay ako kasi nakasira ang ng future ng iba. Ano pang mukhang ihaharap ko diba?”

I was so restless. But then comes New Media, who had helped me countless of times, saves the day once again. I’ve already talked to that guy friend of mine and settled our thoughts through chat. But I was having a hard time on how to approach my real friends because they’re not talking to me. I was aware that they were not really angry at me (because 2 of them said so through chat and the other on text) and I was thinking that maybe they were just waiting for me to talk to them, to say sorry. So, I built up my courage and texted one of them. And I said I have been selfish, that maybe I was protecting myself from getting hurt if they would not notice me. And I told her that I wanted to talk to them, to clear things up and make up. Then suddenly after that, I received a text from one of them saying “NORIKSSZXSZXSZX” and just that one text had a huge impact on me. I immediately cried and my heart was thumping like crazy. After that all my anxiety went away, I was assured that she wasn’t mad at me. I was able to strengthen my bravery and my courage. I was able to speak out what I was keeping inside all along. Without new media, I guess it would have been impossible for me to do this. or could have taken a long time for me to approach them.  

I've arranged my thoughts after that. I told my self to stop overthinking and look on the brighter side of things. I also told to myself that I should not think of such things like  wanting to die. Then I was thinking of the things I wanted to accomplish in the future and it made me have the courage to stand and fulfill them one by one. Once, again new media came to rescue a damsel in distress.

Here's a song about true friendship, enjoy!

Shout out to my college squad!! Dana, Cathy, Aira, Millette and Luvi! ♥ I'm sorry and I love you guys. *insert kiss emoticon here*

Chapter 1 | Family Relationship

Have you ever felt lonely not being able to talk to your mom or your dad? If yes, then I could say the same! My mom’s been working in Japan for God knows when, I lost count already. And it was very hard for us to communicate. My mom used to call directly from her phone here and when there’s something I need to tell her, I call directly and it was expensive. There came a time where my mom found a cheaper way to contact us. It is cheap, but it still costs her. She used something like a card load, where there’s certain duration or time your call will last. I’d miss call her and a few minutes she’d call back. I used to contact her through Yahoo!Mail but it was hard because I had to wait for replies and sometimes she could not read it. 

My mom used to use a flip phone, but she switched to an android phone and then started our way to communicate faster. She insisted that I make a LINE account so we can talk there. I also made a Viber account and we actually used both, doesn’t really matter where. I liked the stickers in LINE, but I like Viber more because it’s easier. Then there came a time that she asked me and cousins to make her a Facebook account so she could be updated with us. It was very convenient for us and my mom as well. We then talked using Facebook Messenger it was very instant. She also posted pictures of some of the happenings there. I could also know how my brother’s doing and I could see pictures of my mom’s co-workers. I could see how well she’s doing as well. I could also see that even though most of the times she’s so tired from work it makes her happy to be able to talk to us because it actually feels like my mom’s living alone. My brother is a very quiet person. He doesn’t really speak much unless you talk to him or asking my mom something or telling my mom that he’ll eat ahead. 

New media is such a great help in my family’s relationship to grow even more. If not for new media we would not be closer than we are today. And being able to talk to each other every day really lessens our daily stress from work or school. My relationship with my brother grew with the help of LINE. Yes, LINE. It started with me asking my mom what my brother’s phone number is so I could add him in LINE. After he had accepted my request, I sent him a message and I was very happy. I really wanted to talk to my brother and wanted to be close to him. We were separated since I was in second grade and we weren’t able to communicate, the two of us. After talking through LINE (we talked in Japanese), I was able to have the courage to talk to him about random things in person as well. We talked generally about anime, mangas, J-pop songs and Japanese voice actors. Basically, we talked about Japanese related stuff. I felt that I’ve moved forward to that one wish I had; to be close to my brother. And again, new media did its job for me.