Bring on the rage and feels!

     This week has been an eye opener in gaming for me as I have had an emotional roller coaster ride. Yet, this has been one of the many positives in gaming that I find immensely satisfying. To start, a little history must be explained.

DARK SOULS.....more like RAGE SOULS

      A couple of years ago, my best friend and constant source of trolling, Barbie, started playing a game I never heard of....Dark Souls. I will never forget those times as it was filled with much rage, swearing, and crying. A few times I had to actually calm her down due to how "difficult" the game supposedly is. I never had an interest in playing the game as I was neck deep in Battlefield at the time. She spent a huge sum of hours in this games, no matter the frustration. One day she bought me a copy of Dark Soul: Prepare to Die Edition on steam during one of their awesome sales. While thankful, I did not install due to current gaming habits, or so I told myself. Deep down, it was because I did not want or need the rage inducing sessions.

      Jump forward to this past Wednesday night. After taking a two month hiatus from streaming due to family drama, I returned to Twitch. However, I was convinced to make my first game to be stream Dark Souls. Part of me dreaded this day while another part was going Macho Man Randy Savage in anticipation. Wednesday morning before work, I fired up the computer to setup Xsplit with Dark Souls to get everything ready. I even dug out my Xbox One controller to test and make sure it worked. I went to work with the satisfaction of everything was good to go....or so I thought.

     T-Minus 30 minutes before launch: 
      I began to get everything ready, even customized a playlist for this stream. Went to fire up Dark Souls.....nothing. Started it up again.....Not Responding. Let it sit for 5 minutes.....Not Responding. What the hell?! I began doing troubleshooting and research. I was determined to get this fixed.

      T-Minus 15 minutes before launch:
       I began to freak out and bit as I still could not figure out the issue. After five forums posts and some config changes, nothing! My freak out began to change to frustration at this point. I begin tweeting, Facebook messaging, and texting Barbie for help. Getting no response as time was ticking closer to start.

       T-Minus 8 minutes before launch:
        I am starting to get pissed and I haven't even started the game. I'm trying more config changes and deleting some data to try and get it fixed.....nothing. Eventually, Barbie tells me of DSFix. I download the latest and get it installed....nothing still!

       T-Minus 1 minute before launch:
       After hearing Barbie tell me several times to reboot my computer, I finally decide to do so. Once again, I try to run Dark Souls.....IT WORKS!

         I began the stream a bit peeved but ready to start the game. After playing it for two hours all I have to say this: Fuck this game! This game is fucking hell! As a fan of the TV show Supernatural, I now know how Dean felt in Hell.

     
         It may be a while before I return to this game. However, I now have huge respect to anyone that completed this game.

FINAL FANTASY XIV..... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

         So Thursday night, Harley (my GF) and I sat down for some time in Final Fantasy XIV (14 for non-roman numeral reading people). We start playing this game back in late May and have been slowly pecking away at the overall story. We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel as we have hit lvl 58 and are beginning to make the mad dash to complete the story.

**SPOILERS** If you have not completed the Main Story Quest (MSQ) Knights Calling, and don't want to be spoiled: STOP READING! Move down to the next section

         So Harley and I finally had to do the dungeon, The Vault. All I have to say is Fuck Ser Charibert! As a boss, he is a pain in the ass! We wiped four times before finally whooping his ass! Then we got to enjoy a cut-scene......of immense feels! One of my favorite characters in the game, Ser Haurchefant, who stood up for my character when all would abandon him, encouraged me to continue on with a knight's resolve. Ser Haurchefant spoke of being a true knight, and believed it very much so. It was this belief that lead him to stand in the way of an attack on my character, sacrificing himself to protect his friend. I tried to hold back the tears as my character cried only for him to tell me: "Oh, do not look at me so. A smile better suits a hero..."

         You will not be forgotten my friend.


THOSE FEELS!

          It is games like these, that invoke such emotional responses that keep me coming back to gaming. I have a ton of moments I remember from all of my previous gaming where I have hit highs and lows in the feels.  It is these moments that keep me going, that keep me asking the question, much like the 11th Doctor, "What do you have for me this time?"