A life guide

Something I found on Reddit, it sums up my views on life, at least how I see it.

http://i.imgur.com/DZjUK.png

Skin of Steel

There's nothing more demoralizing than posting a draft of the Kickstarter just to see a lot of anonymous people shoot it down. I'm all for constructive criticism calling out the who, where, what, and why. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to lose my sanity over comments sent to genuinely help.

It's those that criticize the project and calling it a failure or bashing the ability of the team which I feel is unwarranted. I certainly don't think it's a failure, and we'll keep improving and going forward.

I will have a thick skin, a skin of steel.

My current issue with the current Patch 2.3

I think my biggest beef with FFXIV's game design philosophy (or most of WoW-ish MMO's) is that people will always go for bigger better gear but never really appreciate the adventure along the way.

That's probably what I liked most about playing Final Fantasy XI. Level 75 itself was okay, but it was the time spent getting to 75, all of the long quests and storyline to get there. The ring you were given at the end was decent-ish, but it was the long adventure with friends and the really hard boss battles along the way that I remember.

But even that game has changed too.

I understand the desire to keep carrots dangling above players' heads to keep them playing, but some effort should be given to the journey itself instead of simply modifying the carrot at the end.

This has been your friendly neighborhood gamer rant.

Viva Eorzea Real Life Meet-Up

Our Free Company Viva Eorzea had a real life meetup at the Main Street Casino in Downtown Las Vegas two weeks ago!

Top Row (L to R): Naztear Korengin, Thien Thien, Lelonde Godard, Ashko Yama'ley, Elyrion Erdos, Grover Eyeveen (Me!), Fayn Kaldin and Ois Zalure
Bottom Row: Zell Drakkengaard, Kitana Masters

Thanks, Robin Williams

From August 11:

I battled a depression of my own in 2009, and there was a certain Robin Williams movie that helped me get through that relatively tough time. Because of this, my close friends and I joked around to this day that he was the greatest actor in existence because of it.

Rest in peace, Robin Williams. And thank you.

(The movie was 'What Dreams May Come')

Another Ramble

I ended up getting the job offer with SQA Squared! I start next Tuesday. I won't disclose the exact details of the package they offered me or the starting pay, but it's certainly enough to live reasonably as a 20's something single person.

I can't argue with that. I want to use the full-time employment revenue as means to really work on my indie game design passion. The studio needs a lot of infrastructure improvements. New lighting, better voice recording equipment and software. Licenses, sound card for our studio work station...

There's lots to do, and I'm heading out tomorrow to get some work clothes. It's a requirement for the company, I can't say wearing business casual attire is something I like doing, but I'll have my normal clothes worn underneath... or maybe in the car to change at the end. I haven't decided.

I'm also heading to Las Vegas twice. Once this weekend to meet up with Viva peoples at Main Street Casino and again in October for the FFXIV Fan Festival. I'll probably head out late Friday after work and stay Saturday and Sunday and return in the evening. All while reporting back to work on that Monday afterward. I'll be sure to invest in some energy drinks. My real life friend Azu La (Chster in FFXI) and Holo Foxblood will be carpooling with me to the XIV Fan Festival. It's going to be tons of fun.

I have to get back to video editing Selatria's Kickstarter movie. I said I'd do that...

Life Update for August 2014

Hello, blog! It's been a little while since I posted. Almost a month, perhaps. A lot of things have changed, and I haven't had too much time to post about all of what's going on.

For Selatria, we're currently working on the Kickstarter campaign. Amazon Payments seems to insist that I'm not a real person, no matter what legal documentation and EINs I send them to prove my identity and the identity of the business, it gets rejected and the account shutdown. I've been talking to them on the phone almost every other day hoping to get the issue sorted out. It's a mess, but at least it gives us time to continue working on the video and getting it as smooth as possible. I hope I can get it sorted out soon.

I also may have full-time employment with a quality assurance company called SQA Squared. I had an interview with them on Monday and I thought it went well, they were going through a background check and are going to get back to me on Wednesday to see whether or not I got the job. I'm excited to be able to have a stable career to build on and grow within as well.

If plans go accordingly, here's what my life schedule will be like going towards the future if these plans go into fruition.

Monday-Friday 8AM-5PM - Work at SQA
Tuesday-Wednesday 8PM - Coil Static with Viva on FFXIV
Thursday-Friday 6:30PM-8PM - Selatria Development at the Studio
Saturday 10AM-4PM - Selatria Development at the Studio
Sunday - OFF

Because of the shift in scheduling, I will be semi-retiring from leading Viva Eorzea west coast events. I will probably be making the announcement on the Facebook group if I do get the job offer. I love leading all of these things, but personal growth in the real world takes precedence, and I'll be sure to find a good replacement to lead west coast events as well as I could.

That's about it for now. I'm not dead! I miss blogging, and I realize I need to do it a bit more.

Love, peace, and chicken grease.



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