Reviewing Goals for March 2016

March was my first month setting specific gaming goals and not surprisingly it was a mixed bag of success. A few goals were accomplished, many were not, but overall I think I developed a better strategy for deciding on what (and how much) to pursue each month.

The Secret World

I had the most success in The Secret World this month. I spent a lot of time with my Cabal running dungeons and chatting in our channel and even on Team Speak (which I’m always nervous to join for some reason). I didn’t make it through issue 11 however, in fact I don’t think I even made it through issue 9 and I had to make some adjustments to my gear upgrading goals. About halfway through the month I realized that upgrading my glyphs were more important than the gear itself so that I would reach the hit cap for nightmare dungeons as well as improve my penetration. So while I did not get the three pieces of gear listed below to 10.4, I was able to get their nightmare glyphs upgraded that much.

• Get to know my new Cabal better and participate in group events
• Finish Tokyo through Issue 11
• Obtain QL 10 custom purple gear for all slots
• Upgrade Head and Major Talismans to QL 10.4
• Complete all dungeons on Elite difficulty
• Get the last auxiliary weapon, the rocket launcher

Trove

Ah, Trove. I thought you would become this second major focus for me this month and I also must have imagined that I would quit my job to play you full time because holy cow did I give myself way too much to do here and managed to accomplish exactly none of it! I think shortly after my last post on Trove I played for about a day or two more before dropping it once again. It was a fun visit to a game I really enjoy but it was nothing more than a quick trip then back on my way to other pastures.

• Level Chloromancer to 20

• Upgrade caster gear to shadow 5

• Complete first two floors of Shadow Tower weekly

• Earn 25,000 Cubits for Dragon Coin Tome

• Obtain Azulian Dragon

 

Black Desert Online

I think I managed to log in daily for about a week or two before it became tedious. I tried to put a little more time into the game as well, exploring the world a bit more and completing a couple of quests but in the end I never felt the attachment to BDO that so many others seem to feel. I think it’s still partly due to how poorly my machine runs the game but it’s also this sense I get of having accomplished nothing whenever I log off. I don’t think I’m meant for games without developer provided objectives, achievements, and fast travel. I’m task oriented and spending fifteen minutes to travel from one area to the next is not a task I enjoy.

• Log in daily to complete hunting dailies

 

Blade and Soul

Tried it, enjoyed it, got bored around level 15 much like I did with my other two characters in Blade and Soul. It’s a really pretty game though and the combat system is a nice change of pace, the game just isn’t sticky for me is all.

• Try the new Warlock class

Life is Strange

I didn’t make it all the way through chapter one, in fact I don’t think I made it very far at all. I didn’t realize how long the chapters would take to complete when I set this goal for myself so I’ll have to account for that going forward. It’s a beautiful game though and it certainly has me intrigued however these narrative driven games are not my favorite; I like story well enough but not as a primary feature.

• Get through Chapter 1

 

Well, that’s how March concluded for me. Like I said it was a mixed bag of successes and failures but a lot of learning on my part for April. Speaking of April, tomorrow I’ll lay out my goals for the month and see if I can set my expectations a little closer to what I can realistically accomplish in thirty days of gaming.

Indecisive

Ever have one of those days where you can never decide which game to play, and so you split your time between too many of them and accomplish very little? Or you’re looking at one of your characters and you’re thinking, “I’d like to make a change to her appearance,” and so you do, but you change it back and then decide, “no, I actually did kind of like it,” and change it all again?

Sevenfalls addresses her indecisiveness with shotguns and retail.

Or you’re trying to decide what to write about for Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016, and you have a few ideas in mind but you never write about any of them because you’re too busy bouncing between games or clothes shopping in London while chatting with Wolfy about it on Twitter? Ever have that kind of day?

Yeah, me neither.

Free to Enjoy

This past week our senior pastor of less than a year stepped down from his position of leadership in the church. I have been friends with Pastor David for going on eight years now and I was both proud and happy for him when he told me of his decision. David has been in ministry for as long as I have known him—he was the associate pastor for years before accepting the senior position last March—but before that he was a business owner. I never knew this until a few weeks ago, but secretly he has wanted to continue his business for all these years but felt as though he “had” to be in vocational ministry if he was really going to be fully committed to following Jesus Christ despite the fact he was not enjoying it.

That’s a common problem amongst some Christians, the misconception that following Jesus Christ means denying yourself of joy in order to prove your commitment. Another pastor friend of mine referred to this as being a “Navy Seal” Christian, the idea being that if you weren’t miserable and muddy you were doing it wrong. I have to confess, I’ve felt this way myself before. It’s the main reason I have hid my gaming life from so many of my Christian friends. See, David’s response was to give up the thing he loved thinking it made him a better Christian. My response was to hide it under the assumption it was wrong to enjoy MMOs but lacking the will to give them up completely.

There is nothing inherently wrong about owning a business or enjoying video games. Both can be abused and lead to greed, selfish ambition, and destructive addictions or they can be pursued for the glory of God and to the benefit of others and his kingdom. They are of themselves neutral human practices that are either good or evil depending on the intentions of the man or woman engaged in them. I hid my gaming because part of me knew I was overly obsessed and spending too much time playing MMOs so I kept it to myself so that no one could hold me accountable. My fear was that God would ask me to give up playing and since I didn’t want to, I didn’t ask.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected by love” 1 John 4:18.

I was afraid of God, afraid that he might take away something that was important to me because I did not really understand how much he loved me. That isn’t to say that God’s love would allow me to continue with a behavior that was destructive to me or my family, but that I can trust him with every detail of my life. I’ve learned to be honest in prayer, to say “Lord, I really enjoy this hobby. I want to continue with it, so please either make it a holy endeavor or take away my desire. Whatever the case, not my will but yours be done.”

That’s been a liberating prayer. Sure, it means that eventually I may walk away from gaming, but not because I’m trying to discipline myself into being a Navy Seal Christian, but rather because I am trusting God with something that I hold dear. If I’m treating it as precious to the point of idolatry I know that he can address it in a way that leads to even greater joy. That’s the security I have in the love of God, the kind of love that casts out fear. It’s why my friend David was finally liberated from the belief that he had to be a pastor to be acceptable to God and is now able to pursue his business which will no doubt lead to even more fruitful ministry as it did before he started working for the church.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” Psalm 37:4.

Following Christ does not require that you give up the possibility of experiencing joy in this life. Rather it frees us to enjoy God more fully by allowing him to lead us into those relationships, hobbies, and vocations that will both glorify him and make our joy full. I will miss hearing my friend preach every Sunday but I am thankful that he is finally free to enjoy the life God has prepared specifically for him. I want to experience that same freedom in Christ myself.