Well, boy is my face red! I guess everyone learns the hard way at some point or another. I seem to with everything I do. : ) So this blog post goes nowhere but my humble little profile rather than to the vast, terrifying world of the Forums.
 
I must admit that I've never enjoyed the anonymity that affords people the chance to be jerks online. I'm not saying it just about others, either. I have always liked to avoid them not only because it's so easy for people to jump down my throat, but also because an ill-placed post or a bad day on my part can create a bad reaction from me - something I'd never say to someone's face. But, the illusion of anonymity helps create this effect - I suspect it's something similar to bystander apathy (Kitty Genovese, anyone?), except to the opposite effect. When someone says something stupid, it's so easy to pile on the criticism, flames and insults because, well, everyone else is, and why not be like everyone else?
 
But this is a topic that has been discussed, talked about, and honestly beaten to death (including in the podcast - dealing with the WoW forums, I believe), so let's move on to video games. After all, that's why we're all here, isn't it?
 
I like them. I always have. In fact, as a child, my first experience with games was from my older brother firing up the good ol' snes and playing Crono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI. These were the first games I ever played through and finished to completion, and they remain my nostalgic favorites. I can't describe how often I would sneak into the front room, start up the snes, and beat through Kefka's final form (yet again) only to get teary-eyed at the ending, and at the different conclusions the game reserved for each character. Even today, the final theme music for Sabin and Edgar gets my eyes a little misty. : )
 
And then, Crono Trigger. Oh geez, Crono Trigger. I got the several different endings more times than I could count, my favorite (oddly enough) being the one where Glenn finally achieves his goal and becomes human again. Eh, call me sentimental.
 
Unfortunately, RPGs have always had that affect on me.  I cry at everything when I play a game, so I just love the dramatic RPGs...especially of the J variety. Somehow the Japanese have really got their shit together when it comes to weaving a melodramatic, surreal fantasy tale, with believable characters who actually react to the situation in a realistic way and really drag you into the story.
 
I'm not as much of a skillful player as some others may be (in high school, I consistently had my ass handed to me in Halo 2 by friends), I do truly enjoy and appreciate the more strategy-driven games. Can't quite beat a boss? No problem, I'll strategize a little better next time, or, if I really need to, grind a few more levels. The skill that is required comes from a different source - not motor skill or memorization, but the strategy of planning out attacks, figuring out when to heal, deciding when the perfect time is to use that special attack you've saved up for. And, somehow, I get more of a sense of accomplishment after beating a huge, several-stage end boss than when I do beating the same kind in a, let's say, third person shooter. (Maybe because I truly suck at third person shooters? The world may never know.)
 
Being a writer since age three or so (I used to dictate to my sister stories that she'd type out on our old, old mac home computer system), I think I have always leant towards the dramatic, melodramatic, and so on. I enjoy embellishing my stories just as I enjoy embellishments to real life that is so often found in video games. And, having finally moved into the next generation and bought my own Xbox 360, I can't wait to experience some of the latest forays into melodrama that the RPGs of today have to offer!