Real life can be boring sometimes. Or, you’re going through a rough patch and could really use some kind of entertainment to take your mind off things. Or perhaps life is going great, but you’ve got some free time on your hands and need something to do. Fortunately, there are numerous video games, films and television shows available to distract you away from your regular existence!
I’m Galactrix. Somehow, over the last decade (maybe?), the part of me that loves video games, TV, movies and other forms of entertainment span itself off into its own persona with its own social media accounts.
Social media is life nowadays. I’m not sure when it happened, but I just can’t go without checking Twitter first thing in the morning, several times during the day and the last thing before going to sleep. I’m mostly a consumer of other people’s news and updates, but I also like to share my own thoughts and views from time to time and while I can mostly stick to 140 characters or less, sometimes I want to be able to say more…
So that’s why I’ve taken the next step and started this blog, where I can share my more in-depth perspectives. It’s time to begin writing.
The life of a gamer
Personally for me, the biggest distraction from real life is games. I just can’t resist picking up bargains and whenever there’s a sale on Steam, I end up grabbing a few items that have been sitting on my wishlist for ages. There are so many things in my Steam library right now that I haven’t even ever installed! I really wish I had the time to play them all, but I can usually only handle focusing on one title at a time.
Despite having all of these single player gaming experiences waiting, there’s a whole other category of game battling for my attention– the massively multiplayer online kind. Back in the early 2000s, my first experience of a multiplayer online game was The Sims Online, which lasted a few good years but ultimately went into maintenance mode and then got the plug pulled by parent company Electronic Arts. It was with that game that I first experienced being part of an online gaming community, with other players I regularly interacted with both in the game and on an active discussion forum.
Then, in 2010, Star Trek Online was released and truly began my indoctrination into being an avid MMORPG gamer. While single player games usually have story content that comes to an end, active MMOs usually get content updates that allow you to continue on your adventures, and that’s one of the main lures keeping me coming back.
After Star Trek Online, I branched out into its sister game Champions Online, and then various other MMOs that became “the new hotness” such as Star Wars: The Old Republic, Guild Wars 2, The Secret World and The Elder Scrolls Online. There are now so many options I have available to log in to, that it’s difficult to choose what to devote precious time to. But like single player games, I can usually only get mentally invested in one main title to focus on at a time. So gradually this sequence has developed where I shift from one game to the next whenever some new content is relelased to explore.
Binge watching
The second major form of entertainment that draws my eye is television shows. I’m mainly a sci-fi or fantasy fan, which in the past has included shows ranging from Star Trek, Stargate (SG1, Atlantis and Universe) to Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess and The Legend of the Seeker.
Currently, I’m into superhero action shows including Marvel’s Agents of Shield and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. I’m also waiting for the next season of Blindspot and The Librarians. As all of the shows I usually watch are on a summer hiatus, I guess that’s why I’ve found myself with the time to start blogging…
Pass the popcorn
Going out of the house to see a movie at the cinema is a rare experience these days. There’s the hassle of leaving home where I have entertainment-on-demand over a broadband connection and the high cost of cinema tickets.
But occasionally there’s a blockbuster you just have to go experience inside a dark auditorium with an IMAX screen and overpriced popcorn and a bucket sized soft drink (despite having to resist going to the loo for two hours!).
Writing it all down
So I guess now blogging is my newest distraction. I certainly didn’t expect to write so much for my first ever post, but I guess I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. I can’t say how often I’ll be able to pull myself away from all of those other forces competing for my attention and write new posts, but it will happen.
It’s all part of the sequence.
