Video games!

Hello!

Comment response: I love it when people ask questions about infertility and those experiences! There's definitely some lingering emotional trauma, but I like to talk through it and I like to feel like my experiences can help educate people. Like, for example, I feel like I've helped to teach my family a lot about the IVF process, and as a result they're better able to relate to and talk with people who are going through it. My mom was telling me about a younger friend of hers who was having trouble conceiving, and I was really proud of how my mom handled those conversations with her. I like to think that I helped, hah.

I mentioned in my first post that I've gotten sort of into video games since the first BEDA. I thought I'd talk about some of my favorites today.

I used to think that I didn't like video games, but I've since found out that was because I was playing THE WRONG KINDS. There are tons of different types, and I've learned that I like very chill games. I asked Eric how he would describe the genre of video games that I like, and he said simulation. Then we got into a long discussion about how there's probably a more specific classification, but I'll list some of my favorite games and why I like them anyway.

Minecraft
This is the first game that I was really able to put much time into. I started playing shortly after my husband and I started dating because it was one of his favorite games at the time. I think basically everyone knows what Minecraft is these days, but I'll explain anyway. It's sort of like virtual Legos in that you can build stuff. There are monsters, too, which can complicate things a bit. I don't actually enjoy the building part of Minecraft much. I prefer gathering materials to give to Eric so that he can build cool things. I also like organizing the food. You can make farms and things, which I find fun. Even the monster fighting is pretty fun because it's not usually too stressful, especially when you've upgraded weapons and armor.

Stardew Valley
My husband found this game fairly soon after it came out, and he thought I would like it. He bought it for me, and we found out HE WAS RIGHT. I love this game. The premise of the game is that your grandfather dies and leaves you his farm. You leave your big city cubicle job to go to the town and take possession of that farm. You clear the land that's been overrun, plant some crops, meet the townspeople, go fishing, do some mining, fight monsters, and collect resources. One of the things I like about this game is that it's very goal-oriented. You're given different tasks to complete as you go. It's also fun interacting with the other people in the town. You can talk with them and give gifts to gain friendship points with them, plus you learn more of their stories as you go along, which is fun. We currently own three copies of this game (one for my husband's PC, one for mine, and one for the Switch), and we're thinking of buying a fourth because they just came out with a phone version.

Animal Crossing (for Gamecube)
I recently got back into this game after trying it out fairly early on in my marriage (Eric is always suggesting games I might like, so I'll play a little to see if he's right). It's not quite as fun as Stardew, in my opinion, but it's a little bit simpler which can be nice. Apparently Wikipedia describes it as "social simulation." In this game, you move to a town and take out a mortgage on a house. You do jobs around town and collect resources to earn money to pay off your mortgage. Once you've paid it off, you take out another loan to expand your house and work to pay that off. You can also decorate your house with items to make it look nicer. There's a house judging system that you're trying to improve on by expanding your house and decorating it well. There are townsanimals that you interact with. You can do favors for them, and they'll give you gifts and money in return. It's a very cute game and pretty relaxed. There's a lot less to it than Stardew Valley, which I'm kind of liking right now but I do think I'll get bored of it more quickly. The really exciting thing is that Nintendo is releasing a new Animal Crossing for the Switch soon, so I'll get to experience a similar game in a new way!

Those are pretty much my three favorite games. I spent a pretty large amount of time playing my husband's favorite first person shooter, Team Fortress 2, with him before learning that it was making feel nauseous, hah. There are also some old favorites that I played growing up (Sim Theme Park, Red Alert, Barbie Team Gymnastics), but these three are the main games that I've been into lately. If you have any suggestions for other games, let me know!

-Leah