Author: Xiontawa

Why I am leaving PC gaming…

I have been playing PC games for years…okay…12 years to be exact.  I have greatly enjoyed the time I have played them; however, that time is coming to an end.  No, I am not quitting video games…as a matter of fact I still plan on playing a lot.  Anyways, time to stop boring you with my rambling and get to the point.

Why am I leaving PC gaming…?

MMORPGs…

Well, a lot of reasons actually.  For the last 12 years, since I got into PC gaming, I mostly played MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games).  There are rather large problems with MMORPGs.

First, they are timesinks, meaning they consume a LOT of your time to be fun and to unlock the full potential of the game.  Second, they support addictive properties that can pull in just about anyone, and get you to play hours every day; while you neglect your family, friends, and other responsibilities.

Third, since most never have any completion, they have to attract you with what is called “Carrot on a Stick” tactics; this means they tease you with the next best thing (weapon, armor, mount, dungeon), only to get to the next best thing after that.  Basically, chase the carrot on a stick, once you finally reach it, here is another.  Don’t get me wrong, fun is fun, and some of them are fun, but in the end, they all go to this tactic.

Fourth…ehh, I could keep going, but I bet I am starting to bore you.

Pause!

Another reason I am leaving PC gaming is due to most PC games being mostly online, you have no pause functionality.  Pause is important in so many ways, but instead of putting them all here, take the time to think about how a pause button could be useful to you in any situation.

$MONEY$

So many people argue that PC gaming and console gaming end up costing the same amount in the end, and I have ready multiple articles backing it.  However, in my own research, and in my own situation, this is not true by any means.

In order to keep my computer up to date and playing the current games, I need to spend $200-400 a year on new hardware.  And you still have the buy the games to play on it.  In the last 3 years I have spent roughly $1200 upgrading a computer I spent $1500 four years ago.  So in four years that is $2700, not counting games.

In the last 2 years, including the price of the console, I have spent roughly $800 on my Xbox 360 AND games!  If I added 2 years of games onto that, (I rarely buy games new) I may have spent $100-$150.  So, we are comparing $2700 to $950.

And we are not done!  In order to play multiplayer games, everyone I want to play with must have the game as well.  2 of the main people I play with are my wife, and my brother, and my brother doesn’t have a job, so I must purchase his games for him.  This means if we all want to play a new PC game, that is $180 for me.  Most Xbox 360 games have up to 4 player split-screen multiplayer.  That means buying one game, and being in the same room with the other players.  Double win in my opinion.

Plus, I am also maintaining both of their computers, but figuring that in would just make the PC gaming cost crazy.

Being a better person?

I don’t know about you, but when I get off a PC game, I don’t just get right off the computer and spend time with my family; more likely I check forums, facebook, and do other web activities.  Before I know it, a 2-3 hour gaming session just turned into 4 due to forums and facebook.  When I play my Xbox 360, most of the time after a maybe 1 hour gaming session, I instantly go to my family or to something I need to get done.  This greatly improves your chances of getting the house clean 😀

I have noticed time spent with my family, and getting other things done greatly increased since lowering my PC gaming time.  Not only that, but it is easy to get your family involved with the Xbox 360 than it is with a PC game.

Being a better person…in Christ! ^_^

Don’t get me wrong, Christians gaming is not wrong.  Nor is Christians playing games for countless hours of the night.  When it is wrong, is when it interferes with your family, your friends, and your walk with God.  I openly encourage gaming, now and probably always will.  As a matter of fact I am a member of a very large Christian gaming clan called Tribe of Judah ( http://toj.cc ).

Gaming is not only a good form of entertainment, but it also provides a wonderful way to have fun with friends and family.  (In my opinion, it is one-hundred times better than spending time watching TV.)

Stepping away from PC gaming will give me a lot more time for God, and Bible study.  I will be able to focus more on who I should be in Christ, and have more time to help others.

Overall

I am leaving PC gaming because (for me) it is unhealthy, time consuming, inconvenient and expensive.  And my friends and family will benefit from more time with me. 🙂

We are not peddlers of the Word!

One thing I see often is Christians trying to persuade people to be Christians anyway they can.  Whether it would be to tell them they could continue in their sin, or that they could continue to believe in un-biblical things, etc.  While this is a bit of the extreme form, we could be doing it in our own ways and not realizing it.  Filled church pews and another tally mark means nothing to God if they aren’t true.  Lets look at the Word.

2 Corinthians 2:17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. -ESV

We see here that we are specifically not suppose to try to “sell” people the Bible or our beliefs, but that we are to speak to truth, and “if they have ears, they will hear”.

So the next time you sharing your faith, don’t be thinking about what crafty way you can pull people in.  You do not need fireworks or bright colors.  You don’t need an ice cream social, a live band, or a popular event.  Just speak the truth, and the Lord will open the hearts of those who he calls.

I saw a Facebook status…

The other day I saw a Facebook status…

When you carry the Bible, Satan gets a headache. When you open it, he collapses. When he sees you reading it, he faints. When he sees you living it, he flees. And just when you’re about to re-post this, he’ll try to discourage you. I JUST DEFEATED HIM! Copy and re-post if you can. Any takers?

While it seems cute, and all good, it caught my attention.  This, to me, is a prime example of American Christianity.  While it is cutesy, it is NOT Biblical.  One thing American Christianity embraces is cuteness, while it ignores the Word.  We are in a war, and we need to know the truth.  The truth is, Satan uses the Bible against us, he even used it against Jesus:

Matthew 4 “5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, and On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” -ESV

This verse shows us not only can Satan use the Bible against us, but that he knows it.  When you sit there, with your Bible open and reading, most likely he is trying everything he can to ever so slighty twist the scripture into something that will benefit him.  Be AWARE! Satan is not just trying to get you to sin, or get people to do bad things, he is trying to destroy the church, without even knowing he is.

Some lines from a song that are interesting (Destroy the Runner – I, Lucifer):

…I’ll preach what I practice,
and I will practice on you…

…I speak of angels,
but host demons instead…

…I will sell them the scriptures,
and I will pocket your fame…

…I am feasting on bread and your wine.

We need to be in the Spirit always to know when something is from God or from Satan.

I encourage you not to just take the word of others on spiritual matters, but to back EVERYTHING up with scripture.  Do not be like so many who are complacent in their lives, who prefer to enjoy the “cuteness” and ignorance American Christianity.  The Word gives us the truth, and everything we post about our beliefs from Facebook statuses to blogs, should be fully founded in the Word.  The Word is not a joke, and needs to be taken very seriously!  THIS IS A WAR!

Christ Centered Gamer – Game Reviews

Today I am going to give you a review/overview of ccgr.org.

ccgr.org is a very unique website, it’s main purpose is to review video games from a Christian perspective. One thing I want to point out from the start is they don’t get games bad reviews for violence and stuff, they actually give a game score, and a morality score.

ccgr.org has a nice way of reviewing games. If we look here at their review of New Vegas, you will see a “Game Info” box that provides a lot of information on the game, from System Requirements to ESRB rating. There is usually always a gameplay video. A “Highlights” box (my favorite), and then the score breakdown.

Let’s take a look at how they breakdown scores (for New Vegas):

Game Score – 82%
Game Play: 16/20
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Stability: 3/5
Controls/Interface: 5/5

Morality Score – 32%
Violence: 0/10
Language: 0/10
Sexual Content: 0/10
Occult/Supernatural: 10/10
Cultural/Moral/Ethical: 6/10

We see they gave it a 82% game score, and a 32% morality score. In the game score, the higher the number the better the game. In the morality the score, the lower the scores, the more immoral the game is. I love this feature, because anytime I have ever tried to use Christian game review sites before, they always give games bad reviews for violence and language and what not. ccgr.org provides a much better way of reviewing from a Christian prospective than I have ever seen.

And on top of all of this, their reviews are good…and not just something thrown together. The reviews are worth reading, and the site is very good.

The next time you need a review of a game, whether to see if the game is good, or to see how immoral a game is, ccgr.org provides a excellent way getting the info you need.

Side-note: They also have forums, IRC, and game servers!

YouVersion.com…a great website for Bible stuff!

For the longest time I used biblegateway.com for my computer Bible stuff. But I hated how much it was lacking, and it’s horrid interface. Recently I have discovered youversion.com. It is one of the best Bible “stuff” doing thingy websites that I have seen…why? Let us take a look!

The first thing I noticed was the rather simple and straight forward interface. You simply type in the verse you need, and there it is! Not only that, but on the right there is a built in audio player for listening to the chapter you are on.

Anyways, time to stop boring you and get on the features, and what makes this such a nice site.

First off, you can make an account, which saves all your settings, bookmarks, notes, and a whole lot of other useful things, such as setting up your own Bible reading plan. There is also a built in social networking thingy, but I have not and am not going to look into that, so you are on your own on that one.

Lets look at some of the “My” features (the stuff worth mentioning anyways).

Bookmarks: This one is kinda self explanatory, it let’s you set a bookmark at a certain place, you can have as many as you want, across multiple translations.

Notes (my favorite feature): The ability to write a note about a certain verse(s) or chapter(s). This is very useful when trying to remember something you read, or something you want to share with someone (if you choose not to use the sharing options).

Reading Plans: This lets you set a reading plan. They have many reading plans with options for customization and support to help you stay on track.

youversion.com also gives you the ability to share a verse or verses via Facebook, Twitter, Email, or just grab a direct “short” link.

Their features are also available mobile via iPad, iPhone, iPod, Blackberry, Android, and webOS.

Well, that is all I am covering on the site. They offer a lot more than I mentioned here, but hopefully I got you interested enough to check out this awesome website for your Bible stuff.