Gamify me, captain

I like to turn everything into a video game.

Like, real life stuff. Gamification is a word now (Although it's getting red-lined by google) and I think I'm a good example of it.

Some things definitely should be gamified, this ebay thing for instance. If you can't look at buying and selling on ebay as reminiscent of some sort of MMORPG then you had too many friends in high school. I played Runescape and World of Warcraft. Yes, in this context I am bragging. The only context I'm allowed to brag about that.

In these types of games you essentially had the freedom to play how you want, and some people would decide to "Merchant" all day. Basically, with the items that are constantly moving around the in-game economy, you can buy things low and sell them high. It was day trading, essentially.

I tried this a little bit, but I played when I was 10 and generally had no idea how to do anything. I didn't have a lot of $$ (Still talking about gaming, here). I was enraptured with the concept regardless of my own success. These MMOEntrepreneurs weren't at the top of any leader boards, weren't technically skilled at the actual game itself, but they were the cool people to myself and lots of other poor (in-game) kids. It also didn't hurt that they were decked out in FULL DRAGON. WHOAOOAAA

Now that I'm a bit older and have real, actual money to spend on stuff, I find myself fascinated with the idea of merchanting again. Coincidentally, and this is not to keep anything on theme, the first things I began research on has been Nintendo 64 games. I have 13 from my childhood and I looked their prices up on Ebay last night. I looked at how much they sold for in the past month, took the average cost, and have it in a cheeky little spreadsheet on my computer. For some reason, I enjoyed the process very much. Couldn't tell you why, it's literal data entry.

I'm actually thinking hard about why I liked it. I really didn't expect to. Often I'll get some idea in my head of what I want to do next, some grand scheme or maybe just a pop-up hobby. I'll get invested, talk about it all the time, then give it up when I decide I don't like it or I stop doing it for too long. There's a strong chance that happens again with this ebay bullshit, maybe 50% or so. Like, I haven't sold a damn thing yet, and I've mentioned it already what, twelve times? Oh well.

This felt a little different, though. I don't usually have energy at 9:45 PM, but I kept on plugging away happily. We'll see where this goes, huh?

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A final thought about gamification, I made my shower into a fighting game character today. In the shower, of course. And I didn't make it an actual character, but I did give it a tier list ranking based on it's merits, and compared it to my old shower. Let me try to explain:

Old shower:
Single handle for simple temperature control.
Sometimes inconsistent water pressure and temp
Three nozzle settings, but only one version is actually viable
   -Also non-detachable
Final Grade = Tier B -- Good for beginners to learn but lots of glaring weaknesses

New Shower:
Three knobs, confusing at first but gives surprising control over pressure and temperature
Detachable nozzle with one setting, allows for special attack "Butthole Blast" for the days when your cheeks got suds.
Extremely reliable hot water, but sensitive to same-floor toilet flush

Final Grade = Tier A -- Hard to learn but the core strengths and flexibility make up for it. Mastering the "Butthole Blast" will bring your game to a whole new level.


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Also, Melee has ruined me as a regular person. I can't do anything casually anymore, I'm straight up hardwired to try and optimize and speed up my "movement". The biggest culprit has been typing on a TV with the remote control. Most people groan when they need to type in their wifi password using only cardinal directions and an "ok" button, but I get into my gamer stance (Leaning forward) and take on the challenge. Have you ever out-sped the auto find feature on Netflix because you were typing the title too fast? Me neither. That is my Everest.

I have my email down to a stupid fast speed. I had to do it since the days of Xbox360, and that practice has sharpened my skills and made me into the man I am today.

So why bring this all up? I don't know, it's not like I feel bad about it or anything. I guess I'm just interested in how my head works, why I like the things I do, what I did as a kid that lead me to be the guy I am now.

What's exciting, though, is that I still have so much time to develop. I'm not sure how it works, but I assume that childhood isn't the only impressionable time of my life. I can do things now, in these next five, ten, fifteen years, that will influence me the same way my 13-year old self influenced me at 23. This time I'll have the sovereignty to make my own decisions, and the maturity (hopefully!) to stick with them for a long enough time to learn from them. I can't expect this next endeavor to be successful, or even that fun for a long time, so it's just a matter of staying honest to myself and taking it one step at a time.

Oh, and sometimes finding a parking spot is like a game, but it's like beating a boss for your little cousin and you don't want to admit that it's actually hard. Last one, bringing change to a coin counter is like turning in a quest.

Alright that's enough gotta go bye.