I’m not a fan of blogging, I’ll admit, mostly because it feels awkward to me. But I suppose it’s long past time to try and get past that in this day and age. So why not start my first post here with an introduction?

I’m Lieren, though most of my friends know my as Leamonde, Halcyon, Lachrimae or Lavieta. Most of my friends I met online through either forums or MMOs, and those are my screen names. Though I was obsessed with books before gaming, I’ve found the two hobbies to be very compatible. When better to read a few pages than while waiting for a long loading screen or for something to charge/accrue?

Speaking of loading screens, even at only 21 I find I loathe the new generation of gamers. They’re ridiculously impatient. So what if a loading screen is all of 3 seconds long? I suppose it’s the spoiled need for instant gratification bred into the younger generations.

Anyway, I am a gamer and writer, and that means I spend very little time away from my computer or other gaming systems, and even less time outside. An ongoing joke of my brother’s insists that I only venture outside once a month when the moon is full. I am an Atlus fangirl because of their wonderful niche RPGs, and I tend to fall in love with games that many consider subpar. For instance, I adore Final Fantasy XII and Rondo of Swords. I also shamelessly enjoy MMORPGs and Dungeons and Dragons.

I also love games that involve customization. Give me a game with good character creation and I can spend 2 hours lovingly crafting the avatar that will represent me for the duration of the game. Often I’ll find something that bugs me about the character…and go back and do it all again. In Dragon Age: Origins I took 5 hours going back and forth trying things out to decide my race, class, skill setup and looks, and damn if I didn’t enjoy every minute of it.

I am also a fan of old games, and I’ve made a point of going back and trying many of the games I was too young to have played in their time. Modern games for me are kind of a crapshoot. My heart is settled in quite happily in the Golden Age of RPGs, starting with the late SNES and ending near the end of the PS2. Far too many games these days (was there ever a phrase like “these days” to make you feel old, no matter your age?) are focused on shiny graphics and easy gameplay for the “casual” gamer demographic. Pretty graphics and lots of flair do not a good game make. What happened to really good stories and incredibly addictive gameplay? If a game has these things and is pretty, well, great, that’s just a bonus. But if all it can do is be pretty, then it’s not so much a game as an interactive movie with some gimped storyline and gameplay tacked on to excuse the $50+ price tag.

So many games are either torture to play, or the game and gameplay are good but it’s too damned easy. When I play a game, I want a challenge! I cheerfully play on the hardest difficulty settings, or impose restrictions on myself to make a game more interesting. I have a playthrough of Final Fantasy XII planned with a skill restriction setup to build each character to specific classes with limitations. I finished Dragon Age: Origins on Hard, and now I plan to play it on Nightmare. I want to spend hours retrying the same boss fight because there’s nothing as sweet as the satisfaction that comes when you finally prevail. That’s also why I still prefer Morrowind to Oblivion. It’s an amazing game in its own right, of course, and I’ve played it to death, but I still haven’t explored all there is to explore in the land of Vardenfell or seen everything there is to see despite hundreds of hours racked up in Morrowind. It’s in a whole different class of challenge than Oblivion.

Of course, my favorite game expansion is Shivering Isles, and Oblivion contains two of my favorite game characters of all time and my favorite game quote ever. Sheogorath and Big Head are just beyond epic characters, and the quote comes from a Hlaalu Dunmer girl running an alchemy shop in Skingrad.

“Me? I’m Falanu. House Hlaalu. As if that matters here.”

When asked about Skingrad,Falanu says, “I’m the only alchemist in Skingrad. Not much business here, but I can’t go back to Morrowind. It’s just like anywhere else in the Empire. By the way…do you happen to know what the fine is here in Cyrodiil for necrophilia? Just asking.”

“It is a first offense?,” she’s asked.

“Let’s assume…’no’”

“Then it’s at least 500 gold”

“That’s nothing compared to Morrowind. Thanks!”

Anyway, I think that’s enough for now. A pleasure to meet you all, and don’t forget to Hail the Mad God. He tends to drop you from great heights if you don’t.