Between the Panels

Don’t you wish you could have everything in life organized in priority and immediacy? Admittedly, this is one thing that I think video games/role-playing games does well.  Typically, when you are pausing after finishing a big quest or are in the break of the story; you are brought to your quest menu .  The quest menu is so helpful not just seeing what you have accomplished (getting that pat on the back), but seeing whether it is a main plot task or a side quest.  Along with that, there are sometimes promptings of events that you can jump into immediately to find impressive loot or a level up for your character. However, if you didn’t have this menu to navigate through or prioritize what quests you are taking, you might just aimlessly go around not making as much progress. It helps to be organized and to be able to go into the game with a plan and an intentional goal for your character to grow in their journey. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Jesus actually has something that ...

Challenges always adds an engaging dynamic to a game.  I am not talking about "Boss fights" that you have to win in order to progress onward.  No, a challenge is something that typically tests to see your level of experience, skill, or effectiveness in the game. Often when you get to these challenges in a game, a player can return to redo them if they were not as successful as they wanted to be to get better rewards or better stats among other players (if in an open world online).  Again, I refer to my experience with Batman: Arkham Knight where often challenges were to see how high of a score you could get in fighting against a large crowd effectively, all the while trying to beat some of my friends scores who had done the same challenge. This was a major distraction since once you found out other people's scores compared to your own, it was easy to get focused on beating other's scores and loose track of where you should be in the story. The Bible is not afraid to...

I have a confession to make.  I am the kind of gamer that focuses on getting loot and advancing my equipment for the road ahead.  Lots of games have a looting component to them (these are often called " looter shooters "), where you need to keep on advancing your equipment along the progress of the game/round.  Specifically, Fortnite is one of these looter games.  My bad habit is that I want to make sure I have enough equipment and ammunition for my character for when we have to fight of another group in the game to survive the round.  This however, drags my team back and it can put them at a disadvantage with a distracted team member in a confrontation. It is good to upgrade your equipment and to keep looking for the better stuff that will give you an edge in the battle.  The balancing act is determining when is the best time for looting and when is it time to keep going on .  It really comes down to what stage of the game you are at and what amount ...

Gamers, particularly ones who like to play RPG s ( Role Playing Games ), know that there is a legitimate struggle between focusing on the main story and wanting to do side quests/missions . Everyone gets the game for the main story and works toward its conclusion. Though, side quests are sometimes more fun than focusing on the main story, especially when you are struggling at a certain points. Take me for example. I love the Batman Arkham series games and have played through 3/4 of them in their completion.  However, in Batman: Arkham Knight , I have been getting distracted with side quests that I have left the main story for now years (this is in part because of not gaming by myself lately).  Part of it was the struggle of fighting major bosses, but also there have been some fun side quests with other characters that I love to interact with.  This is all to say that completing side quests and focusing on them for a while is not bad; they are part of getting things done ...

The Force. In Star Wars there is this unseen thing in the galaxy that everyone is connected to, but only few have been able to tap into its power.  Some use this power for good, to aid others; while others use it for control, for selfish goals. One of my favourite moments in the use of the force is with the character Chirrut Imwe: a blind man who joins in the fight to get the plans for the Death Star. Now Chirrut doesn't use any cool force abilities (Force push, jump, hold, etc.); the awesome thing that happens is that he trusts that the force will guide him in his fight.  The big moment is when he walks out in the open toward a bunch of Stormtroopers to help get his ship up in running. As he is walking, he repeats out loud "I am one with the Force, the Force is with me." and he does not get shot in all that time as he is walking toward his goal.  Once he accomplishes his task, he sadly dies because of an explosion, but his brother (who has not believed in the Force) star...

Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious is one heck of a vile bad guy in Star Wars.  This half-baked (quite literally due to his own force lightning) person who seized control of the entire galaxy in one felt swoop, didn't operate as obviously as he does later in saga.  Palpatine seems, at first, like a genuine caring chancellor that is trying to fight for the freedoms of a planet in the Republic.  However, over time, his rise to position and power shows more and more of his hand for complete dominance and authority.  It's through the rise of Anakin Skywalker , that we see more of the inSidious (see what I did there) plot to manipulate this powerful rising Jedi Knight to become his greatest servant for his will.  Anakin only wanted to grow in power to save his wife from a premonition he had about her death in child birth.  Palpatine saw this desire of power and used it for himself to create confusion in Anakin as well as giving him the promise of gaining power ...

If you have been following Star Wars content since 2019, you have likely heard of the series The Mandalorian . Some people have mixed reviews on the latest content, but I want to get into what has become The Mandalorian's most iconic line " This is the way ". Within the series, you find out that the Mandalorians were a group of people who had been eradicated by the Empire for their precious metals to make weapons and use for currency.  One of the things that added to the Mandalorian culture was their strict adherence to certain rules, which acted as a pathway for them in all that they did.  This path would often be affirmed with other Mandalorians in the uttering "This is the way". Part of these tenants was not removing your helmet, devotion to family and the Mandalorian race, as well as being prepared as one global warrior clan.  The Way was something that was taught at birth and driven to the very identity of your being. The most notable marking of a Mandalor...