OMGNOT'NotherONE!
DW5XL hasn’t claimed me this morning, mainly because my nephew is sending his bald monk through Destiny Mode. Will we play later? You’re damned right we will. We’ll probably surpass level 20 on Xtreme Mode too! In your eye Lu Bu, you are going down! Okay… I’m slightly hyper but feh. I just woke up, so give me time to adjust. I’ll be worn out by days end, hopefully.
I’m adding this top part here because it was originally at the bottom. I figured I’d warn anyone incase they happen to come across this site and want to cry at length. If anyone seriously reads all of it, they deserve a cookie or something sweet. I mean, you’d have to be a real trooper and all. I just jotted out my thoughts/feelings/’stuff. It helped a little to get it off my mind. Now to eat some cinnamon rolls. Heh, heh. Such a great food eater we are. I believe there is pizza in store for later, so some dietician, if I had one, would be crying right now.
{BTW, the post below is about Growlanser 3, Wing Commander, and Hope. Hope isn’t a game but just the general idea of hope. If you’re not scared by long posts, then read on. If you are, I’d avoid it. ‘Cause it’s pretty long.}
- - - - -
Hmm… I’ve been playing Growlanser 3, again, and it’s kind of put me in a thoughtful mood for now. For those who haven’t played the game or intended too, I wouldn’t read below because I am going to throw some spoilers in that have made me curious about some things. If you want to read on and aren’t going to play the game/don’t care, then feel free to continue on.
- - - Spoilers Ahead for Growlanser 3 - - -
I’ve kind of been wondering what would happen if people in today’s society was faced with the problem that existed in the Growlanser 3 world. I’ll go into more detail so that the people who haven’t played the game or don’t remember have a better idea. In that game, the world is kind of dying because the sunlight is getting weaker and weaker. Crops are dying, famines are spreading, and people are literally starving in the streets. Now this isn’t in every country. One kingdom is heavily affected by this and naturally raged war on a neighbor that barely has enough food to feed their own people. That’s not the point I want to discuss, though.
Later on in the game, the ‘heroes’ of the game get a choice… They get this choice along with other people, which kind of makes one wonder. About 1/5th through the game, the characters get offered a chance to go to a new world to live, along with other people. They are doing this so that they can have a new start and go to a planet that isn’t dying. Naturally, there are two choices here. You can go to a new planet and help start a new world with an assured chance of living… Or you can stay behind on a dying planet and inevitably die along with it. Not very appealing choice though, is it?
With that in perspective, how many people would have given up all hope and took that new shot at a ‘new’ life? I mean, if the world is going to die it should be the ideal choice shouldn’t it? What if some members of your family had decided to stay back or a dear friend that you loved. Does the choice get any easier then? There are hundreds of scenarios that could happen. It kind of makes you wonder, how many people would just throw aside all relations to save their own skin and find some hope?
Let’s make matters even worse, just because it can throw out more scenarios. What if there was something that came under attack before people could go to the new world. Those that stayed behind to protect it would obviously be left behind though, but if nothing was done… No one leaves. Kind of a sticky situation isn’t it? Just some more scenarios to consider or throw out there.
It kind of makes one wonder how many people would not give up hope in a situation like that. I mean, when are we supposed to give up on things, people, or even hope? Can anything be overcame, or is some things just not salvageable? Some more interesting thought and facts just to include.
I’m not sure how everyone else would think, what percentages there was, or who all would take the choice for a new life… I don’t think I would take that route though. It’s not because I have this enormous amount of pride or fear the unknown… I think it’s because I’ve learnt a valuable lesson, at least to me, in life. I just believe that there is no reason one should give up hope, which should sound pretty odd coming from someone that had none just a couple of weeks ago. I mean, things might seem bleak or like there is no escape, but does that mean one should just give up?
I mean even in the scenario provided above… I don’t think I would just willingly give up all hope despite what a naysayer might say or claim. Sure some things seem hopeless and bleak, but why give up hope when anything can change? Imagine what happens if we give up hope when things seem like they are not curable. For instance, the German invasion that just swept through countries back in WW2 and destroyed whatever they opposed. What happens if everyone just gives up and says it’s hopeless to defeat them? We live in a changed world then. You could look at several wars, inventions, and diseases that could have been given up on, that seemed hopeless at the time and make a point.
I know this is a game and all, but there was a Wing Commander scenario that can relate on subject. If you’ve ever played the Secret Missions for the SNES, you will probably remember this board. Just to give a small background, the Kilrathi had developed a new weapon which could destroy a planet with a single blast. It leveled everything and there were no survivors at all. Pretty terrifying weapon is it not? Well, one ship was given the order to chase their weapon carrier deep into their own space and destroy it. It was a plain and simple suicide mission. I remember on the final mission when you actually go after that ship. You have to fight through at least five check points of battle ships, around 12 smaller ships and heavier ships and then at least 2 carriers per point almost. Now, if you understand the game, carriers and jalthi just flat out tore you up if you weren’t an ace. Imagine going through this mission with yourself and just one wingman. Sounds impossible, no?
I remember during the briefing that the colonel told the pilots to take that ship down with any means possible. Now, factor in the fatigue that everyone felt, the countless battles it took to reach this point, and the emotional wear and tear of losing so many friends in combat. There was also the slim chance that no one came out of this alive. I remember at one point in the mission, I had used up all of my missiles by point 2, which wasn’t all that great. I think things go so hot that I almost lost my wing mate because things were just so heavy and you were constantly under fire. To make matters worse, my ejection system was flat out destroyed along with other damage that I had sustained. Needless to say, things didn’t look so hot…
Things didn’t go for the worse though. I told my wing mate to go back to the ship, incase everyone did live through this so he didn’t die without a reason. Finally after some fierce battle, the ship we had targeted was within reach. What surprised me was that two other teammates from the carrier had launched and was already in the area. This was kind of cool, but I wasn’t about to let them die or take all of the glory. It wasn’t a macho thing, but during the missions I had lost one of my co-pilots at one point, which kind of made the mission more ‘vital’ in my eyes. Did I get into the game, probably a bit to much but it’s not as fun if you don’t. Needless to say I destroyed the ship and was even considering pulling a kamikaze if I had to. Everyone else got out alive though, even the character I had… So I didn’t have to do it. Even got the kill and vengeance, yay!
There was also a point in WC4 that I flew into a carrier ship, yes I did fly into it, and just opened up on it with a ton of missiles for what it did to one of my co-pilots. That’s another story though, since I’m sure this one is boring enough.
The point of this all, when is the correct time to toss hope aside? Is there ever? I’m not sure that there is to be honest with everyone, but it is so easy to do isn’t it? I mean, it’s not all that hard to say this is hopeless, or things can only get worse… It’s scarily too easy to get into that mindset. For those who keep a good spin on everything, I give you props because you obviously have more strength than most of us could ever dream about. There is one thing I can attest for some people though. I think even if some people give up hope, they’re not going to go down and just take it though. They might have given up on a victory, but they’ll sure as hell make sure it’s earned by the side going for it. Funny world we live in, isn’t it?
I’ll stop there though because this post is long enough and probably has scared away any ‘potential’ readers. I do think that it’s not good to lose our hope though.
I’m adding this top part here because it was originally at the bottom. I figured I’d warn anyone incase they happen to come across this site and want to cry at length. If anyone seriously reads all of it, they deserve a cookie or something sweet. I mean, you’d have to be a real trooper and all. I just jotted out my thoughts/feelings/’stuff. It helped a little to get it off my mind. Now to eat some cinnamon rolls. Heh, heh. Such a great food eater we are. I believe there is pizza in store for later, so some dietician, if I had one, would be crying right now.
{BTW, the post below is about Growlanser 3, Wing Commander, and Hope. Hope isn’t a game but just the general idea of hope. If you’re not scared by long posts, then read on. If you are, I’d avoid it. ‘Cause it’s pretty long.}
- - - - -
Hmm… I’ve been playing Growlanser 3, again, and it’s kind of put me in a thoughtful mood for now. For those who haven’t played the game or intended too, I wouldn’t read below because I am going to throw some spoilers in that have made me curious about some things. If you want to read on and aren’t going to play the game/don’t care, then feel free to continue on.
- - - Spoilers Ahead for Growlanser 3 - - -
I’ve kind of been wondering what would happen if people in today’s society was faced with the problem that existed in the Growlanser 3 world. I’ll go into more detail so that the people who haven’t played the game or don’t remember have a better idea. In that game, the world is kind of dying because the sunlight is getting weaker and weaker. Crops are dying, famines are spreading, and people are literally starving in the streets. Now this isn’t in every country. One kingdom is heavily affected by this and naturally raged war on a neighbor that barely has enough food to feed their own people. That’s not the point I want to discuss, though.
Later on in the game, the ‘heroes’ of the game get a choice… They get this choice along with other people, which kind of makes one wonder. About 1/5th through the game, the characters get offered a chance to go to a new world to live, along with other people. They are doing this so that they can have a new start and go to a planet that isn’t dying. Naturally, there are two choices here. You can go to a new planet and help start a new world with an assured chance of living… Or you can stay behind on a dying planet and inevitably die along with it. Not very appealing choice though, is it?
With that in perspective, how many people would have given up all hope and took that new shot at a ‘new’ life? I mean, if the world is going to die it should be the ideal choice shouldn’t it? What if some members of your family had decided to stay back or a dear friend that you loved. Does the choice get any easier then? There are hundreds of scenarios that could happen. It kind of makes you wonder, how many people would just throw aside all relations to save their own skin and find some hope?
Let’s make matters even worse, just because it can throw out more scenarios. What if there was something that came under attack before people could go to the new world. Those that stayed behind to protect it would obviously be left behind though, but if nothing was done… No one leaves. Kind of a sticky situation isn’t it? Just some more scenarios to consider or throw out there.
It kind of makes one wonder how many people would not give up hope in a situation like that. I mean, when are we supposed to give up on things, people, or even hope? Can anything be overcame, or is some things just not salvageable? Some more interesting thought and facts just to include.
I’m not sure how everyone else would think, what percentages there was, or who all would take the choice for a new life… I don’t think I would take that route though. It’s not because I have this enormous amount of pride or fear the unknown… I think it’s because I’ve learnt a valuable lesson, at least to me, in life. I just believe that there is no reason one should give up hope, which should sound pretty odd coming from someone that had none just a couple of weeks ago. I mean, things might seem bleak or like there is no escape, but does that mean one should just give up?
I mean even in the scenario provided above… I don’t think I would just willingly give up all hope despite what a naysayer might say or claim. Sure some things seem hopeless and bleak, but why give up hope when anything can change? Imagine what happens if we give up hope when things seem like they are not curable. For instance, the German invasion that just swept through countries back in WW2 and destroyed whatever they opposed. What happens if everyone just gives up and says it’s hopeless to defeat them? We live in a changed world then. You could look at several wars, inventions, and diseases that could have been given up on, that seemed hopeless at the time and make a point.
I know this is a game and all, but there was a Wing Commander scenario that can relate on subject. If you’ve ever played the Secret Missions for the SNES, you will probably remember this board. Just to give a small background, the Kilrathi had developed a new weapon which could destroy a planet with a single blast. It leveled everything and there were no survivors at all. Pretty terrifying weapon is it not? Well, one ship was given the order to chase their weapon carrier deep into their own space and destroy it. It was a plain and simple suicide mission. I remember on the final mission when you actually go after that ship. You have to fight through at least five check points of battle ships, around 12 smaller ships and heavier ships and then at least 2 carriers per point almost. Now, if you understand the game, carriers and jalthi just flat out tore you up if you weren’t an ace. Imagine going through this mission with yourself and just one wingman. Sounds impossible, no?
I remember during the briefing that the colonel told the pilots to take that ship down with any means possible. Now, factor in the fatigue that everyone felt, the countless battles it took to reach this point, and the emotional wear and tear of losing so many friends in combat. There was also the slim chance that no one came out of this alive. I remember at one point in the mission, I had used up all of my missiles by point 2, which wasn’t all that great. I think things go so hot that I almost lost my wing mate because things were just so heavy and you were constantly under fire. To make matters worse, my ejection system was flat out destroyed along with other damage that I had sustained. Needless to say, things didn’t look so hot…
Things didn’t go for the worse though. I told my wing mate to go back to the ship, incase everyone did live through this so he didn’t die without a reason. Finally after some fierce battle, the ship we had targeted was within reach. What surprised me was that two other teammates from the carrier had launched and was already in the area. This was kind of cool, but I wasn’t about to let them die or take all of the glory. It wasn’t a macho thing, but during the missions I had lost one of my co-pilots at one point, which kind of made the mission more ‘vital’ in my eyes. Did I get into the game, probably a bit to much but it’s not as fun if you don’t. Needless to say I destroyed the ship and was even considering pulling a kamikaze if I had to. Everyone else got out alive though, even the character I had… So I didn’t have to do it. Even got the kill and vengeance, yay!
There was also a point in WC4 that I flew into a carrier ship, yes I did fly into it, and just opened up on it with a ton of missiles for what it did to one of my co-pilots. That’s another story though, since I’m sure this one is boring enough.
The point of this all, when is the correct time to toss hope aside? Is there ever? I’m not sure that there is to be honest with everyone, but it is so easy to do isn’t it? I mean, it’s not all that hard to say this is hopeless, or things can only get worse… It’s scarily too easy to get into that mindset. For those who keep a good spin on everything, I give you props because you obviously have more strength than most of us could ever dream about. There is one thing I can attest for some people though. I think even if some people give up hope, they’re not going to go down and just take it though. They might have given up on a victory, but they’ll sure as hell make sure it’s earned by the side going for it. Funny world we live in, isn’t it?
I’ll stop there though because this post is long enough and probably has scared away any ‘potential’ readers. I do think that it’s not good to lose our hope though.